Accessibility Law in Canada: Cross-Country Disability Access Legislation

Quick Hits

• Organizations that are provincially regulated in Ontario and/or Manitoba, and/or organizations that are federally regulated (e.g., telecommunications, railways, etc.) are currently subject to accessibility legislation.
• Provincially regulated private-sector organizations in other Canadian provinces and territories are not currently subject to accessibility standards legislation.
• For federally regulated organizations, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) requires development of an accessibility plan in consultation with people with disabilities and annual reporting on progress. The next deadline, for private-sector organizations to file their second progress report, is June 1, 2025.
• In Ontario, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) applies to all organizations and requires compliance reporting every three years. The next deadline is December 31, 2026.
• In Manitoba, the Accessibility for Manitobans Act sets accessibility standards for all organizations. The next deadline is for meeting information and communication standards by May 1, 2025.

Provincial Accessibility Legislation

Ontario has Canada’s oldest and most fulsome accessibility legislation: the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). Organizations operating in Ontario are required to meet the standards set out in the AODA and its regulations. Every three years, organizations covered by the AODA must submit a report regarding their compliance to the Ontario Ministry of Seniors and Accessibility. The next reporting deadline is December 31, 2026.

Manitoba was next to enact accessibility legislation with the establishment of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act in 2013. Organizations are currently subject to accessibility standards under the legislation and were required to meet those standards for customer service in 2018 and employment in 2022.

The next deadlines are to meet the information and communication standards by May 1, 2025 (some specific public-sector organizations had earlier deadlines) and the transportation standard by January 1, 2027 (with the exception of accessibility upgrades to existing buses operated by conventional transit operators). Standards for the design of outdoor public spaces are in development.

Several other provinces have enacted accessibility legislation under which accessibility standards will or may apply to private-sector employers once established by regulation at some point in the future.

• British Columbia’s Accessible British Columbia Act (2021) currently applies only to school districts, educational institutions, municipalities, health authorities, and other public-sector organizations, who were required to comply by September 1, 2024.
• Saskatchewan’s Accessible Saskatchewan Act (2023) currently applies only to the government of Saskatchewan.
• Accessibility legislation in New Brunswick (the 2024 Accessibility Act), Newfoundland and Labrador (2021’s An Act Respecting Accessibility in the Province), and Nova Scotia (Accessibility Act (2017)) do not yet impose accessibility standards on organizations, as regulations are still in development.
• Several other provinces and territories do not have accessibility legislation at this time: Alberta, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Prince Edward Island.

Federal Accessibility Legislation

Notably, federally regulated organizations (e.g., telecommunications, railways, etc.) operating in any Canadian province or territory are subject to the federal Accessible Canada Act (ACA), regardless of whether the jurisdiction has separate provincial accessibility legislation.

Under the ACA, organizations are required to develop an accessibility plan that identifies barriers to accessibility in seven priority areas (including employment, the built environment, communication, information technology, procurement, design and delivery of programs and services, and transportation). Organizations are required to consult with people with disabilities in preparing their plans, which should outline the actions that are being taken to address the identified barriers.

Private-sector organizations were required to publish their first accessibility plans by June 1, 2023. Annual progress reports setting out what has been done to address the identified barriers were required to be published in June of each of the next two years (i.e., June 1, 2024) for the first progress report and June 1, 2025, for the second progress report. The following year, by June 1, 2026, organizations are required to publish a new accessibility plan, and the reporting cycle continues. Governmental organizations have their deadlines one year before private-sector organizations.

Ogletree Deakins’ Toronto office will continue to monitor developments and provide updates on the Cross-Border, Employment Law, and Disability Access blogs as additional information becomes available.

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