*If you require a different format, contact us.
All content below is part of the official standard.
Accessibility Standards Canada, under whose auspices this standard has been produced, is a Government of Canada departmental corporation mandated through the Accessible Canada Act. Accessibility Standards Canada’s Standards contribute to the purpose of the Accessible Canada Act, which is to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, through the realization of a Canada without barriers through the identification, removal, and prevention of accessibility barriers.
Disability, as defined by the Accessible Canada Act, means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment — or a functional limitation — whether permanent, temporary, or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.
All of Accessibility Standards Canada’s standards development work, including the work of our technical committees, is carried out in recognition of, and in accordance with, the following principles in the Accessible Canada Act:
These principles align with the principles of the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, ratified by the Government of Canada in 2010 to recognize the importance of promoting, protecting, and upholding the human rights of persons with disabilities to participate fully in their communities.
Accessibility Standards Canada seeks to create standards that are aligned with its vision. This includes commitments to break down barriers to accessibility and abide by the principle of “nothing without us” in our standards development process, where everyone, including persons with disabilities, can expect a Canada without barriers.
The standards development process used by Accessibility Standards Canada is the most accessible in Canada, if not the world. Accessibility Standards Canada provides accommodations to meet the needs of Technical Committee members with disabilities. Accessibility Standards Canada provides compensation for people with disabilities to encourage their active participation. Accessibility Standards Canada ensures an accessible public review process, including accessible permission forms and multiple formats of the standard, to encourage Canadians with disabilities to comment.
Standards developed by Accessibility Standards Canada are designed to achieve the highest levels of accessibility. This means that Accessibility Standards Canada standards create equity-based technical requirements while taking into consideration national and international best practices, as opposed to focusing on minimum technical requirements.
Accessibility Standards Canada applies an intersectional framework to capture the experiences of people with disabilities who also identify as LGBTQ2+, Indigenous Peoples, women, and visible minorities. Its standards development process requires that technical committees apply a cross-disability perspective to ensure that no new barriers to accessibility are unintentionally created. In addition, standards developed by Accessibility Standards Canada align with 14 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted by Canada in 2015 to promote partnership, peace and prosperity for all people and the planet by 2030.
Accessibility Standards Canada is engaged in the production of voluntary accessibility standards, which are developed by technical committees using a consensus-based approach. Each technical committee is composed of a balanced group of experts who develop the technical content of a standard. At least 30 % of these technical experts are people with disabilities and lived experience and 30% are from equity seeking groups including LGBTQ2+, indigenous peoples, women and visible minorities. These technical experts also include consumers and other users, government and authorities, labour and unions, other standards development organizations, businesses and industry, academic and research bodies, and non-governmental organizations.
All Accessibility Standards Canada standards also incorporate related findings from research reports conducted through Accessibility Standards Canada’s Advancing Accessibility Grants and Contributions program. This program involves persons with disabilities, experts, and organizations to advance accessibility standards research and supports research projects that help with the identification, removal, and prevention of new barriers to accessibility.
Accessibility Standards Canada standards are subject to review and revision to ensure that they reflect current trends and best practices. Accessibility Standards Canada will follow the international maintenance review cycle for this standard. Suggestions for improvement, which are always welcome, should be brought to the notice of the respective technical committee. Changes to standards are issued either as separate amendments or in new editions of standards.
As a Standards Council of Canada Accredited Standards Development Organization, all Accessibility Standards Canada standards are developed through an accredited standards development process and follow Standard Council of Canda’s Requirements and Guidance for Standards Development Organizations. These voluntary standards apply to federally regulated entities and can be recommended to the Minister responsible for the Accessible Canada Act (i.e., the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion).
In addition to its focus on developing accessibility standards, Accessibility Standards Canada has been a leader amongst Canadian federal organizations for promoting and adopting accessibility internal to government. Accessibility Standards Canada is the first organization in the federal government to have a Board of Directors majority-led by persons with disabilities. Accessibility Standards Canada has a state-of-the-art accessible office space for its employees, Board of Directors, and Technical Committee Members. The carefully designed accessible workspace aligns with the organization’s belief in the importance of universal accessibility.
To obtain additional information on Accessibility Standards Canada, its standards or publications, please contact:
Web site: https://accessible.canada.ca/
E-mail: Info.Accessibility.Standards-Normes.Accessibilite.Info@canada.gc.ca
Mail:
Accessibility Standards Canada
320, St-Joseph Boulevard
Suite 246
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
