Accessibility progress report 2023 for the Public Service Commission

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• General
  • Contact us
• Areas of focus
  • 1) Employment
  • 2) Built environment
  • 3) Information and communication technologies
  • 4) Communication other than information and communication technologies
  • 5) Procurement of goods, services and facilities
  • 6) Design and delivery of programs and services
  • 7) Transportation
• Consultations
• Feedback
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Progress Report Summary

Introduction

The Accessible Canada Act, which came into force in 2019, aims to make Canada barrier-free by 2040. This act benefits all Canadians, especially persons with disabilities, by proactively identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to accessibility in 7 priority areas:

• employment
• the built environment
• information and communication technologies
• communication other than information and communication technologies
• the procurement of goods, services and facilities
• the design and delivery of programs and services
• transportation

In 2021, the Accessible Canada Regulations came into effect, establishing the rules that federally regulated entities must follow when publishing accessibility plans, setting up feedback processes and developing progress reports.

The Public Service Commission of Canada supports departments and agencies in recruiting talented people from across the country through innovative and modern services, tools and practices. In accordance with our mandate, we support departments and agencies in hiring qualified people into the public service. We oversee and ensure the integrity of federal government hiring. We protect the non-partisan nature of the public service while respecting employees’ rights to participate in political activities. Lastly, we deliver recruitment programs and assessment services.

Because of this mandate, the Public Service Commission impacts not only its own activities, but also those of the entire federal public service and the Canadian population. Many initiatives were launched and established even before the Accessible Canada Act was implemented, in keeping with greater openness and access for all Canadians. Examples of the Public Service Commission’s focus on accessibility and inclusiveness include:

• we will contribute to the hiring of 5 000 public servants with disabilities by 2025, through the Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities and the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities initiative
• we made sure to adjust our processes and programs in accordance with the implementation of the Veterans Hiring Act
• we took part in the Office of Public Service Accessibility’s pilot project, which allowed us to hire and onboard 5 neurodivergent people through Specialisterne

These cases show how much we value accessibility, which is at the heart of our activities. We will discuss some of these initiatives and results, along with many others, in greater detail in this progress report.

General

This is the first progress report on the Public Service Commission Accessibility Plan. It takes stock of the progress made since the plan was published in December 2022.

It aims to present the work that we have done so far, that is currently underway and yet to be done, to comply with the requirements and needs described in the Accessible Canada Act. It takes into account results, feedback and ongoing consultation with employees, persons with disabilities and other subject-matter experts.

Contact us

We look forward to receiving feedback, questions, concerns and suggestions on this plan and on others matters related to accessibility. Anyone may contact us to:

• provide feedback or ask questions
• request a copy of our accessibility plan in one of the alternate formats described in subsection 8(2) of the Accessible Canada Regulations
• request the description of our feedback process in one of the alternate formats described in subsection 9(5) of the Accessible Canada Regulations

Our contact information is as follows:

Human Resources, Workplace, and Security Directorate
Corporate Affairs Sector
Public Service Commission of Canada

Mailing address: 22 Eddy Street, Gatineau, Québec K1A 0M7
Email: accessibilite-accessibility@cfp-psc.gc.ca
Telephone: 1-833-925-5719

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Contact: Human Resources Director General

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Executive summary

The accessibility plan progress report summarizes the activities and actions taken throughout 2023 to make sure our programs, services, workplaces and practices are free from real or perceived barriers.

Progress in different areas was reviewed and a summary is presented in Appendix A, which includes a table showing action timelines.

Thanks to contributions from several people, we were able to take into account the needs identified during consultations and analyses, in order to transform and improve the environment and establish a culture of accessibility by default for the Public Service Commission and the clients we serve. Identifying possible improvements and the steps taken to address barriers is a continuous process that now forms a part of our departmental activities.

Areas of focus

1) Employment

Vision
Access to employment opportunities and accessible workplaces.

Barriers

• There is a general lack of awareness of accessibility considerations in employment
• Managers lack knowledge about accessible assessments in hiring, and their training is inadequate
• Employment documents, tools and resources are not always in an accessible format

People management strategy

Status: ongoing

The Public Service Commission’s people management strategy, which is in force until March 2024, continues to foster people management effectiveness; it is one of the key pillars of this strategy, which aims to build accessibility into human resource tools, programs and processes by default. It focuses on making sure that Public Service Commission managers can benefit from information and advice on the actions to take to carry out their human resources activities while respecting diversity and inclusion (including best practices for accessibility).

This includes:

• quick and easy online access to Your Staffing Compass, which includes all the links and information required to carry out recruitment activities
• advice from hiring accessibility ambassadors

The people management strategy will continue to be updated regularly to reflect accessibility-related management practices for managers. This will enhance managers’ awareness and skills in terms of hiring and employee management.

Employment systems review

Status: delayed (new deadline: by March 31, 2024)

An employment systems review of the Public Service Commission’s employment policies and practices, which aimed to identify potential systemic barriers in its systems for employment equity groups, was conducted in 2021 to 2022. Following this review, initial commitments were identified to improve certain gaps. They were noted in the Public Service Commission’s Accessibility Plan, which was published in December 2022. Since then, a working group was formed to develop an action plan to follow up on the 8 recommendations in the report. This group is made up of members of diversity and inclusion sub-committees and members of the Human Resources, Workplace, and Security Directorate. Thanks to the collaboration between various Public Service Commission teams, many steps were taken in 2023 to resolve or mitigate problems, some of which had impacts on services delivered throughout the public service. 

Significant progress was made in the following areas:

• employees on leave: a change was made to the Public Service Resourcing System to extend how long employees on extended leave may access job postings for internal appointment, from 1 year to 2 years; this change took effect on January 3, 2023
• accessible hyperlinks: the Services and Business Development Sector was engaged on the need to adjust the Public Service Resourcing System, to guarantee that hyperlinks are accessible
• as well, human resources advisors were made aware of best practices for including hyperlinks in staffing material
• analysis of equity in training opportunities: in light of the mid-year performance cycle, the Human Resources Corporate Programs Division has developed an approach to better monitor how much general training and development employees in designated groups have taken
•  the data collected during the year will make it possible to determine whether there are disparities in the development opportunities provided
• clear language used in job postings, tools, and accommodation measures: readability was assessed, and standard paragraphs were revised to improve readability

Overall, the observations in the report were very positive, particularly in terms of the very low number of employment equity-related complaints. Representation of employment equity groups was higher than the Canadian workforce availability rates. We improved our accommodation request process, and we offered awareness campaigns and professional development for employees through mentoring and second language training services.

We are continuing to implement the actions proposed in response to the recommendations of the employment systems review. Messages for Public Service Commission staff are published regularly in the internal weekly newsletter to ensure that employees are aware of the actions being taken. The review will increase access to employment resources and improve employee awareness of accessibility needs.

As well, as an agency offering support to departments, we have provided guidance on the employment systems review in our employment systems review guide, which we developed with the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer. The guide aims to help departments and agencies implement the recommendation in the Audit of Employment Equity Representation in Recruitment to review the staffing framework and practices to ensure that appointment processes are barrier-free for employment equity groups.

The guide will continue to be updated based on feedback. Departments and agencies can provide feedback at the following address: cfp.dep-pdd.psc@cfp-psc.gc.ca.

Specialisterne

Status: completed

The Office of Public Service Accessibility directed a pilot project for all departments and agencies in 2020, extending to 2022, in which a small number of departments (including the Public Service Commission) took part. The goal of this project, conducted in collaboration with Specialisterne, was to hire 15 neurodivergent people in the public service.

Managers, their employees, and human resources teams participated in information and awareness sessions provided by Specialisterne to better understand the value of a diverse workforce.

The Public Service Commission’s participation in the pilot project was a success on 2 fronts:

• we added diverse talent by hiring 5 people with 4 different managers
• we acted as an expert advisor for all participating departments; our experts from policy teams and from the Personnel Psychology Centre reviewed some best practices in human resources and explored available flexibilities

In 2022, we also participated in an e-learning neurodiversity pilot project directed by the Canada School of Public Service with the Office of Public Service Accessibility. Out of a total of 500 participants, over 110 were from the Public Service Commission. The goal was to assess 5 modules to improve our understanding of autism and neurodiversity. Our experience with Specialisterne had positive impacts on our participation in this project. The experience was positive, and according to the survey of participating hiring managers, there is reason to believe that a change in culture and in behaviour occurred in the Public Service Commission in terms of diversity and inclusion.

Our hiring managers are now better informed and more aware of the advantages and needs stemming from the recruitment of diverse applicants, including neurodivergent people. When hiring persons with disabilities, the goal is to continue to integrate and maintain inclusive practices that have shown conclusive results.

Accessibility passport

Status: delayed (new deadline: March 31, 2024)

In May 2023, our Executive Management Committee approved the implementation of the Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport. In the Public Service Commission, the launch took place in late November 2023. This government-wide initiative aims to address the barriers encountered by federal public servants and applicants with disabilities when they would like to obtain the tools, support and accommodation measures that they require to be fully successful in their careers. The passport enables employees to voluntarily record barriers, the solutions they have found, and the conditions of the agreement they have reached with their manager to implement these solutions. Certain actions may be unique or little known since they are defined based on the needs of a specific person. The passport makes it easier to carry out these actions at work if the person needs to change teams or departments, as it is a way to communicate valuable information.  

Training sessions will be provided to Public Service Commission managers from mid-December 2023 to January 2024, focusing on properly using the passport and the duty to accommodate.

Changes were also made to the recruit onboarding program, including information about the accessibility passport, to strengthen our commitment to create an inclusive and quality workplace.

The Persons with Disabilities Sub-Committee is fully committed to this initiative and to ensuring the launch is successful. As this action is fully in line with reducing accessibility barriers, we will ensure that it is updated this year.

Staffing policies

Status: completed

As the agency responsible for administering the Public Service Employment Act, we assess policies and programs to ensure that their design is inclusive. The goal is to increase awareness of cultural differences and increase confidence in applicants and hiring managers. To do so, we have taken action on several fronts in the last few years.

Following the Audit of Employment Equity Representation in Recruitment, which we carried out as part of our oversight mandate, we added requirements to the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument:

• where underrepresentation has been identified, deputy heads must review their appointment or appointment-related employment systems, policies and practices
• training prerequisites for sub-delegation must be established, including training on unconscious bias

We communicated these changes to ensure their implementation, and at the same time to promote the Inclusive hiring practices for a diverse workforce course, developed by the Canada School of Public Service.

Here are other examples of achievements this year:

• publishing a self-declaration page for the general public
• promoting the added value of diverse assessment boards in staffing processes, in particular through the Spotlight on diverse assessment boards guide
• the guide aims to create conditions for training diverse assessment boards made up of people who have followed different career paths, leading to fewer biases and barriers and enabling candidates to feel more at ease during the assessment

We are committed to collecting and sharing data with client organizations. We continue to work on this and bearing in mind the amendments made to the Public Service Employment Act, we are exploring available methods to expand data collection on equity-seeking groups. This work will ensure that data on equity-seeking groups is available and will allow us to conduct our related monitoring activities, including those that have been introduced by amendments to the Public Service Employment Act to address biases and barriers that disadvantage equity-seeking groups. The deadlines will be tied to the implementation of the Treasury Board Secretariat’s self-identification modernization project.

As well, in partnership with our Information Technology Services Directorate, each year the policy team submits a satisfaction questionnaire to all client organizations, to collect key information on its clients’ needs. The questionnaire has been revised to be fully accessible and easy to use.

Internally, the human resources team, which provides services to Public Service Commission managers, made changes to the departmental Your Staffing Compass tool to include the new guides and tools developed by the Personnel Psychology Centre.

Public Service Employment Act amendments

Status: completed

On July 1, 2023, 2 amendments to the Public Service Employment Act intended to strengthen diversity and inclusion entered into force. They are part of a series of several amendments adopted to mitigate biases and barriers that disadvantage people who belong to an equity-seeking group.

Across the government, we followed up with several actions in response to these amendments:

• reviewed the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument and the Appointment Policy to help implement these new provisions
• published a guide and tool for mitigating biases to support managers in assessing candidates during appointment processes
• reviewed documents for clients to make them accessible (presentations, information, posters, updates)
• communication services and other internal partners collaborated on the review of the website, including information about the amendments, to make it fully accessible
• used specialized services to send information about the amendments to the human resources community and to managers, integrating American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, real-time translation of communications, and instructions for using speech synthesis

We also took the following internal steps:

• amended the Departmental Staffing Policy, the attestation form, the Public Service Commission’s Instrument of Delegation of Human Resources Authorities and internal staffing sub-delegation training so that the review of assessment tools can be conducted in accordance with subsection 36(2) of the Public Service Employment Act, the Appointment Delegation and Accountability Instrument, and the Appointment Policy
• signing of the new attestation form by our interim president and sub-delegated managers

These amendments, implemented throughout the year, will help improve access to employment-related information and resources.

Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities

Status: pilot project ongoing; future of the program being assessed

The Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities is a 5-year national program (running from April 2019 to March 2024) that aims to improve the recruitment, retention and promotion of persons with disabilities.

The pilot program was launched on April 1, 2019, to provide 25 2-year federal public service internship opportunities to Canadians with disabilities each year, for a total of 125 internships over the 5 years of the program. Internships provide meaningful work experience and help develop professional skills. Recruitment for the program is currently complete. In total, 126 interns will have participated.

The program involves partnering with departments, agencies, and associations to review hiring practices and accessibility issues and developing new relationships to better reach Canadians with disabilities.

In this context, hiring managers are equipped with guidance, tools and strategies to ensure that interns are fully supported throughout their internships. Customized integration sessions are also provided to interns and managers, as well as coaching for effective onboarding, employee development and integration.

The program evaluation by our Internal Audit and Evaluation Directorate, as well as the management response action plan, were presented and approved by the governance committees. The results of the evaluation were positive overall. This initiative was implemented with support from the Centralized Enabling Workplace Fund. We will conduct a planning and evaluation exercise to determine its ability to maintain the program.

At the organizational level, we made good use of the program for our talent needs by integrating 5 people from different cohorts of the program.

Spotlight on macrosimulations

Status: new

While they were not mentioned in the 2022 Accessibility Plan, macrosimulations are offered to all departments and agencies, and worth mentioning here.

To support departments and agencies in hiring people with disabilities, each year since fiscal year 2021 to 2022, we have offered macrosimulations to estimate the number to be recruited to reach the target of 5 000 hires by the end of March 2025. In February each year, letters with yearly hiring objectives are sent to the deputy ministers in charge of each department and agency (including institutions that are not subject to the Public Service Employment Act). These letters include a summary of the progress made in each department and agency, as well as a ranking of institutions based on their level of compliance with previously set targets.

The Public Service Commission obtained the following results:

• in terms of representation of people with disabilities, in 2021 to 2022 we were fourth out of the 69 departments and agencies in the Demographic Snapshot of Canada’s Public Service, 2020
• we were first among departments and agencies with more than 500 employees
• in 2021 to 2022, we hired 24 new employees with disabilities, which increased the cumulative workforce of new hires of persons with disabilities to our agency to a total of 48 persons since fiscal year 2020 to 2021
• in 2021 to 2022, the representation of people with disabilities was above their workforce availability estimate, according to Statistics Canada calculations
• our hiring target for people with disabilities for next fiscal year will be known as soon as the macrosimulation model is updated with data from the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Employment Equity Data Bank

Our Data Services and Analysis Directorate will continue to offer the macrosimulations service for the benefit of all client organizations.  

2) Built environment

Vision 
Move freely around buildings and public spaces.

Barrier
There is a lack of rooms and spaces that meet needs such as rest, prayer and reflection in a quiet area.

Status: completed; new project begun (deadline: 2026)

All Public Service Commission offices, including regional offices, meet wheelchair accessibility needs. The Gatineau headquarters is equipped with various functions to make it easier for people with a visual impairment to move around when they enter the building and on each floor. Occupational health and safety committees across the country monitor individual needs, and the health and safety team works with the building team to cover all accessibility needs, which has always been a priority.

Since hybrid work practices were established, we have implemented actions for employee well-being:

• posters indicating break and prayer rooms to meet personal needs
• promotion (through weekly posts) of physical and mental health, support and available confidential resources

We have also partnered with Public Services and Procurement Canada to implement a workplace modernization project to provide modern and accessible spaces that are adapted for hybrid work at the National Capital Region headquarters. This project will extend over 2 years and will explore new working methods to foster a positive employee experience.

Our vision for the future workplace is based on a space that is accessible by default, inclusive for all employees, and adaptable to the evolution of our work environment. Our vision emphasizes flexibility to meet individual needs and preferences for on-site work activities, including the need for calm spaces and collaboration rooms.

This new environment will be part of an ecosystem of well-designed, well-equipped, secure and inspiring workspaces, which will improve on-site interactions with colleagues, clients and other stakeholders. In essence, this evolution of the workplace aims to foster a culture of innovation and collaboration, in addition to improving digital technologies.

Information and consultation sessions are underway with all employees to provide an overall understanding of the entire project and to encourage open dialogue to optimize the hybrid, modern and accessible workplace.

At the same time as this project, Public Services and Procurement Canada has a pilot project for inclusive washrooms at the Public Service Commission’s headquarters. The project should be completed by the end of March 2025, and includes installing and renovating an inclusive washroom on the ground floor of the building.

We are committed to transforming our worksite to create an inclusive and flexible environment that is conducive to our employees’ professional development.

3) Information and communication technologies

Vision
Accessible digital content and technologies.

Barrier
No barriers have been noted so far.

Status: ongoing

To prevent any possible barriers, our Information Technology Services Directorate continues to improve existing systems, make new systems accessible by design, and evaluate all other technology requests based on industry accessibility requirements. 

A new process for receiving technology requests enabled us to include a section on accessibility, to provide information about accessibility needs and to suggest new solutions. 

The Information Technology Services Directorate ensures that the new systems meet modern accessibility standards, including for hardware and software developed internally or acquired on the market. These efforts support the departmental plan on services and digital for the period from 2024 to 2026. 

We consult and collaborate regularly with Shared Services Canada’s Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology Program. The goal of the program is to evaluate tools according to accessibility standards to ensure that the workplace is made more accessible. As well, the Information Technology Services Directorate works with partners to determine, review and process accessibility requirements for priority projects such as the Candidate Assessment Tool, an inclusive and accessible platform that public servants and members of the public can use to take certain Public Service Commission tests.

4) Communication other than information and communication technologies

Vision 
Provide accessible and inclusive services and products for everyone.
Barrier
The format of Public Service Commission documents, tools and resources is not always accessible.

Ongoing support

Status: ongoing

Our Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Directorate continues to be a key partner on document accessibility by providing services and advice to our managers and employees.

For example, our policy team examined the processes related to our president’s visits to newly appointed deputy heads. The review led to a simplified process and to more accessible documents and information. The accessible communications working group was consulted to improve the results.   

Centre of Expertise for Accessible Documents

Status: completed

Significant results were achieved in 2023 as part of internal and external communication activities.

Our Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Directorate established the Centre of Expertise for Accessible Documents in April 2022. Since then, the centre had many achievements, including:

• training provided to over 100 Public Service Commission employees, which resulted in 96 document accessibility ambassadors
• development and delivery of 3 thematic sessions on accessibility, offered to all Public Service Commission employees
• answers sent in response to over 302 employee inquiries
• presentation of the model and lessons learned to 10 federal public service departments and agencies, including 3 interdepartmental communities of practice

The Communications and Parliamentary Affairs Directorate also helped eliminate or prevent barriers in our external communications by ensuring that all our communications products are reviewed and edited to meet equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility standards and guidelines. This work draws on these documents:

• Canada.ca Content Style Guide
• Indigenous Glossary: Words Matter (available only on the Government of Canada network)
• Plain language, accessibility, and inclusive communications
• Guide on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Terminology

Throughout 2023, consultations were conducted with our employee diversity and inclusion committees, including with our sub-committee for employees with disabilities. Feedback identified opportunities for improvement, especially in terms of improving certain aspects of internal templates and documents, which, while they are accessible, could benefit from other improvements. Feedback was otherwise very positive and led us to conclude that the Centre of Expertise for Accessible Documents’ activities are important.

The centre intends to complete the following activities by March 31, 2024:

• refresher training sessions for accessible document ambassadors
• accessible document training sessions for managers (an initiative recently launched and provided in the form of individual sessions)
• updating tools and resources for employees
• thematic training session for all employees

The Centre of Expertise for Accessible Documents had an enormous impact on our internal culture and practices, enabling us to establish a solid basis for the relevance and duty to provide everyone with accessible documents. Thanks to this success, the team was invited to present to various federal public service groups and committees, including senior managers, demonstrating the team’s quality, competence, and positive impact on accessibility.

Open government pilot project

Status: completed

The open government pilot project, which was implemented by the Open Government Secretariat in 2022 and ended in March 2023, was a great success and led to a change in practice and culture, which is now firmly entrenched.

This project aimed to increase the number of accessible documents available to Canadians on the open government portal. The project was promoted by governance committees, with the full support of our interim president, who was the subject-matter champion. This led to a change in daily practices. Several messages were sent to all employees to promote accessibility requirements and best practices. An ambassador was appointed for the pilot project to hold information sessions and provide support as needed.

The number of accessible documents has clearly increased with the requirement to publish on the open government portal. This practice makes it easier for more people to participate and collaborate, thanks to accessible documents.

5) Procurement of goods, services and facilities

Vision
Ensure purchases of accessible goods, services and facilities.

Barrier
No barriers have been noted so far.

Status: on track (will be completed by March 2024)

As part of implementing accessibility at the Public Service Commission, our procurement services team carefully evaluated all service requests sent by employees and managers (including any accessibility-related requests included in the form). As it already had practices that met accessibility needs, this team continued the work that was begun in previous years, by ensuring that new employees who join the team are well trained and informed, and by working closely with Public Services and Procurement Canada.

To prevent potential barriers from appearing in the context of procuring goods, services and facilities, data will be collected each year to add significant value to the upstream work to be done, and to provide a better overall view. This will allow us to paint a portrait of the number and nature of requests (including accessibility criteria) and to get the result that was achieved.

This year, to make employees aware of accessibility needs, we plan to review procurement presentation material used during cyclical meetings with the many divisions of the Public Service Commission. To this we will add the issues of accessibility requirements and rationale.

6) Design and delivery of programs and services

Vision
Services that are accessible to all.

Barrier
Lack of information about accessibility as part of the programs and services offered to clients.

Public service hiring

Status: ongoing

Since the publication of our accessibility plan, our National Recruitment Directorate and Personnel Psychology Centre have collaborated to mitigate the barriers and obstacles encountered by those accessing their staffing and recruitment services and products.

They play an important role in influencing how departments and agencies hire in the public service. Their efforts to increase accessibility through accommodation measures have strengthened the more inclusive practices supporting the Canadian public service’s accessibility strategy. 

The National Recruitment Directorate offers the following services and products that promote inclusiveness and accessibility:

•  Inclusive Recruitment Toolkit (available only on the Government of Canada network), launched to provide hiring managers and human resources professionals with practical advice, tools and resources on inclusive strategies to recruit a diverse workforce
• support for students with disabilities through the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities (available only on the Government of Canada network),  which includes onboarding and education activities, a mentorship program and networking activities
• in 2023 to 2024, 145 students registered for this program’s summer activities, with access to over 50 mentors with lived experience
• the Virtual Door to Talent with Disabilities (available only on the Government of Canada network), a single window for pools and inventories of candidates with disabilities, enabling hiring managers not only to meet their skill needs, but also to diversify their teams:
• inventory of graduates with disabilities (available only on the Government of Canada network), former students with disabilities who may be hired through the student bridging mechanism
• Careers in biology for persons with disabilities (available only on the Government of Canada network), a pool of assessed candidates interested in careers in biological sciences (the goal is to fill BI-2 positions)
• Policy and Data Analysts (available only on the Government of Canada network), an inventory of partially assessed persons with disabilities with varied experience with policies or data analysis (to fill EC-1 to EC-5 positions)
• access to candidates in Public Service Commission pools and inventories and who have declared as belonging to an employment equity group

These measures have increased the accessibility of the tools and resources that are available to clients. These pools and inventories established during the period covered by this report are available for managers to access and request referrals. The National Recruitment Directorate will continue to support candidate matching and hiring through these pools and inventories to help address barriers, and will continue to develop resources and talent products based on emerging needs.

Accommodation measures

Status: completed

We play a considerable role thanks to our specialized team that provides assessment accommodation measures and training to eliminate barriers in assessment methods. This service offer includes developing accommodation measures for Public Service Commission tests as well as for tests developed by any other federal government department or agency.

Over time, the Personnel Psychology Centre has carried out more than 3 000 analyses of assessment accommodation measures for client organizations. This has had a positive impact on the perception and experiences of persons with disabilities who work for or are looking for a job in the federal public service. During fiscal year 2022 to 2023, the Personnel Psychology Centre was particularly active in the area of inclusion and accessibility, as the following initiatives show:

• contributed to improving assessment accommodation with the launch of the Candidate Assessment Tool
• the tool allows candidates to change the font size to schedule the date of their test, zoom in or out on the content, and make other visual adjustments
• these functions comply with the principles of universal design, and allow candidates to access the accommodation measures that they need without having to ask for them explicitly
• accommodation requests have decreased in 2022, from 5% to 8% per exam request, to 2% to 3%
• simplified the data collection process for all assessment accommodation requests, using unsupervised online second language evaluations, which has reduced timeframes: 
• from a 50-day wait to receive a report, to less than 10 days (service standard)
• from meeting less than 20% of service standards met to almost 100% each month
• launched a consultation service for departments and agencies, provided by the bias mitigation and assessment team, to reduce bias
• developed and led workshops (available only on the Government of Canada network) on how to conduct a bias and barrier assessment in an assessment context
• there were 1 503 participants (over 33 sessions)
• presented a short version of these workshops to 1 268 participants in March 2023, in collaboration with the Human Resources Council
• included the “bias mitigation and assessment” component in the assessment accessibility ambassadors network (link available only on the Government of Canada network), a community of practice in the field of accessible and inclusive assessments

The goal of the assessment accessibility ambassadors’ network is to support departments and agencies with inclusive assessments and mitigating bias and barriers. Currently, there are 53 ambassadors from 32 departments and agencies, who meet regularly with assessment specialists from the Personnel Psychology Centre to discuss cases, issues, and best practices, to help review assessment methods and to determine whether they contain bias and barriers.

These improvements by the Personnel Psychology Centre have greatly contributed to an increase in the quality of services being provided to everyone. 

Public Service Resourcing System

Status: completed

As part of its efforts to improve the accessibility and inclusiveness of the Public Service Resourcing System, we took several concrete steps in 2023.

In particular, the Public Service Resourcing System team made an important addition to its GC Jobs site for job seekers: it published useful information on the steps to take to apply and on the process for requesting accommodation measures. Once in the Public Service Resourcing System, the user can receive help, through messages (through the WalkMe platform) that appear when the mouse cursor hovers over a field, and through question mark shaped icons that lead to information and explanatory resources.

Among these resources, there is a video that gives advice to job seekers and makes it easier to apply for a job. There is also advice about the search criteria that can be used on job search, archive and email alert pages. This enables users to better understand how to use these functions correctly.

For people who use the Public Service Resourcing System in departments and agencies, a change was made to clarify data entry in specific fields under the heading “Additional PSRS links.” This change encourages users to provide detailed information, which will then increase the accessibility of the job posting.

The team is currently working on changes to the template that is used for postings created in their system. These changes are intended to simply the titles of the various sections in the postings and to structure the information to make it more accessible for different assistive technologies. Final approval for the changes is underway, and the completion date for the project is yet to be determined.

As part of our efforts to increase accessibility and inclusiveness, and through the Policy and Communication Sector, we will improve the headings on the Applying for Government of Canada jobs: What to expect page on Canada.ca. Once the changes have been made, a link to these pages will be posted on WalkMe to ensure that people who are applying for jobs with the public service have easy access to this information.

7) Transportation

Vision
A barrier-free federal transportation network.

Barrier
This is more of a gap than a barrier (it involves awareness of accessibility in employee transportation).

Status: on track

Our responsibilities and authority over transportation are limited. According to the stipulations in the Accessible Canada Act and the Accessible Canada Regulations, the Public Service Commission pays attention to its employees’ transportation.

We ensure that we provide safe and accessible options to all employees who need to travel as part of their duties. As well, to make travel planning easier for new employees, we list transportation options for getting to the Public Service Commission’s offices in the onboarding kit, which makes it easier to find transportation to the worksite.

During the year, actions will be taken to increase employee awareness and to make more information available about transportation rights and options at work.

Consultations

We published and promoted our accessibility plan on our website, as well as internally with employees and managers, including through the weekly PSC Express newsletter. All employees were invited to submit their comments, and they were given the accessibility team’s email address.

Public Service Commission teams consulted with their clients and other people who receive their services. These consultations were mentioned in the relevant areas of focus.

We consulted this fall with our Persons with Disabilities Sub-Committee to collect members’ comments and suggestions and to learn whether they had encountered accessibility issues at the Public Service Commission. We are still waiting for answers from some members of the sub-committee, while others have already submitted valuable information. This will all be integrated into our next progress report.

Feedback

Our accessibility plan and the accessibility team’s email address have been posted on our website since December 2022.

The accessibility team quickly answered all emails and made sure to consult the relevant experts. There are several collaborators within the Public Service Commission who work at different levels on accessibility-related questions and requests. For this reason, we have established an informal accessibility working group, which has a discussion group in MS Teams to improve its ability to respond.

As well, our consultations with the diversity and inclusion sub-committees and with our client departments and agencies enabled us to gather comments and ideas, which we have integrated into the solutions put forward in this progress report. More recent comments will be implemented over the next year and will be used as a basis for later improvements to accessibility, which will be presented in our next progress report.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission’s accessibility unit recently reviewed our accessibility plan and noted gaps to be addressed, mainly relating to barriers that were not clearly explained. We will review our accessibility plan to integrate this feedback and address the comments and gaps and will publish an updated version of the plan.  

Conclusion

The Public Service Commission, which is responsible for promoting and safeguarding a merit-based, representative and non-partisan public service that serves all Canadians, in collaboration with stakeholders, is proud to help transform practices and culture in order to build a barrier-free country by 2040. As an agency responsible for supporting an inclusive public service, we understand the importance of setting an example in terms of accessibility and of continuing to identify and eliminate barriers, so as to meet the needs of all.

We plan to keep engaging all levels of our organization and beyond, to continue to promote open dialogue on accessibility, to collect feedback, and to implement the required changes. We will also advance these initiatives to continue this transformation and fully integrate persons with disabilities. In accordance with the “Nothing without us” approach and with the related best practices, people should take part in the design and implementation stages of the various tools and programs, so as to benefit from information-rich data from the earliest stages, and lead to significant time savings and improvements in content.

Our December 2024 progress report will highlight new gains and changes promoting accessibility, in a context that is rooted in a culture of openness and accessibility.

Appendix A: Progress Report Summary

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Accessibility progress reports developed by other institutions

List of accessibility progress reports developed by other institutions