American Sign Language version of the 2023 progress report executive summary

(Sign language interpreter against black background signing the text of the executive summary)

Executive Summary

As we continue in our journey to become an accessible workplace, we are happy to share the Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) Accessibility Progress Report for 2023. It supports PSPC's commitment to remove barriers to accessibility for its employees, and as a common service provider in the programs and services it delivers to government and the Canadian public.

This Progress Report follows the December 2022 publication of PSPC's 2023 to 2025 Accessibility Plan. It highlights the work which has taken place at PSPC over the past year to improve accessibility under the PSPC priority of an accessible culture, as well as the 7 priority areas of the Accessible Canada Act. In all, the 8 priorities are:

• culture
• employment
• built environment
• information and communication technologies (ICT)
• communication (other than ICT)
• procurement of goods, services and facilities
• design and delivery of programs and services
• transportation

Visit the section Accessibility Plan: 8 Priorities of this Progress Report for an update on achievements and activities that occurred since PSPC's 2023 to 2025 Accessibility Plan was released.

With this Progress Report, each activity in PSPC's 2023 to 2025 Accessibility Plan is aligned with a Key Performance Indicator and a measurement framework for tracking progress and reporting on achievements. These Key Performance Indicators were co-developed with branches in early 2023. Results from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023 will be published in PSPC's 2024 progress report. Visit Annex B: Key performance indicators in this Report for an outline of all activities, indicators, desired outcomes and branch offices of primary interest for each priority area of the Accessibility Plan.

In the spirit of the "Nothing About Us Without Us" principle, this year PSPC engaged broadly with persons with disabilities and allies to learn more about what is working, as well as barriers that remain to improving accessibility. We learned that a lot of work is still needed before our department can become fully accessible for PSPC employees, and for those to whom we provide services, and we are committed to making this goal a reality.

Consultations took place in spring 2023 and we heard from over 1,400 employees across the department, as well as from members of PSPC's Accessibility Advisory Panel, made up of experts from external organizations representing persons with disabilities. A summary report was developed to share common themes and emerging issues which came to light during consultations. This report was made available to participants and shared widely across the department, including with senior management. The PSPC Accessibility Office is continuing to engage broadly towards addressing issues and sharing ideas raised by participants.

In addition, a department-wide survey gave employees a chance to respond to various questions about the current state of accessibility at PSPC. A summary of the consultations and survey feedback can be found in Annex A: Consultations results.

The feedback process developed as part of PSPC's 2023 to 2025 Accessibility Plan has been in place since December 2022, and invites respondents to reach out to the Accessibility Office by telephone, mail, email or using an online contact form. A summary of the responses submitted from the period of December 20, 2022 until October 10, 2023 can be found in the Feedback section of this report. In response to feedback received, American Sign Language (ASL) and Langues des signes Québécoise (LSQ) versions of this Progress Report are being made available in collaboration with Deaf and Hard of Hearing employees to ensure the content developed reflects the needs of the community.

Several pieces of feedback regarding operations and policies have been flagged for future consideration when developing PSPC's next Accessibility Plan, including the need to account for intersectionality, and suggestions for activities to enhance an accessible culture.

We are grateful to the many partners at PSPC, across government and externally for their advice and collaboration towards removing barriers to accessibility. Thank you also to the persons with disabilities and allies who shared their perspectives via consultations, PSPC's accessibility survey and the Accessibility Plan feedback process.

Everybody can support a more accessible workplace. Accessibility comes about from openness, learning from one another and taking often simple actions to create environments where inclusion is built in. The past year has revealed many opportunities to make progress on accessibility and PSPC looks forward to continuing this meaningful work in the years ahead.