Our commitment to accessibility

CNO’s purpose is to protect the public by promoting safe nursing practice. In fulfilling this, CNO strives at all times to provide its goods and services in a way that respects the dignity and independence of all people who use them.

We are committed to providing everyone with the same opportunity to access our goods and services and allowing them to benefit from the same services, in the same place and in a similar way.

Providing goods and services to all our customers

CNO is committed to excellence in serving everyone equitably.

1. Communication

CNO will communicate in ways that take into account people’s individual needs:

  • All staff will be trained on how to communicate with people with various needs and barriers.
  • CNO will offer to communicate by email or in person if telephone communication is not suitable to the person’s communication needs.
  • Upon request, CNO will make every effort to provide publications and/or processes for receiving and responding to feedback in accessible formats and with communication supports. The solutions available will depend on the type of document or communication.
  • Every effort will be made to ensure that the accessible formats and communication supports provided take into account the person’s accessibility needs, and are provided at no additional cost.

2. Assistive devices

  • CNO will endeavour to provide services to people who use assistive devices to access customer service or attend hearings or meetings.
  • CNO will train staff to support the use of various assistive devices, including the assistive devices that are available on our premises.

3. Use of service animals and support persons

  • CNO is committed to welcoming people with disabilities who use a service animal to the areas of our premises that are open to the public and other third parties.
  • CNO is committed to welcoming any person with a disability who is accompanied by a support person to CNO’s premises with his or her support person.

4. Notice of temporary disruption

  • CNO will provide notice of any planned or unexpected disruption to facilities or services that may affect accessibility. This notice will include the reason for the disruption, how long it will last and any alternative facilities or services available.
  • The notice will be placed at the service counter of our building’s public entrance and posted on our website.

5. Training for staff

We will train all our staff on the following accessibility topics:

  • the purpose of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the requirements of the customer service standard
  • how to interact and communicate with people with various types of disabilities
  • how to interact with people who use an assistive device or require the assistance of a service animal or a support person
  • Further training will be provided to employees when changes are made to these policies, practices and procedures.
  • the assistive devices available on CNO premises
  • what to do if someone is having difficulty in accessing CNO’s services
  • CNO’s policies, practices and procedures relating to the customer service standard, including further training when changes are made to these

About This Policy

1. Feedback process

The goal of this policy is to ensure that CNO meets the level of service expected by our customers, including people with disabilities. CNO appreciates your feedback on how well we met those expectations. Qualified customer service representatives are available to take your questions and feedback in person or by mail, email or phone.

Mail: Accessibility Feedback, College of Nurses of Ontario, 101 Davenport Road, Toronto, Ontario M5R 3P1
Email: cno@cnomail.org
Subject: Accessibility feedback
Phone (toll free in Canada): 1-800-387-5526

The Manager, Customer Service will review your feedback. Where possible, we will address complaints immediately. However, some feedback requires investigation and we may need additional time to respond.

CNO will acknowledge in-person or phone feedback within two business days and email or mailed feedback within 15 business days after we receive it. We will indicate in our acknowledgment when you can expect a full response.

CNO will endeavour to provide your response in a format accessible to you.

2. Modifications to this or other policies

CNO is committed to ensuring that its customer service policy promotes the dignity and independence of all people with disabilities. Before we make any changes to this policy, we will consider their impact on persons with disabilities. All CNO policies respect and promote the dignity and independence of people with disabilities.

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