The Accessible Canada Act is a landmark legislation that enforces and promotes inclusivity for all Canadians across all protected classes. Enacted in 2019, it offers a vivid framework for removing barriers to accessibility across the public realm, from transportation to the built environment.
Keep reading to learn more about ACA compliance in Canada, including what it is and to whom it applies, its compliance requirements, as well as timelines/key milestones for one of the most essential pieces of anti-discriminatory legislation ever enacted.
Overview of the Accessible Canada Act
Let’s take a deep dive into the Accessible Canada Act, learning more about how it applies, its compliance requirements, timelines/milestones, and the benefits of ACA compliance for businesses and organizations.
What Is The Accessible Canada Act?
The Canadian equivalent of the ADA, the Accessible Canada Act is one of Canada’s most important pieces of legislation that affects the rights of individuals with disabilities.
Since 2019, its provisions have had an outstanding impact, preventing and removing barriers to goods and services across the public sphere, from transportation to employment. Each public product and service must adhere to standards set by the ACA, such as built environment standards like ensuring a minimum number of accessible parking spaces or modified washrooms for mobility-impaired users.
Let’s not forget ICT standards, which mandate accessibility options for websites and digital platforms, such as compatibility with assistive technologies and alternative image text for the visually or cognitively impaired.
Accessibility requirements in Canada promote inclusivity by allowing persons with disabilities free and uninterrupted access to goods and services. However, it applies to everyone, as we will expand upon below.
Who Does It Apply To?
The ACA applies to several parties, including but not limited to the federal government departments, federally regulated entities, transportation providers, federal funding receivers, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, public sector organizations, and persons with disabilities. There are also province-specific mandates like the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
These organizations and government entities are responsible for ensuring that their programs, services, and facilities adhere to the Accessible Canada Act provisions for accessibility plans. When an organization conducts an accessibility audit or identifies barriers, there’s always the opportunity to build or improve upon an existing accessibility plan.
One crucial distinction can be made for organizations that receive funding from the Canadian government. Funding can be contingent upon meeting all Accessible Canada Act requirements. This also applies to Government of Canada suppliers, transportation hubs, and any other brick-and-mortar or digital asset subject to Canadian Government oversight.
Overall, the ACA seeks to promote an inclusive environment for everyone by removing physical barriers to individuals with disabilities and all protected classes.
What Are the ACA’s Compliance Requirements?
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) has several compliance requirements to ensure that there are no discriminatory practices in Canada. They span the physical and digital from brick-and-mortar stores to online marketplaces.
Compliance with accessibility standards under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) are as follows:
Accessible Transportation Standard
One of the critical components of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) is the creation of the Accessible Transportation Standard, which offers a set of guidelines for accessible public transportation. Whether installing wheelchair ramps or lifts for buses and trains, any Canadian transportation agency must strive to provide equal access to goods and services for people with disabilities to enjoy full and equal participation.
Communication Support
Another critical requirement for ACA standards is accessibility to communication technologies. All federally governed businesses and organizations must offer alternative communication formats to the impaired, such as Braille readers, screen readers, or other assistive technologies to better interpret signage, website content, and other communication.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
The Canadian government strongly advocates Web Content Accessibility Guidelines to inform UI design standards, technology compatibility, and ensure the perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust standards are correctly enforced.
A Word on the Accessibility Commissioner
The ACA also oversees the establishment of an Accessibility Commissioner, who oversees compliance by investigating complaints, conducting compliance audits, and issuing compliance orders.
For example, a 100-year-old building may not have sufficient handicap ramp entry for wheelchair users, which may force the accessibility commissioner to investigate and take subsequent remedial action.
Procurement
To obtain valuable contracts with government agencies, public entities, and typical private businesses, vendors must operate websites that comply with WCAG guidelines. Similarly, any entities that receive government funding could have their funds withdrawn if they have inaccessible websites.
Timeline and Key Milestones of the Accessible Canada Act
Here’s the timeline of the Accessible Canada Act with crucial milestones:
- Introduction of Bill C-81: In June 2018, this legislation proceeded with the Accessible Canada Act, which introduced a legal framework to promote web accessibility across all aspects of the public domain. Think of this as the first legislative proposal, with the Accessible Canada Act being the result.
- Accessible Canada Act: Two years later, Bill C-81 was morphed into the Accessible Canada Act, with all its provisions aimed at addressing barriers and promoting inclusivity for all individuals with disabilities in Canada.
- Creation Of The Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization (CASDO): The CASDO is a group of advisory committees that makes and enforces accessibility standards. They consult with several key stakeholders (including individuals with disabilities) to refine policies and procedures. From there, CASDO works closely with the Canadian government in an advisory role to inform policy and implement accessibility standards.
- Establishment of Chief Accessibility Officer: The Accessibility Commissioner is responsible for promoting the Accessible Canada Act and enforcing all of its standards. The position was established in 2019. As of the current date, Michael Gottheil holds the distinction of being Canada’s inaugural and sole Chief Accessibility Officer/Accessibility Commissioner.
Benefits of ACA Compliance for Businesses
Keeping the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) at the forefront of your business will produce several benefits, such as an improved brand reputation and higher traffic numbers, thanks to providing web accessibility to the 15% of the population that have disabilities. Here are our favorite benefits of ACA compliance for businesses:
Reduces Legal Liability
ACA compliance for businesses can help stifle lawsuits from regulatory bodies and plaintiffs funding expensive lawsuits for damages in the thousands or even millions of dollars. By complying with Federal accessibility legislation, you’re in the clear.
Better UI
The ACA allows persons with disabilities to enjoy improved accommodations in the physical and digital world. For example, doorways enable wheelchair users to access public spaces easily. In turn, the impaired can eventually benefit from the alternative text for images that decipher audio and video with a written caption. These accessibility improvements are designed to increase traffic to digital websites, resulting in higher revenue, boosted SEO, and an ever-improving brand reputation.
WCAG Guidelines Help Everyone
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the basis for creating web-compliant websites and digital applications. Applying their principles leads to improved user experience, higher traffic, increased compliance, and a favorable brand image. Some of the ways this is achieved are by sharing alternative text or images, keyword compatibility, descriptive headings, semantic HTML markup, and cutting visibility users.
Importance of Website Accessibility and Accessible Design
Website accessibility and accessible design allow individuals with visual, mobile, cognitive, and other impairments to enjoy equal website access. The principles of Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust form web accessibility guidelines:
Perceivable
This works on the premise that individuals with disabilities should easily interpret a website’s content and function through various tools, such as alternative text to better understand an image, caption media, and high-contrast text and images for the visually impaired.
Operable
Operable means providing the tools needed to interact with your website, ensuring that interactive elements can be accessed via the keyboard with adjustable time limits and extra options like forgoing navigation links to bring the user what they need more quickly. A consistent navigation structure has a vital role as well.
Understandable
Understandable means presenting content in a clear, easy-to-read format with scripting headings and labels. If there are no consistent design patterns throughout the website, consider them inaccessible.
Robust
Robust expands on Operable and Understandable, but by finding the totality of all the features in place for persons with disabilities. This also incorporates a menu and automated accessibility testing to identify any barriers on the website. Many sites, such as Axe and Lighthouse, can scan websites. Let us know what website accessibility guidelines you are not following.
By following the principles of accessibility and accessible design, you’ll be on your way to adjusting the needs of a particular group of individuals looking for full and equal enjoyment of your goods and services.
Training and Resources for Implementing Accessibility Best Practices
One of the best ways to get started ith web accessibility is by downloading the Accessibly low-cost accessibility app.
Accessibly offers a robust set of features to help websites increase WCAG and ADA compliance, allowing business owners and web developers to add inverted colors, additional reading lines, larger cursors, contrast options, and more.
Sign up with Accessibly today and enjoy a free trial before committing to a subscription!
