We would like to remind our federal clients of their obligation to prepare and publish an accessibility plan under the Accessible Canada Act (the “Act”) and associated Accessible Canada Regulations (the “Regulations”). The deadline to do so for organizations with 10 to 99 employees is June 1, 2024. The obligations do not apply to First Nations Band Councils until 2026.
Overview
The Act was passed by Parliament in 2019 and its goals are aimed at finding, removing, and preventing barriers for people with disabilities. In carrying out their responsibilities under the Act, employers must be guided by the following principles:
(a) all persons must be treated with dignity regardless of their disabilities;
(b) all persons must have the same opportunity to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have regardless of their disabilities;
(c) all persons must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society, regardless of their disabilities;
(d) all persons must have meaningful options and be free to make their own choices, with support if they desire, regardless of their disabilities;
(e) laws, policies, programs, services and structures must take into account the disabilities of persons, the different ways that persons interact with their environments and the multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination faced by persons;
(f) persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services and structures; and,
(g) the development and revision of accessibility standards and the making of regulations must be done with the objective of achieving the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Accessibility Plan
The Act requires federally regulated employers to create and publish an accessibility plan in consultation with people with disabilities and review it at least once every three years. The plan must explain how the employer is finding, removing, and preventing barriers in the workplace in light of the principles enunciated in the Act.
The accessibility plan must be written in simple, clear and concise language and must address the employer’s policies, programs, practices and services in relation to barriers. The accessibility plan must also explain the employer’s consultation process with people with disabilities.
The Act also requires that federally regulated employers implement feedback processes which explain how they receive and respond to feedback on their accessibility plans and then publish a description of its feedback process. They must also prepare and publish a progress report, in consultation with their employees with disabilities, on the implementation of their accessibility plans, the feedback they received and how they dealt with such feedback.
Notification to the Accessibility Commissioner is required within 48 hours of the publication of each of the accessibility plan, the feedback process, as well as the progress report.
If an employer violates the Act, it may be subject to monetary fines under Part 3 of the Regulations, or robust inspection of its offices or any place where it keeps records or data. It is important to note that the severity of the penalty increases with each violation.
Deadlines
Large businesses with 100 or more employees were required to prepare and publish their first accessibility plans by June 1, 2023. Small businesses with 10 to 99 employees must prepare and publish their first accessibility plans by June 1, 2024. Employers with less than 10 employees are exempt from the requirements of the Act. New federal entities are required to prepare and publish an accessibility plan in June 1 of the year after the entity is created.
Please note that the accessibility planning and reporting rules will not apply to First Nations Band Councils until 2026.
For more information about the Accessible Canada Act please contact Ilan Burkes or Vincent Johnston.
