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Accessibility Plan

General

GardaWorld Cash Services Canada Corporation and Garda Cash-in Transit Limited Partnership (hereinafter “GardaWorld”) is committed to contributing to the goal of an accessible and barrier-free Canada.

The Accessible Canada Act (the “Act”) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (the “Regulations”) establish a legal framework for making progress on accessibility and focus on the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to accessibility in the seven (7) key areas of the workplace, which are detailed in this Accessibility Plan (the “Plan”).

Through the development of the Plan (the “Plan”), GardaWorld aims to put forward proactive measures to identify and remove barriers to accessibility in the workplace, while preventing the creation of new barriers.

The Plan covers a three-year period (2023 to 2026) to enable GardaWorld sufficient time to align itself with an achievable strategic plan and in accordance with legislative requirements.

Statement of Commitment

GardaWorld is committed to:

  1. Understanding and complying with legislative requirements for accessibility as they relate to customers, business operations and employees;
  2. Treating each person in a manner that preserves their dignity and independence; and
  3. Addressing the accessibility needs of people with disabilities in a timely manner, consistent with the principles of dignity, independence, inclusion and equal opportunity.

GardaWorld is committed to providing a safe and accessible environment for its employees, customers, suppliers, candidates, visitors and all persons who enter its premises, conduct business with it, access its corporate website or communicate with it.

This Plan sets out GardaWorld’s commitment and strategy to remove barriers to employment accessibility and encourage the full inclusion of people with disabilities at GardaWorld by describing the policies, accomplishments and actions the company has taken and is taking to improve opportunities for people with disabilities.

Feedback

GardaWorld welcomes ongoing feedback on its Accessibility Plan, not only from employees, but also from all members of the public.

There are three ways that individuals can provide feedback on accessibility to GardaWorld:

  • Telephone:
    Feedback can be provided by calling (800) 461-9330 or 1-800-235-6302
  • GardaWorld Ethics Hotline
    https://www.garda.com/ethicshotline
    This link to a confidential and secure third-party site where individuals can complete an online report on accessibility and this Plan.
    This link allows individuals to provide feedback on an anonymous basis, if desired.
  • Mail
    Feedback can be provided by sending a letter by mail addressed to Geneviève Lamarre at the following address:
    2300 Emile Belanger Street, Montreal (QC) H4R 3J4

Acknowledgement of receipt will be included in the process and will be provided in the same manner as the feedback was received, unless a different channel or format is requested.

When feedback is provided anonymously, acknowledgement of receipt will not be issued.

Members of the public are encouraged to provide feedback on this Accessibility Plan and/or feedback process, and/or to contact GardaWorld to request alternate formats of this Accessibility Plan, feedback process, or progress reports, as desired by contacting Genevieve Lamarre, Labour and Employment Lawyer, who is the designated person to receive feedback on behalf of GardaWorld.

Definitions

Barrier means anything, including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or practice—that hinders the full and equal participation in society of a person with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communications or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.

Disability means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment—or a functional limitation—whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.

Alternate Formats

GardaWorld will provide its Plan in the following formats, upon request:

  • Print and/or large print
  • Braille
  • Audio
  • Electronic (compatible with adaptative technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities)

Areas

Employment

GardaWorld recognizes that accessible employment practices are fundamentally sound practices that benefit businesses and the economy, as in better job retention, higher attendance, lower turnover, enhanced job performance and work quality, better safety records and a more innovative workforce.

In order to achieve a workplace fully inclusive to people with disabilities, GardaWorld will implement the following measures:

  • Develop a policy that specifically addresses accessibility in employment, applicable to all GardaWorld employees to ensure that employment practices are accessible for people with disabilities (hereinafter the “Accessibility Policy”), which will include.
    • Reviewing existing training and development programs to ensure that people with disabilities are supported at every stage of their employment;
    • Reviewing the performance management and career development processes to ensure it considers the needs of employees with disabilities; and
    • Providing information in a format that is accessible to the specific needs of employees with disabilities, when requested.
  • Conduct a thorough review of the hiring process to ensure that it is not a barrier to people with disabilities and implement the following:
    • Ensure that job postings state that people with disabilities are welcome and that GardaWorld will accommodate their needs, upon request, during all stages of the hiring process and throughout their employment; and
    • During performance reviews and exit interviews, encourage employees with disabilities to share their experiences with the company and provide feedback in terms of accessibility and inclusion.
  • Revise the training offered to all employees to include modules on the concept of disability and resources/procedures for employees with specific disability-related needs.
  • Recognize and promote the International Day of Persons with Disabilities annually on December 3, to:
    • Celebrate the valuable contributions and leadership of GardaWorld employees and all Canadians with disabilities;
    • Highlight the work of individuals, organizations and communities who are removing barriers; and
    • Reflect on GardaWorld’s ongoing efforts to become a better, more accessible and more disability-inclusive company.

The Built Environment

The built environment includes human-made spaces, such as buildings and outdoor areas. By the nature of its activities, GardaWorld does not own the buildings where it operates. However, GardaWorld understands that this does not exempt it from providing its employees, clients and suppliers with access to all locations.

GardaWorld will take the following steps with respect to identifying and removing barriers and preventing new barriers:

  • Examine the built environment to identify how it can be more accessible and inclusive.
  • Gather feedback from employees with disabilities on the challenges they face in the workplace, particularly as it relates to the built environment and establish a system, as part of the above-mentioned policy, for employees with disabilities to report workplace challenges; and
  • Consult on an emergency evacuation plan and prepare or revise that evacuation plan based on the specific needs of employees with disabilities, including:
    • Reviewing, preparing and providing individualized workplace emergency response information to employees with known disabilities; and
    • Ensuring that this procedure is reviewed whenever the employee changes location or as otherwise necessary.

Information and Communication Technologies

GardaWorld is committed to promoting and continuously improving the accessibility of its websites to facilitate consultation by all persons, with or without disabilities.

Garda.com is built on the Drupal 8 platform, which has built-in advance accessibility features based on World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) and Web Content Accessibility Guideline (“WCAG”) guidance, including:

  • Integrated support for screen readers
  • Support for aural alerts
  • Controlled Tab Order
  • Fully responsive front-end theming
  • Text resizing enables
  • Compulsory alt text for images

As part of its ongoing efforts to improve accessibility, GardaWorld also optimized text contrast ratios site wide.

GardaWorld’s website is largely compliant with the WCAG 2.0 level AA, but there are some exceptions, such as not all videos are captioned.

GardaWorld’s goal is to make its websites accessible and usable for everyone. To this end, GardaWorld is committed to:

  • Conducting an accessibility assessment of the websites and making them fully compatible with the WCAG 2.0 level AA;
  • Adding a page dedicated to accessibility; and
  • Continuing to review its websites for ease and accessibility.

Communication (other than Information and Communication Technologies)

Accessible communications benefit all audiences by making information clear, direct and easy to understand. It takes into consideration the various barriers to accessing information and provides opportunities for feedback.

Communications means the interaction between two or more persons or entities, or any combinations of them, where information is provided, sent or received.

Any person may request access to a document provided by GardaWorld in an alternative format, as listed in the Alternative Formats section of this Plan.

GardaWorld makes a constant effort to use clear and simple language in all its communication to ensure they are accessible to everyone.

Employees who have access to computers for business purposes communicate with each other through MICROSOFT TEAMS, which is a platform that includes accessibility features, such as live captions for meetings and transcripts for calls, as well as tools to enlarge the screen, contrast color, etc.

In addition, GardaWorld’s intranet allows for immersive reading of all its articles.

To ensure accessible communications, GardaWorld is committed to:

  • Implementing measures to ensure that employees are aware of these features and have access to personalized support when needed to better understand and use them effectively;
  • During 2023, conducting an employee survey to assess whether communications are meeting their accessibility needs and ensuring the survey can be completed mutlitple ways (upon request) so that all employees have their voices heard;
  • With input from employees, evaluating how to better integrate accessibility into GardaWorld’s communications; and
  • Creating a list of external resources for quick access to alternative formats on demand.

Social media platforms have different levels of accessibility. They do not always allow for the creation of fully accessible content. This means that accessible social media communications are on a best-effort basis. Thus, GardaWorld may have to post content to multiple platforms to meet all requirements.

The Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

This area refers to how GardaWorld acquires and purchases goods, services or other items.

GardaWorld focuses on employees proactively by providing them various tools to make the workplace more accessible.

GardaWorld is committed to the following:

  • Listening to and being responsive to the accessibility needs of employees and suppliers; and
  • Informing employees on how to request specific accessibility tools (e.g., ergonomic desks, readers, extra screens, headphones, etc.).

The Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Whether internal or external, the design and delivery of programs and services must be fully accessible, and this is GardaWorld’s goal. To achieve this goal, GardaWorld is committed to:

  • Ensuring that accessibility is fully integrated in all GardsWorld’s corporate policies, decision-making processes and procedures;
  • Reviewing GardaWorld’s decision-making process and all its corporate policies to identify policy instruments that do not include accessibility components and how GardaWorld can address any identified gaps;
  • Ensuring that all documents and manuals GardaWorld produces can provide accessibility information or are offered in accessible formats; and
  • Ensuring that staff responsible for programs and services understand the concept of disability and the company’s objective in this regard.

Transportation

GardaWorld has a significant armored truck fleet in Canada. These trucks comply with the manufacturer’s pre-established security requirements and meet strict and specific requirements aimed at ensuring, notably, the health and safety of employees who use them in the course of their duties. Any modification to armored trucks needs to comply with the health and safety regulations and must be done in consultation with the GardaWorld’s Health and Safety Committee, in accordance with the requirements of the position.

Some vehicles, which are not armored, will be used by supervisors in urgent cases. However, supervisors must still be able to operate the armored vehicle at all times and therefore meet the requirements of the armed guard position.

GardaWorld is committed to continuing to assess how to make transportation more accessible to its employees with disabilities while respecting the requirements established by the manufacturer and in compliance with the employer’s obligation to ensure the health and safety of its employees.

Consultation

By relying on the guiding principle of “Nothing without us”, which recognizes that persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and implementation of the accessibility strategy, and the goal of being inclusive and accessible, the consultation enable GardaWorld to develop a more inclusive and long-term accessibility strategy.

Persons with disabilities are equal participants in all areas of life and should contribute to all decision-making on policies, programs, practices, service delivery, etc. Therefore, GardaWorld, along with other business units across the company, consulted with people with disabilities to develop this Plan. The objective of the consultations was to :

  • Identify barriers
  • Develop the organization’s accessibility vision, and
  • Develop action plans for each priority accessibility area

GardaWorld and the other business units’ approach to consultation included consultation with various organizations involved with people with disabilities. The objective was to consult with organizations representing people living with different types of disabilities in different provinces across Canada to better understand the reality of those affected by this Plan.

Given the unique nature of GardaWorld’s business, the strategy adopted was to first work internally to assess existing barriers and solutions for people with disabilities before embarking on a blind consultation.

Once this information was gathered, GardaWorld and the other business units sent the draft plan to various organizations, as mentioned above, with whom a discussion and exchange were initiated in order to fully understand and put into perspective the strengths and weaknesses of the first draft prepared.

The organizations were then given the opportunity to provide their feedback and comments, allowing GardaWorld to adjust the plan accordingly. Some comments were received via email, sometimes more formally, sometimes more informally. GardaWorld also had the opportunity to hold videoconference discussions to gather feedback, depending on the organization’s needs.

This exercise has also allowed GardaWorld to create meaningful relationships with some of these organizations, which hopefully will continue in the longer term, and to establish a collaboration that could eventually be used to promote, through these organizations, the employment of people with disabilities within the company.

GardaWorld is committed to ongoing collaboration with these organizations, which have significantly enhanced the company’s knowledge of accessibility.

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