Consulting with Canadians on planned accessibility legislation
From: Employment and Social Development Canada
Current status: Open
Between July 2016 and February 2017, we will be consulting with Canadians on planned accessibility legislation.
This consultation is now open. The questionnaire and discussion guide are available in the following formats:
Please refer to the latest activities for updates.
If you would like to receive information in another format, including large print, braille, e-text, or Digital Accessible Information System (DAISY), please contact the Office for Disability Issues.
Consultation objectives
Canadians, communities and workplaces benefit when everyone can participate equally in everyday life. There has been much progress in making our society more inclusive, but we can do better.
This is why the Government of Canada is committed to developing new planned accessibility legislation to promote equality of opportunity and increase the inclusion and participation of Canadians who have disabilities or functional limitations.
Many Canadians continue to face barriers that affect their ability to participate in daily activities that most people take for granted. These could include:
- physical and architectural barriers that impede the ability to move freely in the built environment, use public transportation, access information or use technology;
- attitudes, beliefs and misconceptions that some people may have about people with disabilities and what they can and cannot do; and
- outdated policies and practices that do not take into account the varying abilities and disabilities that people may have.
In developing this new legislation, the Government of Canada is consulting Canadians both in person and online.
The Government of Canada is seeking your ideas to inform the development of this planned new legislation, including:
- feedback on the overall goal and approach;
- whom it should cover;
- what accessibility issues and barriers it should address;
- how it could be monitored and enforced;
- when or how often it should be reviewed;
- how and when to report to Canadians on its implementation; and
- how to raise accessibility awareness more generally and support organizations in improving accessibility.
The public consultation will be open until February 2017 and information on viewpoints received will be made available after the consultation is closed.
Canadians are encouraged to visit this site often and explore what’s new.
Latest activities
- What does an accessible Canada mean to you? Be part of the conversation - News Release
- Minister Qualtrough addresses the Vancouver Board of Trade
- Minister Qualtrough addresses the Canadian Vision Teachers' Conference 2016
- Minister Qualtrough’s announcement on engagement process
- What does an Accessible Canada mean to you? - Video
- The Marrakesh Treaty - News Release
- The Marrakesh Treaty - Video
- Canada’s Accession to Marrakesh – News Release
- Enabling Accessibility Call for Proposals
Message from the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
Transcript
In Canada we’ve made considerable progress in making our society more inclusive. We see this throughout our communities. But there is still work to do.
Canadians with disabilities continue to face barriers in their daily lives. Persistent gaps remain in areas such as employment, income and social inclusion.
As Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, I have been asked to lead a consultation process that will inform the development of new accessibility legislation.
Canadians with disabilities, their families, and the organizations that represent them have been integral to many of the advancements Canada has made in accessibility. To draw on this knowledge and experience, as well as that of businesses, community organizations and government partners, the Government of Canada is conducting consultations to gather input on options for the new legislation.
We have a long road ahead, but this is a big step in helping to ensure our communities become more inclusive for all Canadians.
What does an Accessible Canada mean to you? Please take the time to participate in our online consultation or attend one of our in-person public sessions.
Together, we will make history.
How to participate
By participating in this consultation, you are consenting to, and acknowledging that you have reviewed, understood, and agree to the Privacy Notice Statement; and that your submission, or portions thereof, may be published on Canada.ca, included in publicly available reports on the consultation, and compiled with other responses to the consultation in an open-data submission on Open.Canada.ca.
- Participate in the online questionnaire; The questionnaire is also available in an Accessible PDF version.
- Submit your feedback in the language of your choice (English, French, American Sign Language or Langue des signes québécoise) and preferred format such as online, handwritten, video or audio submissions. You can provide your input to the Office for Disability Issues via:
Phone: 1-844-836-8126
TTY: 819-934-6649
Fax: 819-953-4797
Email: accessible-canada@hrsdc.gc.ca
Mail:
Consultation - Accessibility Legislation
c/o Office for Disability Issues
Employment and Social Development Canada
105 Hotel-de-ville St., 1st floor, Bag 62
Gatineau QC K1A 0J9.
All of the feedback we receive will be incorporated into reports that will be made available on the consultation website and in alternate formats, on request.
You can also consult the Discussion Guide for more information.
Privacy Notice Statement
Participation in this consultation is voluntary, and acceptance or refusal to participate will in no way affect any relationship with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) or the Government of Canada.
Information provided to the Office for Disability Issues related to this engagement initiative can be subject to access to information and privacy requests and will be administered in accordance with the Access to Information Act and Privacy Act.
The information is collected under the authority of the Department of Employment and Social Development Act (DESDA) for the 2016-2017 Federal Accessibility Legislation Consultation. It may be used by ESDC, including the Office for Disability Issues, by other Government of Canada departments, or by other levels of government, for policy analysis and research; however, these uses and/or disclosures of your personal information will never result in an administrative decision being made about you.
Any personal information provided to the Office for Disability Issues will be administered in accordance with the DESDA, the Privacy Act and other applicable laws. However, those providing information are requested not to provide any identifying personal information about themselves or anyone else (other than name, organization and contact information). In the event that you provide unsolicited personal information for the purpose of attribution, your unsolicited personal information could be used in publicly available reports on the consultation and elsewhere as deemed appropriate by ESDC. If personal information is provided by an individual member of the general public (who is not an individual participating in the consultation on behalf of, or as a representative of, a stakeholder organization), ESDC shall make every effort to remove the identifying personal information prior to including the individual’s responses in the data analysis, unless otherwise noted. Your submission, or portions thereof, may be published on Canada.ca, included in publicly available reports on the consultation, compiled with other responses to the consultation in an open-data submission on Open.Canada.ca or shared throughout the Government of Canada or with other levels of government.
You have the right to the protection of, access to and correction of your personal information, which is described in Personal Information Banks ESDC-PSU-914 or ESDC-PSU-938. Instructions for obtaining this information are outlined in Info Source. Info Source may also be accessed online at any Service Canada Centre.
You have the right to file a complaint with the Privacy Commissioner of Canada regarding the institution’s handling of your personal information.
To obtain information related to this consultation, a request may be submitted in writing to ESDC pursuant to the Access to Information Act. When making a request, reference should be made to the name of this discussion paper.