2023-2024 Departmental Results Report at a glance

Our top priorities for 2023 to 2024 were as follows:

1. Support research that informs our standards

• Improve the efficiency of our grants and contributions application process and only invite pre-selected applicants to submit the full application.
• Set research priorities for the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year.

2. Develop standards that remove accessibility barriers

• Recruit members for 4 new technical committees to develop standards on acoustics for the built environment, procurement transportation, program design and service delivery, including customer service.
• Support the 8 technical committees, which were working towards the development of following standards:
  • employment
  • a model standard for the built environment
  • outdoor spaces
  • emergency egress (exit)
  • wayfinding and signage
  • plain language
  • accessibility requirements for information and communications products and services
• Revise the accessible design for self-service interactive devices including automated banking machines (CSA/ASC B651.2) standard.
• Work with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and other standards development organizations to develop a standard on accessible housing.

3. Listen to Canadians, involve them in our work and share information with the public

• Ask Canadians and our stakeholders for their feedback on our programs and standards, including holding our third annual public meeting
• Conduct public reviews for 5 standards including, employment, outdoor spaces, emergency measures, plain language and information and communication technologies
• Launch a centre of expertise – a resource centre hosted on our website, featuring content about accessibility standards and best practices
• Set a direction for our communications by creating a 3-year communication strategy and introducing new communication tools and products
• Extend our social media presence and carry out targeted communications campaigns
• Increase our presence at various events by hosting information booths
• Improve the design and accessibility features of our website and add new accessible communication formats

4. Collaborate with others to bring awareness to our standards

• Hold our second Pan Canadian forum of accessibility standards in collaboration with British Colombia
• Increase collaboration with our Government of Canada portfolio partners, federal organizations, and allies in accessibility

5. Improve internal processes to better support our programs

• Coordinate with other federal partners to explore the creation of a researcher registry, which would allow us to access a pre-screened talent pool of researchers, quickly and transparently
• Acquire tools to support a proactive risk management strategy and compliance to regulations set by the Standards Council of Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat

Departmental result 1: Standards in priority areas contribute to the removal of accessibility barriers.

• We established 3 new technical committees of experts to develop new standards. These committees are focusing on the following areas:
  • accessible and equitable artificial intelligence systems
  • design and delivery of accessible programs and services, including customer service
  • accessible travel journey
• 3 standards were publicly reviewed. These standards focus on the following areas:
  • employment
  • outdoor spaces
  • accessibility requirements for information and communications products and services
• We signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Codes Council, by which we agreed to co-develop a new standard on acoustics in the built environment.
• We signed a memorandum of understanding with UL Standards and Engagement to collaborate on accessibility research standards and development.
• We commenced revision of the accessible design for self-service interactive devices including automated banking machines (CSA/ASC B651.2) standard which we co-developed with CSA Group.
• Provided ongoing support to the technical committees for the following standards which were under development:

Table 1: Standards under development in 2023 to 2024

Departmental result 2: Promote, support, and conduct research to inform the development of standards.

We improved efficiencies in the application process of our grants and contributions programme.

• We held an open call for proposals for research projects. These projects will begin during the 2024 to 2025 fiscal year.
• We funded 24 new research projects in the form of grants and contributions, for a total of $8.5M.

Departmental result 3: Organizations and the public access to online information about accessibility standards, products, services and best practices to identify, remove and prevent accessibility barriers.

• We launched the Centre of Expertise for Standards and Research on Accessibility. This section of our website offers information about our draft standards, funded research projects and best practices, free of charge.
• We published our first Accessibility Progress Report. This report presented the progress made by our organization to implement its 2023 to 2025 Accessibility Plan. Overall, it showed that the implementation of our Accessibility Plan is progressing very well. Of the 24 actions identified in our three-year plan, 92% were completed (22) at the time of reporting. The remaining 2 actions will be completed in 2024 and 2025.
• Adopting best practices, we improved the design and accessibility features of our website and added new accessible communication formats such as translations in American Sign Language (ASL) and Langue des signes québécoise (LSQ) for specific content.
• We extended our social media presence and carried out targeted communications campaigns to increase awareness.
• We increased public engagement activities and visibility by hosting information booths at various Government of Canada events, including but not limited to the Disability and Work in Canada Conference, etc. These activities helped to raise awareness about our organization’s role and the future of accessibility in Canada.

Departmental result 4: The organization’s work in standards increases opportunities for collaboration in advancing a Canada without barriers.

• We continued to work with key federal organizations, which play a key role in advancing accessibility in Canada, including Public Services and Procurement Canada, Shared Services Canada, and the National Research Council.
• We continued to develop and maintain strong bilateral and multilateral partnerships with a particular focus on collaborative relationships with the key organizations involved in implementing the Accessible Canada Act. Specifically:
  • the Chief Accessibility Officer
  • the Office of Public Service Accessibility
  • the Canadian Transportation Agency
  • the Accessibility Commissioner (member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission)
  • the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), and
  • Employment and Social Development Canada.
• We engaged with our provincial and territorial counterparts. In May 2023, we signed a collaborative memorandum of understanding with the government of Manitoba’s Department of Families, bringing the total number of MOUs with our provincial partners to six. In addition, we implemented the agreements we signed with British Columbia, Ontario, and Saskatchewan the previous year.
• We held the 2 ^nd Pan-Canadian Forum on accessibility standards in partnership with the province of British Columbia.
• We held our third annual public meeting with a theme “From words to action: Moving together towards a Canada without barriers”. The meeting featured updates from our Board of Directors and a panel discussion. Three chairs from our technical committees joined the panel to talk about their work.
• We consulted with various stakeholders in the disability community across Canada to gain a deeper understanding of their challenges and priorities, and to inform our work. Our CEO and his team met with over 45 stakeholders, in group and one-on-one meetings and presented at nine disability inclusion conferences.
• We developed new and strengthened existing relationships with leading entities in accessibility on a national and international level. We held several meetings with Canadian industry players and participated in five international conferences, which gave us an opportunity to showcase the novel work we are pioneering.
• We facilitated engagement activities between the Board of Directors and diverse stakeholder groups. The Board of Directors met face-to-face in Newfoundland and Labrador and British Columbia, with the objective of understanding important issues and inform priority setting for the organization.

More information about accessibility standards, progress on results section can be found in the ‘Results – what we achieved’ section of the full departmental results report.