Accessible Highlands

Advert seeking people to help make Highlands accessible and inclusive.

Call for a Citizen Representative!

The District of Highlands is still seeking a community member to join the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee.

If you're passionate about accessibility and want to make a difference, we’d love to hear from you!

Reach out to our office to express interest or apply at accessibility@highlands.ca.

Committee Member Application

Committee Terms of Reference

Focus on Accessibility

In 2021, the Province of British Columbia passed the Accessible BC Act requiring municipalities to develop a plan that addresses accessibility to municipal services, programs, and infrastructure. Everyone will experience permanent, temporary, or episodic impairments over their lifetime either personally, or through caring for someone else. By focusing on accessibility, we can work towards becoming a municipality where every person is able to participate fully and equally and is empowered to pursue the life they wish to live.

How to Provide Feedback

Email: accessibility@highlands.ca
Phone: 250-474-1773
In Person/Mail: 1980 Millstream Road, Victoria BC, V9B 6H1

Accessibility Plan

The draft Accessibility Plan is available: Draft Accessibility Plan

To improve accessibility to our municipal services, facilities, and natural and built environments, the District of Highlands has developed an Accessibility Plan to identify and reduce challenges people experience with our:

Information
Communications
Technologies
Policies
Practices; and
Infrastructure

Once developed, it will also help to inform the planning of future activities with a long-term goal of becoming a barrier-free community.

The Accessible BC Act identifies eight standards for inclusion in a long-term Plan. The first iteration of our Plan will focus on the first two of those standards: Employment and Service Delivery. It will take time to eliminate barriers, however the Plan is the first step in identifying how we can improve accessibility going forward.

The Plan must be reviewed and updated every three years and will incorporate information gathered through multiple public engagement opportunities. Opportunities will be advertised on this page as they are scheduled.

A critical part of developing, monitoring, and updating the Accessibility Plan is receiving valuable feedback from people experiencing barriers. While the first term of the Plan is internally focused, public input is always welcomed and appreciated. Sharing your experiences in or interacting with the municipality will help us to identify barriers and improve accessibility for all people.

Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee

Public Engagement

In July 2024, the Capital West Accessibility Advisory Committee, with the assistance of consultants Changing Paces, conducted a series of seven public engagement sessions to receive feedback on accessibility barriers and solutions in all seven partner municipalities. A summary of the feedback, produced by Changing Paces, can be found below. The feedback we received at these engagement sessions will inform the development of our initial Accessibility Plan. Once completed, a copy of the Accessibility Plan will be shared on this page.

Community Engagement Report

Two engagement surveys were conducted in 2024. Survey 1 was initiated to understand how to best engage the broader accessibility community. Survey 2 asked respondents for their accessibility experiences respecting each member municipality and will inform the upcoming facilitated engagement sessions and assist with the development of an Accessibility Plan for the Township.

Survey 1 Engagement Summary

Survey 2 Engagement Summary

Community Accessibility Resources