YORK REGION - York Regional Police is honoured to accept an award from Excellence Canada for exceeding compliance standards of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). 

The award was presented to York Regional Police in the Regional Municipality of York Police Services Board meeting on Wednesday by Russ Gahan, Vice President of Operations, Excellence Canada. The award nomination highlighted projects York Regional Police has undertaken in order to better accommodate persons with disabilities in an effort to create a workplace culture of accommodation and inclusion. 
 
By educating staff, informing the public and identifying barriers to be removed, York Regional Police continues to strive for excellence in policing to all members of our community, including those with disabilities and accessibility issues. York Regional Police is currently the only Ontario police service with a unit dedicated to safety of persons with disabilities. When the Persons with Disabilities Safety Unit was launched in 2010, the intention was to deliver crime prevention information and raise awareness among people with disabilities as well as an educational tool for our York Regional Police members.  
 
“We’re very proud to be the first police service to receive this award,” said Chief Eric Jolliffe. “York Regional Police will continue to ensure people with disabilities receive equitable, high-quality policing services.”
 
In 2006, Project Lifesaver was introduced to assist in locating and identifying individuals who qualify for the program, many of many of whom have intellectual and physical disabilities. The Community Safety Village of York Region includes accessible walkways and accessible playground equipment. Additionally, York Regional Police has also partnered with Community Living in Newmarket and Aurora to provide employment opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. The goal of these partnerships is to promote an accessible and equitable working environment. 
 
Excellence Canada was founded in 1992 by Industry Canada and is an independent, not-for-profit, organization that is committed to advancing organizational excellence across Canada. In 2011, Excellence Canada was selected by Ontario’s Ministry of Community and Social Services to help raise awareness of the province’s AODA to all private sector businesses throughout the province. For more information about Excellence Canada, please visit www.excellence.ca/en/home/