Overview of the Accessible Canada Regulations

Every government provides certain specific rules and regulations that need to be followed by society for the benefit of the country. Along similar lines, there are accessibility standards for Canada that need to be mandatorily followed by organizations and the government for the benefit of the disabled community. There are certain well-established accessibility laws that corporations can follow. This article will give you a brief overview of the Accessible Canada Regulations.

What is the Accessible Canada Act (ACA)?

It is a law that was passed in 2019 that is focused on making Canada a barrier-free country by January 1, 2040. A barrier is anything that prevents disabled persons from equally and fully participating in Canadian society.

• Building without an access ramp is a barrier that is visible

• Writing instructions in a complicated language are barriers that are less visible.
  
  

The institutions that need to abide by the Accessible Canada Act:

Those organizations that come under federal jurisdiction and responsibilities come under the Accessible Canada Act. This includes:

• Federal government organizations like social development Canada and Employment

• The Canadian forces

• Certain businesses like grain elevators, airlines and banks

• The Royal Canadian mounted police

• Parliamentary entities like the senate or the House of Commons.
  
  

Following are the three factors that should be considered by organizations that come under ACA:

1. Accessibility plans:

• Publish and update their accessibility plan every three years

• Accessibility plans should be prepared and published showing how to identify, remove and prevent barriers

• The accessibility plans of disabled persons should be prepared

• Alternate plans of an accessibility plan should be provided to those who need it.

2. Receiving feedback:

• A specific way should be created to collect feedback about their accessibility plans and the barriers that people deal with

• The feedback received should be described on the website.

3. Progress reports:

• Progress reports need to be prepared and published to know how to carry out the accessibility plans

• The feedback that has been received should be shown in the progress reports

• Progress reports should be prepared by consulting persons with disabilities

• The progress reports should be prepared by describing how the disabled persons were consulted. Accessibility standards for Canada are detailed and understandable.

The strategic importance of regulations in the Accessible Canada Act:

Following are the key points that need to be considered in the accessibility plans that, in turn, help in devising regulations:

1. Feedback: There should be a process for accepting feedback by email, telephone, mail and other ways to communicate with the public. A specific person needs to be selected who is responsible for receiving feedback. The job position of this person should be included in the ‘General’ heading of their accessibility plan.   

2. Publishing: Organizations are given a timeframe of 48 hours to inform the Accessibility Commissioner after the following documents have been published:

• Progress reports

• Description of the feedback process

• Accessibility plans.
  
  

The above mentioned documents should be published online. It should be available on the organization’s website home page or through a hyperlink on the organization’s website.

The latest version of the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), available in French and English, should be followed. WCAG provides a set of rules so that websites can be designed in a way that disabled people can easily use. Accessibility standards for Canada provide a definitive platform.

3. Alternate formats: Disabled persons can access these types of formats. If someone is interested in these formats, then organizations must provide a description of the feedback process, accessibility plans and progress in the below mentioned formats:

• Audio (Someone who has read the text aloud has been recorded)

• Large print (extra-large words)

• Electronic (designing the electronic device in such a way that the text contained in it can be easily read by disabled people)
  
  

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing accessibility testing for your specific organization, get connected with a premium software testing services company that will provide you with strategic testing solutions that is aligned with your project specific requirements.