Global Affairs Canada Progress Report on Accessibility 2023
On this page
- General
- Introduction
- Accessibility pillars
- Consultations (stakeholder engagement)
- Feedback
- Performance measurement
1. General
Contact: Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility Advisor (Accessibility Action Plan)
By email: HSI-PlandAccessibiliteAMC-GACAccessibilityPlan@international.gc.ca
Online: Provide your feedback
By mail:
Global Affairs Canada – Accessibility Feedback
c/o Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Team (HSIE)
200 Promenade du Portage
8th floor
Gatineau, Québec J8X 4B7
By phone: Toll-free 1-800-267-8376
Social media:
- Official corporate X account for Global Affairs Canada: @GAC_Corporate
- LinkedIn: Global Affairs Canada
2. Introduction
The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) came into effect in July 2019 and sets out 7 pillars that federally regulated entities must take into account to develop an accessibility action plan that removes barriers for persons with disabilities and prevents new ones from forming. GAC has added an eighth pillar to its accessibility plan to outline efforts to make GAC a more inclusive organization for persons with disabilities through culture change.
The GAC Accessibility Action Plan (AAP) 2023-2025 was published in November 2023. GAC is committed to cultural transformation, to achieving barrier-free accessibility for persons with disabilities, and to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Numerous activities are in place to make our environment more inclusive for persons with disabilities in areas such as employment, communications, the built environment, procurement, programs and services, as well as workplace culture. The programs and services and transportation pillars require significant additional effort and implementation will commence in 2024. We have developed an implementation framework, as well as a performance measurement framework, to measure progress. As we move forward, additional activities to address and remove barriers will be added.
The following is a summary of current activities GAC is undertaking to take down barriers and improve accessibility.
3. Accessibility pillars
Pillar 1: Employment
Desired outcome: Achieve the targets set out in the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada and retain our employees who live with a disability
Staffing, targeted training and awareness
The following are some of the measures in place to build on hiring targets in the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada and the GAC Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Action Plan:
- Optimizing accommodation policies, practices and procedures during staffing processes.
- Use of targeted staffing processes as well as Public Service Employment Act (PSEA) flexibilities to promote hiring from Employment Equity (EE) groups (e.g. non-advertised appointments, specific selection zones limited to members of EE groups, etc.).
- Use of diverse assessment teams for staffing processes (evergreen inventory of assessors from EE groups, including persons with disabilities).
- GAC’s staffing framework was reviewed to reflect new legislative requirements (PSEA, s. 36[2]) and new tools were adopted to strengthen diversity and inclusion in staffing processes to mitigate potential bias, dismantle barriers and ensure that all applicants have an equal opportunity to achieve their full potential at every assessment stage.
- Targeted outreach to those with disabilities (including events with Algonquin College, Carleton University, La Cité and the University of Ottawa) to connect students and recent graduates with disabilities with employment opportunities.
- Creation of a database of applicants with disabilities to share with hiring managers
- Training for Human Resources (HR) advisors on neurodiversity, and training for HR advisors and hiring managers on bias and inclusive hiring.
- Development of tools for hiring managers to promote inclusive language when drafting job postings.
- Delivery of presentations to management teams across the organization, aligning with and supporting efforts to achieve EDI objectives.
- Participation in the Employment Opportunity for Students with Disabilities and the Virtual Door to Talent with Disabilities programs.
- Provision of resources to managers to help them increase their understanding of how to recruit and retain employees with disabilities.
- Ensuring that employees with disabilities have opportunities for career advancement to the executive level through programs such as:
- The GAC Deputy Minister Sponsorship Program, which provides equitable career advancement at the executive level and is indispensable to the retention of employees with disabilities and other equity-seeking groups (Indigenous, Black and racialized).
- The Mosaic Leadership Development Program of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) Centre of Diversity and Inclusion; the program was developed for employees at the EX minus one level to increase representation for persons with disabilities, Indigenous people and members of visible minorities in the executive group. Last year, GAC selected a person with a disability to participate in the first cohort.
- Engagement in proactive awareness initiatives with organizations serving diverse equity-seeking communities to inform them about ongoing selection processes.
Duty to accommodate
Regarding the promotion of accessibility within duty to accommodate practices, GAC:
- Provides advice and guidance to managers on employee accommodation and support measures
- Liaises with external services to support the needs of employees
- Provides a point of contact to facilitate the process with employees
- Ensures that employee and management rights are respected
GAC is taking steps towards integrating the Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport into the department. Activities include:
- Conducting an in-depth study of implementation models and the steps required to ensure effective integration of the Accessibility Passport.
- Meeting with the Accessibility Office and other organizations to gain an in-depth understanding of the benefits and challenges associated with implementing the Accessibility Passport, including actively participating in meetings of the Accessibility Office and communities of practice.
Other actions include:
- Reviewing departmental intranet pages from an accessibility perspective
- Providing advice and guidance to management to help them manage specific situations while encouraging an open line of communication
- Providing support to GAC employees in disability management and return-to-work situations
- Providing training to managers, on request, on the principles of disability management and the duty to accommodate
- Adjusting tracking tools to be able to improve the collection of statistics, including on duty to accommodate files
- Reviewing and modifying internal duty to accommodate procedures with respect to:
- Parking requests
- Assessments of accommodation requests for teleworking
- The Central Accommodations Fund, which provides assistance to managers in covering costs of adapted computer technology (ACT) equipment
Pillar 2: Built environment
Desired outcome: Accessibility principles and values are upheld for employees at headquarters and missions
As GAC is not an owner of real property in Canada, we work with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) as our landlord and mandated project delivery agent to ensure that all real property projects, including the Global Affairs Renovation Project (GAC Reno), make accessibility factors and deliverables a foundational piece of planning, design and implementation delivery. GAC developed the Domestic Accommodation Real Estate Strategy and Long-Term Accommodation Plan, which includes accessibility as part-and-parcel of our ongoing domestic accommodations efforts and planning commitments for modernizing GAC workspaces.
GAC engages with equity-seeking networks, such as those involved in anti-racism, diversity and inclusion activities and with persons with disabilities, among others, to evaluate existing conditions, seek feedback on accommodations, introduce surveys on future initiatives, and plan longer-term initiatives for future years that include accessibility concerns. Some examples of this type of engagement include:
- The survey and feedback process for the contactless elevators at 125 Sussex, which PSPC designed to reduce barriers (2022)
- Ongoing engagement with internal stakeholders on quiet rooms, cultural expression spaces and Indigenous reconciliation spaces
- Strong advocacy with PSPC to reinstall a ramp at the front entrance of 125 Sussex before the modernization project completion in 2028
Pillar 3: Information and communications technology (ICT)
Desired outcome: Move towards an accessible-by-default approach to technology
- GAC ensures that all standard hardware used by employees has Microsoft accessibility features available for users. The service desk is available to help employees set up the accessibility features they need.
- Regarding applications, standard web-based applications follow the TBS standards for accessibility. If an application does not meet this standard, employees can access support through the service desk so that application owners can review and correct the non-compliance.
- Concerning non-web applications, this will be addressed in the future as part of a review that is being done on accessibility.
Pillar 4: Communications (non-ICT)
Desired outcome: All information provided to employees complies with the TBS and ACA guidelines
GAC ensures that digital content is accessible by default. Clients are regularly advised on and guided in the use of plain language and web accessibility standards. For example, the use of plain language is promoted when drafting communications products, social media content and web publishing. Alternative text is applied to social media content. By the end of 2023, GAC aims to include alt-text in an even higher proportion of publications on all social media accounts.
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 level AA is applied to all content published on GAC websites. GAC champions accessible design choices, including colours, fonts and contrast, to ensure visual elements are accessible to users of assistive technology. GAC also participated in the GC Task Success Survey, covering Q2 of the 2023-24 fiscal year, and leveraged the data to justify working on improving GAC’s top website tasks. GAC implements iterative design processes that consider accessibility during website updates, as done for the intranet redesign. Communications products are provided in alternative formats, where applicable and possible. For example:
- Transcriptions of videos or podcasts that are broadcasted.
- Live captioning in both official languages at internal events organized by the Public Affairs branch.
- Internal events on key topics are posted on the intranet with full transcripts in both official languages.
- When an image is published on a digital platform, a description of the image is added.
- In addition, infographics used on both internal and external platforms consider accessibility parameters related to fonts and colour contrasts. Corporate videos also take accessibility parameters into account and include subtitling.
Pillar 5: Procurement of goods and services
Desired outcome: Achieve TBS and PSPC best practices
Regular messages are sent to procurement officers encouraging them to take full advantage of available training on accessibility in procurement offered by Shared Services Canada and PSPC.
Pillar 6: Programs and servicesFootnote 1
Desired outcome: All programs and services are accessible to all employees
Input will be provided once the plan is implemented.
Pillar 7: Transportation
Desired outcome: Employees with disabilities at mission are aware of safe and secure accessible transportation options
Input will be provided once the plan is implemented.
Pillar 8: Workplace culture
Desired outcome: A department where all employees are respected, included and welcomed
Although culture change is not specifically mentioned under the ACA, it is a pillar of the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada. A cultural transformation is necessary to make spaces more inclusive of persons with disabilities and the desired outcome is to ensure that persons with disabilities feel respected, included and welcomed.
Efforts are underway towards this goal. In 2023, GAC engaged with branches and bureaus to share the plan and its vision for removing barriers to accessibility. In addition, GAC is currently redeveloping its Inclusion, Equity, Diversity, Accessibility and Anti-Racism intranet page, and has included a new page dedicated to improving accessibility. The accessibility intranet page links to the plan and includes recruitment tools, steps to follow during the duty to accommodate process, and a link to the Office of Public Service Accessibility Hub. It also includes all relevant legislation and government policies.
Training
All new courses and learning materials hosted on Campus International must fully meet accessibility standards. As part of this initiative:
- A team of accessibility experts was formed to review all current online courses on Campus International to make them accessible by March 31, 2024. The team is on track to meet this goal.
- Guidelines for adding a course to the list of mandatory training for all Global Affairs Canada employees (international.gc.ca) are being adjusted to require that all GAC mandatory training fully meets accessibility standards.
- Learning specialists will be trained and provided with tools to ensure that instructor-led sessions are fully accessible.
4. Consultations (stakeholder engagement)
The GAC Accessibility Action Plan Survey “Building the GAC Accessibility Action Plan: Nothing Without Us” was published in June 2023 and was developed in consultation with GAC employees with disabilities. Thesurvey generated 394 responses, including 225 from persons with disabilities. The survey also captured demographic information on gender, racial identification and sexual orientation, providing valuable insights into the intersectional identities of GAC employees with disabilities and managers/supervisors (both with disabilities and who supervise persons with disabilities). The survey will be conducted annually, and the results will be analyzed to inform our performance management indicators, workplace culture change strategies and future reporting.
In addition, 106 GAC employees participated in consultations through online focus group meetings, either in small groups or one-on-one. Of those consulted, 50 were from the persons with disabilities community. Consultations provided insights on the employee experience in key areas such as the duty to accommodate process, concerns with the accessibility of GAC buildings, availability of software to accommodate employees, the procurement process, the shuttle vehicles, and the need for culture change. They also provided important information on how persons with disabilities experience barriers when posted abroad, including obstacles that are not adequately addressed by the Foreign Service Directives.
5. Feedback
When GAC published its Accessibility Action Plan, it included an integrated feedback process and an online form. The process allows everyone to provide comprehensive responses and to describe their lived experiences and their perspectives on the Plan.
Following the release of our plan, we received 7 responses through the official feedback mechanism dealing with barriers in ICT, the built environment and employment. Three of these were quickly resolved or offered positive feedback. Most of the other responses address complex situations that will have to be reviewed and considered before responding. Some cover barriers under more than one of the ACA pillars.
6. Performance measurement
GAC is developing an implementation plan and a performance measurement framework featuring short, medium and long-term timelines for planned actions and clear measures to indicate and track progress. Whenever possible, the Accessibility Action Plan Performance Measurement Framework will align with the performance measurement frameworks of the GAC Equity Diversity and Inclusion Plan and the Anti-Racism Strategy and Action Plan. Questions will be added to our annual Nothing Without Ussurvey to help measure progress over time. Where possible, GAC will seek to use existing data from the Public Service Employment Survey as our baseline. Additional key success factors and key performance indicators will be included in the Accessibility Action Plan Performance Measurement Framework.
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