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Accessibility at Ontario Blue Cross

Ontario Blue Cross® is committed to providing an environment that allows our members, employees, job applicants, suppliers, visitors, and others who access our services or premises to maintain their dignity and independence. 

We are committed to ensuring our company’s compliance with accessibility legislation by preventing and removing barriers to accessibility. By making this commitment, we will provide equal opportunities and integration. 

We respect and uphold our requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005), (referred to as “AODA” or the “Act”) and its various regulations and standards. We will train our staff on Ontario’s accessibility laws and accessibility aspects of the Ontario Human Rights Code that apply to persons with disabilities. Training will be provided in a way that best suits the duties of our employees. We are committed to meeting the communication needs of people with disabilities. When asked, we will provide information and communication materials in accessible formats or with communication supports. 

This includes publicly available information about our goods, services and facilities. We will provide, if needed, customized workplace emergency plans for our employees with disabilities. We will amend this Statement of Commitment to Accessibility from time to time as regulations come into force that apply to our organization. We welcome your feedback about how we provide our products and services to people with disabilities.

We invite you to take a look at the measures we are taking to meet the integrated accessibility standards and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act.


Digital Services

Ontario Blue Cross® strives to ensure that its digital services are accessible to people with disabilities. We have invested significant resources to help ensure access for all users, including people with disabilities, with the strong belief that every person has the right to live with dignity, equality, comfort and independence. 
 
Digital accessibility is not just a target we aim to achieve, but an ongoing commitment that we carry in every aspect of our digital service delivery. We recognize that this requires continuous monitoring, improvement, and adaptation. In the sections below, we elaborate on the various efforts that have been undertaken to address our progress in ensuring digital accessibility for all. 
 
A key element of our accessibility initiative is our engagement with a third-party accessibility consulting organization UserWay to help bring the website into conformance. We use industry standard accessibility methods and tools to accomplish this, in accordance with the relevant version of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as set forth by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) the internet’s main international standards-setting organization. 
 
Regular accessibility scans take place, powered by best of breed and scalable automation. 
 
Ontario Blue Cross® makes available the UserWay Website Accessibility Widget that is powered by a dedicated accessibility server. 
 
The Widget offers user-triggered enhancements that allow visitors to improve the accessibility of the site. These features will, when selected, increase font size, pause animations, change color contrast, and more. People can choose combinations that suit their needs, as per WCAG Level AAA. 
 
This site has enabled Automated Remediation Technology (ART) for all visitors, whether they use assistive technology or not. ART does not detect Assistive Technology usage; rather, it improves accessibility for all site visitors regardless of ability by deploying remediation capabilities such as (not a complete list): 

  • Images and other non-text elements have alternative text associated with them when required; 
  • Keyboard navigation is improved with aids such as focus indication and skip links; 


This site complies with the following standards: 


Assistance

We are here to assist you and make your experience as smooth and inclusive as possible. If you encounter any digital accessibility issues with our products or services, or need information related to digital accessibility, we want to hear from you! Also, we appreciate and welcome feedback, and we are always ready to embrace suggestions for enhancing our digital accessibility efforts. Please contact accessibility@ont.bluecross.ca so we can take immediate corrective action. 

If you require assistance while using this website, are unable to access content using adaptive technology, or are having difficulty filling out forms on this website, please call 1-800-563-2538.