Executive summary
The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (the Office of the Commissioner) is pleased to publish its progress report on the implementation of the second year of its 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan (the Accessibility Plan).
Most of the initiatives set out in the Accessibility Plan for 2024 have been implemented. Some initiatives are still in the process of being implemented due to the Office of the Commissioner’s reorganization following the adoption in June 2023 of An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages, which amended the Official Languages Act. The implementation of these initiatives has therefore been postponed to 2025.
In preparation for this progress report, the Office of the Commissioner’s various directorates were asked to report on the implementation of their initiatives. Employees with disabilities were also asked to share their experiences and perceptions of accessibility at the Office of the Commissioner, as well as their perceptions of the Accessibility Plan and its implementation.
This second progress report will enable the Office of the Commissioner to continue conversations and further reflections with the appropriate employees in its various directorates and with employees with disabilities so that the necessary actions can be taken to recognize and eliminate existing barriers to accessibility and prevent those that may arise.
General information
Person in charge of feedback
At the Office of the Commissioner, the person responsible for gathering feedback on the Accessibility Plan is Johanne Morin, Director of Policy and Research in the Strategic Orientations and External Relations Branch (formerly the Policy and Communications Branch). Enquiries about accessible formats, accessibility or barriers to accessibility can be sent by email to accessibilite-accessibility@clo-ocol.gc.ca, by telephone to 1-613-410-1866 or by mail to 30 Victoria Street, 6th floor, Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0T8.
Accessible Canada Act
In 2018, the Government introduced Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada (Accessible Canada Act), which received Royal Assent in June 2019 and came into force on July 11, 2019. This Act aims to make Canada a barrier-free country by 2040.
Under the Accessible Canada Act, federally regulated entities must report to the public on their policies and practices related to the recognition and removal of barriers by publishing accessibility plans, feedback processes and progress reports.
The Accessible Canada Act implements a proactive and inclusive approach to the identification and removal of barriers in the federal public administration. It provides for seven areas of action:
- Employment
- Built environment
- Information and communication technologies
- Communication, other than information and communication technologies
- Procurement of goods, services and facilities
- Design and delivery of programs and services
- Transportation
Under the Accessible Canada Act, the Office of the Commissioner prepared and published an accessibility plan on December 31, 2022. The current document is the progress report on this plan for the second year of its implementation, from January to December 2024.
Organization
Mandate
The Office of the Commissioner supports the Commissioner of Official Languages in his mission as an agent of Parliament in order to ensure that the main objectives of the Official Languages Act are met:
- Ensure the equality of English and French in federal institutions.
- Support the preservation and development of official language minority communities in Canada.
- Advance the equality of English and French in Canadian society, taking into account the diversity of provincial and territorial language policies.
- Promote the future of French in Quebec.
- Clarify the official language obligations of federal institutions.
The Commissioner’s mission of Official Languages is also to ensure that the rights and obligations set out in the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act are recognized.
To support the Commissioner in fulfilling his mission, the Office of the Commissioner has two main areas of activity that support and complement each other: compliance and promotion.
Human resources and Public Service Employee Survey responses
To fulfill its mandate, the Office of the Commissioner employed 180 people nationwide in 2024. Its head office is located in Gatineau, Quebec, and it has five regional offices in Moncton, New Brunswick; Montréal, Quebec; Toronto, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and Edmonton, Alberta. It also has three satellite offices in Sudbury, Ontario; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Vancouver, British Columbia.
In addressing the equity, diversity and inclusion of employment equity groups, the Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan incorporated the results of the 2020 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES), to which 149 of the organization’s employees responded. These results are presented again below, along with those of the 2022–2023 PSES, to which 135 of the organization’s employees responded. The results show the following:
- In 2020, 88% of respondents said they felt accepted as an equal member of the team, and 92% felt that members of their work unit behave in a respectful manner. The 2022 results for these same questions were similar, at 88% and 94%, respectively.
- In 2020, 85% of respondents said they felt that the Office of the Commissioner respected individual differences (for example, culture, work styles, ideas, abilities). In 2022, this proportion had dropped somewhat to 80%.
- In 2020, some respondents indicated that the organization could do better by implementing activities and practices that support a diverse workplace.
- In 2020, 92% of respondents said they felt they were treated with respect. In 2022, this proportion had dropped slightly to 89%.
- In 2020, 91% of the 23 respondents who had requested workplace accommodations (including 6 in relation to a disability) said they were satisfied with the measures put in place. In 2022, this proportion had dropped considerably to 71% of the 10 respondents.
People with disabilities according to the Public Service Employee Survey responses
In terms of employees of the Office of the Commissioner who self-identified as having a disability, 15 respondents (11.5%) said they had a disability, and 115 said they did not, according to the responses to question 118 of the 2022–2023 PSES. By way of comparison, among all PSES respondents in participating agencies and departments, according to their distribution by demographic characteristics, 13% said they had a disability in 2022 (up from 9% in 2020, and from 7% in 2018).
Methodology for preparing and publishing the 2024 progress report
The Office of the Commissioner’s methodological approach to the preparation and publication of its 2024 progress report was as follows:
- Review and update key documents. Send out a call to all directorates and their directors in October 2024, asking them to report on the implementation of their initiatives in the second year of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan.
- Send out a call to all Office of the Commissioner staff in October 2024, inviting people with disabilities to participate in the consultation.
Presentation
The report begins by presenting the best practices and barriers identified in the Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan under each of the areas covered by section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act. The status of implementation of initiatives planned for the second year of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan is then presented for under each area. This is followed by a presentation of the approach taken to consult people with disabilities from the Office of the Commissioner’s staff.
Areas covered by section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act
This section looks at the implementation of the initiatives set out in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year in each of the seven areas covered by the Accessible Canada Act. It begins with a reminder of the best practices and barriers identified in the Accessibility Plan for each area and then reports on the implementation of the initiatives planned for 2024.
Employment
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The Office of the Commissioner has been accommodating the needs of people with disabilities since long before the Accessible Canada Act came into force.
- In all staffing processes, employees are asked to identify whether they need accommodation to be able to participate fully and equally in staffing processes and to remove barriers to their employment.
- Delegated managers sometimes use the services of the Public Service Commission’s Personnel Psychology Centre to identify the most appropriate accommodation based on the disability.
- On the Office of the Commissioner’s checklist for new employees, managers are required to tick a box to confirm that they have discussed the employee’s accommodation needs prior to their arrival. All the necessary actions are taken to meet the needs of employees who require accommodation.
- As part of the Office of the Commissioner’s delegation requirements, all sub-delegated staffing managers are required to complete the Canada School of Public Service’s “Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce” course.
- Self-identification occurs in the appointment phase, when future employees are encouraged to complete a self-identification form.
- The Office of the Commissioner has an Employment Equity and Diversity Advisory Group and a Champion of Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion champion. The Human Resources team works with the Champion to publish numerous communications on diversity and inclusion all year round. There is also a side variety of information available from the Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer’s Centre on Diversity and Inclusion.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The Statement of Merit Criteria and method of assessment are not always accessible and inclusive.
- Managers and employees may have unconscious biases.
- Human Resources forms and documents are not all available in an accessible format.
- Employees are not aware of their accessibility rights and obligations.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Add a section to the Office of the Commissioner’s intranet site to refer employees to all of the resources and information available on accessibility
Implementation completed
The Office of the Commissioner’s intranet site has been updated with a section that provides various resources and information on accessibility.
Implement the new requirement of the Public Service Employment Act related to assessment methods by using the Public Service Commission guide entitled Identification of biases and barriers in assessment methods
Implementation in completed
Inspired by the Public Service Commission’s guide, the Office of the Commissioner has successfully implemented the new assessment method requirements of the Public Service Employment Act.
Remind employees of the Office of the Commissioner’s Accessibility Plan and encourage them to report any barriers to the identified personnel
Implementation completed
In October 2024, the Office of the Commissioner posted a reminder on its intranet site encouraging employees to read the Accessibility Plan and report any barriers.
Repeat the call letter for self-identification annually
Implementation complete
As of September 2024, the new Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s self-identification questionnaire had still not been published, and no launch date had been confirmed.
Therefore, in November 2024, a call letter was posted on the Office of the Commissioner’s intranet site asking all employees to complete the employment equity self-identification form in cases where this had not been done or the situation had changed.
Increase use of the available central agency Persons with Disabilities inventories (for example, Federal Student Work Experience Program)
Implementation complete and ongoing
Various actions were taken to increase the use of these inventories. In August and November 2024, a message was sent to the directors to promote the hiring of people with disabilities and the sharing of candidate pools.
Despite the aforementioned efforts, the available data does not show an increase in the use of central agency Persons with Disabilities inventories. The Human Resources team will therefore continue to analyze and promote the various options available to encourage the hiring of people with disabilities, and managers will be asked to show the efforts that have been made in this regard.
Conduct an employment equity review of systems, processes and policies to identify gaps and address identified issues
Implementation complete
By June 2024, the Office of the Commissioner had completed its review of employment systems, processes and policies in order to identify where improvements are needed and to help put an action plan in place.
Liaise with the Office of Public Service Accessibility to determine whether best practices can be adopted by the Office of the Commissioner
Implementation completed and ongoing
The Office of the Commissioner is continuing to liaise with the Office of Public Service Accessibility to identify best practices.
Research the Federal Speakers’ Bureau on Diversity and Inclusion for a speaker to give a presentation to all staff (for example, annual general meeting, Government of Canada Workplace Charitable Campaign)
Implementation complete
A speaker gave a presentation to all staff at the 2024 annual general meeting. Topics included diversity, inclusion and resilience.
Offer training to all staff on creating accessible documents/emails
Implementation complete
The Office of the Commissioner promoted and provided training to all staff on creating accessible documents and emails.
Offer plain language training to all employees
Implementation complete
The Office of the Commissioner promoted and provided plain language training to all staff.
Add to the manager’s checklist on performance management a requirement to take courses on plain language and creating accessible documents, of applicable
Implementation complete
The manager’s checklist on performance management includes a link to the recommended training list, which includes courses on creating accessible documents and on plain language.
Built environment
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
Best practices
- Accessibility standards were taken into consideration when designing the 2022 office reconfiguration.
- Administrative Services ensure that the building is accessible.
- Administrative Services follow the Health and Safety Committee’s recommendations regarding accessibility.
Best practices currently in effect
- Review the emergency evacuation procedures and update as required to ensure that the buddy system is in place and working.
- Ensure that there is a volunteer system for workplace emergencies and provide the required training.
- Update the Fire Warden lists and ensure that training has taken place.
- Ensure that CPR training recipients are identified and trained.
- Ensure that regular occupational health and safety monitoring is conducted and that incidents are properly recorded.
- Ensure that identified occupational health and safety issues are addressed.
- Ensure that all office redesigns comply with the latest accessibility standards.
- Ensure that the list of people with reduced mobility is updated frequently.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- Some of the record rooms may not meet all accessibility requirements.
- Not all doors are equipped with push plates for people with disabilities.
- Buildings in the regions may not be completely accessible.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Review building and workplace accessibility in all regions
Implementation completed and ongoing
The review of building and workplace accessibility is underway. The Office of the Commissioner has completed its review of offices in the Toronto region and plans to complete its review in two other regions (Montréal and Moncton) by March 2025.
Conduct a review of physical barriers on the premises
Implementation completed and ongoing
The review of physical barriers on the premises is underway. The Office of the Commissioner has completed its review of offices in the Toronto region and plans to complete its review in two other regions (Montréal and Moncton) by March 2025.
Information and communication technologies
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The Office of the Commissioner complies with the Treasury Board’s Standard on Web Accessibility. For example, the website, including the content added in 2024, complies with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), Level AA (perceivable content, operable navigation, understandable content, robust site and conformance with assistive technologies).
- Workstations are equipped to accommodate employees’ needs.
- The Information Technology team responds quickly to all accommodation requests.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- Some applications may not meet all accessibility standards.
- The Office of the Commissioner may not be aware of all of the accessibility standard requirements.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Identify and adopt accessibility standards that correspond to the Office of the Commissioner’s needs
Implementation completed and ongoing
Existing accessibility standards were identified and reviewed for their applicability to the Office of the Commissioner. Following the review, the accessibility standards that meet the Office of the Commissioner’s needs were identified. The Office of the Commissioner is currently consulting with Public Services and Procurement Canada and with Shared Services Canada on two existing initiatives in the area of automating analysis and developing measures. Consultations will continue in 2025–2026, and the Office of the Commissioner will monitor the development of these initiatives.
Conduct a gap analysis on the standards currently being used for applications and equipment
Implementation comple
The Office of the Commissioner has completed its gap analysis of the standards currently used for applications and equipment.
Require accessibility clauses to be included in technology acquisition contracts
Implementation complete
The Office of the Commissioner has met the requirement to include accessibility clauses in technology acquisition contracts.
Explore opportunities for more accessible collaborative technology, including Teams (for example, closed captioning, recording)
Implementation complete
An initial evaluation was conducted and showed that closed-captioning poses challenges in terms of official languages. The Office of the Commissioner will continue to assess the other functions.
Help other branches, as required, if Canadians have technical difficulties when filling out forms or accessing and leveraging services from the Office of the Commissioner
Implementation complete
The Information Management and Information Technology Directorate is continuing to support all branches of the Office of the Commissioner when Canadians ask for technical help in using the Office of the Commissioner’s forms.
Communication other than information and communication technologies
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The Office of the Commissioner contracted an external resource to review all of the interpretation bulletins published on its website to ensure that they are written in plain language. The website has since been redesigned, and the bulletins are now integrated into the rest of the site’s content, which is written in plain language.
- The Office of the Commissioner’s web content management system supports accessibility.
- When videos are posted online, captions are integrated into the video or transcriptions are added when there is only text in the video.
- Simple text is displayed below website images to describe the text that appears in infographics.
- Descriptions are now added to visual content posted on the website and on social media (Facebook, X, Instagram).
- The autogenerated forms on the Office of the Commissioner website are designed for accessibility.
- Colour contrast is taken into consideration when developing web content.
- Appropriate headings are used to organize the structure of web content.
- All web content can be accessed with a keyboard alone in a logical way.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- Documents and presentations and created by employees of the Office of the Commissioner, whether for internal or external use, are not always accessible.
- Meetings, events and training organized for internal or external use do not always take accessibility requirements into consideration.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Create a checklist for employees to ensure that all documents posted on the Office of the Commissioner’s website are accessible and written in plain language, where possible
Implementation complete
The procedure to post on the Office of the Commissioner’s website confirms this requirement and stipulates that the Web team must verify all documents to ensure accessibility and the use of plain language. This procedure is still in place. The elements verified are based on the Standard on Web Accessibility:
- If there are images, include descriptive alternative text.
- If there are videos, include subtitles and transcriptions.
- If there are links, make sure they have clear descriptions.
- Organize text to ensure a clear title hierarchy.
- Use plain language.
- Provide clear instructions for interactive features, such as forms, and ensure that validation of a missing or faulty element in a form is clearly indicated.
Since its redesign, the Office of the Commissioner’s website features a colour palette that ensures sufficient contrast between the text and the background. Keyboard navigation is an option, and selected elements are highlighted. Compatibility with assistive technologies is still in place.
Modify presentation and document templates so that they are compliant with accessibility requirements, and post them on the Office of the Commissioner’s intranet site
Implementation completed
The Office of the Commissioner has updated its approach to external presentations (mainly workshops for federal public servants) to incorporate a set of accessibility best practices. The presentations have been modified to make them as accessible as possible, and two types of templates are now available for use by staff.
Avoid using GIFs and emojis in social media posts
Implementation complete
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s new Guidelines on Making Communications Products and Activities Accessible, including best practices, have been adopted by the Communications Directorate and provided to employees.
The Office of the Commissioner’s new Social Media Strategy (July 2024) sets out a number of accessibility best practices and guidelines. The following practices have been adopted:
- Add alternative text for images: Use alternative or descriptive text—including any text that appears on the image—to describe the image so that people with visual impairments who use screen readers can have equal access to it.
- Include video subtitling: Add subtitles for spoken words in videos to make them accessible for people who are hard of hearing or who don’t speak the official language used in the video. Note that reels are often navigated in mute mode, so subtitling ensures that the message is delivered to all users.
- Use CamelCase for hashtags: CamelCase is a typographical convention that requires the first letter of each word to be capitalized. This allows people who use screen readers to hear the words individually rather than as one long incoherent word.
- Do not replace words with emojis or emoticons: Screen reader software doesn’t read emojis or emoticons but rather describes them. This can be confusing for users if words are replaced by emojis, if there are too many emojis in a message or if there are no spaces between multiple emojis. Emojis should therefore be used sparingly and should not be used to replace words when delivering messages.
- Write messages in plain language: Ensure that messages published on social media platforms strictly follow the rules of plain language: simplify, avoid the passive voice, don’t use unknown or uncommon acronyms, avoid jargon, and ensure that messages can be understood by as many people as possible.
- Ensure sufficient colour contrast in images: Understand the importance of sufficient colour contrast to ensure that the text in images and graphics is legible. Make sure that colour choices meet the basic requirements for proper visibility while continuing to improve the Office of the Commissioner’s practices.
- Make sure all links are to accessible Web content: Ensure that all links included in our social media posts lead to accessible Web content.
It is important to note that as third-party service providers, social media platforms (X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn) are not bound by the Government of Canada’s Web accessibility policies.
Use colour contrast appropriately on social media platforms
Implementation completed
The Office of the Commissioner’s new Social Media Strategy (July 2024) sets out a number of accessibility best practices and guidelines, including clarification on the importance of sufficient colour contrast to ensure that the text in images and graphics is legible. The Strategy stipulates that colour choices must meet the basic requirements for proper visibility while continuing to improve the Office of the Commissioner’s practices.
Share accessible communications knowledge with other branches through awareness sessions and material (for example, formatting, italics, columns, colour contrast, pictures, bullets, font size)
Implementation completed
Accessibility requirements and knowledge of accessible communications have been reflected in templates shared with staff. The Microsoft tools guide was also provided to all branches. The approach to external presentations has been updated to improve the way accessibility standards are taken into account. A checklist of accessibility best practices will be prepared for staff.
Follow the Guidelines on Making Communications Products and Activities Accessible, when appropriate
Implementation completed and ongoing
When the Office of the Commissioner’s website was redesigned, a new visual identity was adopted, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s Guidelines continued to be followed. Communications products for the general public (website, news releases, social media content, responses to media enquiries) are written in clear, plain and concise language.
Ensure that the Office of the Commissioner’s webmaster uses ARIA roles on the website
Implementation completed
The Office of the Commissioner webmaster uses ARIA roles when necessary.
Make the Office of the Commissioner’s web design responsive
Implementation completed
The adaptability of the Office of the Commissioner’s website design has been ensured through its redesign. Since June 2023, the website has been responsive and automatically adjusts to any screen size, which guarantees a fluid experience, whether on a computer, tablet or smartphone. Content is therefore accessible and navigable on all platforms. Design for this responsive mode uses coding techniques such as CSS rules and media queries to adapt content to devices’ features and orientation.
Ensure that communication products are developed with an accessibility lens
Implementation completed and ongoing
The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s new Guidelines on Making Communications Products and Activities Accessible, including best practices, have been published, communicated and adopted within the Communications Directorate. Employees of the Office of the Commissioner will be informed that the organization is adopting the best practices set out by Employment and Social Development Canada’s Information Technology Accessibility Office.
Procurement of goods, services and facilities
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The request for goods and services form includes an accessibility attestation section that helps employees identify accessibility considerations when specifying requirements for goods and services to ensure that deliverables include accessibility features.
- The Office of the Commissioner has developed a checklist to help the organization’s business owners identify accessibility requirements by providing different scenarios where accessibility could be considered.
- Request for proposal documents used by the procurement team are accessible.
- The Office of the Commissioner uses Public Services and Procurement Canada templates that are in an accessible format.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- Procurement forms and documents and forms are not all available in an accessible format.
- Business owners are not aware of their accessibility obligations when it comes to contracting for goods or services.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Keep abreast of Public Services and Procurement Canada improvements with respect to accessible procurement and implement them where possible
Implementation completed
The Office of the Commissioner attends the meetings of the Public Services and Procurement Canada Client Advisory Board, which is a forum for sharing information with client departments, including the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, on issues such as accessible procurement.
Monitor the Government of Canada’s Accessibility Hub and adopt best practices, as appropriate
Implementation ongoing
The Office of the Commissioner continuously monitors the Accessibility Hub for all new practices.
Design and delivery of programs and services
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan sets out the best practices below and identifies the barriers that follow.
Best practices identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- The Office of the Commissioner offers various feedback options (in writing, by email) after presentations/communications to federal institutions, staff and complainants.
Barriers identified in the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan
- Accessibility is not taken into consideration while ensuring that communication products are attractive and appealing to the Office of the Commissioner’s younger target audience.
- The current online complaint form and satisfaction survey do not include any questions related to accessibility or special needs.
- The main points of contact with the public for investigations and follow-ups are not available in an accessible format.
Initiatives of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan for the second year
Review all templates and communication materials related to investigations and follow-ups to address accessibility issues
Implementation completed
Investigation and follow-up report templates and communication materials were reviewed during the adoption of An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages, in particular to ensure that the language used is gender-neutral. The follow-up guide was also reviewed and updated, and now includes a component on accessibility.
Review the Office of the Commissioner’s service points to ensure that they comply with accessibility requirements and use the satisfaction survey to ask whether any existing barriers to accessibility were identified
Implementation ongoing and timeline for reviewing service points postponed
During the adoption of An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages, the Office of the Commissioner’s organizational structure was reviewed, and a new Complaint and Request (other than complaints) Management Centre is being set up as an organizational hub to centralize all of the Office of the Commissioner’s service points. The review of service points in terms of accessibility will have to be postponed until after the Centre has been launched in 2025.
Implementation completed
The satisfaction survey was reviewed in 2024 to consider questions regarding accessibility.
Modify the online complaint form to ask whether complainants have special needs or require accommodation
Implementation ongoing
During the adoption of An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages, the Office of the Commissioner’s business processes were reviewed,and a number of initiatives were undertaken to review the investigation process. The initiative to add a question about accessibility has been undertaken and is currently being processed. Given that a number of tools are being reformulated, including the complaint form, the deadline for implementing this initiative was postponed to 2025.
Transportation
The Office of the Commissioner’s 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan does not identify any best practices, barriers or initiatives in terms of transportation, because the Office of the Commissioner does not have a transportation mandate.
Consultations
Approach and methodology – How employees with disabilities were consulted
The Office of the Commissioner held a consultation with its employees with disabilities as part of the preparation for this progress report.
On October 11, 2024, the Director of Policy and Research sent a call for consultation by email to all employees of Office of the Commissioner, inviting employees with disabilities, regardless of whether they had self-identified, to participate in the consultation in one of two ways, according to their preference. The first option was to participate in a semi-structured in-person interview with a member of the Human Resources team.
The second option was to respond in writing to the interview questionnaire. The employees in question could express their interest by sending a message to accessibilite-accessibility@clo-ocol.gc.ca. This mailbox was also used to follow up on the consultation.
The consultation questionnaire was provided to participants in advance of their participation. The consultation ended on November 13, 2024.
The consultation questions were aimed primarily at finding out about the experiences of employees with disabilities and their general perception of accessibility at the Office of the Commissioner. The purpose of these questions was also to obtain their views on the content and implementation of the first year of the 2023–2025 Accessibility Plan. Contributions to these consultations have been noted and will continue to inform discussions, reflections and interventions in terms of accessibility at the Office of the Commissioner.
Six employees of the Office of the Commissioner expressed an interest in providing feedback on the implementation of the Accessibility Plan.
The consultations highlighted considerations that the Office of the Commissioner will bear in mind when developing its next accessibility plan.