2024 Annual Progress Report – Accessibility Plan for the Military Grievances External Review Committee

Table of contents



General

Alternate formats

To request alternate formats of this report:

Feedback mechanism

Feedback on the accessibility plan, the feedback process and the progress report can be submitted in the following ways:

The Military Grievance External Review Committee (Committee) will acknowledge feedback using the same method by which it was received. While the Committee cannot acknowledge receipt of anonymous feedback, it will consider all feedback received.

Introduction

The Committee is pleased to share its 2024 Accessibility Progress Report, which details the organization’s commitment to removing barriers to accessibility for employees while it strives to achieve the goal of being an “accessible by default” workplace.  

The Committee was created in 2000 to act as an independent administrative tribunal. Pursuant to section 29.2 of the National Defence Act, the Committee reviews military grievances referred to it and provides findings and recommendations to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Canadian Armed Forces member who submitted the grievance.

While the Committee is a micro-organization of approximately 50 employees, employment equity and building a socially representative workplace continue to be key priorities. Currently, 20% of our workforce self-identifies as a person with a disability, more than double the average rate reported in the Public Service.

The Committee’s success is highlighted in quantitative measurements, such as above, as well as in the Committee’s vision, values and priorities, which promote a culture of accessibility and inclusiveness that is beneficial to all. Some of the actions taken to build accessibility awareness and confidence within the organization include promoting Public Service events that highlight important occasions; for example, International Week of the Deaf, National AccessAbility Week, and Public Service Neurodivergence Week. As well, an event was held where two Committee employees shared their lived experiences with invisible disabilities with their colleagues. This was a unique and personal learning experience for all. An internal survey following the awareness sessions received positive feedback and highlighted the benefits and appreciation fellow employees expressed from attending the event.

As well, the Committee makes a conscious effort to embody the principle of ‘nothing without us’ by consulting persons with disabilities – including our Champions of Accessibility, Future Workplace, Official Languages, and Mental Health, as well as the newly appointed Workplace Accessibility Working Group in all relevant projects.

The Accessible Canada Act aims to make Canada a barrier-free country by January 1, 2040. To attain that goal, all Government of Canada (GC) organizations were mandated to publish their first Accessibility Plan by the end of 2022. Each subsequent year, the organizations must measure and publish a progress report to address the implementation of these actions.

Organizations were required to proactively identify, remove and prevent barriers in the following priority areas:

Priority Areas identified by the Accessible Canada Act

1.      Employment

The Committee is dedicated to implementing government-wide initiatives and increasing representation of persons with disabilities across all occupational groups and levels. This will be achieved through removing and preventing barriers to recruitment and retention and promoting persons with disabilities.

Progress:

Ensure staffing and assessment tools are accessible and inclusive:

Increase awareness on accommodation and how to manage requests properly:

Implement government-wide initiatives to ensure the Committee has an accurate portrait of its employees:

Facilitate discussions between managers and employees with respect to accommodation:

Continue to encourage managers to hire employees with disabilities in support of the government-wide target of 7% (5,000 hires) by 2025:

Continue to promote flexible work arrangements to accommodate the needs of all employees:

2.      Built Environment

The Committee recognizes the importance of an accessible built environment. As such, the Committee is continuing to proactively encourage the mindset of “inclusive by design” and “accessible by default.”

Progress:

Promote the use of inclusive design checklists for accessibility considerations:

Review workspaces to ensure they meet accessibility requirements and employee needs:

Ensure that employees are aware of the emergency and evacuation procedures to follow, including who to communicate with if they require additional support:

3.      Information and Communication Technologies

With the gradual return to office, as well as the Committee’s intended future as a hybrid workplace, it is the Committee’s priority to ensure that accessibility is always considered.

Progress:

Develop internally or procure hardware/software which meets modern accessibility standards when considering new systems:

Provide all employees with the training, resources and tools required to create accessible content and generate accessible documents:

Update the "Request a Network Account or Transfer" form:

4.      Communications other than Information and Communications Technologies

The Committee is dedicated to ensuring that all its communications, whether internal or external, are accessible. This includes ensuring that our communications are written in plain language, as per the GC’s Canada.ca Content Style Guide.

Progress:

Promote accessible and inclusive communications practices in compliance with the latest Web Content Accessibility Guide, the GC's Standard on Web Accessibility, the Standard on Web Interoperability and the Canada.ca Content Style Guide:

Review the Committee’s website and intranet to ensure that they meet all GC-related accessibility guidelines:

5.      The Procurement of Goods, Services, and Facilities

Procurement is a key element in achieving accessibility at the Committee. As such, the Committee will implement procurement principles, rules, and practices with the goal of advancing accessibility objectives.

Progress:

Support the scent-free environment policy:

Use the inclusive design checklist for accessibility considerations:

Track accommodation requests to ensure timeliness:

Ensure that employees have access to ergonomic equipment, whether working from home or at the on-site work location:

Assess offices to ensure they meet accessibility requirements and employee needs:

6.      The Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

The Corporate Services Directorate is responsible for the development and implementation of internal programs and services.

The Operations Directorate is responsible for the Committee’s core program: the independent review of military grievances.

Progress:

A. Corporate Services

Ensure that internal programs and services have applied accessibility considerations in their design:

Review internal policies, practices and rules with the goal of eliminating barriers and supporting disability inclusion, including improving processes for accommodation and procurement:

Continuous improvement:

Work openly while being cognisant of security and privacy risks:

B. Operations

Modify the initial contact letter template to allow the grievor to disclose any accessibility requirements:

Provide grievors with options to receive alternate formats of the findings and recommendations report:

7.      Transportation

This priority area under the Accessible Canada Act does not apply to the Committee.

Consultations

“Nothing Without Us” is a foundational principle of the Accessible Canada Act (2019). This principle of disability rights stipulates that the process of developing laws, policies, and programs that impact persons with disabilities should not be implemented without consulting persons with disabilities. The Committee’s 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan is a direct reflection of the input, views and suggestions provided by employees across our organization, who were all requested to participate in an internal survey conducted before constructing the plan and presenting actions. After its initial draft, the Committee then consulted with a working group of employees who self-identified as persons with a disability to draft the Committee's first plan. Consultations with persons with disabilities were vital to the development of the accessibility plan, and their input continues to inform the plan’s implementation and future iterations.

Champions

The Committee has four distinct Champions, including a Champion of Accessibility, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. The role of this employee representative position is to promote all aspects of inclusion, diversity and equality in the workplace by sharing views and GC-wide events that seek to support the adoption of inclusive approaches.

Human Resources held monthly consultation meetings with the Champions to discuss GC priorities and to highlight activities in all areas of the organization. The Champions were also involved in meetings for specific Committee initiatives and projects that came up. This included assisting in drafting an accessibility survey that was launched internally. As well, Employment Equity data was shared with the Champion of Accessibility to assure their presence and input in any actions taken by the Committee to advance diversity and inclusion. The Champion of Accessibility is now a member of the Workplace Modernization Group, assuring accessibility and inclusion are constant priorities while building a modern workplace. Finally, the Champions shared perspectives with management by attending semi-annual meetings with the Committee’s Chairperson to confer about priorities.

Workplace Accessibility Working Group

In 2024, the Committee was able to officially launch an internal Workplace Accessibility Working Group. The presence of this working group reflects the Accessible Canada Act’s guiding idea of “Nothing Without Us,” as this voluntary group consists entirely of employees at the Committee who self-identity as a person with a disability.

This working group was established to promote open dialogue with persons with a disability and create another method of consultations. Recently, the members of the Workplace Accessibility Working Group were consulted by Human Resources following the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data gathered in the Committee’s survey to seek feedback on the 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan. The input proved to be extremely valuable in implementing change.

Feedback

The feedback process developed as part of the Committee’s 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan invited respondents to reach out via telephone, mail, email, or an online anonymous feedback form.

As of the date of publishing of this report, no formal feedback had been received from the public.

Nevertheless, the Committee remains open to feedback and dedicated to pursuing its goal of removing or correcting any barriers still present that prevent the full participation of persons with disability in the workplace. If we receive feedback, we can continue to respond and take action. Any feedback we receive is essential to continuous improvement.

Departmental Survey

In July 2024, the Committee launched an internal survey to all employees to gather additional feedback on the 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan, in preparation of the 2024 Accessibility Progress Report and the iteration of the next 3-year accessibility plan.

The Committee requested the participation of all employees, including those who identified as a person with a disability, to obtain further perspectives, views and experiences as to the organization’s current state of accessibility.

The survey to seek feedback on the 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan was conducted as an online questionnaire, and alternative formats (phone, email) were available to employees upon contacting Human Resources. It composed of 28 questions that included multiple-choice and open-ended answers. The survey had seven sections: general questions; employment; information and communications technology; built environment; culture change, education and awareness; feedback mechanism; and self-identification. The survey was anonymous, and participation was optional.

The Committee was able to collect significant feedback and suggestions on how to identify, prevent, and eliminate barriers. This progress report, prepared in consultation with the Committee’s Workplace Accessibility Working Group, a network of employees who self-identified as persons with a disability, is based directly on findings ascertained from these survey results. Much like the creation of the 2022-2025 Accessibility Plan, the Committee wanted to ensure that our 2024 Accessibility Progress Report reflected the voices of persons with disabilities.

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2025-01-08