Canada has requirements regarding “accessibility plans. This was first published in December 2021. Here is the main link.
In Brief
- Only federal agencies affected (retailers are not for example)
- These guidance modules are intended for those to whom the Accessible Canada Act applies, including:
- Government of Canada entities, including departments and agencies
crown corporations - every portion of the federal public administration designated under subsection 7(3) of the ACA
- the Canadian Forces
- parliamentary entities
- federally regulated private sector entities
- Government of Canada entities, including departments and agencies
- The regulations set different deadlines for the publication of different entities’ first accessibility plans:
- government entities, including departments, agencies, Crown corporations, or government-related entities such as the Canadian Forces or Parliamentary entities: December 31, 2022
- large federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 100 or more employees: June 1, 2023
- small federally regulated private sector entities with an average of between 10 and 99 employees: June 1, 2024
- Read sections 1 and 2 of the regulations to learn which entities may be exempt from these requirements.
Sample Accessibility Plan Template
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (regulations) require that federally regulated entities prepare and publish accessibility plans. This template is not mandatory, and is provided as a sample that can be used to prepare your organization’s accessibility plan.
The template clearly indicates all of the required content. For example, your plan must include certain headings (“General,” headings respecting the areas described in section 5 of the ACA, and “Consultations”).
The template also includes content that is recommended, but not required. You can adapt this content to reflect your organization’s needs and resources.
You may also be required to include additional content in your plan if your organization is regulated under the Broadcasting Act, the Telecommunications Act, or the Canada Transportation Act. For more information on these requirements, read sections 42 through 68 of the ACA.
“General” (required heading)
This section must include the position title of the person designated by your organization to receive feedback on barriers and your accessibility plans. It must also include the mailing address of your organization’s publicly accessible place of business, a telephone number, and an email address.
Executive summary (recommended subheading)
You could include a short (1 page or less) summary of your accessibility plan. It could give an overview of the major barriers you identified, the steps you will take to remove and prevent them, and a summary of your consultations with people with disabilities.
Accessibility statement (recommended subheading)
You could include a short (1 page or less) statement describing how accessibility fits into your organization’s operations and activities. It should reflect the current regulations and your organization’s long-term goals.
Areas described under section 5 of the ACA (required headings)
You must include a heading for each of the areas described under section 5 of the ACA:
- employment
- the built environment
- information and communication technologies (ICT)
- communication, other than ICT
- the procurement of goods, services and facilities
- the design and delivery of programs and services
- transportation
The ACA requires the publication of an accessibility plan respecting your organization’s policies, programs, practices and services in relation to the identification and removal of barriers, and the prevention of new barriers, in the areas listed above. If you cannot identify any barriers in one of the areas, or if that area is not relevant to your operations, you can note this under the heading. You can also use your consultations with persons with disabilities to ask for advice about barriers within these areas.
It is recommended that you cover the following topics under each area:
- barriers: barriers in each area as identified by employees, clients, consultation participants, or others
- actions: concrete steps you have taken or will take to remove and/or prevent those barriers, including:
- timelines
- roles and responsibilities
- determining and tracking intended outcomes
“Consultations” (required heading)
You must set out the manner in which your organization consulted persons with disabilities in the preparation of your accessibility plan. While maintaining respect for consultation participants’ right to privacy, we recommend that you describe how you consulted (in-person or virtual meetings, surveys, or other means), whom you consulted (individuals, experts, and organizations), and what comments or data you received. You could include more details about your consultations in an annex. ESDC will publish additional guidance on consulting persons with disabilities.
Additional headings (recommended)
Glossary (recommended heading)
You could include definitions of words or expressions in your plan with which people may not be familiar. The definitions should be written in simple, clear, and concise language.
Budget and resource allocation (recommended heading)
You could include a description of the money and resources your organization plans to allocate for accessibility improvements.
Training (recommended heading)
You could include training that you will provide to your staff, such as training about accessibility and about communicating with people with different types of disabilities. You could also include training about intersectionality and unconscious biases.
Areas other than those identified under section 5 of the ACA (recommended heading)
Your organization may identify, remove, or prevent barriers in areas that are not listed in the ACA. You can include headings for these areas, and cover the same topics that are listed above: consultations, barrier descriptions, and actions.
