Shared Services Canada 2025-2028 Accessibility Plan

Built Environment

Built environment refers to all physical human-made structures and objects that make up SSC spaces, from entrances, elevators, and signage to meeting rooms, lighting, and more.

SSC has started converting its workplaces to the GC Workplace Standard and aims to complete the transformation by 2026-27. Although the Workplace Standard meets the Canadian Standard Association Accessible design for the built environment (CSA/ASC B651:23), SSC has developed internal standards beyond the minimum accessibility requirements. SSC routinely involves our Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT) program in accommodations projects and engages with accessibility experts and persons with lived experiences throughout the project lifecycles to ensure that projects meet workplace standards.

Key barriers – Built Environment

SSC employees and partners identified obstacles when accessing and moving around the various SSC workplaces. These concerns include the following:

• Routes or pathways are not always accessible from the main building doors to SSC workspaces.
• A lack of automatic door openers.
• Poor signage and wayfinding, and difficulty moving between and across buildings.
• The design of many physical spaces does not consider the full range of disabilities. Examples include conference rooms, training facilities, washrooms, workspaces, and meeting environments.

Goal to reach by 2040 – Built Environment

Goal 1 – Built Environment

Buildings and workspaces that SSC employees occupy are accessible.

Objectives for 2025-2028 – Built Environment

Objective 1 – Built Environment

Provide SSC employees with workspaces that are accessible.

Objective 2 – Built Environment

Provide accessibility information about SSC workspaces and buildings to SSC employees and partners.

Key planned actions – Built Environment

1. Work with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to:
   1. Make modifications to workplaces, where possible, based on audit findings; and,
   2. Update SSC's Building Welcome Guides to include the results of accessibility audit findings.
2. Provide information to SSC employees and managers on how to address building-related accessibility challenges.
3. Consult with SSC employees to identify accessibility barriers within our SSC suites/spaces and work to remove barriers identified through the consultation.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) accessibility ensures that people with and without disabilities can access the same information, perform the same tasks, and receive the same services using information technology. It is the digital equivalent of accessibility in the physical environment (e.g., curb cuts, ramps, and railings). While ICT accessibility benefits everyone who uses it, it is necessary for many persons with disabilities.

Given SSC's mandate to provide secure and reliable digital, network and hosting services that allow public servants to collaborate and seamlessly across the GC, ICT accessibility is linked to the Procurement and the Design and Delivery of Programs and Services sections of this Accessibility Plan.

Key barriers - ICT

• Some digital systems at SSC are not usable by persons with disabilities.
• Accessibility features are often not enabled on commonly available software and hardware.
• Some key GC applications and tools are inaccessible (ex., Phoenix, PeopleSoft and GCdocs).

Goal to reach by 2040 – ICT

Goal 1 - ICT

SSC is consistently building-in accessibility when acquiring, developing and deploying the technology, information, and related services SSC employees use.

Objective for 2025-2028 – ICT

Objective 1 - ICT

SSC adopts the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.

Key planned actions - ICT

1. Conduct accessibility testing against the latest version of the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services of SSC technology products deployed internally or to partners.
   1. Publish accessibility statements for SSC ICT products and services that have been tested.
2. Determine the accessibility status of SSC's current ICT products and services by continuing SSC’s Accessible ICT Baseline Research project.
3. Using information from SSC’s Accessible ICT Baseline Research project, develop a roadmap for SSC's internal Information and Communications Technology to comply with the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.
4. Begin to implement the roadmap for SSC’s ICT to comply with the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, adjusting to new challenges and/or opportunities as needed.

Communication, other than ICT

Communication other than ICT refers to how people share and access information, regardless of form or medium. It can include language (messaging), use of interpreters, meeting formats, visual communications, and documents. SSC is committed to continuously improving its communications services and how information is shared in and by the organization. It includes applying an accessibility and disability inclusion lens to creating and producing digital products, print products, events, and social media content.

Key barriers – Communication, other than ICT

• Day-to-day communications between individuals and groups may not be accessible.
• Documents sometimes cannot be accessed or understood.
• Meetings may not be fully accessible.

Goals to reach by 2040 – Communication, other than ICT

Goal 1 – Communication, other than ICT

GC employees can access SSC digital information, products, and services, and members of the public can access corporate communications information and products.

Goal 2 – Communications, other than ICT

SSC and its employees consistently communicate in a way that is accessible, not just in SSC's corporate communications but also as part of everyday communications.

Objectives for 2025-2028 – Communications, other than ICT

Objective 1 – Communication, other than ICT

SSC employees, partners, and the public have equal access to information through communication supports, alternate formats, accessible websites, and digital content as it applies to SSC's corporate communications products.

Objective 2 – Communication, other than ICT

Provide SSC employees with the ability to acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to create and deliver information (documents, SharePoint sites, dashboards, etc.) in a way that is accessible and inclusive for all.

Key planned actions – Communication, other than ICT

1. Monitor:
   1. Content on SSC's corporate communications platforms to identify opportunities for improvement; and,
   2. Communications practices and tools to ensure that they are accessible and inclusive.
2. Increase awareness of accessibility and inclusion through change management and communications activities, including the following:
   1. Publishing accessibility-related information regularly through internal and external communications channels.
   2. Communications related to key disability inclusion and accessibility events, such as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) and National AccessAbility Week (NAAW).
   3. Sharing information on available training related to accessibility and disability inclusion.
   4. Communicating SSC's progress in accessibility and disability inclusion at key speaking engagements.
3. Develop and implement a plan to improve the accessibility of meetings and documents for SSC’s governance committees and working groups.
4. Develop and implement a plan to achieve WCAG standard level AA for any website developed by SSC.
5. Promote GC training and events to increase management and employee awareness and understanding of accessibility and disability inclusion.

Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

Accessibility in procurement means meeting the broadest set of user needs possible right from the start of the process. If something is purchased that is not fully accessible, a short-term workaround may be required until issues can be resolved.

Using an accessible good, service or facility from the beginning minimizes the need for accommodation. This saves time, money, and energy related to workarounds, adding accessibility after the fact, or maintaining separate accessible goods, services, or facilities. Being inclusive by design invests in robust, resilient, and economical systems that serve the broadest range of users over time.

Key barriers – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

• Commercially available ICT solutions may not be fully accessible. To encourage the acquisition of accessible tools, since 2018, the GC has been piloting the internationally recognized Accessibility EN 301 549 Harmonized European Standard for ICT products and services.

Goal to reach by 2040 – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

Goal 1 – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

ICT procured by SSC conforms with the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.

Objectives for 2025-2028 – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

Objective 1 – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

SSC engagement activities provide insights into the readiness of the ICT industry to provide accessible goods, services, and facilities.

Objective 2 – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

SSC's framework and tools for procurement of accessible ICT are aligned with the CAN/ASC - EN 301 549:2024 standard on Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services.

Key planned actions – Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

1. Provide advice and tools to GC contract authorities and/or technical authorities to enable the inclusion of accessibility requirements in procurement of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
2. Track and report on the number of procurements at SSC that include Information and Communications Technology (ICT) accessibility requirements.

Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Accessibility in the design and delivery of SSC programs and services means ensuring that the needs of persons with disabilities are intentionally included in the design, development, and implementation of the IT services SSC provides.

SSC plays a key role in making the GC's vision for a more accessible Canada a reality because the Department procures and provides ICT infrastructure that supports the delivery of programs and services to Canadians. This section focuses on our delivery of modern, dependable, secure, and accessible enterprise IT infrastructure to the GC.

SSC's mandate requires it to adapt and transform to best support modernization of government services and ensure public servants have the technology they need to do their jobs. This includes our own employees here at SSC. As a result, all actions taken to improve the accessibility of ICT for the GC will apply to SSC as a service organization and as an employer.

Key barriers - Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

• The quality standards for customer service are not equal for users with disabilities.
• Limited service delivery channels for persons with disabilities reduces access to IT services.
• Current oversight on the design, retrofit and procurement of ICT infrastructure and solutions does not prioritize accessibility.
• ICT security and privacy practices can unintentionally cause barriers to persons with disabilities. The intersection between security, privacy and accessibility is rarely considered in ICT governance and approvals.

Goals to reach by 2040 - Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Goal 1 – Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

GC partner departments are satisfied with the accessibility of SSC's services.

Goal 2 – Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

SSC has built-in accessibility when acquiring, developing, and deploying services.

Objectives for 2025-2028 - Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Objective 1 – Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Ensure that accessibility and disability inclusion requirements are formally included in SSC's governance framework as it applies to SSC products and services.

Objective 2 – Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Ensure SSC employees have the knowledge and skills necessary to build in accessibility when acquiring, designing, and delivering SSC products and services for partner departments.

Objective 3 – Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

Support GC employees with disabilities, injuries, and ergonomic requirements in the workplace by providing accessibility, accommodations, and adaptive computer technology services.

Key Planned Actions - Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

1. Review existing governance to identify opportunities to incorporate accessibility information from feedback and consultations in decision-making continually.
2. Establish an SSC accessibility conformance and user testing approach.
3. Review, in consultation with persons with disabilities, key SSC enterprise processes and practices including:
   1. project management,
   2. service authorization and management, and
   3. architecture to identify opportunities to build in accessibility considerations in decision-making and address accessibility barriers and gaps.
4. Monitor the demand for SSC's relevant short-term accommodations, adaptive technology, services, and tools for public service employees with disabilities or injuries.
5. Collaborate with other GC organizations, including the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and Accessibility Standards Canada, on all matters related to accessibility.
6. Provide federal public servants with adaptive computer technology, tools, training, services, and resources.

Transportation

In the context of the Accessible Canada Act, transportation refers to the federally regulated transportation network and only applies to entities that must comply under the Canada Transportation ACT (CTA).  Although this act does not apply to SSC, during consultations, SSC heard that travel between workplaces sometimes presents accessibility challenges.

Key barrier - Transportation

• Moving from one building to another for meetings can be difficult and is not always accessible for SSC employees.

Goal to reach by 2040 – Transportation

Goal 1 – Transportation

SSC employees can travel between work locations with ease.

Objective for 2025-2028 – Transportation

Objective 1 – Transportation

Tools and processes that enable SSC employees to move between work locations are accessible.

Key planned action - Transportation

1. Continue to participate in the pilot of an accessible mobile application for transport services that enables SSC employees to travel between work locations and continue to consult with persons with disabilities on the accessibility of this application.

Culture

Culture refers to making accessibility a priority through collaboration, inclusivity, and respect. Obstacles to a disability-inclusive workplace can include attitudes, misunderstanding and/or stigma related to disabilities.

At SSC, we want to create and foster an organizational culture that is equipped, aware and that understands accessibility and disability inclusion. We recognize the need to amplify efforts to become a more inclusive and aware workforce.

Key barriers - Culture

• Accessibility continues to be an afterthought in some areas, processes, and practices at SSC. For example, not everyone considers accessibility when creating documents or booking meetings.
• Stigma and bias in the workplace related to persons with disabilities persist. This is a severe problem that makes some persons with disabilities choose not to self-identify.

Goal to reach by 2040 – Culture

Goal 1 - Culture

SSC's policies, planning, communications and leaders are focused on enabling a workforce that is aware and confident about including employees with disabilities in the workplace.

Objective for 2025-2028 – Culture

Objective 1 - Culture

Improve the culture of accessibility at SSC so its workforce understands and welcomes the benefits of integration and disability inclusion.

Key planned actions - Culture

Conclusion

SSC developed this 2025-2028 Accessibility Plan to remove barriers that affect persons with disabilities and to meet the requirements of the Accessible Canada Act.

SSC has made considerable progress since our first Accessibility Plan was published in 2022, but we acknowledge that there is more work to be done. This includes developing implementation and delivery plans for the commitments in this 2025-2028 Accessibility Plan, as well as improving systems for managing accessibility feedback, and continuing to improve accessibility planning and reporting within SSC.

Through continuous monitoring and regular updates, SSC will ensure the 2025-2028 Accessibility Plan remains relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of our employees and partners. By embracing innovation, fostering a culture of inclusion, and leveraging partnerships, SSC aims to be a leader in accessibility within the GC and contribute to a future where everyone can participate fully and equally in the workplace and society.

Thank you to our employees and partners for your support in advancing accessibility and disability inclusion and your contributions to building this Plan. 

Appendix A – Consultations and Feedback

Consultations on SSC’s 2025-2028 Accessibility Plan

SSC consulted with persons with disabilities and their allies in 2024 to inform this Plan. During these consultations, we asked persons with disabilities about accessibility barriers and possible actions that could remove barriers. We provided several options for employees to participate, including virtual sessions, private meetings, or email.

Participant discussion and feedback focused primarily on the priority areas of culture, employment, and built environment. Feedback on all priority areas was often interconnected with culture and the importance of fostering a positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace for persons with disabilities. The role of leadership in driving culture change was a key point in ensuring accessibility is prioritized and that persons with disabilities do not feel marginalized or unsupported. Many participants felt that SSC should foster a culture of inclusion and accessibility by default, with emphasis on accountability, support, and action from management. Some participants mentioned that resistance to change and lack of awareness at levels of the organization can create challenges and affect morale.

Challenges with the built environment were mostly linked to Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace, including changes in office design, inflexibility, and lack of consultation with persons with disabilities. Participants highlighted inadequacy, inflexibility, and/or a lack of consistency in workspace setups (e.g., desk heights, storage, chair/equipment adjustments), as well as noise control and environmental factors (e.g., air quality, workspace design, lighting) which were seen to hinder productivity and cause discomfort. Inaccessible signage and wayfinding are also an issue. Participants mentioned that processes were better pre-pandemic.

Participants also raised challenges in accessing fair employment opportunities, including barriers to recruitment, such as complex application processes. Throughout their career, persons with disabilities mentioned feeling unsupported on an ongoing basis. They cited barriers encountered at onboarding, with on-site accommodations and with inaccessible HR and IT processes and systems that can present barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from doing their jobs and advancing in their careers.

Other consultations and information sources

In developing this Plan, SSC also considered:

• Accessibility feedback SSC has received since 2022 

• Information from consultations held with persons with disabilities in 2023 and 2024 to inform SSC’s annual accessibility progress reports 

• Responses to SSC’s Annual Accessibility Survey for employees 

• Responses to accessibility questions in SSC’s Client Satisfaction Feedback Initiative (CSFI) sent to GC Chief Information Officers 

• Information from internal and interdepartmental working groups on accessibility.