2. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – article 9: accessibility

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• 2.1 Internet use
• 2.2 Reasons for not using the Internet
• 2.3 Home modification needs met
• 2.4 Assistive aids and devices needs met
• 2.5 Potential difficulty due to condition when accessing Government services through different channels

Alternate formats

A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.

2.1 Internet use

Figure 2.1 - Text description

Age group	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
15 to 64 years	5%	14%
65 years and over	35%	52%

• Notes: "Milder" refers to those with mild or moderate disabilities, and "More severe" refers to those with severe or very severe disabilities.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Respondents were asked how often they use the Internet. The above chart displays those who answered "Never".
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 years, those with more severe disabilities were nearly 3 times as likely as those with milder disabilities to never use the Internet (14% versus 5%).

Similarly, among persons with disabilities aged 65 years and over, those with more severe disabilities were more likely to never use the Internet (52% versus 35%).

2.2 Reasons for not using the Internet

Figure 2.2 - Text description

Reason	15 to 64 years	65 years and over
No need	54%	74%
No confidence	35%	30%
Cost	31%	13%
No device	18%	15%

• Notes: Respondents were allowed to give multiple reasons for never using the Internet. While other reasons were available, these were the most popular reasons. The data refers to the proportion reporting a given reason among those who did not use the Internet.
• Sample taken from those who never used the Internet.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Persons with disabilities aged 65 years and over were more likely than those aged 15 to 64 years to say that there was no need to use the Internet (74% versus 54%).

Among persons with disabilities, cost as a barrier to Internet use was more common among those aged 15 to 64 years than among those aged 65 years and over (31% versus 13%).

2.3 Home modification needs met

Figure 2.3 - Text description

Age group	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
15 to 64 years	88%	76%
65 years and over	94%	89%

• Notes: "Milder" refers to those with mild or moderate disabilities, and "More severe" refers to those with severe or very severe disabilities.
• Home modifications refer to specialized architectural features built inside the respondents' home. The architectural features in question include bathroom aids (raised toilet seat, grab bars, etc.), walk-in bath or shower, access ramp or ground-level entrance, widened doorways and hallways, lift device or elevator, automatic/easy-open doors, and lowered counters. The chart above depicts which respondents, among those who require such accommodations, have had their needs met.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Some persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 years required home modifications. Persons with milder disabilities were more likely than those with more severe disabilities to have their home modification needs met (88% versus 76%).

A similar situation exists among persons with disabilities aged 65 years and over. Those with milder disabilities had their needs met more than those with more severe disabilities (94% versus 89%).

2.4 Assistive aids and devices needs met

Figure 2.4 - Text description

Disability type	Proportion
Seeing	87%
Physical	81%
Cognitive	58%
Hearing	53%
Other	75%

• Notes: Respondents were asked if their needs were met for aids and assistive devices, by disability type. For each type of aid, the responses they could give varied from "Some needs met", "No needs met", "All needs met", or "Does not need an aid".
• The above proportions excluded those who did not need aids or assistive devices, to observe if those who needed aids or assistive devices had all of their needs met.
• Respondents were not limited to responding to one type of disability aid or assistive device.
• "Other" refers to aids or assistive devices that are used in the presence of multiple disabilities that are not associated with a single disability type. Examples include computers with specialized software, service animals, compression socks, CPAP machine, etc.
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over who required aids for seeing or physical disabilities were the most likely to have all of their needs met (87% and 81% respectively).

Persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over who required aids for cognitive or hearing disabilities were the least likely to have all of their needs met (58% and 53% respectively).

2.5 Potential difficulty due to condition when accessing Government services through different channels

Figure 2.5 - Text description

Mode	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
In person	9%	32%
Internet	10%	26%
Phone	9%	19%
Mail or fax	5%	14%

• Notes: Respondents were asked which ways of accessing Government services would be difficult for them because of their condition. Respondents could select multiple ways, leaving the percentages above to be based on those who had a difficulty for each given way.
• "Milder" refers to those with mild or moderate disabilities, and "More severe" refers to those with severe or very severe disabilities.
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons with disabilities aged 15 years and over, those with more severe disabilities would have greater difficulty in accessing Government services because of their condition.

Persons with more severe disabilities were over 3 times more likely than those with milder disabilities to cite potential difficulty accessing Government services in person (32% versus 9%).

Persons with more severe disabilities were over 2.5 times more likely than those with milder disabilities to cite potential difficulty accessing Government services through the Internet (26% versus 10%).