Accessibility regulations for information and communication technologies: Closed consultation

Current status: Closed

This consultation ran from November 24, 2022, and will close to new input onto February 1, 2023.

See the “What we heard” report for summaries of the discussions that took place.

Employment and Social Development Canada is starting to develop the next set of regulations under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). These regulations would deal with removing barriers and improving accessibility in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). ICT covers all the things we use to communicate and do business in the digital world.

Digital products and services are everywhere. But, for many persons with disabilities, access is difficult and even impossible. Accessible ICT ensures that all Canadians can access and use these products and services without barriers.

New ICT accessibility regulations made under the ACA would apply to federally regulated entities. This includes sectors like banking, pipelines and the Government of Canada itself. Sectors like retail, health, education and manufacturing usually come under provincial or territorial jurisdiction. Regulations made under the ACA would generally not apply to them.

Who was the focus of this consultation

The Government of Canada invited the following stakeholders to participate:

  • persons with disabilities and their allies
  • disability community stakeholders
  • Indigenous stakeholders
  • small to large federally regulated businesses
  • federal public sector organizations, and
  • ICT vendors and suppliers

Key topics for discussion

The Government of Canada sought input and ideas around the following topics:

  • barriers to ICT accessibility for the disability community
  • challenges faced by regulated entities in providing accessible ICT
  • solutions to improving ICT accessibility that could guide future ICT regulations
  • current and future conformance with ICT accessibility standards

The input that we gathered from this process will be used to guide future ICT accessibility regulations. Next, we will prepare draft regulations, and publish them in Part I of the Canada Gazette. This will give everyone an opportunity to review and comment on the draft regulations.

What we heard

Final report

Related information

Contact us

Accessible Canada Directorate
Employment and Social Development Canada
1st floor
105 De l'Hôtel-de-Ville Street
Gatineau QC  J8X 4H7

Email: Accessible Canada Directorate

Privacy notice statement

Please read our privacy notice statement for consultation and engagement activities.

Page details

Date modified: