Accessibility Plan

ACCESSIBILITY PLAN

Zac-Tranz

The Accessible Canada Act is a federal law that was created to find, eliminate, and prevent barriers that people with disabilities face daily. Adopted in 2019, the Act’s primary goal is to create a Canada that is free of barriers by 2040.

GENERAL

Executive Summary

The Zac-Tranz is committed to building a culture of inclusivity and accessibility. Not only is this part of our company culture but opening access to all is imperative to our continued growth and competitiveness as an employer in the trucking sector. We will contribute to a barrier-free Canada for everyone by building an accessibility framework that will support employees and the public we serve have the best experience possible with our services and facilities.

We know creating a barrier-free environment takes time and we are dedicated to the ongoing identification, removal, and prevention of barriers. Zac-Tranz will build on our current efforts through the development of our initial Accessibility Plan as required under the Accessible Canada Act. This Accessibility Plan will guide our organization in meeting our accessibility commitments and in building an accessibility-confident culture.

To address gaps in these areas, it is important to recognize and understand the needs of those with disabilities. For this reason, this plan was developed in consultation with employees via employee surveys. In addition, an external organization that serve people with disabilities was consulted in the development of this plan.

Initial opportunities include:

Improving the attraction of persons with disabilities to jobs in our company and the trucking sector.
Expanding the range and options for accommodation.
Being better prepared to provide information in accessible formats, when requested.
Improving the knowledge of our IT team and leveraging the capabilities of accessibility features in current and future IT equipment, programs, and systems that are used by our drivers.
Initiating processes where there is a more thorough review and a “through an accessibility lens” approach to the assessment of facilities, procurement procedures, company programs, new initiatives, and on-going services.

The Federally regulated portion of the Zac-Tranz consists of our trucking divisions comprised of truck drivers only. To be allowed to drive commercial vehicles, the drivers must be eligible to receive specific drivers licenses as per rules set out by the SAAQ. Our federal divisions, that fall under the purview of the Accessibilities Act are Loyal Express Transport, Transport F. Lussier Inc., Transport & Entreposage Paradis, Zac-Tranz, Transport Géromic Inc., and Loyal Express Global Logistics Inc. All of our office, warehouse, and garage personnel are part of our Provincially regulated divisions.

Your Input and Feedback

The Zac-Tranz welcomes feedback on our Accessibility Plan from the public, employees, and our stakeholders. This feedback is valuable to us as it helps us break down accessibility barriers and build on our commitment to accessibility and inclusion.

If you have an inquiry or feedback, please use the contact methods below. We will respond to all feedback in a timely manner. If you require support while providing feedback let us know and we will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Personal Information Officer
James Moore
info@zac-tranz.com
(514) 739-5225
5600, Chemin St-François
Saint-Laurent, QC
H4S 1B4

Statement of Commitment

At the Zac-Tranz, we are committed to making our organization and the services we provide accessible to all, including persons with disabilities. All Canadians have the right to benefit from our services equally and those who work with us have the right to perform their jobs free of barriers.

Reporting Our Plan

As required by the Accessible Canada Act, we will publish a status report every year that measures our progress against our commitments. We will also review and update our Accessibility Plan every three years.

EMPLOYMENT

The “employment” area ensures that candidates and employees with disabilities and those who experience barriers are supported throughout the entire employment lifecycle.

Barrier #1: There is a need to expand our understanding of the range and variety of accommodation options available to persons with disabilities.

Actions:

Develop a framework that helps managers understand their responsibilities in the accommodation process and guides them in supporting their employees and implementing suitable workplace adjustments.
Develop a work team consisting of managers, drivers, persons with disabilities and a disability accommodation consultant to assess and identify options for a wider range and variety of potential accommodations.
Management and finance will determine and implement an accommodation budget to allow for assistive equipment such as lifts, steps, enhanced audio, illumination improvements etc.

Barrier #2: Our organization continues to experience competition for employees and is currently not attracting a high volume of qualified candidates from underrepresented populations such as persons with disabilities.

Actions:

Increase number of jobs posting locations that reach persons with disabilities and affiliated communities.
Ensure job posting documents follow accessibility best practices and readability and be prepared to provide information in accessible formats when requested.
Develop a recruiting and employment procedure for applicants with disabilities.
Educate hiring managers on accessibility and how they can ensure a barrier-free hiring, selection, and accommodation process.

Barrier #3: Improve awareness opportunities for candidates to request reasonable accommodations during the recruitment process.

Actions:

Incorporate language in job postings that show accommodations are available for roles that do not have a bona fide occupational requirement for applicants with disabilities and establish process for receiving accommodation requests.
Educate candidates and employees about the availability of accommodations for applicants with disabilities in recruitment and selection processes.
Add accessibility commitments and offerings to the Zac-Tranz’s external careers page so candidates can envision themselves working in an environment with available accommodations.

BUILT ENVIRONMENT

The “built environment” area ensures that workspaces and the work environment are accessible for all.

The Zac-Tranz is highly regulated under an agreement with C-TPAT (Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism) and does not allow free entry at any of our locations. All visitors are escorted around our buildings by one of our team members inside of Zac-Tranz’s locations. Should a visitor have a mobility impairment, our team members will assist them, while on the premises of the Zac-Tranz.

Although, the Zac-Tranz’s buildings are provincially regulated and are not in the scope of this plan, we will conduct a built environment audit to assess all physical barriers that may be present and require correction.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICT)

“Information and communication technologies” are various technological tools used to send, store, create, share, or exchange information.

Barrier #4: Accessibility technology.

Actions:

Train IT employees of our Provincial division to increase their accessibility knowledge and learn how to adapt services for persons with disabilities.
Deliver and promote end-user training on using accessibility features on all available programs.
Develop and promote guidance and training documents for persons with disabilities (e.g., making items larger on a screen, activating the reader on our ISAAC tablets, etc.).

Barrier #5: Tools and software accessibility capabilities.

Actions:

Take an inventory of IT systems used by the truck drivers to measure accessibility capabilities.
Review current systems and applications used by the truck drivers and remediate accessibility deficiencies
Progressively introduce new accessibility functionality to IT systems used by the truck drivers.

Barrier #6: Meaningful participation for attendees in meetings.

Actions:

Review the technology used in common conference, learning and meeting spaces to ensure that it meets a high level of accessibility and respects all legal and policy requirements.
Add closed captioning to online learning videos and ensure all other accessibility features are available as required.

COMMUNICATION OTHER THAN ICT

This area requires that organizations provide barrier free access for the public, clients, and employees to all the communications that the Loyal Epress Group produces for this audience.

Barrier #7: Alternate formats of communication.

Actions:

Identify service providers and develop contracts or agreements to create alternate formats, where appropriate and when needed.
Prepare standard resources and commonly issued company communication in alternative formats so that they are ready to be distributed upon request.
When asked, we commit to providing these alternate formats as soon as possible and within time frames listed in the Accessible Canada Regulations (print, large print, braille, audio format, an electronic format that’s compatible with adaptive technology meant to help people with disabilities.)

PROCUREMENT OF GOODS, SERVICES, AND FACILITIES

The federally regulated divisions of the Zac-Tranz do not coordinate any procurement of goods, services, and facilities. This means that standards for procurement of goods, services, and facilities are not in the scope of this plan.

DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

When designing and delivering the Zac-Tranz’s internal and external programs and services, accessibility considerations must be part of the process right from the very start.

Barrier #8: Programs, processes and services accessibility.

Actions:

Comply with mandatory requirement to consult with persons with disabilities by creating a forum to review and provide feedback on all programs, processes, policies to support the development of future programs and services.
Develop and promote guidelines on how to apply the accessibility lens when reviewing company policies, programs, and services.
Create an Accessibility Checklist to help ensure key accessibility considerations are considered.

TRANSPORTATION

The Zac-Tranz does not coordinate a transportation system, or a fleet of transportation vehicles as defined in the Accessible Canada Act. This means that standards for transportation are not in the scope of this plan.

CONSULTATIONS

To align with the Zac-Tranz’s commitment to make our workplace environment accessible to all, we have developed our Accessibility Plan by gathering feedback and input from our team members and an external organization:

Leaders of key areas of the Zac-Tranz.
Employees through companywide communication via e-mail requesting feedback in assisting to identify barriers within the Zac-Tranz and to address any questions or concerns employees may have.
An external organisation, RAPLIQ – Support and advocacy in defense of the rights of people with disabilities (https://rapliq.org/en/), to understand and seek recommendations for improving accessibility to the Zac-Tranz.

We will continue to survey employees and members as well as consult with RAPLIQ and other relevant organisations if necessary and measure progress to ensure we meet the commitments we set out to achieve.

DEFINITIONS

Accessibility
Refers to the needs of persons with disabilities being intentionally and thoughtfully considered when products, services and facilities are built or modified so they can be used and enjoyed by persons of all abilities.

Barrier
The Accessible Canada Act defines a barrier as “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.”

Disability
The Accessible Canada Act defines a disability as “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, interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.”