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Government of Canada’s Consultation on
Draft Accessible Canada Regulations
The Accessible Canada Act is a federal law that aims to make the Government of Canada, federal businesses and organizations more accessible for people with disabilities and Deaf people. The Accessible Canada Act gives the Government of Canada the power to make regulations. 

The Government of Canada has written a first draft of a regulation. This regulation is called the Accessible Canada Regulations. This regulation tells federal government offices, organizations, and businesses about some of the things they need to do to make their services more accessible. 

ARCH Disability Law Centre is a legal clinic that works in disability rights law. ARCH has prepared this document to give people with disabilities and Deaf people a summary of what the Government of Canada’s draft regulation says. This document also gives some of ARCH’s ideas about things that are missing from the draft regulation. This document does not cover everything that is in the draft regulation. 

For more information and to read the whole draft regulation go to: https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-02-13/html/reg2-eng.html 

You have until April 18th to give input to the Government of Canada about this draft regulation. For more details about how to give your input go to page 10.
Which Organizations Will Have to Follow this Regulation?
Organizations that will have to follow the Government of Canada’s proposed Accessible Canada Regulations are:
•	Federal government departments and agencies;
•	Crown corporations (such as Canada Post or the National Gallery of Canada);
•	Canadian Forces and RCMP;
•	Parliament;
•	Banks;
•	Grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses, and grain-seed cleaning plants;
•	Uranium mining and atomic energy;
•	Canals; and 
•	Pipelines that cross provincial or international borders.

In addition, companies that operate passenger airplanes, trains, ferries, interprovincial buses and the terminals that serve them will have to follow the proposed regulations when it comes to their:
•	Employment practices;
•	Built environment (other than airplanes, trains, busses, ferries, and the terminals that serve them); and
•	Communication about their employment and built environment.

Internet, radio, television and telephone companies will have to follow the proposed regulations when it comes to their:
•	Employment practices;
•	Built environment;
•	Transportation; and
•	Communication about their employment, the built environment, and transportation. 
Summary of the Government of Canada’s Draft Regulation
Timing of Accessibility Plans, Progress Reports and Feedback Processes

The Accessible Canada Act says that the organizations listed above have to create accessibility plans. These plans should identify barriers and how the organization will remove or prevent these barriers. 

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation talks about when organizations’ initial accessibility plans should be published:

•	December 31, 2022: Federal government departments, the Canadian Forces, agencies and Crown corporations

•	June 1, 2023: Private companies with 100 or more workers

•	June 1, 2024: Private companies with between 10 and 99 workers

•	Regulated organizations with less than 10 workers are exempt – they don’t have to publish an accessibility plan.

After that, organizations will have to publish a progress report each year. In the third year, they will have to publish an updated accessibility plan.

The Accessible Canada Act also says that regulated organizations have to create feedback processes. These are meant to be a way for the public to give feedback about their accessibility. Regulated organizations must publish a description of their feedback process at the same time as their initial accessibility plan.

What will be in the Accessibility Plan?

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that accessibility plans will have headings about:

•	“General”: how the public can communicate with the organization, including the address of its business, a telephone number or email address;

•	How the organization identifies and removes certain barriers: different organizations have to report on different barriers. These barriers could relate to: employment, built environment, transportation, communications, information and communication technologies, services or procurement (buying and selling things);

•	Other accessibility regulations that the Government might make later on; and

•	“Consultations”: how the organization consulted with people with disabilities when it created its accessibility plan.

What will be in the Progress Report?

After they publish their accessibility plan, regulated organizations will have to publish a progress report each year for the first two years. This progress report is meant to describe how well the organization is removing the barriers in its accessibility plan.

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that progress reports must have the same information as accessibility plans. In addition, progress reports must also give information about feedback that organizations got from their feedback process.

What will be in the Feedback Process?

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that anyone can give feedback to regulated organizations anonymously if they want to. A person can also choose to give the organization their name or other personal information. 

The draft regulation says that regulated organizations must let the person know that they got this feedback.

How can people get Accessibility Plans, Progress Reports or Feedback Processes?

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that each regulated organization must publish their accessibility plan, progress report and feedback process on their website so that it is easily available. However, if an organization doesn’t have a website, it has to make these documents available in the main reception of its publicly accessible business locations.

Regulated organizations must write their accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback processes in “clear, simple and concise language”.

Regulated organizations must give people alternate formats of accessibility plans and progress reports if people ask for them. The only alternate formats that organizations must give according to the draft regulation are:
•	print;
•	large print;
•	braille;
•	audio format; and
•	electronic formats compatible with adaptive technology of people with disabilities.

Regulated organizations must give people alternate formats “as soon as feasible”. The draft regulation also gives some specific deadlines:
•	braille or audio formats must be given within 45 days; 
•	public and larger private organizations must give print, large print and electronic formats within 15 days; and
•	smaller organizations must give print, large print and electronic formats within 20 days.

How long do organizations have to keep their Accessibility Plans, Progress Reports, and feedback?

Regulated organizations with a website will need to keep each accessibility plan, description of the feedback process and report on that website for six years after it is published. They will also need to keep an archived copy for an additional year. 

Organizations without a website will need to keep an electronic and print copy of their accessibility plans, progress reports, and feedback processes for seven years. In addition, electronic copies or print copies of feedback will need to be kept for seven years. 

Can fines be given if regulated organizations do not follow the Accessible Canada Act or the Accessible Canada Regulations? 

Yes. Giving fines to organizations that don’t follow the Accessible Canada Act and accessibility regulations is one of the ways the Government of Canada can enforce these laws.

Schedule 1 to the draft regulation lists the violations of the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations that can lead to a fine. 

For example, fines can be given when regulated organizations: 
•	Do not make an accessibility plan, updated accessibility plan or a progress report by the deadline to do so;
•	Do not consult with people with disabilities when making these plans or reports;
•	Do not give a plan or report in an alternate format; 
•	Do not create a feedback process by the deadline to do so;
•	Do not give the Accessibility Commissioner a copy of an accessibility plan or progress report; or
•	Do not follow an order that the Accessibility Commissioner gives telling the organization to follow accessibility rules.

In addition, if the Government of Canada makes new accessibility regulations later on, violations of these new accessibility regulations could also lead to a fine. But this would only happen if the Government added some or all of the new accessibility regulations to the Schedule 1 of the draft regulation. 

What fines can regulated organizations get if they do not follow the Accessible Canada Act or the Accessible Canada Regulations?

Fines can range from $250 for a minor, first-time violation of the Accessible Canada Act or Accessible Canada Regulations, to $250,000 for a large or public organization that is a repeat offender, and that has committed a serious violation. 

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation explains how fines are calculated. It describes 4 factors that are important:
•	The size of the organization;
•	Whether the organization has had other violations in the last five years;
•	Whether the violation is minor, serious, or very serious; and
•	The gravity value.

(a)	Size of the organization

The draft regulation treats organizations differently based on their size. Schedule 2 to the draft regulation creates different ranges of amounts for individuals, smaller organizations (less than 100 workers), and all other regulated organizations. Individuals have the lowest fines, while larger and public organizations have the highest fines.

(b)	Whether the violation is minor, serious or very serious

Schedule 1 to the draft regulation lists the violations of the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations that can lead to a fine. It also says whether each of these violations is minor, serious, or very serious. 

Schedule 1 says that most violations are minor. For example, if an organization doesn’t publish an accessibility plan or feedback process, this is a minor violation. Minor violations have the lowest fine amount.

Serious violations are when an organization doesn’t do what the Accessibility Commissioner orders them to do, after it does an inspection.

Very serious violations have the highest fine amounts. These amounts are given when an organization intentionally lies to the Accessibility Commissioner.

(c)	Gravity value

The gravity value can raise or lower the fine amount. 

Things that could raise a fine amount include:
•	How negligent the organization was when the violation happened;
•	How much harm the violation caused; and
•	Whether the organization got any financial or competitive benefit from violating the Accessible Canada Act or the regulation.

Things that could lower a fine amount include: 
•	How much effort the organization makes to change its corporate culture;
•	How much effort the organization makes to fix the violation;
•	How the Accessibility Commissioner found out about the violation; and
•	Whether the organization cooperated with the Accessibility Commissioner.
What is Missing from the Government of Canada’s Draft Regulation?
Accessibility Plans don’t require specific, concrete actions

The draft regulation doesn’t say that accessibility plans must include:
•	Specific, concrete actions the regulated organization will take to remove barriers;
•	A person at the organization who is responsible for making sure that barriers are removed;
•	Timelines for when barriers will be removed; or
•	How the organization will measure its progress.

It’s important to understand that organizations could include these things if they want to, but the regulation doesn’t require them to.

In May 2019, before the Government of Canada wrote this draft regulation, it had a consultation. ARCH sent a submission to the Government at that time. ARCH recommended that the regulations should require organizations to include these things in their accessibility plans. To read ARCH’s submission go to: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/initiatives/advocating-for-accessibility-in-canada/arch-submissions/ (go to May 9, 2019 submission).

In ARCH’s view, these things are necessary to make sure that accessibility plans are actually implemented and lead to real changes for people. 

The Government of Canada disagreed with ARCH’s legal analysis. The Government did not think it has the legal power to require regulated organizations to put these things into accessibility plans. This is because the Accessible Canada Act talks about what should go into the accessibility plans. It says that the Government can only make regulations about the timing, manner and form of the plans. It does not say the Government has the power to make regulations about the content of the plans. 

In ARCH’s view, the Government could understand its powers under the Accessible Canada Act more broadly. 

Accessibility Plans and Progress Reports don’t have to explain how regulated organizations used information from consultations with people with disabilities and Deaf people

The Accessible Canada Act says that regulated organizations have to consult with people with disabilities when they create accessibility plans and progress reports. The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that accessibility plans and progress reports have to explain how the organization consulted with people with disabilities. But the draft regulation does not say that accessibility plans and progress reports have to give specific information about consultations such as: 
•	the information the organization got when it consulted;  
•	how the organization used this information;
•	reasons why the organization decided not to use any information from the consultations; and
•	who was consulted and whether the organization tried to get input from diverse communities of people with disabilities and Deaf people.
It’s important to understand that organizations could include this information if they want to, but the draft regulation doesn’t require them to.

In May 2019, before the Government of Canada wrote this draft regulation, it had a consultation. ARCH sent a submission to the Government at that time. ARCH recommended that the regulations should require organizations to include these things in their accessibility plans and progress reports. To read ARCH’s submission go to: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/initiatives/advocating-for-accessibility-in-canada/arch-submissions/ (go to May 9, 2019 submission).

In ARCH’s view these things are necessary to make sure that the consultations are meaningful and that organizations take seriously the information that people with disabilities and Deaf people provide and make it part of their accessibility plans.

The Government of Canada disagreed. It did not think it has the legal power to require organizations to put these things into accessibility plans and progress reports.

In ARCH’s view, the Government could understand its powers under the Accessible Canada Act more broadly. 

Accessibility Plans and Progress Reports don’t have to explain how organizations thought about important principles 

The Accessible Canada Act has important principles in it. To read these principles go to: https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/sc-2019-c-10/latest/sc-2019-c-10.html#Principles__11466. The principles say that people with disabilities and Deaf people have to be involved when laws and policies are made. They also say that laws and policies must take into account the different ways that people with disabilities and Deaf people from different communities experience discrimination. 

The Accessible Canada Act and its regulations must be implemented in a way that follows these principles. Regulated organizations must think about these principles when they write their accessibility plans.

The Government of Canada’s draft regulations don’t require organizations to describe how they considered these principles when they write their accessibility plans and progress reports. 

In ARCH’s view, it is important for the Government’s draft regulation to require organizations to include information about how they considered these principles when they write their accessibility plans and progress reports. Having this information means that organizations are more likely to think seriously about how to identify and remove barriers in a way that follows these important principles.

Regulated organizations don’t have to respond to feedback from the public

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that organizations have to let a person know when they receive their feedback. But the draft regulation doesn’t say that the organization has to give the person an answer to their feedback, or explain how the organization will use the feedback to increase accessibility. 

The Government’s draft regulation also do not require organizations to designate a point person to receive and respond to feedback.

The draft regulation doesn’t say that accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback processes have to be written in plain language

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback processes have to be written in “clear, simple and concise language”. 

Each organization might interpret clear, simple and concise language in a different way. Some organizations may write accessibility plans that most people can understand. However, others may write in a technical way that many people don’t understand. It is important that everyone can understand what an accessibility plan, progress report or feedback process says. 

One way to improve this might be for the regulation to say that accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback processes have to be written in plain language.

There is no standard definition for plain language at the moment. Accessibility Standards Canada is developing a standard on plain language. If this standard is well done then it could help organizations understand how to write these documents in plain language.

Alternate formats of accessibility plans and progress reports only required on request

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation only requires organizations to give some alternate formats of their accessibility plans and progress reports if someone requests them. The length of these timelines may discourage organizations from creating alternate formats from the outset, before people request alternate formats. 

The regulations do not require organizations to provide any alternate formats of the description of their feedback process at all.

Alternate formats do not include sign language

If a person asks, organizations must give a copy of their accessibility plan, progress report or feedback process in some alternate formats. 

The Government of Canada’s draft regulation says that organizations must give paper copies, large print, Braille, audio formats and electronic formats that are compatible with adaptive technology of people with disabilities. 

The regulations don’t require organizations to give their accessibility plan, progress report or feedback process in American Sign Language (ASL) or langue des signes québécoise (LSQ). 

Fine amounts do not account for substantive equality for persons with disabilities

One of the things the Government considered when deciding if a violation is minor, serious or very serious is whether the violation caused any harm to the public. However, some of these violations may not cause a lot of harm to the public but may cause a lot of harm to disability communities. For example, if an organization didn’t give their accessibility plan in Braille or another alternate format, this might not be very serious for the public. But it would cause a very real and serious barrier for someone whose only way to read the plan is in Braille.

As well, in deciding the gravity of the violation, each of the factors is given the same weight. However, persons with disabilities may experience much more harm from some factors as compared to others. The Government’s calculation of the gravity factor does not take this into account.

In May 2019, ARCH recommended that the government should think about how violations impact people with disabilities, not just the general public, when it decides whether a violation is serious or not. ARCH recommended that substantive equality should be important in setting fine amounts. However, the Government did not agree with this approach. To read ARCH’s submission go to: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/initiatives/advocating-for-accessibility-in-canada/arch-submissions/ (go to May 2, 2019 submission).
Give your input about the Government of Canada’s draft regulation
The Government of Canada wants input about the first draft of this regulation. 

You have until April 18, 2021 to give input. 

You can send your input in writing in English or French.

Input should be addressed to Marzieh Tafaghod, Director, Accessibility Implementation Division, Accessibility Secretariat, Employment and Social Development Canada. You can send it by:

•	E-mail: accessible-canada@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca 

•	Regular mail: 105 rue De l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4H7

The Government of Canada may publish input on its website with the name of the person or organization who gave that input. The Government has not said whether it will publish input for this consultation, but it is possible. If you decide to include personal information in your input, or if you do not want your input to be published, you should let the Government know that this information is confidential and shouldn’t be published. 

If the Government’s process is not accessible for you or you need disability accommodations, such as more time, alternate formats of documents, or other accommodations write to the Government as soon as possible and ask for these accommodations.

Tips for Giving Input about a Draft Regulation

The draft regulation is written in technical legal language. It may not be easy to read. You may want to start by reading something called the “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement”. The Government of Canada published one for this regulation here: https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-02-13/html/reg2-eng.html. This explains the risks and benefits of the regulation. It is not in plain language, but it may be easier to read than the actual regulation. 

You can read the draft regulation here (included after the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement):  https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2021/2021-02-13/html/reg2-eng.html 

Here are some ideas and questions you may want to think about:  
•	How would the proposed regulation affect you?  
•	How would it affect your community? 
•	Will it help to remove barriers you face in day-to-day life? 
•	Will it help remove barriers for your community? 
•	Will it make federal government offices, organizations, and businesses more accessible?
•	Can you think of any problems with the regulation? For example, does it give organizations enough time to follow new accessibility rules? Does it give too much time before the new rules have to be followed?
•	Does the language in the regulation compare to other regulations? Does the wording promote accessibility?
People with disabilities and Deaf people have different experiences that may not just be about their disability. They may have experiences that are related to other parts of their identity. For example, children with disabilities, Indigenous people with disabilities, Black people with disabilities, newcomers with disabilities, and gender diverse people with disabilities may experience different barriers than others. It’s important to let the Government of Canada know about how this regulation will impact all people with disabilities and Deaf people. This might help them make better regulations.