Broadcasting and Telecom - Staff Letter addressed to the Distribution List

Ottawa, 01 May 2024

Reference(s): 1011-NOC2020-0124, 1011-NOC2021-0069

BY EMAIL

Distribution List

Subject: Upcoming deadline related to the Accessible Canada Act and the CRTC Accessibility Reporting Regulations

Dear Service Provider:

According to our records, your company^Footnote1 is a Class 3 entity under the CRTC Accessibility Reporting Regulations (the Regulations).

The purpose of this letter is to remind you that Class 3 entities are required to publish their initial accessibility plan (and to notify the CRTC of the publication) by 1 June 2024.

The accessibility plan is the second step in the accessibility reporting cycle for Class 3 entities established in the Accessible Canada Act and the Regulations:

• feedback process and description (by 1 June 2023)
• initial accessibility plan (by 1 June 2024)
• first progress report (by 1 June 2025)
• second progress report (by 1 June 2026)

Different entities may be at different stages in their reporting cycle. If you require clarification as to the status of your entity, please contact us at engagement@crtc.gc.ca.

Please note that you may have separate accessibility reporting obligations under the Accessible Canada Regulations, which are enforced by the Accessibility Commissioner.

For more information, please visit our website or contact us at engagement@crtc.gc.ca.

Yours sincerely,

Nanao Kachi

Director, Social and Consumer Policy

Initial accessibility plan

Deadline: 1 June 2024

Sections 4 (broadcasting) and 20 (telecom) of the CRTC Accessibility Reporting Regulations (the Regulations) specify that the accessibility plan must include a header for each of the following elements:

• Subsection 42(1) or 51(1) of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA): policies, programs, practices and services in relation to the identification and removal of barriers, and the prevention of new barriers relating to:
  • information and communications technologies;
  • procurement of goods and services;
  • design and delivery of programs and services;
  • communications about procurement and the design and delivery of programs and services; and
  • employment equity (if your company is not subject to the Employment Equity Act)
• Subsection 42(5) or 51(5) of the ACA: the manner in which your company consulted persons with disabilities in the preparation of the plan;
• Subsection 42(9) or 51(9) of the ACA: how your company took into account the principles set out in section 6 of the ACA in the preparation of the plan.

The principles set out in section 6 of the ACA are the following:

1. all persons must be treated with dignity regardless of their disabilities;
2. all persons must have the same opportunity to make for themselves the lives that they are able and wish to have regardless of their disabilities;
3. all persons must have barrier-free access to full and equal participation in society, regardless of their disabilities;
4. all persons must have meaningful options and be free to make their own choices, with support if they desire, regardless of their disabilities;
5. laws, policies, programs, services and structures must take into account the disabilities of persons, the different ways that persons interact with their environments and the multiple and intersecting forms of marginalization and discrimination faced by persons;
6. persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services and structures; and
7. the development and revision of accessibility standards and the making of regulations must be done with the objective of achieving the highest level of accessibility for persons with disabilities.

Sections 5 (broadcasting) and 21 (telecom) of the Regulations set out the publication requirements for the accessibility plan:

• Your company must publish the accessibility plan on its website, either directly on the homepage or by way of a hyperlink on the homepage;
• The accessibility plan must be in clear, simple and concise language;
• The electronic publication of the accessibility plan must meet the requirements of Level AA conformance as set out in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

CRTC staff recommends that entities reference all of these elements in their accessibility plan.

Date modified:

2024-05-01