Introduction

From: Employment and Social Development Canada

Overview

This guidance document is not itself legally binding. It does describe progress report requirements that are legally binding under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and its regulations. The descriptions of these requirements use the words “must” and “required.”

The guidance also contains many recommendations and tips. These may help organizations ensure their progress reports are clear, useful, and accessible. Recommendations use the words “recommended,” “should,” “may,” “suggested,” and “could.”

The ACA requires federally regulated entities (organizations) to publish progress reports on the implementation of their accessibility plans. Your progress in implementing your accessibility plans will likely reflect your policies, programs, practices and services in relation to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers.

The ACA sets the minimum requirements for progress reports.

The ACA says that organizations must:

• prepare and publish progress reports on the implementation of their accessibility plan
• consult persons with disabilities in preparing progress reports
• notify the Accessibility Commissioner whenever they publish a progress report
• provide information in their progress reports about how they consulted persons with disabilities and the feedback they receive through their feedback process
• describe in their progress reports how they took that feedback into consideration
• make copies of their progress reports available in certain formats upon request

The Accessible Canada Regulations (regulations) set the rules for preparing and publishing progress reports. Their sections on progress reports describe:

• when, how, and where an organization must publish a progress report
• how an organization should approach writing and publishing its progress reports, including:
  • using simple, clear, and concise language
  • conforming with level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• what headings a progress report must contain
• what information must go under those headings
• the formats in which the organization must make a progress report available to people on request
• the deadlines for providing reports in those formats

The regulations also specify:

• which organizations may not have to prepare and publish a progress report
• how long an organization must keep copies of each progress report it publishes

Note: Some federally regulated organizations come under different accessibility planning and reporting regulations. These regulations include:

• the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations and
• the Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations

These differences may affect what those organizations must include in their progress reports. They may also affect when those organizations must publish them, and who they must notify.

Read the section on notifying different regulatory and enforcement authorities for more information, and make sure that your organization meets the specific requirements of the accessibility planning and reporting regulations that apply to you.