Accessibility Champions at the Manitoba Accessibility Office

Kudos to Erika Vas, Emily Walker, Colleen Watters and Tracy MacMillan - the team that works with me at the Manitoba Accessibility Office to support accessibility, as required by law and by nearly one in four Manitobans served by our government. In the last year, that has meant learning how to host online meetings and webinars that include ASL, captioning, phone or on-line participation, and a record for folks who need a review or missed the session. The team also provided a pandemic lens to regulations that include: allowing support people and service animals, ensuring communication that meets clients' needs, and accommodating disability and health conditions in employment (notably, vulnerability to COVID-19). The team provided this advice for the public under the COVID banner on the AccessibilityMB.ca homepage and helped colleagues in government meet the same requirements. (Kudos to our colleagues in the vaccine roll-out team for the significant accessibility improvements.)

Thinking about the wide variety of initiatives led by this small team since last March makes me proud to be a public servant.