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Local Number: 204 338-1734
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We welcome your feedback or inquiries, this will help us to eliminate accessibility barriers and to improve our commitment to accessibility and inclusion. If you have any question or feedback to give us, do not hesitate to use one of the contact information.

We appreciate your input and look forward to serving you better.

Accessibility Plan & Feedback Process
September, 2024

Prepared By:
Amik Aviation Management

GLOSSARY

CTA: The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) is an independent, quasi-judicial tribunal and economic regulator.

ACA: Accessible Canada Act is a federal law that aims to find, remove and prevent barriers facing people with disabilities.

ACCESSIBILITY: the quality of being able to be entered or used by everyone, including people who have a disability.

DISABILITIES: 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.

BARRIER: 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 a practice – that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.

GENERAL

1.1 SUMMARY
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations require that federally regulated entities prepare and publish accessibility plans and progress reports. The ACA is a federal law that aims to identify, remove and prevent barriers facing by persons with disabilities(https://www.accessibilitychrc.ca/en/overview-accessible-canada-act). The goal of the Act is to create a Canada without barriers by 2040. Therefore Amik Aviation Ltd. is required to establish an accessibility plan.

 

1.2 AMIK'S OVERALL GOALS & VALUES
Operating out of St. Andrews Airport, Amik Aviation provides daily passenger service to remote First Nations communities including Bloodvein, Berens River, Poplar River, Pauingassi and Little Grand Rapids, east of Lake Winnipeg. Now serving some communities in Northern Ontario. Our Vision is to be a leading airline offering friendly, safe, and high-quality air service to remote First Nation communities by connecting Amik Aviation with Aboriginal identity, culture and values.

 

1.3 STATEMENT OF COMMITMENT
Amik Aviation is committed to understanding the needs of our employees and customers and to create a culture of inclusivity and accessibility. It is our goal to build a barrier-free Canada for everyone by providing an accessibility network that will give support, voice and knowledge to our employees and the public we serve the most. We are aware that creating a barrier-free environment takes time and effort, so we are dedicated to the ongoing identification, removal, and prevention of barriers. Amik Aviation has built this plan as required under the Accessible Canada Act. It will guide our organization in meeting our accessibility commitments.

1.4 FEEDBACK
We welcome your feedback or inquiries on our Accessibility Plan and/or Feedback Process. This will help us to eliminate accessibility barriers and to improve our commitment to accessibility and inclusion. You may provide anonymous feedback here. We will acknowledge feedback in the same manner in which we received it.

  • CONTACT INFO:
    Attention: Priscila Buitenwerf - Accessibility Plan and Feedback Process Developer
    Local Number: (204) 338-1734
    Toll Free: 1-877-542-4920
    E-mail: officemanager@amikaviation.com
    Website: https://amikaviation.com/
    Mailling Address: 513 Airline Road
    St. Andrews, MB R1A 3P3 , Canada

ADDITIONALS:
Upon request  Amik Aviation Ltd. can also provide additional formats of this plan such as:

  • print;

  • large print (increased font size and clarity);

  • braille (a system of raised dots that people who are blind or who have low vision can read with their fingers);

  • audio (a recording of someone reading the text out loud);

  • electronic (an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities).

AREAS DESCRIBED UNDER SECTION 5 OF THE ACA

This section will describe our organization’s policies, practices and services in relation to the identification and elimination of barriers, and the prevention of new ones.

 

2.1  EMPLOYMENT

     Amik Aviation ensures that applicants and staff with disabilities and those who experience any barriers are supported throughout the entire employment lifecycle. Overall Amik Aviation is setup to hire a person with a disability, but some improvments could be made if a person with a disability is hired which would immediately be performed to accommodate this person. We currently have ramps for wheelchair access into and out of our workplace, accessible bathrooms with braille signs and wheelchair accessibility handles within the accessible bathroom.

     We will ensure to update our job advertisements inclusive section inviting persons with disabilities to also apply for a position at our company to be put in place in September 2024. Also, highlighting this at any future job advertising post. In addition to the training of our hiring managers to be inclusive in their selection and what would be involved in hiring and training a person with a disability.

 

2.2 THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT:

     This sub section makes sure that the workplace and the work environment are accessible for everyone. Amik Aviation is setup to accommodate the needs of persons with a disability; both the public we attend to and our staff. We currently have ramps for wheelchair access into and out of our workplace, accessible bathrooms with braille signs and wheelchair accessibility handles.

     In any future expansion we will be sure to have accessibility in mind and construct buildings in the most accessible way, this includes the parking lot and the terminal building. Consequently, we want to make sure that all individuals can access and feel welcomed to our facilities, promoting inclusivity and equal accessibility for everyone.      In our aircrafts there are intrinsic barriers to accessibility. Some of these barriers are:

  • narrow aisles

  • boarding steps that do not go all the way down to the ground

  • limited seating arrangements (seats with not a lot of legroom and space for assistive devices)

  • boarding and deboarding issues with lack of mobility

    At Amik Aviation we take pride in providing solutions and goals to these barriers. Some solutions we provide are:

  • Providing assistance at our St. Andrews base by providing help via our ground crew and the pilots themselves in giving preboarding to people with mobility disabilities and providing a seamless transition from wheelchair or walker to our aircraft seats.

  • Providing assistance to those with severe mobility disabilities by loading such people in their wheelchairs through cargo doors of our aircraft by use of a platform that is lifted using a loader and placed at the height of the cargo door.

  • Providing assistance at our Little Grand Rapids float base (dock) by use of a ramp that is securely placed to allow a wheelchair to be guided from the dock to the airplane by the cargo door.

  • While our steps on the Caravan do not go all the way down to the ground, we regularly put down an extra step that is stored in our Caravan cargo pods to allow better accessibility and a seamless transition from our aircraft door to the ground.

  • If a person requires extra legroom because of extreme conditions such as legs that are broken and cannot be folded down we can accommodate this by taking out seats in front of a specific seat for a person requiring this kind of care.

    Our goal is to make our aircrafts as accessible as possible to all our passengers. We are always looking to improve on this and we appreciate any feedback and suggestions from our customers with disabilities.

 

2.3 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)

    ICT or Information and communication technologies is defined as a group of technological tools and resources used to share, store, create and exchange information. In other words, the technologies we use to improve our communication between each other.

    An accessible ICT can be measured by how successfully a person with a disability can locate, use and understand the information they need or search for. Amik Aviation understands the crucial role the ICT is to support inclusive environments for individuals with disabilities and we know this can be achieved in many ways, including computer-based and web-based accessibility. We aim to not only reduce communication barriers faced by people with disability but improve accessibility of the entire travel process by removing barriers using platforms to ensure inclusivity for all. We commit to direct our efforts in achieving these following objectives by:

  • Clear description of the accessible feedback process, concerns or questions, including contact information on our website and social media addresses for accessibility concerns/feedback or requests.

  • Front desk communication: Commit to continue to train staff to communicate with customers over the telephone and in person, in a clear and professional way.

  • Accessibility Plan Documentation: Under request it will be available in large print, braille, audio and electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology.

 

2.4 COMMUNICATION, OTHER THAN ICT

    This area addresses that all the communications that the Company produces for this audience is clear and inclusive. Amik Aviation acknowledges the importance of how our communication process delivers its message in a respectful and accessible manner to persons with disabilities.  So, we commit to direct our efforts in achieving and/or improving the following objectives:

Our verbal communication:

  • Our employees are committed to deliver clear and respectful communication using a simple and understandable language vocabulary.

Our written communication:

We use written materials that contain simple, clear, and concise language. We make sure to avoid complex language terminologies.

Non-Verbal Communication:

We encourage our employees to use appropriate gestures, facial expressions, and body language to facilitate the communication process.

Visual Communication:

We will continue to make usage of images, posts, advertising, photography, web illustration or design, and video production to make sure all the visual communication is accessible and easily visualized by our passengers throughout their travel experience with us.

 

2.5 THE PROCUREMENT OF GOODS, SERVICES AND FACILITIES

     This area ensures that accessibility is considered since the beginning of the buying process. This means accessibility criteria’s have to be considered when specifying requirements for goods, services and facilities. Amik Aviation strives to remove barriers throughout these process by being conscious of  inclusivity practices before buying goods, services and building new facilities. We are committed to make accessibility part of the products and services purchasing’s by discussing with our clients with disabilities how accessible these new products or services are and how accessible the product is in the first place which will affect our decision making.

     Our suppliers are trained and are knowledgeable about accessibility considerations and we will continue to support this knowledge and only hire suppliers which are considerate to accessibility.

 

2.6 THE DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

     When designing and delivering Amik Aviation’s services, accessibility considerations are always part of the process right from the very beginning. We consulted persons with disabilities in the preparation of this accessibility plan, please see section under 'consultations'.

     We strive for consulting persons with disabilities while ongoing development and review of our services, ensuring all individuals who are part of our company or use our travel services are satisfied with its accessibility.- We commit to review our policies to support anti-discrimination, tolerance, and accommodation support.

 

2.7 TRANSPORTATION (TSP)

    This section of this accessibility plan sets out policies, practices and services planned to identify, remove, and prevent barriers in transportation. This would include the provision of accessible transportation to and from a terminal, such as adapted vehicles for wheelchairs. Amik Aviation's long-term plan is to acquire a wheelchair accessible van to ensure our shuttle service is better equipped for persons with mobility disabilities. One of the key features of this shuttle is the ramp or lift which allows persons who make use of wheelchairs to enter and exit the vehicle without having to be transfered from their wheelchair to a car seat. We value and understand how important it is to provide to our passengers with mobile impairments autonomy and comfort.

    During the winter we offer an alternate route through the terminal building for a more direct and comfortable access to our planes. We also offer preboarding to those with disabilities to ensure their comfort and accessibility is met first before our other passengers. Our ground crew is trained to assist and guide those with disabilities to and from the terminal building and our aircraft.

2.8 PROVISIONS OF CTA ACCESSIBILITY-RELATED REGULATIONS

    In this part of our accessibility plan, we identify and list the provisions from the Canadian Transportation Agencies accessibility-related regulations that apply to our organization. The CTA classifies Amik Aviation Ltd. as a small carrier. This means as a small carrier we must follow these accessibility regulations:

  1. Air Transportation Regulations, Part VII: This regulation is given to air carriers that are not covered by the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR). It sets out requirements and obligations for small carriers to ensure accessibility in air transportation services.

  2. Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations: This regulation applies to all transportation service providers (TSPs) that are not covered by the ATPDR. It mandates training programs for personnel to assist individuals with disabilities, ensuring they receive appropriate support and assistance throughout their travel experience.

CONSULTATIONS

     The ACA requires consultations with persons with disabilities while preparing this accessibility plan. This section is a very important one because it helps us to shape our plan better according to the real needs of a person with disability, as well as it helps us to identify what we need to change/improve, and how we are doing so far. These consultations are also a helpful source of data to add into our future reports for comparison and measurement of our improvements.

     Amik Aviation commits to make our work environment accessible to everyone. We have developed our Accessibility Plan in consultation with some of our passengers that have disabilities and our employees feedback about our current inclusive methods. The way we conducted these consultations was by phone calls or a short interview in person.

     Phone calls and one-on-one in person interviews were made with persons with disabilities that fly with us in our terminal building in St. Andrews, Manitoba. We also consulted Amik Aviation employees, so they could share their feedback and potential ideas. They were actively involved and listened throughout the process of building up our Accessibility Plan. Their feedback is valuable as they are the ones affected or dealing with accessibility the most.

The consultations were made the week of September 16th 2024 while building up this plan. We inquired mainly about our custumer services, support(before, throughout and after the trip) as well as about our facility ammenities.

The findings were that in general we are doing a great job in providing accessibility to all. However some small improvements could be made to give them more accessibility and ease of access. The findings were:

  1. There is needed a very small ramp at the entrance to the terminal building to allow easier access for wheelchairs.

  2. There was expressed concern about getting off our aircraft at other airports using the steps. Although our pilots provide help and an extra step at the bottom of the staircase perhaps our pilots need reminding of the extra step that we provide in each of our Caravan's rear cargo pod.

 

     The responses informed valuable ideas and improved our confidence as we could track what we are doing best so far too. We added the data from the consultations to the sections: transportation, the built environment, and communication in this Accessibility Plan.

     The reason why we chose to do phone calls, in person interviews, and small group discussions was mainly for our passengers' comfort and ease of access. All the data and information we received from your consultations are seriously taken into consideration and we intend to act on them as our first priority.

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