Technical committee on accessibility requirements for Information and Communication Technology Products and Services
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Role
The technical committee’s role is to:
- identify where persons with disabilities may face barriers related to Information and Communication Technology
- take into account emerging accessibility trends in Information and Communications Technology
- develop a national standard or standards that will try to remove or prevent these barriers.
This standard or standards will apply to all private and public sector organizations in the federally regulated sector.
Areas of focus
The technical Committee on Accessibility Requirements for Information and Communication Technology Products and Services will work towards the adoption in its entirety of the European harmonized standard “EN 301 549, Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services”. The adoption of this standard represents a fundamental step in accessible Canadian procurement advancement.
Membership
Experts with disabilities are key to the successful development of accessibility standards. Experts with disabilities as well as other experts would fit into one of the stakeholder categories noted below. A technical committee must have no fewer than 12 and no more than 18 members.
Chairperson and Vice Chairperson
Chairperson: Rylan Vroom
Vice Chairperson: John Weigelt
Group 1: Lived experience and public interest
1. Ms. Jessica Blackwood, Accessible Digital Media Specialist Supervisor, McMaster University
2. Mx. Kelly Johnson, Founder/Principal Consultant, Completely Inclusive
3. Ms. Lisa Snider, Senior Consultant and Trainer, Access Changes Everything Inc.
4. Mr. Rylan Vroom, Digital accessibility Lead, Scotiabank (Chairperson)
5. Ms. Luna Bengio, Senior Accessibility Expert and Strategic Advisor (retired public service executive)
6. Ms. Hannah Stegen, Chief Consultant, CultureAlly Software Inc.
Group 2: General interest
Academic and Research Bodies
7. Mr. David Berman, Principal, David Berman Communications
8. Ms. Karen McCall, Accessible Digital Content Consultant and Educator, Karlen Communications
9. Ms. Jennifer Jahnke, Professor, Coordinator, Lead Researcher, Mohawk College, Accessible Media Production graduate certificate program
Non-Governmental Organizations
10. Dr. Gary Birch, Executive Director, Neil Squire Society
11. Mr. Lui Greco, Manager Regulatory Affairs, CNIB
12. Mr. Alan Bridgeman, Technology Evangelist, National Educational Association of Disabled Students' (NEADS)
Group 3: Policy-makers
Government Bodies and Authorities with Jurisdiction
13. Mr. Arvind Srivastava, Expert Advisor, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
14. Mr. Jeffrey Stark, Program Manager, Accessibility, Accommodation & Adaptive Computer Technology Program (AAACT), Shared Service Canada / Government Of Canada
15. Mr. Robin East, IT Analyst/Developer, Canada Revenue Agency – Accessibility Centre of Excellence
16. Mr. Roch Lambert, IM/IT Manager, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Group 4: Standards users
Federally-Regulated Industries and Workplaces
17. Mr. Brian Moore, Senior Accessibility Specialist, TD Bank
18. Dr. David Fourney, Owner and Senior Accessibility Consultant, Digital Design 4 All Inc.
19. Ms. Michelle Barr, Digital Accessibility, Frameworks & Strategy Lead, CIBC
Business and Industry
20. Dr. Mostafa Aboelneil, User Experience Strategist, Accessibility and Usability Testing consultant, Hexagon ALI
21. M. John Baird, Owner, McLean Consulting Group
22. M. John Weigelt, National Technology Officer, Microsoft Canada (Vice Chairperson)
Accessibility Standards Canada is dedicated to creating committees that reflect the diversity of the Canadian population. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to consider applying to the technical committees.
Frequently asked questions
How will members be chosen?
Accessibility Standards Canada's technical committees have members who are persons with disabilities and stakeholders whose work could be affected by our standards. This means that our committees are well-balanced. It also means that the standards we create are reliable and:
- reflect the needs and perspectives of Canadians with disabilities;
- take into consideration the needs of the organizations which will apply those standards;
- take into consideration the perspectives of partners, including provinces and territories; and
- leads to best practices.
These four aspects will increase the adoption of the standards.
How does the selection process work?
A selection panel reviews all applications and chooses members. We review applications for:
- lived experience of persons with disabilities
- professional experience
- education and training experience
- technical knowledge, and
- stakeholder category
We are creating technical committees with a balance of perspectives. This includes perspectives coming from persons with disabilities and representatives from all stakeholder categories listed in the Membership section above.
Will persons with disabilities be compensated for their work as experts on the committees?
We are following Canadian and international best practices to develop our standards. This means we recruit persons with disabilities and other experts to be sure our committees are balanced. These are volunteer roles, but if an expert with a disability is not paid by an organization, we will pay them for their role on a technical committee.
Will I be reimbursed if there is travel involved?
Committee meetings are currently online. If members eventually need to travel, Accessibility Standards Canada will cover some expenditures, as per the Government of Canada travel directive.
Where will meetings be held?
The safety of our committee members is our priority so committee meetings will take place online for the foreseeable future.
Will meetings be accessible?
Accessibility Standards Canada will work with technical committee members to meet their accessibility needs.