What is The Accessible Canada Act?
- Accessibility in Canada
- The Accessible Canada Act
- What are the web accessibility requirements under the Act?
- Who must comply with the Accessible Canada Act?
- How will the Accessible Canada Act be enforced?
Accessibility in Canada
According to a 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, 27 percent of Canadians over the age of 15 have a disability — that’s about 8 million people. The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) (“an act to ensure a barrier-free Canada,” previously known as Bill C-81) exists as a supplement to the human rights framework that is already in place to support equality for people with disabilities in Canada.
The Government of Canada works together with the provinces and territories and the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors within the country to improve accessibility and to promote inclusion across the country.
The Accessible Canada Act
On June 20, 2018, the Minister of Science and Sport and Persons with Disabilities, Kirsty Duncan, introduced the ACA bill to parliament. The bill aimed to benefit all Canadians, especially those with disabilities, by helping to create a fully barrier-free Canada by 2040. The bill went into effect and became law in July of 2019.
Background: In preparation for the Accessible Canada Act, in 2016 the Government of Canada consulted Canadians to find out what an accessible Canada meant to them. The results were published in the report “Creating new national security legislation: What we learned from Canadians.”
The areas for accessibility identified by Canadians then formed the foundation for the ACA and underpin its goals to identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers in:
- Built environments, including buildings and public spaces
- Employment, including job opportunities and employment policies and practices
- Information and communication technologies, including digital content and technologies used to access it
- Procurement of goods and services
- Delivering programs and services
- Transportation, including air, rail, ferry, and bus carriers that operate across a provincial or federal border
The Act also includes principles that guide future interpretation. These principles are rooted in the understanding that barriers to accessibility are at the core of inequalities between Canadians with and without disabilities; they’re also in alignment with Canadian and international law and help communicate the goals of the Act. These goals include:
- Inherent dignity
- Equal opportunity
- Barrier-free government
- Autonomy
- Inclusive design
- Meaningful involvement
The Act gives the Government of Canada the ability to work with stakeholders and with Canadians with disabilities to create new accessibility standards and regulations for sectors under federal jurisdiction, including banking, telecommunications, transportation, and the Government of Canada.
As a result, more inclusive communications and engagement between the Government of Canada and organizations operating under federal jurisdiction are expected during interactions with the overall Canadian public.
What are the web accessibility requirements under the ACA?
Website accessibility falls under the “information and communication technologies, including digital content and technologies used to access it.”
Canada has created a “National Standard of Canada,” which is approved for use throughout the country. The decision made by Accessibility Standards Canada was to adopt the European harmonized Standard on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) (EN 301 549), which is a voluntary measure and will apply to all private and public sector organizations in federally regulated sectors, and directly references WCAG 2.1 Level AA. We recommend organizations covered by the Act to conform with this standard.
Who must comply with the ACA
The Act applies to organizations under federal jurisdiction such as:
- Parliament, including the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament, and the Parliamentary Protective Service
- Government of Canada, including government departments, Crown Corporations, and agencies
- Federally regulated private sector entities, including organizations in the transportation sectors, broadcasting and telecommunications services, and the banking and financial sectors
- Canadian Forces and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)
Regulated entities also have the following duties:
- Accessibility plans – Accessibility plans need to be created in consultation with people with disabilities, and they must outline the strategies for improving and meeting legal accessibility duties. Accessibility plans must also be published publicly and updated every three years or sooner, depending on updates to rules.
- Feedback tools – There needs to be a system in place to receive and respond to feedback from employees or customers.
- Progress reports – Reports outlining how accessibility plans are fulfilled must be created in consultation with people with disabilities and describe how they address the main concerns of feedback received.
How is the Accessible Canada Act enforced?
Enforcement of the Act depends on the organization or sector and its responsibilities. For example, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission oversees compliance and enforcement for broadcasting and telecommunications services. Similarly, the Canadian Transportation Agency oversees compliance and enforcement for the transportation sector.
For all other organizations under federal jurisdiction, an Accessibility Commissioner, appointed by the Governor in Council, is responsible for compliance and enforcement.
Additional compliance activities will also be used, including:
- Inspections – Inspections must be held by officers to ensure regulated entities are following the requirements and regulations of the Act
- Compliance audits – Records and other information deemed relevant can be examined by officers
- Compliance orders – Officers can order a start or stop to activities until a regulated entity meets its responsibilities
- Notice of violation with warning – Officers can issue this warning to comply if there is a good reason to believe the entity has violated the law
- Notice of violation with penalty – Officers can issue this notice and a fine if there is a good reason to believe the entity has violated the law
- Administrative monetary penalties – An officer can require the entity to pay a fine of up to $250,000 depending on the severity of non-compliance
- Compliance agreement – Entities can enter into a compliance agreement to agree to address the violation once a notice of violation has been issued
Regulated entities also have the right to appeal decisions or ask for administrative review to make sure there are no errors.
For details on regulations at the provincial level, see this blog article.