Accessibility Standards Canada: Accessibility Plan

We are proud to share Accessibility Standards Canada’s Accessibility Plan. Accessibility Standards Canada is a one of a kind organization. The organization was created through the passage of the Accessible Canada Act (the Act) in 2019. Our mandate is to contribute to a Canada without barriers by 2040. We do this through:

• developing and reviewing accessibility standards for organizations under federal jurisdiction;
• supporting research on the identification, removal, and prevention of barriers; and
• sharing best practices about the removal of barriers.

While we are a small organization with just over 50 employees, people with disabilities lead Accessibility Standards Canada at all levels:

• the Board of Directors is majority-led by people with disabilities;
• people with disabilities make up approximately a quarter of our workforce;
• people with disabilities comprise 50% of technical committee members; and
• people from diverse disability communities provide feedback on our draft standards.

This sort of representation of people with lived experience is well above the labour market availability and a great source of pride for us. We truly embody the principle of ‘nothing without us’.

For all aspects of our work, we put the principle into practice. This plan was no different. We brought together key players in our organization to create the plan: employees, technical committee members, and Board members.

As a fairly new and growing organization, we strive to build a strong, diverse, and talented workforce. We want to embed accessibility, diversity, equity and inclusion into all aspects of our work.

For instance, our new permanent office space in Gatineau exemplifies ‘accessibility by design’. It has been built to be accessible for people with a wide range of disabilities. It embodies the Act’s principle that all persons must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society, regardless of their disabilities.

Accessibility Standards Canada’s first Accessibility Plan will guide us as we continue addressing barriers in the priority areas under the Act. This first iteration of our plan is one of the many ways we implement our vision, mission, and values.

We are committed to combatting accessibility barriers to achieve a truly accessible Canada. We are listening to what people with disabilities in our organization are saying and taking action.

Accessibility Standards Canada commits to work with employees, committee members and all stakeholders. “Committee members” include technical committees, advisory committees, task groups, working groups and any other organizational committees.

We commit to excellence in accessibility, through:

• Ensuring that people with disabilities can access and experience any of our activities.
• Ensuring that everyone is treated respectfully. Diversity is welcomed.

We believe in full inclusion. We will identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. These barriers stop people from:

• sharing their expertise
• participating
• being independent
• being involved

We are a leader in accessibility standards. We show what it means to be barrier-free and inclusive. We will have barrier-free and inclusive:

• work areas
• meetings and activities
• communication
• information
• resources
• human resource policies

Accessibility Standards Canada’s mandate is to contribute to a barrier-free Canada by 2040. Accessibility is what we are about. Employees with disabilities formed a working group to develop our first accessibility plan. They consulted colleagues, technical committee members and the Board of Directors to gather feedback on accessibility issues. The plan is based on this feedback. (See Appendix A for details on the consultations.)

As required by the Accessible Canada Act, we will publish a progress report every year that shows how we have moved forward on our commitments in the plan. We will update our plan every three years. We will also measure the overall progress of our plan and how it influences the culture and experiences of our organization.

We are committed to providing our employees with a barrier-free experience so that everyone has what they need to do their best work. We recently developed “Accessibility Standards Canada Code of Values and Ethics” to show our commitment to promoting inclusion in the work place.

Objective

• To enhance recruitment, retention, training, advancement, job satisfaction and support of employees with disabilities.

Barrier 1

• Inflexible and often inaccessible application and hiring procedures within Government.

Actions

• Applicants can submit documents to us in their preferred format.
• We will provide the name and position of the person to contact for more information about the job poster.
• We will provide accommodations throughout the application and hiring process.

Barrier 2

• Not reaching out to potential candidates with disabilities.

Action

• Our human resources department will fine tune the recruitment strategy to broaden our talent pool to include more people with disabilities.

Barrier 3

• Using outdated or inappropriate language when speaking about people with disabilities.

Actions

• We will continue to educate employees, especially those who are new to the organization, about disability awareness and appropriate terminology.
• We will make inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility allyship (IDEA) as an organization-wide competency.

Barrier 4

• Transitioning from education to employment for youth with disabilities comes with many challenges.

Action

• Add accessible employment for youth with disabilities transitioning from school to work as a priority area for our research funding program.

Our new office is a model for accessibility in the workplace. We are located at 320 St. Joseph Blvd, Gatineau, Quebec.

Objective

• To offer the highest level of accommodation for employees and guests, including the Board of Directors and technical committee members, with disabilities to use the facility based on available technology and standards.

Barrier

• Certain elements of the office may not yet be fully accessible to everyone, whether that be employees or guests.

Actions

• We will implement recommendations from employees taking part in the pilot return to the office project.
• We will feature our facility to other government departments and agencies to encourage a higher level of accessibility in future fit ups or new builds.

Information and communication technologies (ICT) covers all the hardware and software we use which allows our staff and stakeholders to share or do their work.

For example:

• our website
• our web applications, like Outlook
• documents we use like PDF and MS Word files, and presentations like PowerPoint
• staff mobile phones and tablets 
• virtual meeting platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams

Objective

• Employees and stakeholders can use ICT to engage in their work.

Barrier 1

• Lack of knowledge or experience in the latest accessibility technology, which is always evolving.

Action

• We will provide training opportunities on accessible ICT.

Barrier 2

• Procurement of software that is sometimes incompatible with the needs of people with disabilities.

Actions

• We will coordinate software procurement in consultation with the intended user.
• We will include an accessibility assessment of ICT set up in the onboarding process.

We use a number of communication supports and accessible formats to provide our staff and stakeholders with information. This information includes:

• Documents
• Announcements
• Memos and forms
• Presentations and videos
• Handouts or discussions at meetings
• Policies and guidelines

Objective

• Employees and stakeholders have the knowledge they need to do their work.

Barrier

• Employees and stakeholders sometimes experience inaccessible information and cannot complete their work.

Actions

• The communications team will stay informed about new communications tools that could help us provide accessible information to employees.
• We will consult staff and stakeholders on which format(s) and support(s) would meet their needs.
• We will continue to provide employee training on plain language and making documents accessible.

Our procurement activities relate to the purchase of services and products. They extend to Board and technical committee members, and the public accessing our programs and services.

Objective

• To embed accessibility into our procurement philosophy.

Barrier

• Accessibility is not always considered during the procurement process due to lack of knowledge and understanding.

Actions

• We will equip employees involved in the procurement of accessible products and services with knowledge to understand the needs of people with disabilities.
• We will seek services from providers who have values in line with ours whenever possible.  
• We will conduct an accessibility assessment of equipment and products purchased for employees. We will replace items that are not accessible if possible.
• We will include information on the Accessible Canada Act, disability, accessibility and human rights in our on-boarding training.

We will achieve our mandate to contribute to a barrier-free Canada by 2040, in part, by the accessible delivery of our programs and services. This includes the design and delivery of our standards development and grants and contributions programs.

We developed policies to make sure accessibility is at the core of the delivery and design of our programs. Our “Accessibility Policy and Guidelines” lays out a framework committing to excellence in accessibility. It supports our employees, technical committee members, members of the Board, and stakeholders so that they can access and experience any of our activities.

Accessibility Standards Canada strives to meet the needs of the Board of Directors and technical committee members.

Examples of accessible practices to support the Board of Directors:

• An employee discusses the individual member’s needs for travel and accommodation before making the arrangements.
• Documents for meetings are provided in plain language, as needed. 
• Board documents are verified for accessible formatting. 
• American Sign Language or Langue des signes québécoise is provided, as needed.
• Venues are chosen based on accessibility requirements.

Examples of accessible practices to support technical committees: 

• Documents provided in PDF format are remediated for accessibility.
• During virtual meetings, material shared on the screen is announced.

Objective

• Canadians are able to access and experience our programs.

Barrier

• Shared information is not always provided in formats that meet the needs of all users.

Actions

• We will include accessibility requirements for accommodations in the Standards Development Operating Procedures (SDOR) used by employees to support the Board of Directors and technical committees. 
• We will provide guidance materials in plain language.
• We will publish standards in accessible formats.
• We will conduct future surveys with employees, technical committee members and the Board of Directors. Through the survey results, we will see how we can improve accessibility in the design and delivery of our programs and services.

Objective

• Employees and guests can access our premises autonomously.

Barrier 1

• Employees and guests are unable to locate the office in the shopping mall.

Action

• We will provide clear instructions and have an employee meet guests at the main entrance and guide them to the office entrance.

Barrier 2

• Insufficient parking or lack of accessible parking spaces nearby.

Action

• There is a commercial parking lot next to the office. We will ask management to add additional accessible parking spaces requiring a tag.

While accessibility may be our reason for being, it does not mean there is no room for improvement in our policies and practices. At the time of drafting this first Accessibility Plan, Accessibility Standards Canada is heading into its fourth year of existence. We have learned many lessons along the way so far. From the first meeting of the Board of Directors, where we learned the importance of making sure the height of the table would be comfortable for someone using a wheelchair, to finding new ways to include our technical committee experts regardless of their type of disability, we are committed to improvement.

Accessibility Standards Canada is grateful to the employees, Board members and technical committee members who took the time to respond to the survey. While this first Accessibility Plan tries to summarize the overarching barriers that were flagged, no comments were ignored. We also learn so much as we meet with diverse disability stakeholder groups and portfolio partners in the course of our work. We look forward to receiving feedback on additional measures we can take. Thank you all for helping us grow. Together, we can lead the way to an accessible Canada.

Accessibility Plan Working Group

Accessibility Standards Canada established the Accessibility Plan Working Group in 2021 to prepare our first Accessibility Plan. We wanted to inform the plan through consulting with persons with disabilities involved with the organization.

Five members of staff made up the working group and each member had lived experience with a disability. They met regularly to guide and prepare the plan for publishing.

Consultations

The working group consulted stakeholders by way of a targeted online survey to inform the plan. They identified three sets of stakeholders who identified as having disabilities. They were:

• employees
• technical committee members
• Board of Director members

A consultant interviewed Managers and Directors about the organization’s accessibility policies and practices. They shared information on barriers at work and put forward possible solutions. They also provided recommendations on how the organization could improve its accessibility.  

We used information from the consultations and interviews to inform this Accessibility Plan.