PacifiCan Accessibility Plan: Annual progress report - December 2024

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Table of contents

• General
• Agency feedback process
• Consultations
• PacifiCan’s action plan
  • Priority area: Employment
  • Priority area: Built environment
  • Priority area: Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)
  • Priority area: Communication, other than ICT
  • Priority area: Procurement of goods, services and facilities
  • Priority area: Design and delivery of programs and services
  • Priority area: Transportation
• Looking forward

General

Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan) is proud to provide its second annual progress report of the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan based on the Accessible Canada Act (ACA).

This second annual progress report identifies progress made since the publishing of the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan.

The ACA requires organizations to publish progress reports on the implementation of their accessibility plans. The progress reflects the organization’s policies, programs, practices, and services in relation to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers.

Agency feedback process

In line with the Accessible Canada Act, we have established an agency process for receiving and addressing feedback regarding the implementation of the accessibility plan and barriers experienced by our employees and people who deal with our organization.

Send your accessibility questions, feedback, and suggestions; or to request an alternate version, by phone, email or by letter to:

Pacific Economic Development Canada
Suite 1300-300 Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 6B4

Telephone: 604-666-6256
Toll Free: 1-888-338-9378
Fax: 604-666-2353
Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-877-303-3388

Email: info@pacifican.gc.ca

Feedback form

Consultations

All PacifiCan employees, which includes members from all equity-seeking groups and allies, were solicited to provide feedback on accessibility. This included active offers for feedback on accessibility and the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan. In addition, as part of the return-to-office, accessibility and accommodation have been included in various communications and discussions.

PacifiCan has launched an Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Working Group led by the Agency’s Executive Champions for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility. As noted by the Executive Co-Champions, “we look forward to hearing your great ideas about how to make PacifiCan a more equitable, diverse and inclusive place to work!”

Internal subject matter experts in the seven priority areas were consulted to identify current activities and how PacifiCan will continue to increase accessibility.

PacifiCan’s action plan

As mentioned in the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Call to Action,

“As persons with visible and invisible disabilities continue to face physical and technological barriers, the approaches we develop must be truly inclusive by also being truly accessible.

Building a diverse, equitable and inclusive Public Service is both an obligation and an opportunity we all share. We must advance this objective together, acting both individually and collectively, and recognizing that our progress will rely on amplifying the voices of those within our organizations to help lead the way.”

Below is the progress PacifiCan has made to support a more inclusive and accessible workplace and public service.

Priority area: Employment

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• Implement government-wide initiatives, including review of assessment methods in connection to the amendment of Section 36 of the Public Service Employment Act (PSEA), to remove and prevent barriers to recruitment, retention and promotion of persons with disabilities.
• Review and analyze updated PSES disaggregated results.
• Update PacifiCan’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Plan.
• Create opportunities for meaningful discussion and engagement with employees by establishing its own employee resource or consultation group, separate from PrairiesCan.
• Increase education on accommodation throughout all stages on employment (for example appointment, onboarding, promotion etc.).
• Continue to support accommodation requests from employees and managers, including ergonomic assessments for new and current staff and support flexible work arrangements, where possible.
• Continue to promote training events to raise awareness, and create an inclusive culture and work environment.

Progress made includes:

• Representation of persons with disabilities at PacifiCan has increased.
• Presentation by Canada’s first Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO) for all-staff to learn more about accessibility and the CAO’s role under the Accessible Canada Act.
• PacifiCan’s Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Working Group launched.
• Marketing and hiring of qualified candidates who self-identified as persons with disabilities.
• Continued collaboration with organizations supporting persons with disabilities to discuss employment opportunities and strategies to implement accessible recruitment and accommodation strategies.
• PacifiCan’s Culture Canvas embedded throughout our workplace and planning, which focuses on creating a workplace where staff feel safe and valued, and diversity is recognized and respected.
• Regular active offers to all-staff to identify accessibility challenges, which resulted in the implementation of improved accessibility in the workplace.
• Regular communication with all staff promoting various learning and development events. Themes included Mental Health; Mental Illness; Workplace Accommodation, including the Accessibility, Accommodation, and Adaptive Computer Technology program (AAACT); Unconscious Bias; Inclusive Hiring Practices; and Inclusive Leadership.
• Continued access to Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI), which provides additional training and resources for all-staff on diversity and inclusion topics.
• Updates to PacifiCan Intranet, including information on accessibility and accommodation resources during the onboarding, return-to-office, and recruitment processes and promotion of the Accessibility Passport.
• Training to managers and directors on Duty to Accommodate.

Priority area: Built environment

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• continue to have accessibility as a mandatory consideration when securing new office space as well as the retrofitting of current leased space;
• proactively work with building management companies to enhance accessibility in the built environment;
• have accessibility as a mandatory consideration when securing a new Headquarters in Surrey, British Columbia to address accessibility and promote inclusion from the planning and design stage to completion.

Progress made includes:

• In preparation of opening PacifiCan’s new Surrey Headquarters office, information to all staff was communicated in the “PacifiCan Post Newsletter” regarding standard ergonomic equipment at each workstation, and an active offer for staff to request accommodation needs.
• Continued work with PSPC to ensure the new fit-up of regional offices and new Headquarters in Surrey are aligned to the standards for Accessibility.
• Validated that accessibility standards are met in any lease documentation and conduct accessibility site visits prior to signing new leases.
• Actively offered and engaged all-staff to provide feedback throughout the return to office process.

Priority area: Information and Communications Technologies (ICT)

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• continue to support the accommodation requests from employees to ensure they have the systems and equipment to do their job (Accessible by default);
• adopt new software that has accessibility capabilities built within it, whenever possible.

Progress made includes:

• Departmental default font switched to more accessible fonts such as Calibri and Aptos, size 12.
• Current pilot with selected staff using Windows 11 to test bugs and preparation before department-wide rollout. Plans to implement Windows 11 by fiscal year end 2024/25, which has additional improvements on accessibility.
• New software requests now include an accessibility review prior to purchase.
• Continued focus on vendors that supplies software with accessibility capabilities built within it.

Priority area: Communication, other than ICT

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• use plain language in communications to benefit all users, including those with low reading skills or cognitive disabilities;
• continue to ensure that all external communication is WCAG 2.0 compliant, or greater;
• redesign our internal website to ensure content and layout meets accessibility standards;
• continue to promote accessibility within our organization, including International Day of Persons with Disabilities and National AccessAbility Week, as well as training events to raise awareness and create an inclusive culture and work environment.

Progress made includes:

• Phase 1 of external PacifiCan website review for plain language and Government of Canada accessibility standards compliance has been completed. Phase 2 is underway to update program pages.
• Continued implementation of an accessible approach to social media posts, which is part of onboarding for new communications staff members. The approach requires:
  • alt-text descriptions for images;
  • use of plain language;
  • ensuring all visual content (graphics, images, video) adhere to visibility and contrast standards; and
  • limiting the use of emojis in social media posts.
• Update to all internal templates to default to accessible font and font size.
• Use of closed captions and subtitles on all video content.
• Accessible intranet launched. Communication team staying current on Government of Canada accessibility best practices through training and resource sharing, ensuring regular site maintenance around updated content, and accessibility measures.
• Promoting accessibility within our organization as appropriate around key dates like National AccessAbility Week by highlighting relevant resources on the intranet. Using these key dates to simultaneously celebrate the work of our partners via external social media storytelling.

Priority area: Procurement of goods, services and facilities

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• continue to consider accessibility when establishing all contracts;
• leverage our purchasing power with a focus on social procurement and realize socio-economic objectives by including socio-economic measures within procurement processes.

Progress made includes:

• Continued use of standing offers, which has accessibility built into the process.
• Use of larger text in contract documents.
• Remained up-to-date with PSPC and Treasury Board (TBS) standards and policies.
• Agency presence on interdepartmental committees regarding procurement, which includes discussions around accessibility.
• Work underway to update the Departmental Procurement Management Framework, which will highlight accessibility factors in various sections.
• Implemented new contractual documents from PSPC, which uses plain language and includes clause tool (no longer includes hyperlinks to clauses, but rather clauses are in full text of the contract).

Priority area: Design and delivery of programs and services

As indicated in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, PacifiCan committed to:

• continue the Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP);
• review and analyze inclusivity data provided on applications, which provides information on the diversity of the population applying for and receiving departmental funds, and contributes to PacifiCan’s Gender-based Analysis Plus (GBA+) processes;
• continue to inform applicants of the collection and use of inclusivity data from applications.

Progress made includes:

• British Columbians with disabilities can access a network of business professionals and other resources through Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan)'s Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP). During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the EDP program has produced the following results:
  • 381 businesses created, maintained, or expanded;
    • 285 in rural British Columbia;
    • 67 in Greater Vancouver;
    • 29 in Greater Victoria.
  • 982 clients served (749 in rural B.C.; 156 in Greater Vancouver; 77 in Greater Victoria);
  • 1,759 business advisory services provided to clients (1,478 in rural B.C.; 207 in Greater Vancouver; 74 in Greater Victoria).
• As of September 30, 2024 (Q1 & Q2 2024/25 fiscal year), the EDP program has produced the following results:
  • 228 businesses created, maintained, or expanded;
    • 156 in rural British Columbia;
    • 52 in Greater Vancouver;
    • 20 in Greater Victoria.
  • 567 clients served (409 in rural B.C.; 123 in Greater Vancouver; 35 in Greater Victoria);
  • 722 business advisory services provided to clients (536 in rural B.C.; 140 in Greater Vancouver; 46 in Greater Victoria).
• Continued supporting the Government of Canada's commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion, recognizing that participation of underrepresented groups (including persons with disabilities) is key to building a strong and inclusive regional and national economy. In 2024, PacifiCan continued to leverage its funding application forms, which include a voluntary self-declaration section for underrepresented groups (including persons with disabilities), to better understand the reach of the agency’s programs.
• Program guides continued to provide information to applicants on the collection and use of inclusivity data.

Priority area: Transportation

Although no commitments were initially made in the PacifiCan Accessibility Plan, the following recognition and progress has been made:

• Communication to all staff in the “PacifiCan Post Newsletter” regarding transportation highlights for the new Surrey Headquarters, including direct access to SkyTrain station via a covered open-air walkway; and various parking options.
• Vancouver and Ottawa offices on public transit route, including close access to SkyTrain/O-Train stations, and various parking options available.
• Regional offices within core locations, for maximum access to transportation options.

Looking forward

The Act seeks to benefit all persons, especially persons with disabilities, to create a Canada without barriers, on or before January 1, 2040. As a Regional Development Agency, PacifiCan has a key role to play in helping to achieve this goal.

PacifiCan is committed to creating a diverse, safe, respectful, healthy, and inclusive workplace. This means a commitment to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to full participation for persons with disabilities. This plan is just a starting point for making PacifiCan barrier free. The agency will continue to evolve and adapt this action plan, in consultation with key stakeholders, to meet the needs of employees and clients with disabilities.