La Financière agricole du Québec

• Implementation of the 2010-2011 Action Plan for Handicapped Persons
  
• General access to our services
• Accessibility of our premises
• Documentation for the general public
• Procurement of goods and services
• Employee hiring and reintegration
• Dissemination of information concerning the role of the coordinator
• 2011-2012 Action Plan for Handicapped Persons
  

Implementation of the 2010-2011 Action Plan for Handicapped Persons

The fifth version of the Action Plan was adopted in April 2010. The plan outlined possible actions to be undertaken by the organization during that year to ensure the accessibility of its services to the public as a whole. It was published on the FADQ website and his intranet.

This plan was reviewed and updated in the present document. It outlines the actions to be undertaken with respect to this file during the 2011-2012 year.

General access to our services

A note to the effect that our agency facilitates access by handicapped persons to our different services makes up an integral part of our Customer Service Commitment, which was distributed to all staff members in April 2010.

A page concerning the accessibility of our services to handicapped persons was added to our web site. Among other things, the page allows the contents to be adapted to make them accessible to persons with a visual impairment.

The Action Plan Regarding Handicapped Persons of La Financière agricole has been available on our website since June 2010.

Employees were informed of the possibility of offering the services of an interpreter to clients who express the need; no requests of that nature have been received. If need be, however, one of our representatives could go to the home of a hearing-impaired client.

Our system for following up complaints lodged by handicapped clients did not register any complaints for the current year.

Accessibility to our premises

According to universal criteria, our establishments meet all requirements and even in certain cases surpass them. As such, at all FADQ establishments:

• one or more parking spaces are reserved for the handicapped. At the request of an employee who uses a wheel chair, La Financière agricole took special means during the winter to make certain that the access to the reserved parking spaces was functional;
• there is guaranteed architectural accessibility to the premises (elevator, accessible bathroom facilities, etc.);
• visual signalling is provided; and
• a customer-reception service is offered.

In addition, it is common practice to travel to company locations in order to meet with clients. This practice greatly facilitates access to our services for people whose mobility may be reduced.

In keeping with our mission and in conjunction with the Société Immobilière du Québec (SIQ), we focus on possible ways of increasing the number of adapted facilities during the holding of competitive bidding for new premises.

Documentation designed for the general public

All information documents designed for the public, as well as the administrative documents produced for our clients, now mention that they can be provided in an adapted form upon request.  No such request has been received to date.

Procurement of goods and services

Whenever possible, La Financière agricole does business with suppliers who hire handicapped persons to provide services.

In keeping with the government’s orientations, purchasing policy, and the resulting rules and procedures, our agency is attentive to this reality and continues to take it into account in our administrative procedures for awarding contracts.

Employees of the Human Resources Branch and the Financial and Material Resources Branch met with representatives from the Conseil québécois des entreprises adaptées that presented their services along with a list of 42 businesses that employ a minimum of 60% of handicapped persons. These businesses will be considered, within the scope of their respective activities, when awarding contracts. La Financière agricole already deals with one of the businesses for its cleaning and office maintenance and also awarded a contract for the purchase of supplies.

Employee hiring and reintegration

Concerning employee hiring and reintegration, La Financière agricole has become aware of ways that it can offer measures adapted to handicapped persons.

• During recruitment or promotion competitions, assessment methods may be adapted for handicapped persons. La Financière agricole responded positively to a request for an adaptation during the year.
• The names of handicapped individuals who appear on a capability statement list are referred as a priority during the job-placement process.
• We have ensured that, for each establishment, there are multipliers capable of assessing the ergonomics of a work station. Nineteen persons were trained and can respond to any requests pertaining to the adaptation of work stations in the establishments of La Financière agricole. This year, two work stations were adapted to promote job integration by two handicapped persons.
• One handicapped person successfully completed a one-year internship, through the Programme de développement de l’employabilité à l’intention des personnes handicapées (employability development program for handicapped persons), at the Financial Information Processing Branch.
• Again this year, La Financière agricole offered all its managers the possibility of participating in the Programme de développement de l’employabilité à l’intention des personnes.  No job project was submitted in 2010-2011.
  

Dissemination of information concerning the role of the coordinator and awareness activities

As required by the Act, a human resource management advisor will be appointed as a coordinator of this file at FADQ.

To increase our personnel's awareness, in the framework of the Semaine québécoise des personnes handicapées 2010 (2010 Disability Awareness Week), the 2010-2011 Action Plan for Handicapped Persons was published on the Intranet of La Financière agricole. In addition, an article signed by our vice-president of corporate affairs was published in the internal newsletter L'Expresso. Posters promoting the Semaine québécoise des personnes handicapées were also posted in different places throughout the head office.