February 15, 2024 Gatineau, Quebec Employment and Social Development Canada
Accessibility is a key component of communities that thrive and an economy that grows. Since the significant milestone of passing the Accessible Canada Act, the Government of Canada has been fully engaged in creating a barrier-free country and ensuring the full participation of all Canadians in society, particularly persons with disabilities. The Government of Canada continues to engage the disability community in the spirit of "Nothing Without Us" on the actions needed to advance disability inclusion and accessibility across the country.
Today, in the House of Commons, the Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Kamal Khera, tabled the first Annual Report from Canada's Chief Accessibility Officer (CAO), Stephanie Cadieux. This marks a historic step forward for the Government's implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, as the report is a mandated requirement to highlight progress made under the Act and bring attention to persistent accessibility issues.
In her report, entitled "Everyone's Business - Accessibility in Canada," Ms. Cadieux sets out a call to action that aims to help Canada reach its goal of building a country without barriers-one where 6.2 million Canadians with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of society. The CAO has placed special focus on four areas where collective and harmonized efforts are needed to advance accessibility, including mandatory training, regulations, dedicated accessibility funding, and the collection of meaningful data to support decision making.
In welcoming the report, Minister Khera highlighted Government progress under the Accessible Canada Act, as well as federal initiatives that will help support improvements in the areas noted by the CAO, including:
- the coming into force of the first set of Accessible Canada Regulations;
the publication of the Federal Data and Measurement Strategy for Accessibility;
- the creation of Accessibility Standards Canada, as well as the positions of Chief Accessibility Officer and Accessibility Commissioner;
- the support provided to over 7,200 projects under the Enabling Accessibility Fund to make communities and workplaces more accessible, and helping thousands of Canadians gain access to programs, services, and employment opportunities; and
- the release of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan, a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive for persons with disabilities, which includes the Canada Disability Benefit Act.
These actions build upon the important work the Government has been doing on accessibility and disability inclusion since 2015, but there is much more to be done. Making Canada inclusive, and free of physical and attitudinal barriers is a collective responsibility that extends beyond government involvement; it's a commitment that benefits us all.
