# Presentation: 544997

## Towards Accessible Procurement in Canada 

***Arlington, VA***
***September 28, 2006***

***TEITAC Committee***

## Unique Challenges...

- 2nd Largest Country in the World (9,976,140 sq km)
- 6 time zones
- Extreme temperature ranges
- 33 million people - low density
- Nearly 90% of the population is concentratedwithin 160 km of the Canada/US border
- strong North-South pull vs East-West
- Canadians very knowledgeable about other countries and their actions

## Canada firsts

- First country to mandate 100% captioning of the broadcast day
- First country to adopt the WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as policy

## Federal Framework

- Canada has 14 governments:
- Federal
- 10 provinces
- 3 territories
- Each treats disability in a different way.

## Legislative Situation

- Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- prohibits discrimination of grounds of disability
- Canadian Human Rights Act
- Employment Equity Act
- Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act

## Federal Government Policies

- Duty to Accommodate
- Communications
- Common Look and Feel

## Program/Policy Approach: Advantages & Disadvantages

- Advantages:
- Generally provides direct funding to support implementation
- Tends to incorporate a range of programs and participants
- May be enhanced by complementary initiatives
- Supports individuals, agencies, and small business
- Disadvantages:
- No legally binding requirements on government and/or business
- Not universal (limited to certain groups, regions, and/or criteria)
- Mostly short term (limited to specific fiscal years or government)
- Sometimes overlapping and/or competing programs
- Limited affect on the visibility of accommodation and related benefits

**Notes:**
In Canada, Federal, Provincial and Territorial governments rely primarily on programs and policy to encourage the use of Assistive Technology and employment of persons with disabilities. Compare this with a legislated approach:

## Standards

- Canadian Standards Association
- Develops voluntary industry driven standards
- Accessible Design for the Built Environment
- Design for Aging
- Accessible Banking Machines
- Accessible Design for Self Service Interactive Devices
- Adopted ISO Guides 50 and 71
- Participating in
- JTC1  SWG-A
- W3C WAI

## Slide 9

**Notes:**
The Federal Government supports a “single window” portal to disability information.

## Activities in Canada

- Information Highway Advisory Council  1995
- Development of Accessible Procurement Toolkit 2000
- DIS-IT 2003
- Presentation to EU Public Procurement
- Workshop  Brussels 2004
- Canadian Procurement Reform ongoing

## Activities in Canada

*The Challenge of the Information Highway* Report to the Minister of Industry September 1995
- Recommendation 13.17 The federal government, through the use of its procurement power, should encourage private sector-driven services to be made accessible to persons with disabilities.

## Slide 12

## Activities in Canada: Dis-IT

- The Disability and Information Technologies (Dis-IT) Research Alliance - over thirty researchers and partner organizations asking three fundamental questions:
- How can emerging information technologies be more inclusive of the needs of people with disabilities in Canada?
- How can more inclusive information technologies enable greater participation of people with disabilities in Canadian society and economy?

## Activities in Canada: Dis-IT

- How can information technologies developed or adapted to address the accessibility requirements of people with disabilities also address the needs of citizens, workers, learners, and consumers in broader domestic and international markets?
- Specific work on Retail and Public Services: how wireless connectivity and personal interface devices customized to individual abilities and preferences could provide people with and without disabilities with greater access to ATMs and other automated self-service public information and communications technologies.

## Assistive Devices Industry Office

- Advocacy, sector promotion, awareness raising, identification of market gaps
- Accessible News
- Websites
- Development of standards to ensure new technologies accommodate disabilities
- Accessible Design for the Built Environment
- Automated Banking Machine
- Telephone keypads
- underway: kiosks
- Participate in Government-wide activities
- Access Working Group
- Accessibility Domain Architecture Team
- National Librarian’s Access Council

**Notes:**
Secretariat for Industry Minister’s Advisory Committee and advice to the ADM Standing Committee led by HRDC to move forward the Federal Disability Agenda;
Resource centre and clearinghouse for information and best practices in assistive technology;
Support for networking within the sector: Internet portal and promotion initiatives

## UNB AT Industry Study 

**Notes:**
Industry Survey: 27 questions (about 15 minutes), English and French, Paper and Web Based,
E_mail and postal contacts, Sent last week of August 2006, Return to date approx 10%
E_mail reminders this week, Not all responses answered all questions so numbers vary.

## UNB AT Industry Study 

## UNB AT Industry Study

## Contact me:

- 	Mary Frances Laughton
- 	Assistive Devices Industry Office
- 	Industry Canada
- 	3701 Carling Avenue
- 	Ottawa Ontario CANADA K2H 8S2
- 	Tel: 613-990-4316
- 	Fax: 613-998-5923
- 	Email: laughton@crc.ca