Record of decisions for Board of director's Regular Meeting - September 17 to 19, 2024 – Virtual

Note

This “Record of Decisions” documents the decisions that were taken and any actions that were tasked by the Board during the Board meeting. With the intention of being short and concise, it does not capture the information that was presented or the discussions that occurred at the meeting.

Tuesday, September 17, 2024

1. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 46-1 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:10 p.m. EST.

2. Land acknowledgement

3. Introduction of new Board members

4. Board meeting agenda – (Document 4A)

• 46-2 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the agenda as presented.

5. Consent Agenda

• 46-3 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the consent agenda with items 5A (Board minutes of June 18-20, 2024) and 10A (Board Forward Agenda) pulled out for further discussion.

6. What’s happening?

7. Chairperson’s report – (Document 12A)

8. CEO’s report (Documents 13A and 13B)

• Board members expressed interest in learning more about standards, processes for standards, and the Grants and Contributions program.
• The document 13B (3-year Strategic Plan 2023-2026 on CEO reporting) will be discussed at item 35 of the agenda (3-year Strategic Plan Reporting Process).

9. Conflict of Interest

• ASC staff is working on further developing conflict of interest policies and will provide an update at the December Board meeting including dedicated e-mails and signature blocs.

10. Items pulled from the Consent agenda

• Item 5A - Minutes of June 2024:
  • 46-4 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to modify the wording of the second last paragraph of item #19 in the minutes of June 18-20, 2024.
  • On Day 2 of the Board meeting, P. Walsh and C. Sutton will present modifications of the paragraph and proceed to voting for approval.
• Item 10A - Board Forward Agenda:
  • The Internal Affairs Committee will review what should be the content of the Consent Agenda and if a separate section of the agenda should be reserved for items that are for information only.

11. Built environment approach – (Document 17A)

12. Built environment code change requests to national building code – (Document 18A)

• 46-5 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board direct Accessibility Standards Canada staff to develop approach and steps on how to approach the provinces to present changes to the national building codes.
• In document 18A, section CCR09, it was recommended to modify the term “wheelchair user” to “persons using a wheelchair”.
• It was agreed by all Board members that agenda item #20 will be presented on Day 2 of this meeting, and item #19 will be presented at the December 2024 Board meeting.

13. Board approval of Jointly developed standards – (Document 21A)

• 46-6 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that Accessibility Standards Canada proceeds to develop standards jointly with other standards development organizations that incorporate ASC’s values.

14. Release of Artificial intelligence technical guide – (Documents 22A and 22B)

• The technical guide will be available for people with disabilities to help navigate the world of artificial intelligence.

15. Standards development update – (Document 23A)

• ASC staff provided an overview on the latest standards ready for publication or for public review this year and next year.

16. Adjournment

• 46-7 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:58 p.m. EST.

Wednesday, September 18, 2024

17. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 46-8 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:05 p.m. EST.
• 46-9 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that Board approve the Board minutes of June 18-20, 2024, with modification to the 2^nd last paragraph of item 9 to read as follows:

“Board members expressed concerns that parts of the in-person meeting were canceled due to a lack of communication access and the assumption that additional audio-visual and support would be needed. They emphasized that, as an organization setting the gold standard for accessibility, all aspects of future in-person Board meetings must be fully inclusive. The Board requested that every component of future meetings, regardless of the event or location, be fully accessible, inclusive, and equitable for all attendees.”

18. By-law and Governance policy amendments (Board Self-evaluation process) - (Documents 26A, 26B and 26C)

• 46-10 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the modified By-law and Governance Policy as presented.

19. Appointment to Standing committees including Chair of the External Affairs Committee – (Document 27A)

• The Chairperson asked Directors to inform him by email of their preference to which Standing committee they choose to join, as well as the skills and experience they can contribute. Directors proposed to review the composition and roles of both Standing Committees and how to best share responsibilities equally. The membership vote will be held by email.
• October 1, 2024, Board email vote results:
  • 46-19-1 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the appointment/reappointments of Directors to two Standing Committees for a 2-year term ending September 25, 2026, as follows:
    • Internal Affairs Committee: Maureen Haan, Mojgan Yazdani-Seysan, Sarah Ève De Lisle and Dr. Joe McLaughlin.
    • External Affairs Committee: Matthew Shaw, Lucille Berlinguette-Saumure, Dr. Sarah Moore and Bill Adair.
  • 46-19-2 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that Board members approve the extension of Bill Adair as Chair of the External Affairs Committee till December 30, 2024.

20. Board meeting calendar 2025 to 2026 – Update

• The Internal Affairs Committee will present the 2025-2026 Board meeting calendar at the December 2024 meeting. They will consult with the External Affairs Committee and take into consideration the planification of the 2025 ASC Annual Public Meeting.

21. Director-Stakeholder Engagement Handbook - (Documents 29A and 29B)

• 46-11 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the Director-Stakeholder Engagement Handbook and that it replaces all previous Board-approved documents related to Director-stakeholder engagement. It is understood that the word “stakeholder” may be replaced after further consideration.
• It was proposed to include in the handbook the timelines for submission of forms/documents and indicate response time-allocation for approval of requests.
• Board recommended the review of the use of the term “stakeholder” and explore if another term can be utilized in the Handbook and in ASC’s documentation. Ms. Berlinguette-Saumure and Dr. Moore volunteered to contribute via standing committees to find other terms for “stakeholders”.
• ASC staff will send link to all Board members on article “Reimagining the language of engagement in a post-stakeholder world” - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-024-01496-4)

22. Board self-assessment process (Step 1 of 3) – (Documents 31A and 31B)

• 46-12 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that the Internal Affairs Committee continue with the current Board self-assessment process. The questionnaire will be sent out in one week.

23. Recommendation for supporting the use of CAN/ASC 2.8: Accessible-ready housing and CSA/ASC-B652:23 Accessible dwellings – (Documents 20A, 20B, 20C, 20D and 20E)

• 46-13 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the use of public review version of CAN/ASC 2.8: Accessible-Ready Housing by federal government departments and federally regulated entities.
• 46-14 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board support the use of CSA/ASC-B652:23 Accessible Dwellings standard by federal government departments and federally regulated entities.

24. Accessible Canada Act and Accessible Canada Directorate – (Document 32A)

Ms. Bhawal-Montmorency, Director General of the Accessible Canada Directorate, gave a virtual presentation followed by a question-and-answer period with members of the Board of Directors.

25. Adjournment

• 46-15 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 3:48 p.m. EST.

Thursday, September 19, 2024

26. Welcoming remarks and roll call

• 46-16 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all to open the meeting at 12:05 p.m. EST.

27. 3-year Strategic plan reporting process – (Documents 35A and 35B)

• 46-17 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve that the status of the Strategic Plan’s initiatives is reported quarterly using the Internal Affairs Committee drafted template with proposed modifications, as a guide.
• The IAC will determine who will be responsible to complete the strategic plan reporting at the Committee, Board and CEO’s office levels.

28. ASC’s 2024 Annual public meeting report – (Document 36A)

• Date for the 2025 APM should be planned with consideration of other activities held around and during the AccessAbility week.

29. Communications quarterly report – (Document 38A)

• Outreach to participants through the organization’s social media platforms was consistent throughout the summer period.
• Action: ASC staff will report to Board members in December 2024 on outcome of external consultants’ review of the organization’s website.

30. Public review consultation pilot (Document 39A)

• 46-18 Motion presented, seconded, and carried by all that the Board approve the pilot project to hold virtual town hall meetings to gather input from the public on the draft standard for wayfinding and signage.

31. Concluding remarks

• Haan will schedule a meeting to review the Strategic plan and how it relates to ASC’s Roadmap to 2040 with interested Board members and the CEO.

32. In-camera session

• Board members proceeded to meet in-camera for discussion. No motion was presented.

33. Adjournment

• 46-19 Motion presented and seconded to adjourn the meeting at 2:30 p.m. EST.