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Accessibility
Aware of the difficulties experienced by persons with disabilities in accessing positions in businesses, the City’s Human Resources Department posts vacant positions with the Service d'aide à l'emploi et de placement en entreprises pour les personnes handicapées (SDEM-SEMO Montérégie) in order to increase the visibility of municipal job offers to people with disabilities.
The City is committed to the Act respecting equal access to employment in public bodies.
Consult the job offers here.
To improve access to democracy and civic participation for people with disabilities, the City is offering alternative ways to participate in Council meetings, including adding virtual question periods to in-person and online question periods. The option of asking live questions virtually is beneficial for persons with reduced mobility, loss of autonomy or no access to transportation. Hybrid information sessions are also being considered.
In an effort to increase the participation of people with disabilities, the City offers free admission to a caregiver accompanying a person with a disability to outdoor activities (Parc nature) or to drop-in activities and sports at the Sports Complex.
A person with a disability may face additional costs related to their impairment, disability or handicap. The cost of obtaining permits for home adaptations for people with disabilities is expected to be eliminated (2022).
Contact the Service de l’urbanisme (Urban Planning and Environment Department) for more information.
In an effort to support the academic progress of Saint-Lazare students with disabilities and recognize their performance, their contribution or their efforts, the City provides financial assistance to certain high schools offering specialized educational services both on and off its territory. The educational institution provides this financial assistance to the students in the form of a scholarship.
Contact the Communications Department for more information.
The Library holds a variety of collections for persons with visual or hearing disabilities, notably digital and audio books, books with large print, DVDs for those with visual or hearing disabilities, guides for learning braille or sign language, and a collection of documents for caregivers.
The City wishes to make it easier for visually impaired people to read its publications and documents, including those in rich text format (RTF), when they visit the City's Web site. Certain accessible content is currently available.
Contact the Communications Department for requests to make specific content accessible.
The City offers the possibility of reserving equipment free of charge at the reception desks of certain municipal facilities. For example, at the Community Centre and City Hall reception desks, regular wheelchairs for children and adults can be borrowed free of charge for movement within the buildings.
A variety of equipment is also available free of charge at Parc nature les Forestiers-de-Saint-Lazare: big-wheeled chairs with umbrellas, regular wheelchairs for children and adults, Ski-Vels for the snow, and a Hippocampe chair for the trails.
In addition to this, Parc nature's outdoor pool is equipped with a ramp and lift to accommodate persons with reduced mobility and also offers adapted jackets in several sizes.
For individuals who are more sensitive to light and sun, such as those with autism spectrum disorders, sun shelters, acquired through Hydro-Québec's Integrated Enhancement Program (IEP), provide shade on the pool deck.
The City continues to improve the accessibility of its infrastructures by promoting the purchase and rental of inclusive and adapted products and services during procurement processes and as part of inclusive development projects. For example, during calls for tenders, the various municipal departments are invited to include accessibility for persons with disabilities as part of the evaluation criteria. This is the case, for example, when replacing play modules, where adapted components—such as tactile and sensory modules, swings and transfer stations—are added. The acquisition of accessible water fountains is another example.
Adapted features that support the integration of persons with disabilities include raised beds in community gardens, barrier-free routes to schools, and even a marked, groomed and adapted trail in the nature park to enjoy winter sports and nature as well as an accessible trail.
Les Incroyables Chromosomes
The City offers an adapted leisure program called Les Incroyables Chromosomes to young people between the ages of 6 and 17 living with disabilities along with their siblings between the ages of 6 and 17.
Activities are offered to participants free of charge and are supervised by special educators, attendants and animators for siblings.
Day camp — Program of facilitated access
The program of facilitated access aims to promote accessibility to day camp for Saint-Lazare children living with a motor, hearing, visual or intellectual disability. The program encourages the integration of children in day camp activities while benefiting from the special follow-up required by their condition.
The Service de la sécurité incendie (Fire Department) gives persons with disabilities the possibility of registering for a list of persons with disabilities or specific needs in an emergency situation. The information provided, which remains confidential, allows fire safety, public safety and ambulance workers as well as first responders to anticipate and adapt their emergency interventions (fire, evacuation, etc.)
The Emergency Preparedness Plan and the Emergency Response Plan take into consideration some of the needs of people with disabilities, including access to a shelter in the event of a civil emergency. Updates are being considered to improve these services, most notably by including the availability of accompaniment services and transportation in the event of a disaster.
Every year, and in accordance with the Law to ensure the exercise of the rights of persons with disabilities with a view to their educational, professional and social integration, the City of Saint-Lazare develops an action plan to increase the social participation of persons with disabilities. This action plan aims not only to meet the needs of persons with disabilities but also to offer them an inclusive living environment where they can fully contribute as full members of the community.
The City offers a facilitated access program for children with disabilities as part of regular day camp activities. The type of access is adjusted according to the child’s ability for integration and includes follow-ups required for his/her situation. Young participants benefit from a team of specialized monitors, various forms of adapted equipment and a Snoezelen room.
As a key player in its community, the City has a duty to raise awareness of the many challenges faced by persons with disabilities. In this context, the City highlights World Autism Awareness Day, Disability Week, International Day of Persons with Disabilities and other community awareness campaigns.
In an effort to increase safety and security, persons with disabilities or their family members can request that signage be installed to indicate the presence of persons with hearing or visual impairments living in the neighborhood.
Simply ask the Public Safety Department.