Accessibility progress report 2024 for IRCC

Message from the Deputy Ministers of IRCC

We are pleased to present Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) 2024 Accessibility Progress Report.

The achievements outlined in this report hinge on the collaborative efforts across all levels of our organization in delivering on our accessibility plan. We are thankful for the ongoing engagement demonstrated by IRCC employees to break down barriers and foster an inclusive environment for all.

This work would not be possible without IRCC’s employee-driven Persons with Disabilities Network, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Network continues to act as the voice of persons with disabilities in the department and to advocate for their equal participation in the workplace.

We strongly believe every employee at IRCC brings unique perspectives and experiences, and that all voices should be heard. This belief, and the ways that we implement it with our actions, is key to building trust and fostering a safe workplace culture where employees feel valued and respected. In turn, this can only have a positive impact on how services are delivered to the clients and communities IRCC serves. This will contribute to realizing IRCC’s vision to be a department where people can expect barrier-free and accessible services.

We will continue to build on our successes, to learn and adjust as we move forward on the path to create a Canada without barriers by 2040.

Thank you,

Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar
Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Scott Harris
Associate Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

Executive Summary

As required under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), IRCC published its first Accessibility Plan in December 2022 and first Progress Report one year later.

As IRCC’s second progress report, this document features the progress made and challenges encountered in 2024 as the department addressed barriers to accessibility in the nine priority areas listed in the plan. These priority areas include the seven areas set out under the ACA, as well as two additional priority areas identified by IRCC: accommodation and culture. This report also describes how IRCC kept with its obligations to consult with persons with disabilities and to collect and process feedback on accessibility.

Progress

IRCC showed progress in several key areas, including where the department:

Challenges

IRCC has encountered some challenges, including the following:

General

About Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

IRCC is responsible for overseeing immigration, refugee protection, citizenship, and passport services. Its primary role is to facilitate the arrival and integration of immigrants, protect refugees, promote Canadian citizenship values, and manage passport issuance. The department also develops policies and programs to support Canada's economic growth and humanitarian commitments while ensuring the safety and security of Canadians. Additional information on the department’s raison d’être, mission and vision can be found online.

Contact Us

IRCC will gladly receive feedback and questions on this report, the accessibility plan or any other matter related to accessibility. Anyone may contact the IRCC Accessibility Officer to:

Contact Information

Address:
c/o IRCC Accessibility Officer
365 Laurier Ave West
Ottawa, ON K1A 1L1
Canada
Telephone number: 1-833-411-6166 or 613-437-6949
Email address: IRCC.Accessibility-Accessibilite.IRCC@cic.gc.ca
Online: Accessibility feedback form

Context

As prescribed under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), IRCC published its first Accessibility Plan in December 2022. The plan identifies barriers to accessibility in the department, and actions to take over a period of three years to address these barriers, in the priority areas set out under the ACA:

IRCC also included two additional overarching priority areas in its plan:

This report features progress made, and challenges encountered in the second year of implementation of IRCC’s accessibility plan. Efforts made in the first year were presented in IRCC’s first Accessibility Progress Report published in December 2023.

Priority Areas – Progress and Challenges

In the second year of implementing its accessibility plan, IRCC continued to invest efforts towards planned actions to address barriers in all priority areas. This report highlights progress made in 2024 on commitments outlined in our plan, and other initiatives across IRCC, as well as challenges being faced in the department’s journey to become equitable by design and accessible by default.

Employment

IRCC continues to be committed in becoming an employer of choice for persons with disabilities. The department’s focus remains on creating a healthy, barrier-free workplace and implementing initiatives to attract and retain employees with disabilities. This includes addressing barriers in the hiring process and providing managers with tools and guidance to better support employees with disabilities, manage performance and help with career development.

Progress

Commitment: Accessible Hiring Metrics (and Support for Managers)

To promote and reinforce positive actions related to accessibility, IRCC committed to add metrics to management performance agreements and to provide support to managers. To achieve this, IRCC has:

Other Initiatives – Recruitment & Retention

Recruitment

IRCC maintained efforts to contribute to the federal government’s goal of hiring 5000 net-new persons with disabilities (PwD) by 2025 through various recruitment initiatives.

As a result, IRCC made great progress and has now reached its employment equity (EE) representation baseline objective of 9.5%. The table below presents data on growth of PwD representation within IRCC.

Date PwD Representation % (Number) Gap
April 2021 4.1% (318) -415
October 2023 8.8% (1,052) -84
September 2024 9.9% (1,204) 48

IRCC’s 2024 recruitment initiatives included the following:

Retention

IRCC believes that identifying the reasons why employees with disabilities leave the department will help in uncovering factors or strategies to improve the retention of PwD in its workforce. To start gathering data, IRCC has:

Other initiatives to support career development and retention of IRCC employees:

Challenges

In the context of the government’s announcement on refocusing spending, IRCC has reduced its staffing activities including external outreach. In addition, external PwD talent pipeline such as the High School Students with Intellectual Disabilities Program was paused for 2024-2025. Despite the current context, IRCC strives to continue to increase the representation of PwD in the department.

As we focus more attention on our existing workforce, IRCC remains conscious that:

IRCC would benefit from having a more accurate portrait of PwD representation in the department to:

IRCC has been anticipating the launch of a modernized Self-Identification (Self-ID) Questionnaire and application by the Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) and is ready to implement a department-wide strategy to highlight the benefits of self-identifying and build trust in the new questionnaire and platform. IRCC expects that completion rates of employees who self-ID as PwD may increase because of this campaign and the ongoing initiatives to raise awareness and promote disability inclusion in the department.

Built Environment

IRCC works continuously with various partners to enhance the accessibility in our worksites and client-facing offices across Canada. In year two of IRCC’s accessibility plan, the department remained focused on the goal to address built environment barriers for both our clients and our employees.

Progress

Commitment: Proactive Built Environment Feedback

To better understand the perspectives of persons with disabilities and improve IRCC’s practices, the teams responsible for built environment:

There is also an interest to be better positioned to track and respond to individual accessibility needs of IRCC employees. To achieve this, IRCC:

Commitment: Building Owner—Tenant Discussions

As a tenant in the buildings IRCC occupies, the department collaborates on an ongoing basis with building owners to ensure accessibility needs are met. IRCC continues to:

As a result of ongoing efforts, the department has made significant progress in the last year on initiatives aimed at improving accessibility. The tables below present initiatives across regions with status updates, estimated completion rates in 2024 and completion rates as reported in 2023 for comparison purposes:

Automatic Door Openers (ADO)
Region(s) Completion Rate Reported in 2023 Completion Rate 2024 Status Update
Pacific, Western, Eastern, Ontario, Atlantic 0% 100% Completed
National Capital Region 65% 100% Completed
All-Access Washrooms (AAW)
Region(s) Completion Rate Reported in 2023 Completion Rate 2024 Status Update
Pacific, Western, Eastern, Ontario, Atlantic 35% 90% In progress
National Capital Region 85% 85% In progress - awaiting funding approval to continue
Sit-Stand Desks with Monitor Arms
Region(s) Completion Rate Reported in 2023 Completion Rate 2024 Status Update
Pacific Surrey: 40%

Surrey: 100%
Vancouver: 40%

Completed
In progress

Western Edmonton: 40% Edmonton: 100% Completed
Ontario Kitchener: 45%

Kitchener: 100%
Hamilton: 10%

Completed
In progress

Eastern Montreal: 40% Montreal: 95% In progress
Atlantic Fredericton: 45%

Fredericton: 100%
Charlottetown: 10%
Sydney: 10%

Completed
In progress
In progress

National Capital Region 75% 100% Completed
Commitment: Detailed Built Environment Assessment

IRCC has more than 40 worksites across Canada. As we aim for consistency across our offices to ensure compliance with the current Government of Canada (GC) standards, which include guidelines for accessibility and inclusivity, we need to continue to review and assess our physical spaces. To further this goal, IRCC has:

In addition, to promote awareness and facilitate employee use of spaces that adhere to the current GC Workplace standard, IRCC has:

Challenges

IRCC faces challenges in delivering on initiatives aimed at improving accessibility in the built environment, due to:

Additionally, as a result of the updated directive on the common hybrid work model, requiring public servants to work on-site a minimum of 3 days per week:

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

In the second year of IRCC’s plan, the department continues to establish an environment where employees and clients with disabilities can fully access ICT resources that match their needs. The department remains focused on ensuring that employees and clients with disabilities can fully access the systems, software, and tools they require.

Progress

Commitment: Improving Access to Current Systems and Software

The User Experience Optimization directorate in the IT Operations branch was established to identify and eliminate technological barriers, creating the conditions at IRCC for employees and clients with disabilities to have enjoyable ICT experiences. To increase access to accessible systems and software, IRCC has:

Commitment: Improving Communication About ICT Tools and Supports

To increase awareness of accessible ICT tools and supports, the team responsible for ICT has:

Further progress has been made on the following:

In addition, the Project Delivery Branch collaborated with HR, and Enterprise Change Management to include ICT accessibility resources in products such as:

Commitment: Accessible ICT Request Process

To simplify and improve the request process for ICT accessibility supports, IT Operations branch and the ESO responsible for ICT have:

Commitment: Flexible Customization

To allow employees greater flexibility to customize computer settings, without impacting the integrity of IRCC cybersecurity, in 2024 IRCC has:

Challenges

Communications

As Canada's primary contact for foreign nationals and Canadian citizens for immigration, citizenship, and passport services, IRCC must ensure its communication is inclusive and accessible. This means fostering an inclusive mindset, educating employees on accessible communication best practices, and providing timely support to make all communications accessible.

Progress

Commitment: Communication Plan

To promote and support accessibility understanding, IRCC must raise awareness and expand employee knowledge about disabilities and barriers.

In 2024, IRCC continued to implement its accessibility communication plan and started working on new initiatives. In collaboration with key partners including the Persons with Disabilities Network (PwDN) and the Employee Support Office (ESO), the IRCC internal communications team has done the following:

Commitment: Regularly Assessing Content

To continue addressing barriers, IRCC continuously reviews its communications to ensure they meet Government of Canada accessibility standards, including being compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. This year, IRCC has:

Commitment: Accessibility Remediation Resourcing

To support IRCC’s goal of enhancing the internal capacity to develop accessible communications products at the onset, the Communications team has initiated the following:

Other Initiatives: Sign Language Interpretation

Challenges

To deliver on priorities identified for 2024, IRCC researched how to procure a tool to automate content audits and reviews pertaining to key areas of web accessibility for IRCC and consequently improve efficiency of the review process. Due to budget restraints, this purchase has been put on hold. As a result, audits and reviews continue to be performed manually with current resources.

Efforts to build internal expertise in the development of accessible communication products remains a top priority for the coming year in the Communications sector. Strategic planning will allow to address both priorities, expertise development and important workload.

Procurement of Goods, Services, and Facilities

Procurement of goods and services is an essential business enabling function at IRCC. In year two of IRCC’s accessibility plan the department’s goal remains consistent for accessibility to be fully considered in all procurement processes in the department.

Progress

Commitment: Documentation of Accessibility Checks

IRCC continues to work on making accessibility a standard part of the department’s purchasing processes. To document this, IRCC has:

Commitment: Involving Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in the Procurement Process

IRCC committed to establish mechanisms for obtaining feedback and input from PwD to ensure their perspectives are being considered in the department’s procurement guidelines. IRCC has:

Commitment: Accessible Procurement Training

IRCC is in the process of developing training and updating its resources for its procurement officers related to accessibility in procurement. IRCC has made progress towards this goal by:

Commitment: Accessible ICT Procurement Plan

To ensure that accessibility is prioritized in the new case management platform, which is part of IRCC’s Digital Platform Modernization Programme, IRCC has:

Challenges

Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

In Canada and across the world, IRCC delivers programs and services to clients in areas including immigration, asylum, settlement, citizenship, and passport. Our clients are as diverse as the extensive range of services the department provides, and IRCC recognizes the importance of its role in promoting accessibility and inclusion. In the second year of IRCC’s accessibility plan, the department continued to focus on laying the groundwork to advance its goal to embed accessibility in the design and delivery of programs and services.

Progress

Commitment: Training and Development

Training provides both the foundation and motivation for taking a different approach to designing and delivering the department’s programs and services with accessibility in mind. To structure and streamline efforts across the department, IRCC:

The table below presents the number of IRCC employees who attended the selected CSPS courses in fiscal years 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as the mid-point of the current fiscal year 2024-25 (with data as of September 30, 2024). As a point of comparison, IRCC’s active employee population as of the end of September 2024 (which includes employees with indeterminate status and terms of more than 3 months) was of 12,309 employees.

Number of Departmental Employees Who Participated in CSPS Courses
CSPS Courses FY 2022-2023 FY 2023-2024 FY 2024-2025 (As of Sept. 30) Grand Total (from Apr. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2024)
Responding to Unconscious Bias (INC133) 2 39 49 90
Disability Management and Workplace Wellness (INC120) 44 88 84 216
Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility (INC115) 140 256 283 679
Fostering an Inclusive Workplace (INC118) - 161 549 710
Moving from Bias to Inclusion (INC123) 536 2,269 960 3,765
Adopting an Inclusion Mindset at Work (INC122) 603 2,437 1,509 4,549
Grand Total 1,325 5,250 3,434 10,009

In addition, to modernize learning management system and create efficient access to a variety of learning resources for employees, in June 2024 IRCC:

Commitment: Feedback on Programs and Services

Feedback from clients and employees can provide useful insight to improve the department’s external and internal programs and services. To enhance collection and processing of feedback related to accessibility, this year IRCC started the following:

Commitment: Holding Ourselves Accountable

IRCC is committed to ensure accessibility is being considered, assessed, and monitored across the department’s policies and programs. To assist in identifying roles and responsibilities and in supporting short- and medium-term strategic planning for a uniform approach to accessibility, IRCC has:

Other Initiatives
Designing and Implementing the Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) Programme

IRCC has made great strides in 2024 in implementing the first of a series of projects to improve clients’ online experience as part of the department’s Digital Platform Modernization (DPM) programme.

Policy and Program Delivery Across Business Lines

IRCC developed initiatives to improve access to services for clients with disabilities, including:

Challenges

Ensuring that accessibility is embedded in IRCC’s programs and services by design is a major task. To reach this goal, IRCC needs to:

This work requires dedicated resources and funding to lead to desired outcomes. In the current context of fiscal restraint, IRCC has elected to advance other departmental priorities, and thus this work is being delayed.

While IRCC can attempt to leverage existing data, tools, and feedback mechanisms as well as existing client engagement approaches, the following results can be expected:

While the small team dedicated to accessibility of client services can provide some guidance to program and service owners and leverage Quality by Design functions applied in the DPM programme, it will remain challenging to ensure it is applied consistently across channels, programs, and services.

Without additional dedicated resources, progress is expected to remain slow in furthering commitments under the programs and services priority area. In addition to inefficiencies and delays, IRCC may be considered as not being ambitious on designing and delivering accessible services for its clients.

In addition, as learning is deemed critical to make progress toward accessibility and disability inclusion, IRCC needs to address challenges and find ways to:

Transportation

In IRCC’s first accessibility plan, no barriers were identified in the area of transportation following the review of the department’s policies, practices, programs, and services.

In 2024, IRCC began to make connections to this priority area, through feedback received in relation to the updated directive on the common hybrid work model, requiring public servants to work on-site a minimum of 3 days per week as of September. This, as well as new guidance available on transportation, will inform IRCC’s approach for this priority area in the second iteration of our accessibility plan in 2025.

Accommodation

In year two of implementation of its accessibility plan, IRCC remained focused on its goal to offer timely and appropriate accommodation solutions to persons with disabilities, to enable their full and equitable participation in the workplace.

Progress

Commitments: Additional Support & Cross-Departmental Collaboration on Accommodation

The Employee Support Office (ESO) is the team within IRCC responsible for assisting employees and managers in obtaining the tools, supports and measures needed to remove barriers in the workplace and to ensure the sound application of the Duty to Accommodate (DTA) policy. The ESO is well established and collaborates continuously with various partners to coordinate accommodation support. In 2024, the ESO has:

Commitment: Understanding the Needs of New Hires

IRCC believes in the importance of understanding the needs of new hires to ensure that proper accommodations can be provided in a timely manner. To assist with this, the ESO supported the team responsible for onboarding to:

Commitment: Knowledge Development and Sharing

Through the ESO, the department continues to develop and share its knowledge base, practices and tools related to workplace accommodation. In 2024, the ESO:

Commitment: Regularly Consulting About Accommodations

IRCC seeks to continuously improve its practices through the collection of feedback about workplace accommodation service delivery. To achieve this, the ESO has:

Challenges

The updated directive on the common hybrid workplace model, increasing the required on-site presence of employees to a minimum of 3 days per week, had a significant impact on the population of employees with disabilities requiring accommodations. As a result:

The current level of resources to support employees and managers in removing barriers will continue to impact the timeliness and effectiveness of accommodations. In turn, this may:

Over the past 2 years, the ESO, in collaboration with IT, have been working on implementing a Case Management System (CMS) to ensure reliable case management tracking. The process has been time consuming, costly, and complex. Pending approval and subject to availability of funds and IT capacity, the ESO aims to test a new system by July 2025. The new system will help alleviate the ESO’s workload pressures and will streamline tracking and data compilation, enabling more efficient and effective reporting and analysis of barriers and solutions.

In addition, there has been delays in the release by TBS of the digital version of the GC Workplace Accessibility Passport. IRCC expects the digital tool to facilitate user experience and streamline the accommodation process for employees and managers. This may also reduce client requests for ESO’s support in creating Accessibility passports because it will be more user-friendly.

Culture

In 2024, IRCC’s Persons with Disabilities Network (PwDN) is celebrating its 10th anniversary. This is an important milestone as this year the Network is marking a decade of efforts for inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwD) and accessibility within the department. The changes required to mindsets and behaviors toward persons with disabilities remain important and complex. IRCC is committed to making gradual and sustained progress over the coming years.

Progress

Commitment: Centralized Approach to Supporting Accessibility

IRCC developed a centralized approach to support accessibility efforts shortly after the first accessibility plan was published in 2022 and since then has been determined to improve the efficiency of its practices. The Accessibility Centre of Excellence (ACoE) is the centralized team in IRCC responsible to ensure the department’s compliance with the ACA and to coordinate the efforts to implement IRCC’s accessibility plan. In 2024, the team focused on:

Other Initiatives
IRCC Persons with Disabilities Network (PwDN) – Leaders in Awareness & Education

With over 165 members in 2024, the Network is pro-actively involved in the efforts to raise awareness and promote a culture of inclusion of persons with disabilities (PwD) within IRCC.

Here is an overview of some of the PwDN accomplishments in 2024:

In addition, the PwDN is involved in the following collaborative initiatives aimed at raising awareness and educating on accessibility and disability inclusion:

Culture Change Strategy and Action Plan

IRCC committed to develop a strategy and action plan to support the inclusion of PwD and accessibility in the department. This will be essential to initiate a mindset change across IRCC and establish safe services and workplace environment for PwD. To further this complex commitment with an efficient and sustainable approach, our efforts in 2024 focused on the following:

Qualitative Data Collection

In February and May 2024, multiple focus groups sessions were held with PwD and middle managers to engage the community on the current state of disability inclusion and accessibility culture in IRCC and to collect qualitative data. The objective was to identify both the positive elements as well the challenges and to establish a baseline to inform future action planning.

Participants

There was a total of 48 participants from both communities:

Methodology
Questions and Key Findings – PwD

The table below presents the top 5 answers provided by PwD to the question: What currently works in IRCC?

Top 5 Positive Factors for PwD Mentions
Growing momentum for accessibility among employees and managers 24
Increased number of PwD related tools, events, and resources available (IT and non-IT) 14
Access to and impact of accommodations such as DTA, ESO, and GCPassport 10
Presence and impact of the Persons with Disabilities Network (PwDN) 7
Implementation of the Accessible Canada Act and related obligations and entities 6

The table below presents the top 5 challenges identified by PwD through voting on the most important answers provided to the question: What is holding us back?

Top 5 Challenges for PwD Votes
Use of the medical model rather than the social model for disability 13
Lack of accountability for non-accessible behaviors (e.g., selection processes, documents, events, attitudes) 9
Ableism (discriminatory behaviors or attitudes) 7
Lack of psychological safety (micro-aggressions, fear of reprisal) 7
Challenging accommodation processes (delays and complexity) 3
Questions and Key Findings – Middle Managers

The table below presents the top 5 answers provided by middle managers to the question: What works in general regarding accessibility and inclusion at IRCC, related to our culture?

Top 5 Positive Factors for Managers Mentions
Accommodation Team/Process and Support 18
Increased awareness 12
Increased availability of tools, events, and resources 7
Support from Senior Management 6
More transparency, open discussions and less bias 4

The table below presents the top 5 challenges identified by middle managers through voting on the most important answers provided to the question: What doesn’t work in general regarding accessibility and inclusion at IRCC, related to our culture?

Top 5 Challenges for Managers Votes
Lack of clear, equitable and flexible guidelines and policies 19
Lack of support/buy-in from Senior Management 7
Training availability and time constraints 5
Managing time and priorities 4
Delay between accommodation request and resolution 3
Summary of Observations and Findings

Both PwDs and Middle Managers were aligned on the top three positive factors they identified, although in a slightly different order:

The challenges identified by the two groups differ significantly:

It is interesting to note in the tables presented above, that the middle managers’ experiences in relations with “support from senior management”, appears in both the positive table and the challenges table. Middle managers seem to have different lived experience in the field with senior management’s support and buy-in when time comes to support accessibility and disability inclusion.

While the growing momentum around accessibility is being acknowledged by both groups, findings show there is a definite need to address systemic and operational issues to create a more inclusive and accessible workplace environment in the department.

Further analysis of all the data collected during the focus groups sessions will be conducted. This will assist in identifying concrete actions that can be taken and in shaping IRCC’s culture change strategy.

Engagement with Key Collaborators

The 2022 Public Service Employee Survey results for IRCC’s population show:

This data shows a possible interrelation between disability and mental health. Whether mental health is identified as the disability or is experienced as a result of or together with the disability, it is worth exploring what the relationship is and how it could impact IRCC's approach to the PwD community.

In addition, in 2024 IRCC conducted its first internal Employee Pulse Survey that covered topics including impacts of the fall 2023 departmental realignment as well as mental health and wellness. Results are aligned with the PSES in showing that disability and mental health are possibly related:

Given the above results, it was deemed critical to engage with internal partners who are experts in the area of mental health and harassment prevention. The ACoE initiated discussions with:

Challenges

On September 26, 2024, the Federal Chief Accessibility Officer was invited to address the IRCC Accessibility Steering Committee. The following question was asked to her: “What is the top priority the government should be focusing on to have the most impact?” She emphasized that training is the most important, to support a shift in culture.

The response aligns with one of the general challenges observed across the department which is the lack of knowledge or interest about accessibility, whether it is about ensuring documents are accessible, using inclusive terminology or even basic awareness of disabilities and the need for accessibility. A concrete and recent example of this relates to the DEAM departmental event that was held on October 10, 2024, with a hybrid approach.

This year’s event showed a 74% decrease in participation compared to last year's event in 2023:

It's essential to evaluate the situation, identify possible reasons for the decline in attendance, and quickly make necessary adjustments to maximize our efforts toward disability inclusion and accessibility at IRCC.

Raising awareness and building knowledge remains the top challenge and priority for driving a real shift in mindsets across the department. If people don’t feel connected to the issue, they’re less likely to engage and take those small but impactful steps toward progress. Also, dismantling misconceptions and stereotypes about disabilities is the first step to a shift toward positive attitudes and behaviors.

Another critical challenge that cannot be ignored is confirmed through survey results that show there is a greater prevalence of mental health issues and harassment experienced by PwD than the general employee population in the department. It seems the PwD community is facing added struggles and barriers because of the workplace culture currently in place.

To address these challenges, IRCC is planning to develop a Culture Change Strategy and Action Plan to be implemented over 2025-2028. In the interim, we will expand collaboration with internal partners to identify actions and solutions for short term impact. This approach will help address urgent needs and support the PwD community while ensuring alignment with longer-term strategic objectives in IRCC’s second accessibility plan in 2025.

Consultations

IRCC believes that consulting and engaging with partners, clients, and employees, especially persons with disabilities, is crucial in advancing its commitments toward accessibility. The principle of “Nothing Without Us” has been embedded into IRCC’s practices primarily through the department’s Persons with Disabilities Network (PwDN). The Network, now with 165 active members, is well established in IRCC. The PwDN collaborates on an ongoing basis with various internal partners to raise awareness of the challenges faced by employees with disabilities and advocate for their successful integration in the workplace.

IRCC recognizes that not all employees with disabilities are comfortable self-identifying or are involved in the Network. For this second progress report, IRCC aimed to broaden its outreach and expand the consultation process beyond the PwDN.

Call Outs for Volunteers

Call outs for volunteers interested in contributing to the 2024 progress report were sent in August and September 2024 via different mediums: messages in IRCC’s internal newsletter “Today@IRCC”, emails to the PwDN and announcements at Network meetings. The call outs emphasized that the consultation would be conducted confidentially, and that volunteers’ privacy would be respected throughout the process.

This year, IRCC had 36 employees with disabilities volunteer compared to only 7 last year, marking a 500% increase.

Consultation Process

The consultation process for the 2024 progress report was established as follows:

Results and Comments Received

19 volunteers returned their sections with comments and valuable insights, and the report was updated where appropriate. Comments received included:

Moving forward, IRCC plans to continue expanding and improving its consultation practices.

Feedback

As required by the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), IRCC implemented an online accessibility feedback process that allows anyone to submit feedback on IRCC’s accessibility plan, barriers encountered, or any matter related to accessibility in the department. This year, IRCC continued its efforts to collect feedback through the required feedback channels: the online form, email, phone, and mail. In an effort to expand the identification of barriers, feedback was also collected through other means, including during meetings with internal partners, events and the IRCC web form, which is already collecting feedback on IRCC’s services. This allowed IRCC to identify more barriers than the previous year. Exchanging directly with people offered an opportunity to raise awareness on accessibility and helped us better understand existing challenges and new barriers that are emerging.

The Accessibility Centre of Excellence (ACoE) continues to ensure all feedback received is processed according to the Accessible Canada Regulations (ACR) and taken into consideration by the department. The ACoE continues to engage with relevant partners to discuss potential solutions and challenges in addressing and removing barriers. Progress is tracked to ensure timely action.

Feedback Received

In the past 12 months, the ACoE received a total of 212 feedback submissions, with 57 (27%) specifically related to accessibility. The other 155 submissions were not related to accessibility and were considered out of scope.

Out of the 57 accessibility related feedback submissions:

The feedback received was categorized into the following types of barriers:

Barrier Type Number of Submissions
Physical Barriers 18
Technological Barriers 13
Information/Communication Barriers 11
Policy/Practice Barriers 10
Architectural Barriers 3
Attitudinal Barriers 2

The breakdown indicates that physical barriers were the most frequently reported, followed by technological and information/communication barriers also representing significant areas of concern. Although fewer people reported attitudinal barriers, the department knows that they are present, and that people are likely still hesitant to testify to biases or discrimination they experienced. IRCC recognizes the need to educate our workforce to identify these barriers and to create a safe environment for reporting them through the feedback process. Despite having identified a low number of attitudinal barriers this year, we know that it remains a crucial area of focus.

Barriers by Priority Area

Priority Area Feedback Received
Accommodation 9
Built Environment 11
Communications 7
Culture 1
Employment 8
ICT 6
Programs and Services 7
Transportation 8
Total 57

Examples of Feedback and Actions Taken

IRCC is determined to continue its efforts to raise awareness on ACA compliance, the feedback process, and the identification and removal of barriers for persons with disabilities. As awareness grows on the importance of disability inclusion and accessibility, the department expects to see an increase in volume of accessibility related feedback. IRCC will keep refining its approach, ensuring that the feedback received not only helps us remove existing barriers but also guides us in shaping future accessibility departmental priorities and actions.

Planning for 2025

In 2025, IRCC will update its accessibility plan as required under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). The following principles will act as a compass as we tackle this work and map out the next 3-year cycle to advance accessibility in the department:

IRCC will leverage the experience gained over the past two years by examining both the department’s successes and challenges in implementing the first accessibility plan. We will commit to put concrete actions in place to remove barriers for persons with disabilities in the department and ensure progress is tracked and measured.

The following items have been identified as priorities for consideration in the next iteration of IRCC’s accessibility plan. These will support impactful changes across all priority areas:

IRCC recognizes that the mandate to limit spending across the federal government will impact the department’s capacity to deliver on commitments. This will need to be factored in as the department plans the actions to take in the next 3-year cycle. This also means that now more than ever, we will need to be innovative, collaborative, and determined to move forward and contribute to create a barrier-free Canada by 2040.

Annex

Definitions and Key Terminology

Ableism
Discrimination in favor of able-bodied people, which creates a discrimination or prejudice against individuals with disabilities.
Accessibility
Accessibility refers to how services, technology, locations, devices, environments, and products are designed to accommodate persons with disabilities. Accessibility means giving people of all abilities equal opportunities to take part in life activities. The term means that there has been conscious planning, design, and effort to make sure something is barrier-free to persons with disabilities. Accessibility also benefits the general population by making everything more usable and practical for all people.
Accommodation
Accommodation refers to taking steps to remove disadvantages for people that result from barriers.
Barrier
According to the Accessible Canada Act (2019): "Barrier means anything—including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or a practice—that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with a physical, mental, intellectual, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation."
Disability
According to the Accessible Canada Act (2019), disability is: "A physical, mental, intellectual, learning, communication or sensory impairment—or a functional limitation—whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person's full and equal participation in society."

Anyone can identify as a person with a disability (PwD) if they experience one or more of these impairments or functional limitations that, in interaction with a barrier, hinder their full and equal participation in society.

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