Record of decisions for Board of director's Regular Meeting – March 11 to 13, 2025 – Virtual

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

1. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 48-1 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:05 p.m. EST.

2. Land acknowledgement

3. Board meeting agenda – (Document 3A)

• 48-2 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve to modify the agenda’s order of presentation and the addition of a new item under Other Business.

4 to 8. Consent agenda

• 48-3 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the consent agenda and the Record of Decisions of December 10-12, 2024, with all items therein as presented.

9. Business arising

• Sylvianne Poulin was introduced to the Board of Directors as the new appointed Accessibility Standards Canada’s Chief Financial Officer and General Director of Corporate Services.

10. What’s happening

• Christopher Sutton informed Directors of his recent nomination as the recently appointed Canada’s Accessibility Commissioner at the Canadian Human Rights Commission. Mr. Sutton will resign from ASC’s Board of Directors as of May 4, 2025.
• Action: The Chairperson said he will consult by email to see who would be interested in taking the role of the IAC Chair in replacement of Mr. Sutton.
• Board members shared information on various activities taking place throughout the country associated with the organization’s mandate and on respective professional interests and development.

11. Chairperson’s report – (Document 11A)

• The Chairperson presented his report.
• Action: All Directors are asked to send written activities/engagements ahead of time to the Chairperson to allow sufficient time to incorporate this information in his report.

12. CEO’s report - (Document 12A)

• Dino Zuppa announced his recent nomination as Chief Executive Officer of Accessibility Standards Canada for a five-year term and presented his report.

34A. Jointly developed CSA-D409-motor vehicles transportation – (Document 34A)

• 48-4 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that Accessibility Standards Canada jointly-develop the standard for “D409 motor vehicles for the transportation of persons with physical disabilities” with the CSA group.

15. Items pulled from the consent agenda

• None reported for this meeting.

16. Presentation by the Chief Accessibility Officer - (Document 16A)

• Board members welcomed the presentation by Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer, on her mandate and work.

17. Board performance self-evaluation - final report and recommendations - (Documents 17A and 17B)

• 48-5 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the 2024 Board self-evaluation final report.
• 48-6 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the following actions for consideration:
  • Annual Team Building Exercise: Host a retreat focused on strategic thinking, team building, and identifying priorities for community engagement and accessibility standards. It was clarified that this could take the form of a team building activity at the next in-person meeting.
  • Engagement Dashboard with interested parties: Develop a dashboard to track outreach and engagement efforts, ensuring alignment with the organization’s mission and mandate.
  • Enhanced Governance Toolkit: Provide a comprehensive toolkit for Board members including updated policies, role definitions, and guidelines for effective governance.
  • Board Diversity and GIC Appointments: Advocate for alignment in GIC appointments to better match the Board’s identified profile while ensuring diversity in perspectives and expertise.
• Action: Above recommendations will be considered for the standing committees’ workplans.

28. Generative discussion – (Document 28A)

• Board members agreed that the generative discussion should occur only for in-person Board meetings.

18. Ajournment

• 48-7 Motion presented to adjourn the meeting at 3:30 p.m. EST.

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

19. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 48-8 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:03 p.m. EST.
• 48-9 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that the November 2025 regular Board meeting be scheduled from November 24 to 28, 2025, and to be held in person in the National Capital Region.

20. ASC Roadmap to 2040 – recommendation to proposed approach - (Document 20A)

• 48-10 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve to integrate ASC’s “Roadmap to 2040” with the Accessible Canada Directorate’s roadmap and allow the Directorate to lead the process. However, ASC retains the right to reinstate its own roadmap if, at any point, it determines that its goals and priorities are not adequately represented in the Directorate’s roadmap.
• Action: The Internal Affairs Committee will establish the next steps and the timeline to proceed with the fusion of both roadmaps.

21. Standards development update - (Document 21A)

• A review on the development of standards was presented in view of identifying and implementing various stages for standard development from conception to publication.

23. Discussion with ASC’s Chair of the accessible travel journey technical committee - (Document 23A) 

• Board members welcomed the presentation by Maayan Ziv, Chair of the Accessible travel journey technical committee at ASC.

26A. Board discussion on transportation standards

• Board members discussed ASC’s accessible travel journey standard.

22. Approach to information and communication technologies (ICT) standards - (Document 22A)

• Accessibility Standards Canada presented a 5-year approach on the development of standards related to the information and communication technologies (ICT) priority area in the Accessibility Canada Act.

25. ASC accessible childcare standard - (Document 25A and 25B)

• 48-11 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the proposed scope of work for a standard on Accessible Childcare Centres as presented.

24. Research priority areas for grants and contributions funding cycle 2026-2027 - (Document 24A)

• Recusal: Director Sarah Moore recused herself.
• 48-12 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve up to 4 research areas from the list. Following approval, the selected research areas will be included in the 2026 to 2027 call for proposals.
  1. Automated chatbots and virtual assistants, including virtual assistants using artificial intelligence.
  2. Service delivery for people for temporary or episodic disabilities, including mental health-related disabilities and invisible disabilities.
  3. Addressing attitudinal barriers and ableism.
  4. Environmental sensitivities.

26B. Adjournment

• 48-13 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:25 p.m. EST.

Thursday, March 13, 2025

27. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 48-14 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:03 p.m. EST. A short debriefing session will be added after the presentation of item 33.

29. In-camera session

• 48-15 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board proceed to the in-camera session.
• 48-16 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board close the in-camera session.
• 48-17 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the Chief Executive Officer’s performance assessment for 2024 to 2025 as presented.

13A. By-Law and governance policy - presentation on approach to modifications - (Document 13A) 

• 48-18 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that the Internal Affairs Committee conduct a review of the By-law and the governance policy with the aim to ensure a complete integration of the intersectional decision-making process and the administrative changes in both documents, while simplifying and streamlining them.
• Action: The Internal Affairs Committee will develop a workplan.

14A. Board-CEO communications protocol – agreement on roles and responsibilities

• The Internal Affairs Committee is reviewing the document. Final version will be presented at the June 2025 meeting for approval.

30. ASC annual report 2024-2025 (Draft) - consultation - (Document 30A and 30B)

• Board members provided input on the draft version of Accessibility Standards Canada’s 6^th Annual report.
• The CEO’s office will present the final version of the annual report in English and French for the Board’s approval at the Special meeting scheduled for April 30. 2025.

31. ASC 2025 annual public meeting update – status and new date - (Document 31A)

• 48-19 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the following:
  1. cancellation of the initial date of the Annual Public Meeting on June 11, 2025.
  2. approval of the new date of the Annual Public Meeting on December 2, 2025, with a backup date of December 1, 2025.

32. Communications quarterly update - (Documents 32A)

• An overview of the organization’s social media platforms was presented outlining the organization’s work and social media campaigns on technical committees and standards.

33. Presentation by the Chair/CEO of the Canadian Transportation Agency - (Document 33A)

• Board members welcomed the presentation by France Pégeot and Susan Clarke from the Canadian Transportation Agency.

 34B. Other business

• Board members will send their questions directly to S. Chenier, Manager of Communications, regarding her presentation on the Communications quarterly update.
• Martine Bareil, public officer, was recently appointed as Director of Communications and Outreach in addition to her ongoing position as Chief of Staff to the CEO of Accessibility Standards Canada.

35. Concluding remarks and adjournment

• Haan will present the land acknowledgement at the April 30^th Special Board meeting.
• 48-20 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:30 p.m. EST.