| REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE |
Monday, April 10, 2000 |
The Standing Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration
has the honour to present its
EIGHTH
REPORT
Your Committee wishes to inform the Senate that an action plan on
Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities has been adopted. This action plan, which was established in close
cooperation with representatives of the disabled community, includes the
following achievements to date:
i)
On December 2nd, 1999, a Senator’s
Guide to Disability was tabled in the Senate;
ii)
A draft Trainer’s
Guide was developed aimed at complimenting the Senator’s Guide to Disability;
iii)
A Co-ordination Office was created to implement the
action plan and to ensure the continuity of this project;
iv)
On February 24th, 2000, the Honourable
Senator Carstairs and the Honourable Senator Robertson presented to the
Committee on Internal Economy, Budgets and Administration the Senate
Action Plan on Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities, which was
subsequently approved by the Committee;
v)
On March 30th, 2000, an Information Kit was released which included not
only the Senator’s Guide to Disability but also the 12 point and 16 point
printed versions of the Senate Action Plan plus an audio tape and CD versions of
this action plan; and
vi) Your Committee is in the process of developing a Braille version, which will be available by mid-April 2000 and will be included in the Information Kit.
vii)
A Disability Information Kit will be finalized and
sent at large by the Speaker to provincial Legislative Assemblies in addition to
all our Commonwealth counterparts, inviting them to highlight their respective
initiatives taken towards disabled persons;
viii)
A Senate Disability Guide for staff will be
developed;
ix)
A series of training sessions on disability issues
for managers and staff will be developed and conducted;
x)
A proactive access to the Senate Internet will be
also developed; and
xi)
Accessibility issues will be incorporated with the Senate Intranet.
Your Committee wishes to thank Senators Carstairs and Robertson for their
work on this project and recommends the adoption of this Report by the
Senate.
Your Committee is proposing the following initiatives be implemented
during the fiscal year 2000-2001:
Respectfully submitted,
WILLIAM ROMPKEY
Chair