The Accessible Canada Act is a federal law that aims to identify, remove and prevent barriers facing people with disabilities. The federal government adopted the Act in 2019. The goal of the Act is to create a Canada without barriers by 2040.
The Accessibility Commissioner is responsible for enforcing the Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations.
The Act takes a new approach to accessibility. Instead of waiting for people with disabilities to ask for barriers to be removed, organizations must start finding, removing and preventing barriers now.
The Act applies to the federal government and to organizations that are regulated by the federal government. This includes government departments and private businesses that work in certain areas like banks, airlines and phone companies.
Organizations must:
Organizations must notify the Accessibility Commissioner when they publish their plans, feedback processes and progress reports.
The Accessible Canada Act is based on the principles below. Organizations must consider these principles when preparing their accessibility plans.
Everyone must be treated with dignity, regardless of their disabilities.
Everyone must have the same opportunity to build the life they want.
Everyone must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society.
Everyone must have meaningful options and be free to make their own choices, with support if they want it.
Laws, policies, programs, services and structures must take into account:
People with disabilities must be involved in creating laws, policies, programs, services and structures.
Accessibility standards and regulations must aim for the highest level of accessibility.
The Act focuses on barriers in these seven areas:
Some of these areas overlap.
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) applies to:
Here are examples of federal government organizations that must follow the ACA:
Here are examples of private organizations that must follow the ACA if they have 10 or more employees:
The Act does not apply to provincial and territorial governments or to private organizations and businesses that are regulated by the provinces and territories. For example, the Act does not apply to most:
These provinces have adopted their own accessibility laws:
The Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion is responsible for the Accessible Canada Act. They can give advice, support research and create policies and programs about accessibility. They get information, advice and reports from the Chief Accessibility Officer and the Accessibility Commissioner.
The Accessibility Commissioner enforces the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations. They will also deal with certain accessibility complaints. The Accessibility Commissioner is a member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The Canadian Transportation Agency regulates and deals with disputes about the federal transportation network. This includes passenger travel between provinces or outside of Canada by plane, train, bus or ferry.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission regulates and supervises broadcasting (radio and television) and telecommunications (phone and internet) in Canada. It deals with accessibility complaints in those areas.
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board oversees collective bargaining and grievances in the federal public service and Parliament. It also deals with complaints about internal appointments and layoffs.
The Board deals with accessibility complaints for most federal public servants and parliamentary employees. It will also deal with appeals of some decisions about parliamentary organizations under the Accessible Canada Act.
The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal deals with discrimination complaints under the Canadian Human Rights Act. It will also deal with appeals of some of the Accessibility Commissioner's decisions under the Accessible Canada Act.
The Chief Accessibility Officer gives the Minister advice and reports about the Accessible Canada Act. This includes reports on the outcomes of the Act and on new or systemic accessibility issues.
Accessibility Standards Canada develops and reviews accessibility standards. It can recommend that the government turn accessibility standards into regulations. (Organizations are only required to follow accessibility standards if the government turns them into regulations.) Accessibility Standards Canada also supports research and shares information about accessibility.
Learn about accessibility in the federal public service:
Some provinces have adopted their own accessibility laws. Learn about these laws: