Backgrounder - Government of Canada wraps up consultations on how to make a more accessible Canada for people with disabilities

Consultations to inform the development of accessibility legislation

The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s first Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, was mandated by the Prime Minister, with the support of the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, to lead an engagement process with stakeholders—including Canadians with disabilities, provinces, territories and municipalities—that would inform planned legislation to transform how the Government of Canada addresses accessibility.

The last in-person public consultation is planned to take place in:

Toronto, Ontario / February 8, 2017 (4:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET)
Chelsea Hotel Toronto
33 Gerrard Street West
Toronto, ON  M5G 1Z4
Room: Churchill Ballroom

Anyone who would like to pre-register for an in-person session, or to notify us of accommodation needs, can contact the Office for Disability Issues:

· Phone: 1-844-836-8126
TTY: 819-934-6649
Fax: 819-953-4797
Email address: accessible-canada@hrsdc.gc.ca

· Mailing address:
Consultation – Federal Accessibility Legislation
c/o Office for Disability Issues
Employment and Social Development Canada
105 Hotel-de-ville Street, 1st floor, Bag 62
Gatineau, QC  K1A 0J9

To date, in-person public consultations and stakeholder roundtables have taken place in the following cities: 

• St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
• Halifax, Nova Scotia
• Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
• Moncton, New Brunswick
• Québec, Quebec
• Montréal, Quebec
• Ottawa, Ontario
• Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Winnipeg, Manitoba
• Regina, Saskatchewan
• Calgary, Alberta
• Edmonton, Alberta
• Vancouver, British Columbia
• Victoria, British Columbia
• Iqaluit, Nunavut
• Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
• Whitehorse, Yukon  

For the most up-to-date information on in-person venues and dates, and to participate online, please visit Canada.ca/Accessible-Canada.