Over the past decade, Canada has made significant strides in enforcing website accessibility laws to remove all barriers for individuals with disabilities.
Led by the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), this piece of national accessibility legislation ensures that barriers are removed across seven key federal areas, including, but not limited to, employment, communication, and the procurement of goods and services.
Many provinces have also worked to introduce digital accessibility legislation. For example, Ontario’s Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) governs accessibility standards for public sector organizations and private businesses. At the same time, these Canadian accessibility laws create a framework to ensure individuals with disabilities have equal and full access to the digital environment and physical spaces.
Keep reading to learn more about Canada’s accessibility laws, including key provisions of the ACA, provincial accessibility laws, implications of non-compliance for Canadian businesses, and how website accessibility overlay widgets like Accessibly can help you comply with web accessibility laws.
Introduction to Accessibility Laws in Canada
As mentioned, the Accessible Canada Act is federal legislation that establishes the legal framework for removing physical, digital (including mobile apps), and systemic barriers for individuals with disabilities in the country, allowing them access to goods, services, and opportunities.
Enacted in 2019, the ACA accessibility legislation tries to remove digital and web accessibility barriers across seven key areas, including employment, the built environment, information and communication technologies, communication, design and delivery of programs and services, and transportation.
In addition to the Accessible Canada Act, there are also regional accessibility standards. One example is the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act. Enacted in 2017, it sets clear accessibility standards for the region with the goal of making the province fully accessible by the year 2030 in several different fields, including transportation, education, and employment. Just as much attention is paid to local laws as there is to national laws.
With 98% of websites not complying with WCAG version 2.1, Canadian accessibility has never been more important.
The Accessible Canada Act
Key provisions of the Accessible Canada Act and accessibility standards Canada include proactive compliance, where federally chartered organizations, such as telecom providers, must make accessibility plans and progress reports widely available. These plans have to clearly state all barriers present within an organization along with ways compliance will be achieved. These plans must clearly define barrier definitions (e.g., technological obstacles within an organization, along with methods of compliance).
For example, supermarkets may have accessibility gaps with a lack of wheelchair ramps or accessible washrooms that present physical barriers for individuals with disabilities. The same applies to digital spaces, where websites can lack compatibility with assistive technology like screen readers, as well as poor keyboard navigation that does not allow the mobility impaired to browse websites with the same vigor and speed as non-disabled people.
One of the most significant components of the Accessible Canada Act and Canada website accessibility laws is how it defines barriers. For example, physical barriers are obstacles within a built environment that prevent individuals with disabilities from enjoying full access to facilities, e.g., a lack of accessible washrooms or no ramps at supermarkets. Other barriers, such as technological barriers, exist in digital spaces, including websites that lack compatibility with assistive technology, have poor keyboard navigation, and similar barriers.
Another type of barrier worth mentioning is communication barriers. Sometimes, public spaces lack sign language interpretation or other communication methods, making it difficult for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to access them.
The Canadian Accessibility Act aims to ensure that all organizations comply with and assess accessibility within their organizations to promote full inclusivity for a diverse group of people.
Moreover, the ACA is enforced by the Accessibility Commissioner, who is responsible for investigating complaints, issuing compliance orders, and levying penalties against businesses, with fines reaching up to $250,000 per violation. Additionally, the Commissioner is responsible for publishing reports that provide insight into enforcement activities and works to increase public awareness, no matter who is overseeing federally regulated organizations, private sectors, or federal government websites.
The ACA is responsible for promoting inclusivity within Canada’s federal sphere, allowing organizations to serve a broader audience, increasing retention, and improving their brand reputation.
Compliance Requirements
Complying with the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) requires ongoing adoption of best practices to remove barriers and ensure all individuals with disabilities have equitable access to web pages and mobile applications.
Here are the steps needed by every organization to comply with this standard on web accessibility:
Conducting Accessibility Audits
All compliance starts with a thorough accessibility audit that uncovers barriers for individuals with disabilities across digital platforms and physical locations.
For example, websites may suffer from incompatibility with assistive technology like screen readers or a lack of keyboard navigation. In contrast, physical locations may lack signage and dedicated service areas for people who use wheelchairs.
E-commerce web content may lack high-contrast text and clear form instructions, which can prevent visually-impaired individuals from accessing essential information, such as mortgage or savings account details. In this case, a comprehensive accessibility audit, encompassing both manual and automated testing, must be conducted to identify accessibility gaps and work towards improvement.
By establishing regular audits, organizations can prioritize changes, provide equal access, and create a clear plan for addressing accessibility, allocating resources as needed.
Developing Accessibility Plans
Once a successful accessibility audit has been completed, organizations must develop accessibility plans, which clearly outline objectives and timelines for completion. One added benefit is the ability to share these plans publicly with users as stakeholders, improving brand reputation and trust.
Another aspect of developing accessibility plans and policies is providing employees with training. All staff should be fully trained in addressing individuals with disabilities and providing the best support for accessible services. A second example is retail employees conducting ongoing training to educate customers and staff on the proper use of signage or text communication tools for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.
One example of an accessibility plan is Canadian government websites’ efforts to test an online portal using a combination of screen readers, ongoing manual testing, and dedicated focus groups.
Monitoring and Reporting
A third aspect of ACA compliance is ongoing monitoring and reporting to hold stakeholders accountable. It’s all about continuous evaluation, where organizations have to set up regular cadences for progress measurement against their accessibility objectives, ensuring they stay up to date on policies.
Additionally, a key component of the ACA is reporting. With regular accessibility progress reports (conducted as frequently as quarterly), organizations can have a direct line to regulators who can advise on what has been done well and what still needs to be done.
Failing to monitor correctly under the ACA digital and web accessibility standards can result in severe fines by the Canadian Accessibility Commissioner, up to $250,000 per violation, typically applied to corporations and senior executives, including heads of large companies.
Additionally, monitoring and reporting requirements could be streamlined through regular public compliance orders. Not publishing accessibility reports in time can lead to reputational damage, especially in sensitive industries like education, public sector organizations, and government services.
Getting Stakeholders Involved
The most significant stakeholders that every organization must involve include everyone from C-suite executives to junior workers. This also includes establishing partnerships with advocacy organizations and community groups that can advise on how best to train individuals with disabilities, depending on the field. By building relationships with communities, ACA advocates send a clear signal that organizations are committed to the cause, fostering inclusivity and making their web content and physical locations accessible to everyone.
Challenges and Solutions in Implementing Accessibility Features
Canadian businesses may face challenges in implementing accessibility due to various reasons, including technical and organizational issues. For example, a Toronto-based business may fail to achieve Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) Level AA compliance for its customer-facing web content, such as lacking screen reader compatibility, which makes it difficult for visually impaired users to navigate.
Additionally, legacy systems and outdated websites often have inaccessible code structures that make it difficult to redevelop and make sites fully accessible. Resource constraints, especially for small and medium-sized businesses, may limit the ability to conduct manual and automated testing, let alone hire accessibility specialists.
Furthermore, rapidly evolving standards and regulations present a challenge. For example, provincial laws and WCAG standards are constantly updated with new requirements and deadlines. It’s not uncommon for businesses to have to meet additional digital web accessibility WCAG 2.1 criteria under updated province-based rules several years after launching websites and web applications, as well as communication technologies.
Practical Solutions and Tools to Improve Accessibility
Fortunately, numerous practical solutions and tools are available to all Canadian businesses, enabling them to promote digital accessibility standards within their organizations.
WAVE Accessibility Evaluation Tool
One of the most widely used digital accessibility tools, WAVE identifies all accessibility gaps on websites. Simply provide a URL and watch it show gaps, such as missing alternative text for images and unresponsive form fields. It’s an excellent way for non-web developers to learn and fix issues that do not align with WCAG 2.1 and the Accessible Canada Act.
Plus, WAVE is available as a browser extension and an online interface, allowing easy use for novices and experienced web developers alike in conducting full-scale audits throughout the entire design process. By integrating it as part of your regular workflow you can be on the way to improving accessibility on your website per the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act, Ontarians with Disabilities Act, or other regional guidelines to improve accessibility for a barrier-free country.
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)
Another tool Canadians can appreciate is NVDA, a free, open-source, Windows-based screen reader that enables business owners and web developers to create accessible setups for individuals with visual impairments. Automated tools may miss many digital accessibility gaps, which NVDA can efficiently address, such as confusing navigation flows or poorly structured headings.
Plus, it ensures compatibility with the latest assistive technologies, which is essential for Canadian accessibility compliance and a barrier free Canada.
Color Oracle
Another tool we highly recommend to improve accessibility on your website is Color Oracle, a free color blindness simulator that allows web developers to see what different color schemes look like on their website, so they can optimize it for people with different types of color blindness, such as protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia.
This tool can reinforce best practices across all of your website elements including navigation buttons and calls to action so that the color blind can immediately discern them. If you want to meet WCAG guidelines and Canada’s Accessible Canada Act requirements, this is an excellent tool to add to your accessibility tool kit.
Axe Accessibility Checker
For developers following Canada’s web accessibility laws, Axe works with Chrome and Firefox browsers and integrates directly into the development workflow, allowing developers to test accessibility throughout the entire software life cycle to improve accessibility standards. It is popular among agile-based developers building e-commerce websites or online services. Addressing accessibility issues early prevents problems with Canada digital accessibility laws later.
Accessibly
One of the best website accessibility overlay tools on the market is Accessibly, which enables users to customize text size, contrast, spacing, and other settings without requiring manual configuration. Plus, if your business has limited development resources, it can provide instant fixes. Additionally, it comes with built-in monitoring to track compliance, which is especially useful for compliance reporting and audits.
What are you waiting for? With roughly 15% of the world living with a partial or total disability, there has never been a better time to focus on inclusivity. Increase ADA and WCAG compliance by enjoying Accessibly’s 7-day trial and ensure equal access for all today!
The Future
With the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) establishing a key framework for Canadian accessibility, we predict that web accessibility laws will place a heavier emphasis on AI-driven interfaces.
Additionally, each province (e.g., Ontario, Manitoba, and British Columbia with the Accessible British Columbia Act) should continue to update accessibility laws and accessibility standards to better comply with federal rules.
There is no shortage of emerging technologies, such as AR/VR, voice interfaces, and IoT devices, which will require innovative legislation to accommodate new ways of consuming web content.
