Accessibility Plan 2026-2028
Table of contents
His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the President of the Treasury Board, 2025
Catalogue No.: SC100-14E-PDF
ISSN: 2817-0512
General
The Canada School of Public Service (the School) invites you to submit your comments, feedback, questions or concerns about its Accessibility Plan by mail, telephone or email. You may request an alternative format of the Accessibility Plan by contacting us.
Feedback on the School's Accessibility Plan can be addressed to:
Mailing address:
Director, Office of Diversity, Wellness, Values and Ethics
Canada School of Public Service
373 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 6Z2
Telephone (toll-free in Canada only): 1-833-622-1310
Email: accessibility-plan-accessibilite@csps-efpc.gc.ca
An acknowledgement of receipt will automatically be sent to all incoming emails. You can expect an answer to your email within 5 business days.
To submit your feedback anonymously, please use the School's Feedback form. You are not required to provide any personal information when submitting this form. However, the School will not be able to reply to anonymous feedback submitted through the form. All responses submitted anonymously through the Feedback form will be handled in accordance with the Privacy Act.
Message from the President
I am proud to present the Canada School of Public Service Accessibility Plan 2026–2028, which renews our commitment to advancing accessibility and inclusion across all aspects of the organization.
This plan is rooted in the principles of the Accessible Canada Act, which sets out a clear goal: to realize a barrier-free Canada by 2040. Over the past three years, the School has made meaningful progress in identifying and removing barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from participating fully in our workplace and in our learning experiences. This plan builds on that momentum. Developed through consultations with employees, learners, persons with disabilities, and accessibility experts, it includes new measures to track our progress, close remaining gaps, and strengthen accountability.
As a learning institution, the School plays a unique role in supporting the broader public service in building accessibility competence. We remain committed to producing high-quality learning content that reflects diverse perspectives, is inclusive by design, and is accessible to all learners. We will continue to evolve our offerings to reflect the latest best practices and the voices of those with lived experience.
I want to express my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to this plan, including employees, subject matter experts, and especially those who shared their experiences to help us see where change is needed most. Your openness, courage, and commitment continue to drive our efforts forward.
Taki Sarantakis
President
Canada School of Public Service
Message from the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Co-Champions
As Co-Champions of the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Forum at the School, we are proud to support the release of the School's Accessibility Plan 2026–2028.
At the School, accessibility is not a standalone effort. It is an essential part of building a culture of inclusion where all employees feel welcomed, respected, and empowered to thrive. The plan reflects this shared commitment and advances the School's broader vision by actively removing barriers and creating conditions for full participation.
Through collaborative working groups, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Forum has been engaging in open, honest dialogue about accessibility, representation, and belonging. This plan builds on that foundation, integrating employee feedback and setting clear, measurable goals to guide our next steps. It also reaffirms our belief that everyone has a role to play in creating a more inclusive public service.
We extend our sincere thanks to all who contributed to this plan, and to those who champion inclusion every day.
Nathalie Laviades Jodouin
Executive Co-Champion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Per Sekhon
Employee Co-Champion for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Executive summary
The Accessible Canada Act (the Act) came into effect in 2019. Its purpose is to create a barrier-free Canada by 2040, which benefits everyone, especially those living with a disability. The School publishes an Accessibility Plan every three years to complement the Act's priority areas and to describe the concrete steps that the organization will undertake to eliminate known barriers and prevent new ones.
This is the School's second accessibility plan, and it has been developed with the principles of "nothing without us." This means that persons with disabilities were engaged throughout its design and development. It is the School's ultimate goal to ensure increased accessibility as an employer and as a service provider for public service learners across Canada.
The School continues to identify, remove, and prevent barriers in the following priority areas:
- Employment: We strive to ensure that hiring, retention, and career development practices are inclusive and equitable, fostering a diverse workforce that reflects Canada's population.
- Built environment: We are committed to ensuring that our physical spaces, including offices and learning facilities, are safe, are accessible, and meet or exceed accessibility standards.
- Information and communication technologies (ICT):, We remain dedicated to continuously improving accessibility in our digital tools, platforms, and learning products, guided by recognized accessibility standards.
- Communication (other than ICT): We ensure that information is shared in plain, inclusive, and accessible formats, enabling full participation for all audiences.
- Procurement of goods, services and facilities: We integrate accessibility requirements into our procurement processes to ensure that the goods, services, and facilities we acquire are usable by everyone.
- Design and delivery of programs and services: We strive to design and deliver learning programs and services that are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the needs of all learners.
- Transportation: We have carefully reviewed all of our policies, practices, programs and services, and have determined that there are no barriers in the area of transportation at this time.
The plan identifies 24 concrete actions to address the barriers identified through consultations. We recognize that accessibility is a practice that requires ongoing dialogue, reflection, and action. We will continue to consult with persons with disabilities, monitor our progress, and adapt our practices to eliminate barriers.
Organizational culture
The School emphasizes a culture of excellence within the public service, with the belief that integrating accessibility into organizational culture is a journey, not a destination. Improving accessibility within the School, and across the public service, needs to be an ongoing effort at both the organizational and individual levels. By challenging assumptions and beliefs about people with disabilities and shifting the perception from the impairment to the barrier, we can create a culture of inclusiveness that leaves no one behind.
The School's organizational culture reinforces the expectations set out in the Values and Ethics Code for the Public Sector, particularly the principle of respect for people, by cultivating inclusive, supportive learning environments, and the principle of integrity, by ensuring transparency, fairness, and professionalism in the design and delivery of training. In this way, the School's culture both advances its mandate and exemplifies the ethical standards expected across the federal public service.
About the School
The Canada School of Public Service was established on April 1, 2004, when the legislative provisions of Part 4 of the Public Service Modernization Act came into force. The School has been part of the Treasury Board Secretariat Portfolio since July 2004.
Under the Canada School of Public Service Act, the objectives of the School are to:
- encourage pride and excellence in the public service
- foster a common sense of the purposes, values and traditions of the public service
- support the growth and development of public servants
- help ensure that public servants have the knowledge, skills and competencies they need to do their jobs effectively
- assist deputy heads in meeting the learning needs of their organization
- pursue excellence in public administration
For information about the School's core responsibilities, planned results and resources, reporting framework and more, consult its departmental plans.
Service provider role
As the common learning provider for the federal public service, the School designs, develops, and delivers learning products and services that strengthen core public sector skills, leadership capacity, and knowledge of government priorities. Guided by its legislative mandate under the Canada School of Public Service Act, and supported by strong internal services, the School provides training across five business lines:
- Respectful and Inclusive Workplace
Provides the knowledge and awareness necessary for fostering an inclusive workplace and for developing inclusive policies, programs and services for people in Canada.
- Government of Canada (GC) and Public Sector Skills
Delivers agile, responsive and comprehensive training and learning unique to the craft of government.
- Indigenous Learning
Offers a co-developed curriculum to educate public servants on the history, cultures, and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and their long-standing relationships with the Crown.
- Transferable Skills
Equips public servants with the skills, mindsets and toolsets to achieve excellence in leadership, management, decision-making, as well as policy, program, service and initiative delivery.
- Digital Academy
Provides public servants with the skills and knowledge they need to deliver digital-era programs, policies, and services.
Employer role
As an employer, the School is subject to the same governance frameworks as other federal departments.
Consultations
The School consulted with employees, committees, and networks to obtain their views on accessibility barriers at the School and potential solutions. To provide a forum for confidential input and feedback, an anonymous accessibility questionnaire was circulated to all employees and made available on the School intranet. Bargaining agents were also involved and consulted.
Consultation is not a one-time exercise but an ongoing dialogue that informs the continuous improvement of our programs, services, and workplace practices. Over the next three years, the School will continue to build on this plan, strengthen consultation mechanisms, and ensure that feedback is considered carefully. This collaborative approach will help the School advance its commitments under the Accessible Canada Act.
School employee accessibility questionnaire
An anonymous accessibility questionnaire was made available to all employees on the School's intranet for one month during National AccessAbility Week in May 2025. The questionnaire consisted of 21 questions focused on the following four priority areas: employment, built environment, communications, and information and communication technologies. The goal was to identify what is working well and where further improvements are needed.
Out of 718 employees at the School, 138 employees responded to the questionnaire, a 19.2% response rate. Of these respondents, 32% identified as having a disability or an impairment.
Overall findings
Stigma remains a burden: Some respondents living with a disability or impairment, particularly invisible or episodic ones (for example, neurodivergence, chronic pain, mental health conditions) indicated that they avoid requesting accommodations due to stigma, fear of judgment, or bureaucratic burden.
Fear of career impact: Some respondents shared concerns about being labelled as less competent or passed over for promotions after disclosing a disability.
Sensory environment challenges: Bright lighting, noise from open-concept offices, and a lack of quiet, low-stimulus workspaces were identified as continued barriers for neurodivergent respondents and those with sensory sensitivities.
Unclear on how to request accommodations: Some respondents identified an opportunity to improve the accommodation request process to make it easier and less stressful.
Challenges with returning to the office: Some respondents stated that the Direction on prescribed presence in the workplace is creating barriers and exacerbating mental health issues.
Our learners
From January 1, 2025, to September 5, 2025, the School received a total of 17,672 requests from learners. This number includes requests received by web, email and phone. This total also includes deleted, cancelled and spam requests.
Of the total number of requests, 97 were accessibility related as one or both accessibility checkboxes were selected:
- Checkbox 1 – problems with assistive technology: 43 requests
- Checkbox 2 – accommodations to access products and services: 84 requests
One accessibility-related request may include several components. For example, a learner may ask for Microsoft Word documents for course materials for four different courses, as well as sign language interpretation for two other courses.
Learners who encounter difficulties accessing learning tools and courses, who need accommodations during events, or who wish to share feedback are directed to the Client Contact Centre. Client contact agents provide immediate assistance by telephone. Business lines provide Microsoft Word versions of most course content, which allow for better customization and accessibility. Printed copies are also in demand, as research suggests reading on paper can improve comprehension and long-term retention compared to screens. Learners with visual sensitivities, migraines, or ADHD, in particular, often find printed formats reduce strain and screen fatigue.
The School has seen an increase in requests stemming from challenges experienced by learners who use assistive technologies or who require alternate formats of course materials. While assistive technologies can be transformative for learners, they are not always reliable. Common barriers include issues with screen reader compatibility, voice recognition software, keyboard navigation, captioning and transcripts, as well as colour and contrast. When requests involve assistive technologies, they are escalated to the Digital Accessibility in Learning Team, who work directly with learners to identify practical solutions.
Areas described under section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act
Employment
The employment priority area focuses on indicators such as recruitment, retention, career advancement, accommodation requests, and the employee life cycle.
The School will continue working with the Public Service Commission and other stakeholders to seek candidates with disabilities to join the public service, and support the implementation of government-wide initiatives to increase representation across occupational groups and levels. The School will support the growth and leadership of persons with disabilities, improve the accommodations and onboarding process, and focus on specialized mentoring and networking opportunities, all with the aim of providing an environment in which persons with disabilities can thrive.
Here are some relevant key figures for the employment priority area:
- Total School population (as of December 1, 2025): 738
- Workforce availability for persons with disabilities: 11.6%
- School representation of persons with disabilities: 10.09%
- Gap between workforce availability and representation: -1.51%
The 2024 Annual Report of the Chief Accessibility Officer places special emphasis on employment because it is both a central pillar of the Accessible Canada Act and an area where people with disabilities continue to face the most persistent and systemic barriers. The report indicates that persons with disabilities continue to experience significantly lower employment rates compared to persons without disabilities.
Access to meaningful employment is part of living with dignity and purpose and contributes to overall quality of life.
Barrier 1. Attitudinal and other workplace barriers can impact the employee experience and career development of persons with disabilities.
Action 1.1 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Increase executives' and hiring managers' knowledge and awareness to build inclusive teams
Action 1.2 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Provide resources and support to persons with disabilities to enable their full participation in the workplace.
- Continue to promote the School's Mentorship Plus Program and encourage the participation of mentees and mentors.
- Promote the School's Language Pairing Initiative for employees wishing to improve their oral second language skills.
- Continue to enhance and promote the School's Anti-Racism, Indigenous Reconciliation, Accessibility, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Resource Centre, dedicated to providing employees with programs, tools and resources to support workplace inclusion and keeping employees informed about the latest equity, diversity and inclusion-related news and events.
- Continue to enhance and promote the School's Career Centre, a one-stop shop where employees can access a variety of resources to help them on their career path, whether they are looking to build or strengthen competencies, pursue professional development, or explore networking and career opportunities.
Barrier 2. Accessibility of recruitment tools and biases in the hiring process can lead persons with disabilities to be underrepresented in the workforce.
Action 2.1 – Short term (0 to 12 months)
Adjust the way staffing processes are worded and implemented to be more inclusive of persons with disabilities.
Action 2.2 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Broaden outreach activities and promote targeted recruitment to increase representation of persons with disabilities in the workforce.
- Analyze disaggregated data for gaps in workforce representation and create specific recruitment targets.
- Promote candidates with disabilities who have self-identified via advertised and non-advertised processes.
- Leverage and promote existing programs. A comprehensive list can be found at Persons with Disabilities Recruitment Toolkit (available on the Government of Canada network).
Barrier 3. Unconscious or systemic biases in the public service hiring process may create barriers that contribute to the under-representation of persons with disabilities in the Government of Canada workforce.
Action 3.1 – Long term (3 to 10 years)
The School will play an active role in building awareness and mitigating bias across the public service by providing training to all public servants on inclusive workplaces, accessible and fair staffing, and being mindful of unconscious bias.
- Promote the School's course Inclusive Hiring Practices for a Diverse Workforce (COR120) to all public servants. This course presents best practices and staffing strategies for conducting an inclusive and bias-free hiring process.
- Require that all School employees complete the following courses:
- Fostering an Inclusive Workplace (INC118)
- Moving from Bias to Inclusion (INC123)
- Addressing Disability Inclusion and Barriers to Accessibility (INC115)
Built environment
The built environment priority area focuses on the physical work environment and the equipment and tools available in it. All individuals deserve access to an equitable and safe work environment. The School will continue the focus on enhancing the accessibility of all its facilities by assessing physical elements and ensuring that on-site events and courses are physically accessible.
Barrier 4. Due to layout, age and other building elements, some physical worksites continue to create barriers for persons with disabilities.
Action 4.1 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Continue ongoing consultations with employees, committees and networks of persons with disabilities to encourage information sharing and address issues where possible.
- Maintain a proactive consultative approach to understand the accessibility needs of persons with disabilities.
- Continue to communicate actively on building improvements to enhance employee awareness.
Action 4.2 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Adapt workspaces with features to meet the most requested accessibility needs.
- Conduct regular inspections of buildings to review existing accessibility features and proactively plan future improvements.
- Perform environmental scans of best practices for accessibility improvements used by other organizations.
Information and communication technologies (ICT)
The information and communication technologies (ICT) priority area focuses on making ICT usable by all. ICT includes the development and use of hardware and software, as well as intranet sites, web applications, and other digital products.
The School is committed to providing its employees, clients and learners with the access and training to use all information and communication technologies, regardless of ability or disability. The School strives to meet the new ICT Accessibility Standard (available on the Government of Canada network) in the areas where it has not already done so, and is using support such as the Accessibility, Accommodation and Adaptive Computer Technology (AAACT) Program.
Barrier 5. Some internal digital products and services are not designed or maintained to be fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
Action 5.1 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Improve the accessibility of our internal digital products and services.
- Adapt existing products and services to increase their accessibility, such as incompatible digital signatures and the use of macros or Excel sheets.
- Maintain an ongoing commitment to identifying and resolving accessibility issues in custom-developed software to ensure these platforms remain accessible and compliant with current standards.
- Apply agile development practices to review, test, and implement updates regularly based on user feedback and evolving accessibility requirements, ensuring continuous progress towards more inclusive digital solutions.
Action 5.2 – Long term (3 to 10 years)
Build capacity and expertise in digital accessibility across the School.
- Establish accessibility awareness and capacity building training for course developers, instructional designers, and all employees in service delivery roles.
- Continue to promote awareness among employees during National AccessAbility Week.
- Support the accommodation process for learners by delivering targeted training to Client Contact Centre agents, using tools and resources that enhance their understanding of digital accessibility terminology.
Barrier 6. Persons with disabilities may encounter barriers related to technology, such as inaccessible hardware, software, and support services.
Action 6.1 – Short term (0 to 12 months)
Train IT service desk specialists to better support persons with disabilities.
- Train IT service desk specialists in empathy, active listening, disability awareness, and client service excellence for assisting users with diverse needs.
Action 6.2 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Improve the accessibility and responsiveness of IT support services to better meet the diverse needs of employees, including those using assistive technologies.
- Meet with employees who use assistive technologies as needed to determine their learning requirements.
- Offer multi-channel support, including phone, email, chat, in person, and a self-service portal, to accommodate diverse user preferences.
- Enhance chat tools to support assistive technologies and ensure accessibility for users with visual, hearing, cognitive, or motor impairments.
Action 6.3 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Improve the accessibility of audio-video setup at the office for hybrid meetings and virtual classrooms.
- Configure all rooms with new video conferencing equipment with features that are more compatible with screen readers.
- Distribute resources to all employees to promote awareness of meeting room capabilities and accessibility features.
Barrier 7. Some of the School's external digital products and services are not fully accessible.
Action 7.1 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Continuously test for and manage accessibility issues related to the use of the School's learning platform and learning catalogue.
- Develop a library of interactive elements tested against accessibility needs accompanied by guidance on best practices.
- Continue to share accessibility issues encountered in learning products with all business lines.
Action 7.2 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Ensure that third-party vendors involved in supporting or providing content for School platforms, courses, learning products and the catalogue meet the Government of Canada's Information and Communication Technology Accessibility Standard.
Action 7.3 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Continuously identify and analyze barriers that learners experience across our digital products, and share common accessibility issues encountered at Accessibility Working Group meetings and other School forums.
Communication (other than information and communication technologies)
The communication (other than ICT) priority area focuses on integrating accessibility considerations in curriculum curation, content design and learning delivery.
The Events and Multimedia Services team supports the School's mandate by delivering learning events that meet the evolving needs of public servants, as well as facilitating high-level outreach and community-building activities. The team also provides virtual event (webcasting), video production, and podcasting services to ensure learning opportunities can be provided both in person and virtually.
Barrier 8. The event and video streaming platforms are not all fully accessible.
Action 8.1 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Adapt existing platforms to meet accessibility and inclusive design guidelines.
- Identify areas for improvement on streaming platforms.
- Continue to optimize web page content for enhanced user experience.
Procurement of goods, services, and facilities
The procurement priority area focuses on removing and preventing barriers to accessibility in procured goods, services, and facilities by procuring accessible products and services and aligning with GC accessibility norms for procurement.
Barrier 9 – Employees using procurement platforms and forms may encounter accessibility issues.
Action 9.1 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Modernize the procurement platform to improve accessibility features.
Action 9.2 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Develop procurement documents and templates that collect data in a way that meets or exceeds accessibility standards.
Action 9.3 – Medium term (1 to 3 years)
Provide mandatory accessibility training to all procurement specialists.
- Ensure that all procurement employees:
- watch the Spotlight on ACCESSibility Micro-Learning Series: Procurement (INC1-V33) video
- complete the required training for procurement officers
- familiarize themselves with the procurement Accessibility Hub on GCpedia
Design and delivery of programs and services
The design and delivery of programs and services priority area focuses on integrating accessibility considerations into all learning products and events. This will be achieved by embedding accessibility and disability inclusion learning throughout the School curriculum.
The School engages learners with disabilities in the co-design, testing and piloting of its learning products and platforms. The School will work with relevant subject matter experts (for example, functional communities and communities of practice) and other partners, seek feedback from sources with expertise and lived experience, and evaluate its data and strategies. The School is monitoring standards and regulations and continues to follow best practices.
Barrier 10. People with disabilities with various identities may not see themselves represented in all learning content.
Action 10.1 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Increase the representation of various identities of persons with disabilities throughout our learning products.
- Co-create content with relevant subject matter experts (for example, functional communities and communities of practice).
- Implement measures to update and track learning content to increase representation of various identities of persons with disabilities.
Action 10.2 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Continue learning about issues that persons with disabilities of various identities encounter through consultations and research.
- Leverage anonymous learner feedback to identify areas for improvement, helping to promote a more inclusive and responsive learning environment.
- Create and test new learning products with the involvement of persons with disabilities of various identities through co-creation, user testing, and other validation.
- Review research and best practices in the federal government, other levels of government, the private sector and non-profit organizations.
Barrier 11. Government of Canada learners with disabilities may encounter accessibility challenges within the School's learning products.
Action 11.1 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Review and update learning content with an aim to meet or exceed accessibility standards.
- Conduct comprehensive sentiment analysis to pinpoint potential accessibility challenges, determine areas for improvement, and implement effective solutions that enhance the overall learning experience.
- Conduct comprehensive accessibility testing by using built-in accessibility checkers followed by human verification to confirm usability and accessibility for all learners, to meet or exceed accessibility standards before launch.
- Include a variety of different learning design approaches such as gamification and neurolearning to enhance the learner experience while ensuring accessibility is maintained.
- Ensure that accessible alternative formats of course content, such as PowerPoint and Word documents, are prepared and available prior to the launch of all online self-paced courses.
Action 11.2 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Make sure accessibility tools are available to employees, learning designers, and programmers.
- Ensure employees receive training to support the use of testing tools in their daily work.
- Maintain a centralized list of accessibility tools used across the School.
Action 11.3 – Short, medium and long term (ongoing)
Respond to accessibility-related feedback and concerns within 15 working days.
- Meet with learners, as needed, to understand and record their needs and requirements.
- Review accessibility-related feedback and concerns to identify needs and areas for improvement.
Transportation
The School has carefully reviewed all of its policies, practices, programs and services, and has determined that there are no barriers in the area of transportation at this time. However, the School will continue to assess transportation in future progress reports.
Monitoring and reporting
Monitoring, measuring, and identifying new accessibility barriers are very important to reporting on progress.
The School's Office of Diversity, Wellness, Values and Ethics, along with subject matter experts, persons with disabilities, employees, and allies, will be coordinating the implementation and measurement of the actions identified. This collaboration will continue to foster an organizational culture that puts accessibility at the forefront.
The reporting cycle for this plan is as follows:
- Accessibility Plan 2026–2028 to be published December 31, 2025
- Annual progress report to be published December 31, 2026
- Annual progress report to be published December 31, 2027
Training
The School recognizes that continuous learning is essential to building a strong, innovative, and resilient workforce. Training is not simply a requirement; it is an investment in our employees' growth, our workplace culture, and the success of our mission. By providing learning opportunities, we equip employees with the knowledge and skills needed to perform their roles effectively, adapt to change, and foster an environment where everyone feels valued.
Every year in April, the Head of Human Resources distributes an updated list of required training, which includes accessibility-related courses. School employees are expected to complete the required training within the fiscal year.
The following courses are included in the list of required training:
For employees:
For managers:
In addition to required training, a list of highly recommended training for employees was developed. This list includes the following accessibility-related training:
When employees are better equipped to identify systemic barriers and propose solutions, a lasting outcome is sustainable culture change. The cumulative effect of required training and recommended training contributes to improved organizational performance and employee well-being.
Glossary
- accessibility
- The degree to which a product, service, program or environment is available to be accessed or used by all.
- accommodation
-
Any change in the working environment that allows a person with functional limitations in their abilities to do their job. Changes can include:
- adjustments to the physical workspace
- adaptations to the equipment or tools
- flexible work hours or job-sharing
- relocation of the workspace within the greater workplace
- the ability to work from home
- reallocation or exchange of some non-essential tasks for others
- time off for medical appointments
Accommodations can be temporary, periodic or long-term, depending on the employee's situation or changes in the workplace.
- barrier
-
Anything that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation. Barriers can be physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal.
- disability
-
Any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment, or a functional limitation, whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person's full and equal participation in society.
In 2017, Statistics Canada identified the following types of disabilities:
- Seeing disabilities affect vision, including total blindness, partial sight and visual distortion
- Hearing disabilities affect the ability to hear, including being hard of hearing, deafness and acoustic distortion
- Mobility issues affect the ability to move your body or perform motor tasks, and may involve using a wheelchair, a cane, or other mobility aids
- Flexibility disabilities affect physical capacity, mobility, or stamina
- Dexterity impairments limit the physical function of one or more limbs
- Pain-related conditions affect the ability to function on a regular or episodic basis, such as migraines, Crohn's disease, colitis, or other disabilities or health conditions
- Learning disabilities affect your ability to learn and to adapt behaviour to different situations
- Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions that result from a physical, learning, language, or behaviour impairment
- Mental health-related issues affect psychology or behaviour, such as anxiety, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, or phobias
- Memory disorders occur when damage to certain parts of the brain prevents or reduces the ability to store, retain, or remember memories
- discrimination
-
Different or unfair treatment because of a personal characteristic or distinction that, whether intentional or not, has an effect that imposes disadvantages not imposed on others or that withholds or limits access that is given to others.
There are 13 prohibited grounds of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act:
- race
- national or ethnic origin
- colour
- religion
- age
- sex
- sexual orientation
- gender identity or expression
- marital status
- family status
- genetic characteristics (including a requirement to undergo a genetic test or disclose the results of a genetic test)
- disability
- conviction for an offence for which a pardon has been granted or in respect of which a record suspension has been ordered
- diversity
-
The inclusion of different types of people. A diverse workforce in the public service is made up of individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, perspectives and experiences that are representative of Canada's current and evolving population.
- inclusion
-
The act of including someone or something as part of a group. An inclusive workplace is fair, equitable, supportive, welcoming and respectful.
Inclusion recognizes, values and leverages differences in identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, experiences and perspectives that support and reinforce Canada's evolving human rights framework.
- onboarding
-
The process of integrating an employee in a department and its culture and getting the employee the tools and information they need to become a productive member of the team.
- persons with disabilities
-
Persons who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who:
- consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, or
- believe that an employer or potential employer is likely to consider them to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment
Persons with disabilities include persons whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace.
- plain language
-
A writing technique of organizing information in ways that make sense to the reader. It uses straightforward, concrete, familiar words. Plain language helps the writer adapt what they have to say to the reading abilities of the people who are most likely to read the document.
- workforce availability
-
The estimated availability of people in designated groups as a percentage of the workforce population. For the core public administration, workforce availability is based on the population of Canadian citizens who are active in the workforce and who work in occupations that correspond to the occupations in the core public administration.
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