Accessibility action plan (Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians)

General

The Secretariat of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (Secretariat) has developed the current Accessibility Action Plan pursuant to the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). The ACA requires regulated entities to identify barriers and develop actions to eliminate barriers across seven accessibility pillars, including: Employment, Built Environment, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Communication, Procurement, Service Design and Delivery, and Transportation.

The Act requires all regulated entities, including government departments such as the Secretariat, to:

• develop and publish an accessibility action plan;
• implement a process to receive and respond to feedback on accessibility and on the plan itself in a timely manner; and
• publish annual progress reports to communicate progress made against the plan.

The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (Committee) and its Secretariat were established in June 2017 by the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians Act.

The Secretariat’s core responsibility consists of a number of activities to support the reviews of the Committee, including at the Committee’s direction obtaining documents, arranging appearances of officials, drafting supporting material and reports, finalizing reviews for provision to the Prime Minister and relevant ministers, working with security and intelligence organizations to identify injurious information in reports prior to their tabling, and preparing public reports.

While the Secretariat is a micro-agency, we nonetheless recognize that our efforts contribute to the larger goals of Canada’s public service, including ensuring that barriers to accessibility within the responsibility and control of the organization are identified and addressed. The Secretariat values and encourages the full and equal participation of persons with disabilities in its activities. The Secretariat intends that this document, its first Accessibility Action Plan, will guide its future activities with the goal of supporting the realization of a barrier-free Canada.

The Executive Director of the Secretariat is designated to receive feedback on barriers and the organization’s accessibility plans. The Secretariat can be reached at generalinquiries-renseignementsgeneraux@nsicop-cpsnr.gc.ca.

Employment

The Secretariat is comprised of nine full-time equivalents with diverse backgrounds, professional experiences and competencies and an appropriate mix of research and analytical skills. Currently, the organization has not met its Workforce Availability Target for persons with disabilities. The development of a plan to increase the recruitment of employees with disabilities is ongoing.

To date, within the Secretariat, we have committed to and implemented human resources measures to ensure that we consciously invoke equity and inclusion considerations at all stages of our hiring processes, including offering accommodation at the assessment stage. Notwithstanding our small size and requirement for highly specialized knowledge and skills, we actively consider recourse to existing inventories and programs.

The Secretariat, while not a flexible workspace due to security requirements, is committed to providing persons with disabilities equal and equitable opportunities to participate in every aspect of its work. It continually supports employees in requests for specialized equipment and accommodations, which are implemented in a timely manner.

The built environment

The Secretariat’s workplace exists as one contiguous office space in a portion of one floor of a base-building entirely leased by the Government of Canada. Neither the building nor the office space are accessible to the public. Due to the Secretariat’s small size, it does not receive Public Service Employee Survey results, including those relating to the feedback of employees regarding the physical environment.

No accessibility issues in the built environment have been reported to date. This notwithstanding, work to identify barriers and solutions to accessibility in the built environment, and in particular the Secretariat’s dedicated office space, is ongoing.

Information and communication technologies (ICT)

The Secretariat does not procure its own ICT products and services. Secretariat employees perform the majority of their information technology-enabled functions using Canada’s Top Secret Network, which is managed by the Communications Security Establishment. The Secretariat cannot modify its features or functions.

Communication

The Secretariat prepares both internal and external communications materials. The Secretariat’s Government of Canada public-facing website conforms to the Treasury Board Standard on Web Accessibility. The Secretariat’s published content is in HTML format and alternate formats are available by request, including print copies. Other options may be available in the future. The Secretariat also manages NSICOP’s public-facing website.

External communications include web and print publishing of National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians review reports tabled in Parliament, presentations to government, academic and civil society stakeholders and groups, and media engagement by the Committee. In the preparation of external communications, the Secretariat’s objective is to use plain language to ensure that information regarding what are often highly technical subjects is accessible and understandable to all those who might access it.

With respect to the Secretariat’s activities within an unclassified operating environment, work is ongoing to review and, where necessary, update document templates, including presentation materials, for accessibility. The Committee’s published reports, which are redacted versions of classified reports, are equally being reviewed by the Secretariat to determine how to implement accessibility standards and features while respecting security constraints.

Procurement

The Secretariat is a very small organization with a single program activity. It is supported in its internal services, including procurement, by the Privy Council Office, with whom it has a Memorandum of Understanding for that purpose.

While the Secretariat does not undertake major procurement activities for goods or facilities, it does engage in limited procurement for services, in particular academic papers for internal use. While accessibility is considered throughout the procurement process, the Secretariat will review its materials to ensure that deliverables incorporate accessibility features as appropriate.

Design and delivery of programs and services

The Secretariat does not provide direct services or programs.

Transportation

The Secretariat is not involved in any transportation activities.

Consultations

Due to the small size of the Secretariat, the Privy Council Office (PCO), which provides many of the Secretariat’s internal services pursuant to a Memorandum of Understanding, has shared its internal consultations. These consultations have helped inform and guide the Secretariat’s understanding and proposed actions as laid out above. The Secretariat will continue to work with PCO to benefit from feedback from and consultations with its accessibility pillar leads, Persons with Disabilities Focus Group, and accessibility surveys. The Secretariat also plans consultation with external subject matter advisors, as referenced in particular action items included within this plan.