2024 Accessbility Progress Report

Table of contents

• General information
• Employment
• Built environment
• Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
• Communication, other than ICT
• Procurement of goods, services and facilities
• Design and delivery of programs and services
• Transportation
• Consultation and feedback

General information

If you wish to obtain the progress report or the feedback process in a different format, or if you would like to provide feedback or have questions regarding barriers, the Accessibility Action Plan or this report, please contact us by mail, email or telephone:

Team Lead, Diversity, Inclusion and Employment Equity
Diversity, Inclusion and Employment Equity Office
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions
800 René Lévesque Blvd. West, Suite 500
Montréal, Quebec H3B 1X9
Courriel : diversite-diversity@dec-ced.gc.ca
Téléphone :

• 1-800-561-0633 (Toll-free)
• 1-844-805-8727 (TTY line)

Online: Submit your feedback using our online form.

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Aspects covered

Employment

1. Increase the departmental representation of people with disabilities within CED

CED is pursing its efforts to increase the representation of persons with disabilities within the Agency. The People, Culture and Workplace Branch (PCWB) is responsible for noting gaps and informing managers thereof, and making sure managers are aware of their obligations and commitments. The Agency has set concrete targets for hiring new employees with disabilities by 2026.

A dashboard on the representativeness of persons with disabilities is presented to the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis, to guide any necessary action. A new interactive dashboard is currently being developed to monitor representation gaps by equity group, occupational group and sector; managers will be able to use it to support their strategic staffing planning.

Onboarding and orientation sessions for new employees now include a self‑identification awareness component.

In response to the amendment of the Public Service Employment Act, the PCWB has reviewed its tools to hold managers accountable for identifying and eliminating biases and barriers in their assessment methods and the application thereof. Tools have also been developed to support staffing advisors.

A summer student hiring campaign was launched to further CED’s goals related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Supported by the Deputy Minister, the campaign promoted the use of The Virtual Door to Talent with Disabilities, which gives managers access to a list of graduates of the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities (EOSD) program. The Staffing team also recommends that managers consult the Federal Internship Program for Canadians with Disabilities for their hiring needs.

    2. Provide training and awareness activities for managers

A new series of in-house training sessions for managers was implemented in 2024. Topics include “The Duty to Accommodate” and the “Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport” An information session on the Workplace Accessibility Passport was also offered to managers by the Office of Public Service Accessibility.

    3. Inform employees about tools, training and activities

The People, Culture and Workplace Branch (PCWB) updated the CED Learning Roadmap in June 2024. The new training session entitled Fostering an Inclusive Workplace, which includes a section on building an accessible public service, is mandatory for all employees.

The PCWB, in cooperation with the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) co-champions, staged CED’s first‑ever EDI Forum. The Forum set the stage for an open and constructive dialogue aimed at ensuring a better understanding of EDI-related challenges in the public service. The EDI co-champions also set up a group of allies tasked with celebrating diversity at CED by means of various events and activities.

A Guide to inclusive and respectful language, adapted to the needs of people with disabilities, was drawn up by the DGGCMV to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. To ensure that this Guide truly meets their needs, it was designed in collaboration with CED’s new network of persons with disabilities.

The new Accessibility co-champions set up a group of Accessibility ambassadors. A generic email address was also created to allow employees to contact the co-champions with ideas for accessibility-related activities, or to get referrals to the most appropriate resources according to the request submitted. As part of National AccessAbility Week, the group of ambassadors held an awareness-raising activity on creating accessible documents.

The EDI and Accessibility co-champions, the Mental Health Champion and the PCWB invited employees to take part in various events related to mental health, including:

• Yoga sessions in the office
• Bell “Let’s Talk” 2024
• Presentation on stress management and productivity in a hybrid work environment
• Joint Learning Program (JLP) workshops on mental health in the workplace
• Training on the culture of caring in the workplace, given by the Office of the Mental Health and Well-being Ombuds
• World Mental Health Day
• Activities organized by Infinity as part of the Public Service Neurodiversity Week
• Presentation on cultural humility by the Office of the Mental Health and Well-being Ombuds
• Workplace harassment and violence prevention training
• Information sessions about the services provided through the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), the Ombuds, and Informal Conflict Management Service (ICMS)
• Conference: The words that changed everything
• Awareness event organized by the School of Public Service on the theme “Stop the Stigma: Understanding Apparent and Non-Apparent Disabilities in the Workplace,” to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Built environment

   1. Provide training

The People, Culture and Workplace Branch (PCWB) offered training sessions as well as annual communications on ergonomics so that employees could properly adjust their workstations. This awareness was offered on a bi-annual basis.

    2. Accommodate

An internal directive regarding the accommodation request mechanism was issued, along with an intranet page designed by the PCWB to support employees and managers.

The Workplace Accessibility Passport was implemented at CED in April 2024. An intranet page is available to help employees and managers learn how to use it.

Guidelines for holding accessible, bilingual and inclusive meetings was developed and published in collaboration with the PCWB and the Communications Branch (COMB). Reminder posters were also put up in the various meeting rooms and collaborative spaces.

   3. Identify issues related to the work environment

CED’s emergency procedures were updated to include the registration of persons with reduced mobility who require assistance.

CED consults with employees with disabilities, including those with reduced mobility, to obtain their feedback on accessibility at the outset of the space design phase.

Accessibility assessments have been carried out in the Val-d'Or and Drummondville business offices to ensure they meet accessibility requirements. Discussions are underway with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) to follow up on the recommendations. Renovations, including the installation of accessible bathrooms in Drummondville, will take place in 2025.

In the summer of 2024, the Gatineau offices were refurbished. The Administration, Security and Facilities Management team added fully ergonomic furniture for all offices and individual work rooms.

  4. Take invisible disabilities into consideration

To better respond to the needs of employees, an office zone reserved for work requiring concentration will soon be set up. Rules of decorum and etiquette, along with occasional reminders, will help foster a workplace that respects neurodiversity.

The PCWB, in consultation with Infinity, the Network for Neurodivergent Public Servants, developed a guide for supporting neurodiversity in the workplace. The guide was published during Public Service Neurodiversity Week.

Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)

  1. Rollout of Office 365

Office 365, with its built-in accessibility features, was rolled out in 2020–2021.

In 2024, Calibri 12 became the default font for Microsoft Outlook in order to follow accessibility best practices.

  2. Make new corporate projects accessible

CORTEX, CED’s Grants and Contributions Management System, was deployed in October 2024, in a new PowerApps environment, with integrated accessibility features. A preliminary analysis carried out during the year showed that the tool complies with basic accessibility standards, such as Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and that it can be accessed using a screen reader.

Whenever content is updated, CORTEX work procedures are reworked with a view to optimizing accessibility.

A substantial overhaul of the Program Management Manual—which details CED’s Operations sector’s business processes—is currently underway. Significant adjustments have been made to the presentation of content and the organization of information to make the tool as accessible as possible.

In 2024, CED launched its CED Client Space transactional portal, which enables organizations to submit funding requests. Before being made available to clients, the new versions of the portal were validated to ensure that they complied with basic accessibility standards, such as WCAG, and that they could be read by a screen reader.

  3. Provide training on accessibility, accommodation, and adaptive computer technology

In response to the President of the Treasury Board Mandate Letter, which calls for the development of a public service–wide strategy for the development of digital competencies, the Treasury Board Secretariat identified “inclusive interactions”as one of these competencies. To promote the development of this digital competency, the Information and Technological Solutions Branch (ITSB) gave an information session about the six key competencies and shared resources on a page of the intranet.

The ITSB also holds peer learning sessions known as “Meet the Geeks.” These training sessions deal with the applications used at CED and cover the accessibility features available. “Meet the Geeks” programming is now linked to the development of the six digital competencies.

Communication, other than ICT

  1. Post documents that everyone can access (intranet and Internet)

The Communications Branch (COMB) provides ongoing communications advice to ensure awareness of the importance of making sure that everyone can access documents posted on the intranet. Tips include prioritizing HTML format, using accessibility features in PowerPoint, and avoiding PDF because of its accessibility issues. Training sessions about accessibility, such as in the M365 environment, were also given.

Communications staff edit content and make sure it is written in plain, simple language. Much of the content published on the website and the intranet is analyzed using Scolarius, then edited and simplified as required to make it easier to read and understand.

The COMB assisted the CED Client Space team with content development and provided answers to questions about accessibility.

A new Accessibility Hub was developed in collaboration with the COMB and the People, Culture and Workplace Branch (PCWB), and made available on the intranet. It highlights accessibility tools and provides employees with information about available resources, including a best practice guide for ensuring document accessibility.

CED is currently in the process of migrating its website to Canada.ca to make its web content more user-friendly. Although the website already meets WCAG guidelines, during the migration exercise, each page is checked for accessibility.

When drafting its content, the COMB places great importance on the needs of clients and the public. For example, the webpage detailing funding under the Northern Isolated Community Initiatives (NICI) Fund is not only in French and English, but also in Inuktitut to better reflect and respect the linguistic diversity of the communities served.

Procurement of goods, services and facilities

  1. Embed accessibility into IT procurement

The Procurement team is actively pursuing its efforts to raise awareness among business owners of the importance of accessibility in procurement. The purchasing procedure, which incorporates specific considerations regarding the accessibility of purchases, remains in effect and continues to be rigorously applied.

Discussions are underway to improve the accessibility of forms for clients, particularly business owners.

Design and delivery of programs and services

  1. Determine the level of satisfaction of clients with our programs

Discussions were held on defining accessibility and adding questions to customer surveys. This measure will be implemented as part of the next Accessibility Plan 2026-2029.

  2. Design of CED programs

In 2024, CED pursued the implementation of its gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) policy and organizational governance framework to increase the consideration of gender and diversity, including persons with disabilities, in policy development, program design, internal practices and client services.

Specifically, CED incorporated GBA+ concepts into the design and implementation of four new initiatives, with a view to tailoring its interventions in order to reduce barriers and encourage the participation of under-represented groups.

Through regular programs and existing funds:

• The East Montréal Economic Development Initiative (EMEDI), in which GBA+ allowed for the development of delivery parameters that help increase the inclusion and participation of various under-represented groups in the economy of east-end Montréal.
• The initiative involving support tailored to the reality of eight economically vulnerable regional county municipalities (RCMs) identified by CED in its Economic Development Index (EDI) and based on the economic opportunities available to them and their capacity to exploit these opportunities.

Through additional funding obtained for two new initiatives:

• The Northern Isolated Community Initiatives (NICI) Fund, to help address local and regional food security challenges in northern Indigenous communities in Nunavik.
• The Tourism Growth Program (TGP), which includes new GBA+ performance measurement indicators targeting support for Indigenous communities/recipients and rural or remote regions.

In 2024, CED also began updating the GBA+ analysis for its two regular programs, the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation program (REGI) and the Quebec Economic Development Program (QEDP), to get a better understanding how its programs and initiatives affect various populations in different regions and communities of Quebec, based on a set of identity factors that intersect with sex and gender, e.g., age, language, geographic location and sexual orientation. Among other features, this update enables CED to:

• Better target the challenges faced by various under-represented groups; and
• Realize its inclusive approach, which promotes the participation of various groups and communities in Quebec’s economic development.

In addition, CED also continued to implement its approach to:

• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI), applicable to all our customers and programs, to better understand the EDI practices of our customers in a perspective of inclusive economic growth that takes into account under-represented groups, including people with disabilities, while providing them with tools to raise awareness and encourage them to adopt EDI practices.
• Collecting data from intermediate groups, enabling us to better target our intervention with all the under-represented group categories introduced in 2021, including people with disabilities, in particular thanks to the revised tools implemented in 2023.

  3. Develop adaptive tools and forms

The client satisfaction survey was migrated to the GC Forms platform in the fall of 2024. These forms comply with the Standard on Web Accessibility and WCAG 2.1, level AA.

  4. Make the call centre accessible to the hearing impaired

CED’s Business Information Services (BIS) are accessible and team members can be contacted in many ways (by phone, email or mail, as well as by the TTY line). This information was added to the website, in the “Contact us” section. Discussions are also underway to test the TTY phone line directly with persons with disabilities.

Transportation

1. Clarifying the requirements of the Travel Directive for people with disabilities

Discussions are underway to raise managers’ awareness of the accessibility needs of employees with disabilities, e.g., when planning travel and booking tickets.

Consultation and feedback

The “Nothing Without Us” principle recognizes the importance and added value of involving people affected by accessibility policies, programs and practices in the development thereof.

Virtual consultations were held with those directly targeted by the various aspects of the Accessibility Action Plan 2020-2025. HR, along with the various departments responsible for CED facilities, client experience, business information services, program management, systems development, information and technology solutions, procurement, financial systems, communications, as well as EDI, Accessibility and Mental Health champions, were consulted to report on progress made.

A new informal network of disabled employees has been launched at DEC. This network aims to create a caring space where members can exchange, share experiences, ask questions and help each other. The implementation of accessibility initiatives has a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of persons with disabilities. Their participation and consultation are a key element in the development of the 2026–2029 Accessibility Action Plan. This network is a valuable resource for CED, providing feedback and recommendations on the barriers they face.

No feedback has been received since the publication of the Accessibility Action Plan 2020-2025. New feedback collection methods have been put in place to improve the process. A new online feedback form was developed and published in 2023. Phone calls have also been centralized. Employees, clients and the public can now contact the CED client service centre (toll-free number) or the TTY service.