Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 155, Number 7: Accessible Canada Regulations

February 13, 2021

Statutory authority
Accessible Canada Act

Sponsoring department
Department of Employment and Social Development

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Executive summary

Issues

According to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability, it is estimated that 6.2 million Canadians aged 15 and over (22% of the population) have a disability, and it is estimated that the actual numbers are likely higher.^{footnote 1}

As a result of the physical, administrative, institutional, technological, and attitudinal barriers that exist in the workplace, persons with disabilities are underrepresented in the Canadian labour force. Only 59% of Canadians with disabilities aged 25 to 64 are employed, compared to 80% of Canadians without disabilities.^{footnote 2} Canadians with disabilities earn less than Canadians without disabilities (12% less for those with milder disabilities and 51% less for those with more severe disabilities) and are more likely to live in poverty.^{footnote 3} It is estimated that increases in output and productivity associated with a higher level of labour-force participation and associated earnings of persons with disabilities could raise Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) by up to 3.2%.^{footnote 4}

Persons with disabilities also represent a significant potential client base for businesses. As the number of persons living with a physical disability is expected to rise from 2.9 million to 3.6 million over the next 13 years,^{footnote 5} nearly double the pace of the population as a whole, their real spending is expected to rise from 14 to 21% of the total consumer market. Removing barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from purchasing goods and services (e.g. financial services) is critical to both improving their quality of life and growing the Canadian economy.

To help address this issue, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), which came into force on July 11, 2019, requires federally regulated entities to report on their policies and practices in relation to identifying and removing existing barriers, and preventing any future barriers in their organizations. However, for the ACA to work as intended, regulations are required to establish certain requirements regarding accessibility plans, feedback processes and progress reports and to establish details of the administrative monetary penalties framework.

Background

In 2016, the Government of Canada began consultations with Canadians with the purpose of developing new federal accessibility legislation. In 2018, the Government introduced An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada (the Accessible Canada Act), which came into force on July 11, 2019. The ACA takes a proactive and inclusive approach to the identification and elimination of barriers in the federal jurisdiction. It includes seven areas for action:

• employment;
• built environment;
• information and communication technologies (ICT);
• communication (non-ICT);
• procurement of goods, services and facilities;
• design and delivery of programs and services; and
• transportation.

The ACA provides the Governor in Council with the authority to make regulations regarding

• exempting entities from the application of the regulations;
• timing for publishing of accessibility plans, progress reports and description of feedback processes;
• how and when to notify the Accessibility Commissioner of the publication of accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes;
• types of alternate formats that an individual may request and when they need to be provided by;
• retention of documents;
• service of documents; and
• administrative monetary penalties, including the classification of violations and associated penalty ranges.

These will apply to sectors and industries within the federal jurisdiction, such as banking, telecommunications, transportation, as well as federal government organizations. The ACA also establishes compliance and enforcement measures, as well as a mechanism for addressing accessibility complaints.

The ACA uses a sectoral approach that builds upon existing accessibility mandates. Therefore, the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) continue to be responsible for accessibility within their respective jurisdictions. Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is responsible for developing regulations for the sectors which are outside of the jurisdiction of the CTA or CRTC. These include

• Federal departments and agencies;
• Crown corporations, such as the National Gallery of Canada;
• Canadian Forces;
• Parliamentary entities;
• Banks;
• Grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses and grain-seed cleaning plants;
• Uranium mining and processing and atomic energy;
• Postal sector;
• Canals; and
• Pipelines that cross inter-provincial or international boundaries.

Under the ACA, the Governor in Council may also make regulations for specific priority areas for sectors that fall under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA).

For telecommunications and broadcasting sectors, these include

• Employment;
• Built environment;
• Transportation; and
• Communication, other than information and communication technologies (as it relates to the areas mentioned above).

For transportation sectors these include

• Employment;
• Built environment (other than a passenger aircraft, passenger train, passenger bus, passenger vessel, aerodrome passenger terminal, railway passenger station, bus passenger station or marine passenger terminal); and
• Communication, other than information and communication technologies (as it relates to the priority areas mentioned above).

Planning and reporting requirements of the ACA

The ACA requires that regulated entities prepare and publish their accessibility plans, descriptions of their feedback processes, and progress reports, but leaves it to regulations to specify how and when they are to be published.

ACA requirements for accessibility plans

The ACA states that accessibility plans must be published and updated every three years, in consultation with persons with disabilities. Initial plans must be published within a year from the day set in regulations. Accessibility plans must indicate the regulated entities' policies, programs, and practices in relation to the identification and removal of accessibility barriers and the prevention of new barriers.

ACA requirements for feedback processes

Regulated entities must establish a process for receiving and dealing with feedback from persons with disabilities regarding the implementation of their accessibility plans and the barriers encountered by the regulated entity's employees and other persons that deal with the entity.

ACA requirements for progress reports

Under the ACA, regulated entities must prepare and publish progress reports, which updates the public on the implementation of their accessibility plan. The progress reports, published in the years between accessibility plans, must include information on the feedback received from persons with disabilities and how that feedback was taken into consideration. As with accessibility plans, entities must consult persons with disabilities every time they prepare a progress report. The report must include a description of the manner in which they consulted persons with disabilities.

ACA requirements for publication and notification

The ACA requires that entities notify the Accessibility Commissioner of the publication of all planning and reporting requirements (accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of feedback processes).

Compliance and enforcement

Accessibility Commissioner

To help ensure compliance with its requirements, the ACA provides for the appointment of an Accessibility Commissioner within the Canada Human Rights Commissioner (CHRC) who will be responsible for proactive compliance and enforcement, and dealing with complaints.

Administrative monetary penalties

The ACA provides the Accessibility Commissioner with a range of enforcement tools to verify, promote, and enforce compliance with the ACA and its regulations, including the power to conduct inspections and issue orders and notices of violation, including with penalties, and enter into compliance agreements. However, it leaves specific details around administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) to regulations.

The ACA gives the Governor in Council the authority to make regulations related to compliance and enforcement. Regulations would be needed to operationalize components of the AMP regime of the ACA.

Under the ACA, administrative monetary penalties do not apply to Parliament. Parliamentary entities that contravene relevant portions of the Act may request to enter into compliance agreements. The Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons must table every notice of default of a compliance agreement and every compliance order that has not been complied with received in the respective House.

Objective

The objective of this proposal is to contribute to the realization of a barrier-free Canada by 2040 by operationalizing the components of the ACA that promote compliance and require regulated entities to report on preventing, identifying and removing existing and future barriers within their organization.

Description

The proposed Regulations would operationalize sections of the ACA related to the

• preparation and publication of accessibility plans and progress reports;
• establishment of feedback processes and publication of descriptions of feedback processes;
• retention of documents;
• service of documents by the Accessibility Commissioner; and
• administrative monetary penalties (AMPs).

Planning and reporting requirements

Application

When the proposed Regulations come into force, all federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations regardless of their size, and private sector entities under the authority of the Accessibility Commissioner that have an average of 10 or more employees will be required to begin a planning and reporting cycle by preparing and publishing an initial accessibility plan.

A planning and reporting cycle lasts three calendar years. It consists of an accessibility plan in the first calendar year followed by a progress report in each of the subsequent two calendar years. After a cycle is completed, a federally regulated entity begins a new cycle by publishing an updated accessibility plan, as long as it continues to have an average of 10 or more employees.

After a regulated entity has published an accessibility plan, the proposed Regulations would require it to complete the planning and reporting cycle, even if its average number of employees falls below 10 employees in any subsequent year of that planning and reporting cycle.

The proposed Regulations will not apply to First Nations band councils for a period of five years, following the coming into force of the proposed Regulations, to allow the Government of Canada to complete an engagement process with Indigenous organizations and persons with disabilities on a potential tailored application of the ACA and its regulations.

Timing of the initial accessibility plan

The proposed Regulations would set the dates by which entities would be required to publish their initial accessibility plans:

• federal government departments, the Canadian Forces, agencies and Crown corporations would publish their initial accessibility plans by December 31, 2022;
• private sector entities with 100 or more employees would publish their initial accessibility plans by June 1, 2023; and
• private sector entities with between 10 and 99 employees would publish their initial accessibility plans by June 1, 2024.

If after June 1, 2023, an entity is no longer exempted from the planning and reporting requirements or it is an entity newly subject to the ACA, its plan would be due by June 1 of the second year following the year in which the entity has an average of 10 or more employees or becomes subject to the Act.

Form of the accessibility plan

Under the proposed Regulations, accessibility plans would need to include the following headings:

• General (e.g. how the public can communicate with the regulated entity, namely the civic address of its places of business, a telephone number that is available to the public or the email address);
• Areas identified in the ACA, as required (employment; built environment; information and communication technologies [ICT]; communication [non-ICT]; procurement of goods, services and facilities; design and delivery of programs and services; and transportation); and
• Consultations (i.e. explaining how persons with disabilities were consulted in the preparation of the plan).

Progress reports

Under the proposed Regulations, entities would need to publish a progress report on the first and second anniversary of the publication of their initial and updated accessibility plans.

Under the proposed Regulations, progress reports would need to include the following headers:

• General (e.g. how the public can communicate with the regulated entity, namely the civic address of its places of business, a telephone number that is available to the public or the email address);
• Areas identified in the ACA, as required (employment; built environment; information and communication technologies [ICT]; communication [non-ICT]; procurement of goods, services and facilities; design and delivery of programs and services; and transportation);
• Consultations (i.e. explaining how persons with disabilities were consulted in the preparation of the report); and
• Feedback (i.e. the feedback received by the regulated entity and how that feedback was taken into consideration).

Publication and notification of accessibility plans, progress reports and description of feedback processes

The proposed Regulations would require that regulated entities notify the Accessibility Commissioner by email or other electronic means within 48 hours of the publication of their accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes. The notification would need to include information on where their plan, report, or description can be found (i.e. web link or physical address of the business where the document is posted).

The proposed Regulations would also require that accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes be written in simple, clear and concise language. This means that grammar should be simple, and technical words should be avoided where possible, such that the text is easily understandable. Further information regarding this requirement will be included in guidance materials. Accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes must also be published on the main digital platform that is owned, operated or controlled by the regulated entity that it uses to communicate with the public, and in a manner that makes it accessible on the digital platform either through a hyperlink or directly on the home screen or homepage. Accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes that are published on the main digital platform of the regulated entity, as previously described, must be published in a format that is compliant with Level AA of the most recent version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) available in both English and French. The version of the WCAG currently available in both French and English is WCAG 2.0.

If an entity does not have a digital platform such as a website or Facebook page, it must display printed copies of its plans, reports, and descriptions of feedback processes in each of its places of business. Entities must also provide their plans and reports to members of the public upon request.

Alternate formats

The proposed Regulations would require that, on request, plans and reports be provided in print, large print, braille, audio format, and an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology and is intended to assist persons with disabilities.

For federal departments, agencies, Crown corporations and private sector entities with 100 or more employees, the proposed Regulations would require alternate formats of plans and reports (with the exception of braille and audio format) be provided to people who request them within 15 days of the request. Smaller private sector entities, those with 10 to 99 employees, would be required to provide alternate formats of plans and reports (with the exception of braille and audio format) to people who request them within 20 days of the request.

To allow for the additional time required to procure braille and audio format, all regulated entities would have up to 45 days to provide those formats.

Feedback process

The proposed Regulations would require that entities ensure their feedback processes provide an option for persons to give their feedback anonymously, and in any manner that the entity communicates with the public. Entities would be required to acknowledge the receipt of the feedback as long as it was not provided anonymously.

If feedback processes are updated, regulated entities would have to publish a simple, clear and concise description of their updated process. They would also need to notify the Accessibility Commissioner, within 48 hours of publication, that the description of their feedback process was updated and provide information on where the update can be found (i.e. web link or physical addresses of the businesses where the document is posted).

Document retention

The proposed Regulations would require that entities keep their published accessibility plans, descriptions of their feedback processes and progress reports on their digital platform for six years from initial publication and keep an archived electronic version of each on file for an additional year. If an entity does not use a digital platform, it would need to retain a copy of each document for seven years after originally published.

Regulated entities would also have to keep a copy of any feedback received for seven years after they received it.

Service of documents

The proposed Regulations would require that the service of any notice or order referred to in the ACA or its associated regulations be made by

• Leaving a copy of it with the individual or regulated entity or at the individual's address or usual place of residence or the regulated entity's place of business;
• Sending a copy of it by registered mail or courier; or
• Sending a copy of it by fax, email or other electronic means.

The notice or order is determined to be served on the date it was left with the individual or regulated entity; the 10th day after the document was sent by courier or registered mail; or on the date it was sent by fax, email, or other electronic means.

Administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) framework

The proposed Regulations would classify violations as “minor,” “serious” or “very serious” and specify the monetary penalty ranges for these classifications. The proposed Regulations would also establish under which circumstances penalties could be decreased.

Monetary penalties would be established for each classification using a graduated enforcement approach: penalties would increase or decrease based on an entity's five-year compliance history and the assessment by the Accessibility Commissioner.

Identification and classification of violations

The proposed Regulations classify violations of provisions of the ACA and these proposed Regulations, and orders made under the ACA as either “minor,” “serious” or “very serious.” These classifications would be based on the following factors:

• the nature of the violation;
• whether the violation is typically considered severe enough to warrant a monetary penalty;
• the intent/willful disregard for the authority of the Accessibility Commissioner; and
• the degree of potential impact on individuals, including physical and psychological harm, property damage and economic loss.

Generally, a violation of an administrative requirement would be classified as “minor”; contravening a production or compliance order would be classified as “serious”; and obstructing, or knowingly making any false or misleading statement to the Accessibility Commissioner or their delegate would be classified as “very serious.”

Only designated violations can be subject to an AMP.

Determining penalty amounts

The proposed Regulations would establish a range of penalties for each classification of violation. The penalty amounts for violations that fall within these ranges would be calculated based on

• the classification of the violation (i.e. minor, serious, very serious);
• the entity's five-year history of prior notices of violation with warning or penalty;
• a list of criteria used to determine the severity of the violation; and
• the size of the entity (i.e. person, small business, regulated entity that is not a person or small business).

Small business is defined as a private sector entity with an average of fewer than 100 employees during the year that occurs before the entity is served with a notice of violation or, if the entity has been in operation for less than one year, on the day the notice is issued.

For example, if an entity is served with a notice of violation for failing to publish their initial accessibility plan by the date required in the regulations, this would be considered a “minor” violation under the proposed AMPs regime. The proposed Regulations would establish, for minor violations, a penalty range of $1,000 to $10,000 for the first violation within a five-year period of a regulated entity that is not a person or small business. The specific amount for this violation would depend on seven criteria, such as the harm caused (or that could have been caused) by non-compliance and, the benefit of non-compliance to the non-compliant entity (see table below for all proposed criteria). In this example, the entity would be penalized somewhere within that $1,000 to $10,000 range, depending on the circumstances.

Formula for penalty determination

The amount of an AMP would be set through a formula based on the gravity values assessed by the Accessibility Commissioner for seven criteria.

The proposed criteria are designed to promote certain behaviours such as prompt voluntary reporting and undertaking mitigation activities quickly.

By contrast, the criteria are also intended to deter behaviours such as negligence, and financial gain from a violation.

The total gravity value is determined by summing the gravity values assessed based on available evidence for each criterion. A total gravity value of zero would result in the minimum AMP amount for the range. Whereas the maximum total gravity value of 28 would result in the maximum AMP amount for the range. Enforcement policy will set out how factor values are determined based upon the facts of a violation.

Table 1: Summary of criteria and associated gravity value ranges

Criteria	Gravity scale
The degree of negligence of the regulated entity or person	0 to 4
The harm that resulted or could have resulted from the violation	0 to 4
The degree to which the regulated entity or person derived any competitive or economic benefit from the violation	0 to 4
The level of effort that the regulated entity or person has made towards changing its culture and attitude toward accessibility	-2 to 4
The level of effort that the regulated entity or person made to mitigate or reverse the violation's effects	-2 to 4
The manner in which the violation is brought to the attention of the Accessibility Commissioner	-2 to 4
The degree of assistance that the regulated entity or person provided to the Accessibility Commissioner	-2 to 4

Of note: Should the gravity value be determined to be a negative amount, it is deemed to be zero, which would result in a penalty amount equal to the lowest amount within the range.

Penalty range

Table 2.1: Range of penalties for a person

Classification	First violation	Second violation	Third violation	Fourth or subsequent violation
Minor	$250 – $2,500	$2,500 – $6,250	$6,250 – $12,500	$12,500 – $18,750
Serious	$2,500 – $6,250	$6,250 – $12,500	$12,500 – $25,000	$25,000 – $37,500
Very serious	$6,250 – 12,500	$12,500 – $25,000	$25,000 – $37,500	$37,500 – $62,500

Table 2.2: Range of penalties for a small business

Classification	First violation	Second violation	Third violation	Fourth or subsequent violation
Minor	$500 – $5,000	$5,000 – $12,500	$12,500 – $25,000	$25,000 – $37,500
Serious	$5,000 – $12,500	$12,500 – $25,000	$25,000 – $50,000	$50,000 – $75,000
Very serious	$12,500 – $25,000	$25,000 – $50,000	$50,000 – $75,000	$75,000 – $125,000

Table 2.3: Range of penalties for a regulated entity that is not a small business

Classification	First violation	Second violation	Third violation	Fourth or subsequent violation
Minor	$1,000 – $10,000	$10,000 – $25,000	$25,000 – $50,000	$50,000 – $75,000
Serious	$10,000 – $25,000	$25,000 – $50,000	$50,000 – $100,000	$100,000 – $150,000
Very serious	$25,000 – $50,000	$50,000 – $100,000	$100,000 – $150,000	$150,000 – $250,000

Reducing penalties

The ACA provides the Accessibility Commissioner the authority to establish the amount of time an entity has to pay a penalty. To encourage early payment, the proposed Regulations would reduce any penalty amount by 10% if the penalty is paid within 15 days after the day the notice of violation is served.

Regulatory development

Consultation

In early 2019, ESDC received input and comments from over 30 stakeholders on the development of foundational regulations under the ACA. These stakeholders, representing thousands of those most impacted by the ACA, include the following:

Disability community: People First of Canada, Communication Disabilities Access Canada, Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians, ARCH Disability Law Centre, Barrier Free Canada.

Industry: Federally Regulated Employers – Transportation and Communications (FETCO), Canadian Bankers Association, Canadian Trucking Alliance, Accessible Media Canada, Air Canada.

Government: Veterans Affairs Canada, Canadian Transportation Agency, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.

Engagement on the regulations began in February 2019 with a meeting between ESDC, People First of Canada and Communication Disabilities Access Canada. Given the very technical nature of the content and process, officials worked with these organizations to ensure that future engagement processes would be accessible to stakeholders with intellectual, cognitive and communication disabilities. ESDC then held the following engagement sessions:

Engagement with disability stakeholders:

• February 2019: A webinar introducing regulations and the regulatory development process, highlighting provisions of the Accessible Canada Act, where foundational regulations are needed.
• March 2019: Teleconferences explaining administrative monetary penalties (March 21, 2019) and planning and reporting requirements (March 28, 2019). These discussions introduced key concepts about enforcement and compliance that inform the making of regulations in these areas. Following these teleconferences, stakeholders were invited to provide their views.
• June 2019: A teleconference was held to discuss the collective comments received from stakeholders after the previous two consultations.

Engagement with industry stakeholders:

• June 2019: ESDC held a teleconference with industry stakeholders, representing a cross section of the federally regulated private sector, on administrative monetary penalties and planning and reporting requirements.

Engagement with government stakeholders:

• July 2019: ESDC held meetings/teleconferences to engage with unions and other government departments on the proposed Regulations, identifying the respective priorities of each group and requesting written feedback. ESDC also engaged parliamentary entities.

ESDC provided stakeholders with illustrative examples of similar reporting requirements in other laws and jurisdictions, as well as examples of regulations pertaining to administrative monetary penalties. Stakeholders provided their views on the accessibility reporting related to the shared examples and what they would like to see in the accessibility plans, progress reports, and feedback processes of the ACA. They also provided their views on monetary penalties. ESDC received 25 submissions.

With regard to planning and reporting, these comments included the following:

• Disability stakeholders: Plans should align with the principles and priority areas of the ACA, and be short, straightforward and written in plain language.
• Industry: There is need for guidance material and flexibility on the content of accessibility plans; and publication timelines should align with other regulatory schedules, such as the Employment Equity Act, which requires employment equity reports to be submitted by June 1.
• Government stakeholders: Government stakeholders highlighted the need for training, tools and guidance, the inclusion of real, measurable data (on barrier removal, hiring practices, etc.) in plans; and that plans should be published in both official languages.

Many of the comments were incorporated into the proposed Regulations. The proposed Regulations would require that accessibility plans, progress reports and descriptions of feedback processes be written in simple, clear and concise language.

Accessibility plans and progress reports for private-sector entities would be due on June 1 of every year, the same day when reports are due under the Employment Equity Act.

Feedback received on administrative monetary penalties was also incorporated into the proposed Regulations, including the following:

• Disability stakeholders and industry: An enforcement approach that prioritizes compliance promotion, education and culture change over a strictly punitive regime.
• Disability stakeholders: Degree of harm done to an individual or group should be emphasized.
• Industry: Penalties should reflect the threat and risk of harm. There should be opportunities to come into compliance with the ACA or its regulations before large penalties are issued.
• All stakeholders: A graduated enforcement approach should be used.

However, not all stakeholder views could be incorporated into the proposed Regulations, and the decision about what to incorporate often came down to balancing the views of the different stakeholder groups, as well as the limits of regulatory authorities provided by the ACA. While some disability community advocates wanted regulations to include templates and lists of requirements for planning and reporting requirements like accessibility plans, the industry wanted the flexibility to develop their own templates and requirements. Given limits on regulatory authority under the ACA, the proposed Regulations balance these two viewpoints, requiring headers in plans and reports while providing entities the flexibility to develop plans and reports which respect their individual circumstances.

Consultations during COVID-19

The Government of Canada recognizes that the current COVID-19 pandemic has affected the day-to-day lives of Canadians, businesses and organizations and has caused economic, social and health impacts. In particular, there has been a disproportionate impact on persons with disabilities, including their capacity to respond to requests to participate in regulatory consultations.

In late summer 2020, a decision was taken to delay the prepublication of the proposed Regulations until disability stakeholders and industry were better positioned to provide their comments. Stakeholders did not raise concerns about the delay.

Additional stakeholder input

In addition to the above-mentioned items, ESDC considered feedback received during other relevant stakeholders engagements, including consultations undertaken by the CTA and spring 2020 consultations undertaken by the CRTC.

The development of the proposed Regulations was further informed by input and feedback received from the more than 6 000 individuals and over 100 organizations that participated in the Accessible Canada consultations, held between June 2016 and February 2017, and from stakeholders during the parliamentary process for the ACA. For more information on those consultations, please refer to the What We Learned report.

Modern treaty obligations and Indigenous engagement and consultation

The ACA applies to any entity that operates a work or carries on an undertaking or business that is within the legislative authority of Parliament.

A First Nations band council, when acting in its core functions, is generally considered to be operating a work or carrying on an undertaking or business that is within the legislative authority of Parliament. An organization created by a Band Council may also be considered to fall within this category depending on the nature of the organization, operations and habitual activities. Therefore, the ACA applies to First Nations band councils, and potentially certain organizations created by them.

Indigenous consultations

During the Accessible Canada consultations in 2016 – 2017, funding was provided to three Indigenous organizations to engage their members and communities on accessibility legislation. In addition, modern treaty holders were informed of the intention of the Government to develop legislation. Government officials met in person with 11 Yukon modern treaty holders, and reached out to all 28 modern treaty holders by letter.

When the ACA came into force in 2019, the Government of Canada committed that the ACA would not immediately be applied to First Nations band councils in order to engage them on the application of the ACA.

In spring 2019, ESDC partnered with three Indigenous organizations on an engagement process on the potential tailoring of the ACA. Grant funding was provided through the Disability component of the Social Development Partnerships Program to support the efforts of these organizations to engage with their members at the national, regional and community levels.

In recognition of this ongoing engagement process and to respect the Government's commitment to a renewed nation-to-nation relationship, First Nations band councils would be exempted from the proposed Regulations until the fifth anniversary of the day on which they come into force. This exemption would not apply to businesses operated for or on behalf of First Nations band councils or on the band's reserve lands, where the Act would otherwise apply. This five-year exemption ensures that there is sufficient time to complete meaningful engagement, to assess the results of the engagement, and to move forward with the next steps, such as proposing amendments to the ACA or its associated regulations.

Over the next couple of years, ESDC is planning to communicate with modern treaty holders to discuss the ACA, accessibility and inclusion within their communities.

Instrument choice

The ACA limits the instrument choices available to regulators as it requires that at least one set of regulations be made within two years of the coming into force of the ACA in order to operationalize, or put into practice, many of its provisions. For example, regulations are needed to set the time period by which regulated entities must prepare and publish their initial accessibility plan. Therefore, taking no regulatory action would not be an option as important provisions of the ACA would not be implemented. Alternative instruments to regulations, such as codes of practice, were not appropriate as they are only voluntary.

ESDC examined two separate options to implement the planning and reporting requirements of the ACA: (1) full application in year one; and (2) the proposed option, which includes a staggered implementation, an exemption for private sector entities with fewer than 10 employees, and a five-year exemption for First Nations Band Councils.

Staggered implementation timelines recognize capacity constraints of smaller entities, as well as the impact on the disability community's capacity, who will be consulted during the preparation of plans and reports. It also allows time for private sector entities to learn from best practices in the federal government.

The proposal to exempt private sector entities with fewer than 10 employees was based on a concern from industry stakeholders that planning and reporting requirements would likely overburden those smallest businesses. It is also consistent with the threshold for federally regulated private sector employers under the Pay Equity Act. This decision exempts approximately 60% of private entities representing 2.5% of all employees working for a federally regulated private sector entity — most exempted entities would fall within road transportation (trucking).

Options considered related to the AMP framework

Section 91 of the ACA provides the authority to make AMP regulations, which are required for the Accessibility Commissioner to fix penalty amounts. Non-regulatory options would not fulfill this requirement and were therefore not considered. However, the ACA provides some flexibility in the regulatory authority in respect to the setting of penalty amounts by allowing for fixed penalty amounts or a range of penalties. A range of penalties was chosen as it takes into account proportionality of the penalty to the harm or risk of a violation.

In order to ensure consistency in the application and transparency, the proposed Regulations set the formula and associated criteria to calculate AMPs in regulations. The formula and criteria chosen are similar to those in other AMP frameworks and take into account the importance of having penalties that align with the threat and risk/harm. They also provide the Accessibility Commissioner with the opportunity to weigh the merits of each case individually based on evidence collected.

ESDC considered proposing a single penalty range table for all entities. However, considering the economic impact a higher penalty amount could have on persons and small businesses, the proposed Regulations reduce penalties by 50% for small businesses and by 75% for persons.

Regulatory analysis

Scope and application of the Regulations

The proposed Regulations apply to all regulated entities, with the exception of First Nations Band Councils, who are exempted for five years, and businesses with fewer than 10 employees, who are exempted from the proposed planning and reporting requirements. In particular, they apply to entities in sectors that are outside of the jurisdiction of the CTA or the CRTC, which include the following:

• Federal departments and agencies
• Crown corporations, such as the National Gallery of Canada
• the Canadian Forces
• Banks
• Grain elevators, feed and seed mills, feed warehouses and grain/seed cleaning plants
• Uranium mining and processing and atomic energy
• the postal sector
• Canals
• Pipelines that cross inter-provincial or international boundaries

In addition, the proposed Regulations apply to federally regulated entities that fall under the jurisdiction of the CTA and the CRTC, but only in certain ACA areas (see "Background" section for more information).

According to administrative data from the Labour Program Labour Application 2000 database (November 2019), there are approximately 13 800 federally regulated entities in Canada with approximately 1.54 million employees.

Costs and benefits^{footnote 6}

The costs associated with the proposal for regulated entities include both administrative and compliance costs, along with enforcement costs for the federal government. While the administrative and compliance costs that would result from the proposed Regulations are significant, the benefits are estimated to outweigh the costs.

Based on the 10-year projected time frame (2022 to 2031), the present value of the costs to entities is expected to total approximately $17.6 million, with an annual average cost of $2.5 million. The expected total benefits are projected to be approximately $73.7 million, with an annual average benefit of $10.5 million.

Subtracting the present value of costs from the present value of benefits ($73.7 million − $17.6 million) leaves an expected present value net benefit of approximately $56.1 million, with an annualized average net benefit of $8.0 million.

The costs to businesses to pay for AMPs, as well as the revenue to the Government of Canada generated through AMPs, are not considered costs nor benefits within the scope of the regulatory analysis since they are outside the normal course of business, occurring only in instances of non-compliance with the ACA or its regulations. The implementation of the AMP regime is motivated by improving compliance; it is not intended nor expected to generate a significant stream of revenue for the fiscal framework. This treatment of AMP costs and revenue is consistent with the analyses of other federal organizations that established AMP systems over the past several years.

The potential costs and benefits that arise from the ACA itself, although real, are considered out of scope. Only the costs and benefits arising from regulatory requirements are considered in the cost-benefit analysis.

The costs and benefits associated with the proposed Regulations were estimated under two possible scenarios with different implementation schedules and potential exemptions.

The scenarios are the following:

Scenario 1 (Alternate): All federally regulated entities would be required to comply with the requirements in the first year following the coming into force (i.e. 2022).

Scenario 2 (Proposed): Exemptions for smaller (fewer than 10 employees) private sector entities and a staggered implementation as follows:

• federal government departments, agencies and Crown corporations would publish their initial accessibility plans by December 31, 2022;
• private entities with 100 or more employees would publish their initial accessibility plans by June 1, 2023;
• private sector entities with between 10 and 100 employees would publish their initial accessibility plans by June 1, 2024; and
• First Nations Band Councils would publish their initial accessibility plans in 2027.

A copy of the full cost-benefit analysis report is available upon request.

Under the proposed Regulations, it is assumed that entities would be affected differently based on their numbers of employees, whether they also fall under the authority of the CTA or the CRTC and whether they are a public entity.

The analysis assumes costs and benefits of the planning and reporting requirements over a 10-year period (2022 – 2031). In addition, a 7% discount rate is used.

Costs

The proposed Regulations are expected to result in approximately $17.6 million in additional costs. These costs would be carried by federal government departments, agencies, Crown corporations, the Canadian Forces, parliamentary entities and federally regulated private sector entities. These costs would be in relation to the following activities:

• Notification to the Accessibility Commissioner related to accessibility plans, progress reports and description of feedback process
• Retention of accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback
• Requirement for a second progress report
• Preparation of documents in a WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)^{footnote 7} compliant format
• Preparation of accessibility plans and progress reports in alternate formats
• Enforcement and education activities to inform regulated entities about their regulatory requirements, serving notices of violation to non-compliant entities and determining the penalty amounts for both non-compliant persons and regulated entities

Administrative costs

Administrative costs are costs associated with demonstrating that the regulated entity has complied with the regulation, including the collecting, processing, reporting, and retaining of information and the completing of forms. In the context of the proposed Regulations, the administrative costs will be associated with the requirement for entities to notify the Accessibility Commissioner within 48 hours of publishing their accessibility plans, progress reports and description of feedback processes by electronic means, including the location of the document. The administrative costs are also associated with the requirement to retain for seven years accessibility plans, progress reports and feedback received.

The analysis assumes that it will take a senior manager in the regulated entity 20 minutes to make the notification to the Accessibility Commissioner and that the work of retaining accessibility plans, progress report and feedback would be minimal and incorporated as part of the individual's regular work. The cost is estimated by multiplying the time it takes to make the notification by the employee's wage rate, which includes a 25% overhead.

It is estimated that notifying the Accessibility Commissioner and retaining documents under the alternate scenario would cost entities $2,210,000 in net present value (NPV) [2019 Can$] and under the proposed scenario would cost entities $585,000 NPV (2019 Can$) over the 10-year period.

Compliance costs

Compliance costs are costs that regulated entities will incur when complying with the regulations. In this case, the proposed Regulations would require businesses to complete a second progress report two years after the publishing of their first accessibility plan (see planning and reporting cycle below), and also make available their accessibility plans and progress reports in alternate formats.

Table 3: Accessibility planning and reporting cycle
Note: This table is for illustration purposes only.

	Planning and reporting requirement
Year 1	Initial accessibility plan
Year 2	Progress report 1
Year 3	Progress report 2
Year 4	Accessibility plan
Year 5	Progress report 1
Year 6	Progress report 2

Compliance costs associated with a second progress report

The ACA states that a regulated entity must prepare and publish a progress report respecting implementation of its accessibility plan. The proposed Regulations would require that a progress report be published by the first and second anniversaries of the day of publication of an accessibility plan. In the table above, progress report 1 is a requirement of the ACA, and, therefore, the costs associated with its preparation are not considered an incremental cost. However, progress report 2 is a requirement of the proposed regulations.

It is assumed that the second progress report would take half the time of the first progress report to produce, for an average time of 18.75 hours, with the work undertaken by a manager.

It was also assumed that the different size of the entities will influence the length of the report and the associated time that it would take for them to prepare the second progress report. The assumed time factor for the progress report would be as follows:

• Non-CRTC or non-CTA Private Sector including First Nations (10 to 99 employees): 0.7
• Non-CRTC or non-CTA Private Sector including First Nations (100 plus employees): 1.0
• CRTC/CTA Private Sector: 0.4
• Federal government departments, agencies and Crown corporations: 2.0

The total cost was calculated by multiplying the time to prepare progress report 2 by the average wage rate of a manager across all sectors as reported by Statistics Canada, including a 25% overhead ($56.46 per hour). This amount was then adjusted based on the size of the entity.

The total cost of all entities for producing progress report 2 is estimated to be $19,520,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the alternate scenario and $5,153,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the proposed scenario over the 10-year period.

Compliance costs associated with alternate formats

The proposed Regulations would require regulated entities to offer their accessibility plans and progress reports in print, large print, braille, audio format and an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology and is intended to assist persons with disabilities (i.e. accessible PDF tagged, DAISY, e-text, etc.). This analysis does not assess the cost of potential requests for regular print formats of the required documents as it is assumed that minimal requests will be made for this format.

The calculation of the estimated compliance costs associated with alternate formats includes the following assumptions:

The cost per page of producing the alternate formats will be as follows:

Table 4: Cost of producing alternate formats (per page)

Alternate format type	Cost per page — first "master" copy	Cost per page — additional printed copy	Cost per CD
Large print	$10.50	$0.30	N/A
Braille	$10.50	$1.20	N/A
Audio format	$87.50	$87.50	N/A
Accessible PDF tagged	$10.00	N/A	$5.00
DAISY	$7.00	N/A	$5.00
E-text	$6.00	N/A	$5.00

For the calculations of average cost, the following components were included:

• Large print ($10.50)
• Braille ($10.50)
• Average cost of the remaining formats ($27.63)

This results in an average cost per page of $49.57 in 2019 dollars.

It is assumed the length of the accessibility plans and progress reports will be as follows:

Table 5: Estimated length of deliverables (in pages)

Entities size	Estimated page length — accessibility plan	Estimated page length — progress report
Private sector (non-CTA or non-CRTC) 1 to 99	10	7
Private sector (non-CTA or non-CRTC) 100+	15	10
CTA and CRTC regulated firms	5	4
Departments and agencies	30	20

Entities that are under the jurisdiction of the CTA (e.g. airlines, marine transportation) are subject to the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR) under the Canada Transportation Act. The ATPDR already requires these entities to produce documents for persons with disabilities in alternate formats. Therefore, costs to these entities of providing alternate formats are not attributable to these regulations.

The costs for producing accessibility plans and progress reports in alternate formats are estimated below.

Table 6: Estimated cost of producing deliverables

Entities size	Estimated document cost — accessibility plan	Estimated document cost — progress report
Private sector (non-CTA or non-CRTC) 1 to 99	$495.73	$347.01
Private sector (non-CTA or non-CRTC) 100+	$743.59	$495.73
CTA and CRTC regulated firms	$247.86	$198.29
Departments and agencies	$1,487.18	$991.45

In addition, the proposed Regulations require entities to publish required documents on the main public digital platform they own, operate or control and that they use to communicate information to the public, and in a manner that makes the document accessible on the digital platform or by way of a direct hyperlink, in an accessible format that is compliant with Level AA conformance with the last bilingual version of WCAG. Since these WCAG standards are well established in the web designer community, it is expected that the cost to adopt these standards, especially after an e-text version is prepared, would be modest.

The total cost for alternate formats is estimated to be $34,758,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the alternate scenario and $9,842,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the proposed scenario (over the 10-year period).

The combined compliance costs of the second progress report and the alternate formats over the 10-year period are estimated to be $54,278,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the alternate scenario and $14,996,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the proposed scenario.

Enforcement costs

Enforcement costs are costs incurred by the Government of Canada in enforcing the proposed Regulations. To ensure that federal entities comply with accessibility requirements, the ACA provides for an Accessibility Commissioner within the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) who is responsible for compliance and enforcement. Within its jurisdiction, the Accessibility Commissioner is able to investigate whether entities are complying with the ACA and its regulations. As the majority of the enforcement mechanisms and planning and reporting requirements are detailed in the ACA, the costing outlined below does not encompass the CHRC costs to inspect against and enforce compliance with the ACA. It is also assumed that the CHRC has appropriate compliance and enforcement infrastructure in place, both in terms of human resources and technological infrastructure.

The resources allocated for enforcement activities, beginning in the first year, would be equivalent to 3.5 full-time equivalent employees (FTEs) annually for the first four years. This would decline to 2.5 FTEs after the fourth year. This change in the number of required employees is due to the need for additional resources for education and promotion activities in the initial years of the proposed Regulations (i.e. the first cycle of accessibility plans and progress reports). This requirement will decrease as more and more regulated entities prepare and publish their initial accessibility plans and progress reports, requiring only approximately 2.5 FTEs by year 4 who would be responsible for education and monitoring of compliance of over 5 000 entities. It is assumed that this work would be accomplished by a PM-05, a CS-2 and an EC-04.

Based on these assumptions, the cost of enforcement and education under the alternate scenario is estimated at $2,320,000 NPV (2019 Can$) and $2,036,000 NPV (2019 Can$) under the proposed scenario — both over the 10-year period.

Total costs

The following table outlines the present values of estimated costs for both the private sector and federal government.

• Number of years: 10 (2022 – 2031)
• Base year for costing: 2019
• Present value base year: 2022
• Discount rate: 7%
• Scale: thousands

Table 7.1: Estimated costs — Private sector

Activity	Alternate scenario	Proposed scenario
Notification and retention	$2,020	$525
Second progress report	$17,161	$4,135
Alternate formats	$30,034	$7,690
Total	$49,214	$12,350

Table 7.2: Estimated costs — First Nations

Activity	Alternate scenario	Proposed scenario
Notification and retention	$161	$34
Second progress report	$1,574	$285
Alternate formats	$3,006	$676
Total	$4,741	$995

Table 7.3: Estimated costs — Federal government

Activity	Alternate scenario	Proposed scenario
Notification and retention	$29	$26
Second progress report	$785	$734
Alternate formats	$1,718	$1,476
Enforcement costs	$2,320	$2,036
Total	$4,852	$4,272

Table 7.4: Estimated costs — All sectors

Activity	Alternate scenario	Proposed scenario
Notification and retention	$2,210	$585
Second progress report	$19,520	$5,153
Alternate formats	$34,758	$9,842
Enforcement costs	$2,320	$2,036
Total	$58,807	$17,617

Benefits of the proposed Regulations

The proposed Regulations would ease access to information for persons with disabilities in various ways, and are therefore expected to produce benefits to the federally regulated entities and the broader Canadian society.

Benefits of the proposed Regulations are characterized separately for different affected stakeholders:

• Benefit to clients: The expected benefits are time savings in obtaining information about accessibility as a result of having this information in an alternate format and increased quality of life and social participation.
• Benefit to employers: The expected benefit is a more efficient use of employees' time as a result of having accessibility information available in alternate formats.
• Benefit to employees: The benefit to employees is increased job satisfaction and reduced anxiety, which improves the quality of life and social participation of people with disabilities.

Benefits to clients

By having access to accessibility plans and reports in a format amenable to their specific disability (as described in the "Costs" section), persons with disabilities save time in reading and understanding those documents. Recognizing the broad range of disabilities and prescribed formats, it is estimated that approximately 50% of persons with disabilities over the age of 15 will benefit from this provision. Therefore, approximately 3.7 million persons with disabilities per year would experience time savings, which is estimated at $67.7 million NPV (2019 Can$), or an annualized average benefit of $9.6 million.

In addition to the direct benefits accrued to persons with disabilities from the time saved reviewing plans and reports in a format of their choice, persons with disabilities would also experience a reduction in the anxiety that exists with not having access to documents in accessible formats.

This benefit is estimated to be $67,664,000 NPV (2019 Can$), an annualized average benefit of $9,634,000.

In addition, the increased amount of information in an accessible format will enable people with disabilities to better plan their activities ahead of time and provide them with a better sense of control over the situation. Studies have shown that this increased sense of control leads to better physical and psychological health. The proposed Regulations also increases the convenience at which clients with disabilities may access information, which has always been a significant barrier to clients with disabilities.

Benefits to employers

Employees with disabilities usually spend a portion of their paid working time obtaining information in a format that works for them. By having access to accessibility plans and reports in a format amenable to their specific disability (as described in the "Costs" section), persons with disabilities save time in reading and understanding those documents. It is assumed that 3.3% of private sector employees and 5.4% of public sector employees in the federally regulated labour force have disabilities. Therefore, approximately 70 000 employees with disabilities per year would experience time savings. This means that employees can dedicate more time to do their actual work. The value of this work to the employer is estimated at $5,827,000 NPV (2019 Can$), or an annualized average benefit of $830,000.

Benefits to employees from anxiety reduction

Apart from the direct benefits accrued to employers from the time saved by employees reviewing plans and reports in a format of their choice, persons with disabilities would also experience a reduction in the anxiety that exists with not having access to documents in accessible formats. The Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) reported that employees with disabilities consistently have higher levels of stress at work than their colleagues (PSES, 2018; TBS, 2018). Along with the result of this study, several studies have been published with similar results. In a study by the Mental Health Foundation entitled Living with Anxiety (PDF), it is suggested that anxiety levels for persons with disabilities are four times higher than that of non-disabled persons on average. The reduction in anxiety is estimated to generate $233,000 NPV (2019 Can$), an annualized average benefit of $23,000.

Benefits to employers associated with increased job satisfaction

It is anticipated that the proposed Regulations will also enhance the job satisfaction of employees with disabilities. Provision of information on accessibility plans of a regulated entity in a format that is accessible to persons with disabilities and an ability to provide feedback in a manner that is accessible offers equal opportunity to employees with disabilities and reduces the feeling of discrimination. Although recognized as a benefit, it is difficult to quantify the associated savings; therefore, this is not monetized and is left as a qualitative benefit.

Cost-benefit statement

In summary, the proposed Regulations under both scenarios are expected to produce net benefit to the regulated entities and the broader Canadian society. Under both scenarios, even if the costs were 4.2 times higher than the estimated value, the proposed Regulations would still be beneficial. If only one category of benefits to employees (i.e. reduced anxiety) or employers (i.e. employee time saved or increased engagement, increased satisfaction) is realized, the proposed Regulations would still exceed the estimated costs, and result in an overall benefit. A copy of the full cost-benefit analysis report is available upon request.

In summary, as demonstrated in the following table, the proposed Regulations are expected to impose the annualized average costs of $2,537,000, to provide annualized average benefits of $10,497,000 and thus provide annualized average net benefits of $7,988,000 for the federally regulated private sector and federal government over the 10-year period after their implementation.

Cost-benefit statement summary

• Number of years: 10 (2022 – 2031)
• Base year for costing: 2019
• Present value base year: 2022
• Discount rate: 7%
• Scale: thousands

Table 8.1: Summary of costs — Private sector

Description of costs	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2032)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Notification and retention	$0	$102	$116	$525	$75
Progress report 2	$0	$963	$0	$4,135	$589
Alternate formats	$0	$1,458	$1,909	$7,690	$1,095
Total	$0	$2,523	$2,024	$12,350	$1,758

Table 8.2: Summary of costs — First Nations

Description of costs	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2032)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Notification and retention	$0	$6	$15	$34	$5
Progress report 2	$0	$65	$0	$285	$41
Alternate formats	$0	$150	$354	$676	$96
Total	$0	$223	$369	$995	$142

Table 8.3: Summary of costs — Federal government

Description of costs	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2032)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Notification and retention	$4	$4	$4	$26	$4
Progress report 2	$0	$145	$387	$734	$104
Alternate formats	$272	$238	$226	$1,476	$210
Enforcement	$388	$324	$277	$2,036	$318
Total	$664	$678	$895	$4,272	$637

Table 8.4: Summary of costs — All sectors

Description of costs	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2032)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Total costs	$664	$3,403	$3,288	$17,617	$2,537

Monetized benefits

Table 9.1: Summary of benefits — Private sector

Description of benefits	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2030)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Benefits to employers from time saved	$0	$722	$1,483	$3,782	$539
Benefits to employees from reduced anxiety	$0	$29	$59	$151	$22
Benefits to clients from time saved	$0	$6,706	$12,486	$34,551	$4,919
Total	$0	$7,457	$14,028	$38,485	$5,479

Table 9.2: Summary of benefits — First Nations

Description of benefits	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2030)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Benefits to employers from time saved	$0	$0	$42	$21	$3
Benefits to employees from reduced anxiety	$0	$0	$2	$1	$0
Benefits to clients from time saved	$0	$0	$800	$407	$58
Total	$0	$0	$843	$429	$61

Table 9.3: Summary of benefits — Federal government

Description of benefits	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2030)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Benefits to employers from time saved	$0	$394	$605	$2,024	$288
Benefits to employees from reduced anxiety	$0	$16	$24	$81	$12
Benefits to clients from time saved	$0	$6,404	$9,243	$32,706	$4,657
Total	$0	$6,814	$9,873	$34,811	$4,956

Table 9.4: Summary of benefits — All sectors

Description of benefits	Year 2 (2023)	Yearly average (2024 to 2030)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Total benefits	$0	$14,270	$24,744	$73,724	$10,497

Table 10: Summary of monetized costs and benefits

Description of costs and benefits	Year 2 (2022)	Yearly average (2023 to 2030)	Year 10 (2031)	Present value (all 10 years)	Annualized average
Total costs	$664	$3,403	$3,288	$17,617	$2,537
Total benefits	$0	$14,270	$24,744	$73,724	$10,497
Net benefits	-$664	$10,868	$21,456	$56,107	$7,988

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule applies since there is an incremental increase in administrative burden on business, and a new regulatory title (title in) is introduced. These administrative costs are related to the notification, retention, and reporting requirements of the regulations.

The estimated annualized administrative costs potentially imposed on a total of 13 554 private sector entities (including First Nations entities) with 10 or more employees would be $44,294 (in 2012 dollars) and the annualized administration cost per business would be $3.27 (in 2012 dollars).

The estimated costs of the administrative burden were based on examining estimates from analysis of similar regulatory requirements (notification, retention, alternate formats) from different federal departments and subject matter expertise. Incremental administrative costs relate to the time spent on notifying the Accessibility Commissioner, as well as time spent by employees on activities related to the retention of records.

Current initiative is an IN
Unit of measure: Constant 2012 Canadian dollars
Present value, base year: 2012

Table 11: One-for-one rule cost summary

Description	Amount
Annualized administrative costs	$44,294
Annualized administrative costs per business	$3.27

Small business lens

The small business lens applies as there are impacts on 4 726 small businesses associated with the proposed Regulations.

Costs to small businesses include both administrative costs associated with notifying the Accessibility Commissioner, as well as retention of records and compliance costs related to the preparation of a second progress report two years after the publishing of their first accessibility plan, and providing alternate formats of their accessibility plans and progress reports, if requested.

Recognizing the significant impact these requirements can have on private sector entities with fewer than 100 employees, the proposed Regulations adopt a less strict scenario. This includes an exemption from planning and reporting requirements for private sector entities with fewer than 10 employees, delayed implementation for smaller-sized private sector entities (i.e. requirements would not apply to entities with between 10 and 99 employees until the third year of implementation), and additional time to provide alternate formats of accessibility plans and progress reports.

The proposed exemption of smaller entities (fewer than 10 employees) and delayed implementation for smaller entities (10 to 99 employees) would result in an approximately 44% lower cost for small businesses compared to the cost of the alternate scenario (e.g. no exemption of smaller entities with fewer than 10 employees and immediate application), with a difference of approximately $37.4 million in terms of present value ($47.3 million - $9.9 million) and $5.6 million ($7.0 million - $1.5 million) in annualized costs. The average cost for each small business affected would be $2,200 in terms of present value and $313 in annualized costs.

These average costs per entity are significantly lower than those of the alternative scenario, which would be $3,926 in terms of present value and $559 in annualized costs per entity. In addition, the exemption of smaller entities (fewer than 10 employees) would mean that the regulations would only apply to less than 40% of the total number of private sector and First Nations entities with fewer than 100 employees (4 276 out of a total of 12 571).

Small business lens summary

• Number of small businesses impacted: 4 726
• Number of years: 10
• Base year for costing: 2022
• Present value base year: 2019
• Discount rate: 7%

Table 12.1: Compliance costs (proposed Regulations)

Activity	Annualized value	Present value
Second progress report	$495,492	$3,480,126
Alternate formats	$920,661	$6,466,335
Total compliance cost	$1,416,152	$9,946,461

Table 12.2: Administrative costs (proposed Regulations)

Activity	Annualized value	Present value
Notification and retention	$63,985	$449,402
Total administrative cost	$63,985	$449,402

Table 12.3: Total compliance and administrative costs (proposed Regulations)

Totals	Annualized value	Present value
Total cost (all impacted small businesses)	$1,480,137	$10,395,863
Cost per impacted small business	$313	$2,200

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

Other regulators under the Accessible Canada Act

The proposed Regulations were developed in collaboration with CTA and CRTC, the other two regulators under the ACA. This collaboration will ensure that the proposed Regulations on planning and reporting requirements from all three regulators align to the extent possible. Aligning the three sets of regulations means consistent requirements, to the extent possible, for all regulated entities, regardless of sector, and a simpler compliance regime, particularly for those who fall under more than one regulator. In addition, all three regulators, as well as the CHRC, are working to ensure that future enforcement of the ACA and its associated regulations is consistent.

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005

The proposed Regulations would create an approach to implementing the ACA that is compatible with requirements under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). Of note, the regulations under the AODA use a higher threshold for differentiating based on the size of organizations, with more than 50 employees versus more than 10 employees, respectively.

The proposed Regulations would also stagger the timeline for initial plans based on the sector and size of organizations in a similar manner to the AODA, with the public sector publishing accessibility plans within the first two years of regulations coming into force, and delaying those requirements for the private sector by at least a year.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in March 2010. By operationalizing provisions of the Accessible Canada Act, the proposed Regulations would bring the legislation into closer alignment with Canada's obligations as a State Party to the UNCRPD and strengthens its position as a global leader on accessibility.

Strategic environmental assessment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals, a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

To inform the development of the proposed Regulations, members of the disability community, industry, and government were consulted in the late spring/early summer of 2019. These consultations included participants from different gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) segments of society representing numerous disabilities.

As many Canadians with disabilities are also members of other traditionally marginalized groups, including women, Indigenous people, visible minorities and the LGBTQ2 community, consideration was given to how the proposed Regulations would reflect the reality that Canadians have multiple identities that intersect and make them who they are. This intersection of identities impacts a person's experience with their government and their community — a person with a disability who is also a member of a visible minority group may find themselves further marginalized than someone who has the same disability but does not have those other identities.

The proposed Regulations would require entities to publish accessibility plans and progress reports on their digital platforms in conformance with WCAG Level AA standards, and in simple, clear and concise language. This would allow plans and reports to be accessed by most members of the disability community, regardless of their disability.

However, not all members of the disability community will be able to access accessibility plans and reports that are WCAG Level AA compliant, either because of barriers to accessing the Internet or because this standard does not address their specific accessibility needs. Therefore, this proposal would require regulated entities to provide copies of their plans and reports in the following alternate formats on request: print, large print, e-version, braille and audio format. Although these alternate formats will be available, regulated entities will not be required to provide all of them within the same period. This recognizes that entities will require additional time to prepare and disseminate certain alternate formats.

The Regulations would also require regulated entities to establish mechanisms to receive feedback anonymously, as persons with disabilities may have privacy concerns, particularly when they are providing feedback to their employer.

The following GBA+ considerations related to Canadians with disabilities were identified:

• Women: When compared to their male counterparts, women with disabilities were more likely to have “severe” or “very severe” disabilities. Women also make up the majority of single parents and people living alone — two groups most likely to live in poverty. As a result, women with disabilities are more likely to benefit from access to accessibility plans and reports in alternate formats that address accessibility needs not addressed by WCAG Level AA, and from “offline” access to plans and reports.
• Youth: The 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability found that over 100 000 youth (between the ages of 15 and 24) with disabilities were not in school or employed. Of that 100 000, 9 in 10 (87%) had either a learning disability, a mental health – related disability, or both (25%). Requiring that accessibility plans and progress reports are written in simple, clear and concise language will allow more persons with learning disabilities to participate in the planning and reporting cycle.
• Indigenous: Statistics show a higher prevalence of disabilities among Indigenous persons in Canada compared to non-Indigenous persons, meaning that this group would greatly benefit from having access to accessibility plans and progress reports in a format amenable to their specific disability. As well, Indigenous people living in remote areas with no or very limited Internet access will benefit from this proposal, as regulated entities would be required to provide their accessibility plans and progress reports in alternate formats that do not require Internet access.
• Seniors: Seniors with disabilities living in poverty or in remote areas will also benefit from being able to access accessibility plans in alternate formats that do not require Internet access.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The ACA requires that each body with regulation-making authority (i.e. the CTA, the CRTC and the Governor in Council) develop the first regulation with respect to accessibility plans, feedback processes or progress reports within two years of the Act coming into force (July 2021).

Under the ACA, regulated entities must publish their initial accessibility plan within one year of the date established by regulations. Recognizing the burden associated with meeting the planning and reporting requirements under the ACA, the proposed Regulations include a staggered implementation schedule.

In recognition of the continued engagement between the Government of Canada and Indigenous governments and organizations on the application of the Act, First Nations Band Councils are exempted from the proposed Regulations until the fifth anniversary of the day in which they come into force.

Implementation of the proposed Regulations will be supported by guidance and training materials, as well as communication tools, to inform Canadians, employers, employees as well as federal public servants. The guidance materials will include templates, examples, guidelines and best practices that will support entities' ability to implement the ACA and the proposed Regulations. ESDC has begun consultations with stakeholders on proposed guidance materials. Further consultations are anticipated.

Compliance and enforcement

Under the ACA, the Accessibility Commissioner, once appointed within the CHRC, would be responsible for compliance and enforcement activities for regulated entities and areas not within the purview of the CRTC or the CTA. The CRTC and the CTA will establish their own compliance and enforcement regimes.

The ACA empowers the Accessibility Commissioner to undertake various activities to verify compliance with ACA provisions and regulations and provides options for enforcement, including

• Inspections: on-site inspections for the purpose of verifying compliance and preventing non-compliance;
• Production orders: orders requiring that a regulated entity produce any record, report, electronic data or other document that the Accessibility Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe contains information for the purpose of verifying compliance and preventing non-compliance;
• Compliance orders: orders requiring that a regulated entity terminate a violation or take any steps, within a specified time, to ensure that the non-compliance does not continue or reoccur;
• Notices of violation with or without a penalty: notices including the particulars of a violation either containing a warning or setting out a monetary penalty the entity or person must pay; and
• Compliance agreements: following receipt of a notice of a violation with a penalty, a regulated entity or person named in the notice may request to enter into a compliance agreement, the terms of which may provide for the reduction, in whole or in part, of the penalty set out in the notice.

As part of the compliance and enforcement regime, CHRC will develop policies and guidance materials that will be posted online so entities understand which actions can be taken by enforcement officers to address non-compliance.

Once the proposed Regulations are in force, the Accessibility Commissioner would have the full suite of tools they need to complete their compliance and enforcement program before the first accessibility plans are required to be published. The purpose of these tools is to promote compliance, rather than punish non-compliance.

In each case where a notice of violation with a penalty is issued, a person or regulated entity would have the opportunity to request to enter into a compliance agreement with the Accessibility Commissioner. The Accessibility Commissioner may enter into a compliance agreement with any terms that they consider appropriate, including providing for the reduction in whole or in part of the penalty.

An entity or person can request the Accessibility Commissioner conduct a review of compliance orders and notices of violation with a warning or penalties.

Contact

Marzieh Tafaghod
Director
Accessibility Implementation Division
Accessibility Secretariat
Employment and Social Development Canada
105 De l'Hôtel-de-Ville Street
Gatineau, Québec
J8X 4H7
Email: accessible-canada@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is given that the Administrator in Council, pursuant to subsections 91(1) and 117(1) of the Accessible Canada Act^{footnote a}, proposes to make the annexed Accessible Canada Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 65 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Marzieh Tafaghod, Director, Accessibility Implementation Division, Accessibility Secretariat, Employment and Social Development Canada, 105 rue De l'Hôtel-de-Ville, Gatineau, Quebec J8X 4H7 (email: accessible-canada@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca).

Ottawa, February 4, 2021

Julie Adair
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

Accessible Canada Regulations

Interpretation

Definitions

1 (1) The following definitions apply in these Regulations.

Act

means the Accessible Canada Act. (Loi)

employee

means any person employed by a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act and includes a dependent contractor as defined in subsection 3(1) of the Canada Labour Code, but excludes

• (a) a person employed under a program designated by the employer as a student employment program; and
• (b) a student employed solely during the student's vacation periods. (employé)

planning and reporting cycle

means a period of three consecutive years, during the first year of which a regulated entity is required to prepare and publish an accessibility plan under the Act and during each of the second and third years of which the regulated entity is required to prepare and publish a progress report under the Act. (cycle de planification)

WCAG

means the most recent version that is available in both English and French of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). (WCAG)

year

means a calendar year. (année)

Average number of employees — year

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, the average number of employees during a year is the sum of the number of employees at the time in each month during that year when the number of employees is the greatest, divided by 12 and rounded to the nearest whole number or, if the value is equidistant between two whole numbers, rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Average number of employees — planning and reporting cycle

(3) For the purposes of these Regulations, the average number of employees during a planning and reporting cycle is the sum of the average number of employees during each year of the planning and reporting cycle, divided by three and rounded to the nearest whole number or, if the value is equidistant between two whole numbers, rounded up to the nearest whole number.

PART 1

Planning, Feedback and Reporting

Exemptions

Fewer than 10 employees

2 (1) A regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act is exempt from the application of sections 47 to 49, 56 to 58, 65 to 67 and 69 to 71 of the Act if that entity has an average of fewer than 10 employees during the later of

• (a) the year before the year in which the entity's first planning and reporting cycle would have started but for this exemption, and
• (b) the year in which the regulated entity is established.

Decrease in number of employees

(2) A regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of fewer than 10 employees during a planning and reporting cycle is exempt from the application of sections 47 to 49, 56 to 58, 65 to 67 and 69 to 71 of the Act, effective the last day of the planning and reporting cycle.

Cessation of exemption

(3) An exemption under subsection (1) or (2) ceases to have effect during any year in which the regulated entity has an average of 10 employees or more.

Initial accessibility plan

(4) If a regulated entity is no longer exempted in accordance with subsection (3) and has never prepared and published an initial accessibility plan under subsection 47(1), 56(1), 65(1) or 69(1) of the Act, the day that initiates the one-year period referred to in any of those subsections is the later of

• (a) June 1 of the second year after the year in which these Regulations come into force, and
• (b) June 1 of the year after the first year in which the regulated entity has an average of 10 employees or more.

Updated plan

(5) A regulated entity that is no longer exempted in accordance with subsection (3) and that, before becoming exempt, completed at least one planning and reporting cycle for the purposes of subsection 47(2), 56(2), 65(2) or 69(2) of the Act must prepare and publish an updated version of its accessibility plan one year after June 1 of the year in which the entity has an average of 10 employees or more.

Band council

3 With respect to a band, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Indian Act, these Regulations apply to the following entities and persons, beginning on the fifth anniversary of the day on which they come into force:

• (a) the council of the band, as defined in that subsection; and
• (b) an entity or person — other than one that carries on a business — that carries on an undertaking that is not within the legislative authority of a province for or on behalf of the council of the band or on the band's reserve lands.

Accessibility Plans

Date for Preparation and Publication

Initial accessibility plan

4 (1) For the purposes of subsections 47(1), 56(1), 65(1) and 69(1) of the Act, the fixed date is

• (a) for a regulated entity described in any of paragraphs 7(1)(a) to (d) of the Act, December 31, 2021;
• (b) for a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 100 employees or more during the year in which these Regulations come into force, June 1, 2022; and
• (c) for a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 10 to 99 employees during the year in which these Regulations come into force, June 1, 2023.

New regulated entity — first year

(2) If a regulated entity is established or becomes subject to the Act during the first year after these Regulations come into force, the fixed date is June 1, 2023.

New regulated entity — later year

(3) If a regulated entity is established or becomes subject to the Act during the second year after the year in which these Regulations come into force or during any subsequent year, the fixed date for that entity is June 1 of the year following the year in which the entity is established or becomes subject to the Act.

Accessibility Plan

Language and headings

5 (1) An accessibility plan that is required by subsections 47(1) and (2), 56(1) and (2), 65(1) and (2), and 69(1) and (2) of the Act must be written in simple, clear and concise language and must include the following headings:

• (a) “General”;
• (b) a heading in respect of any area identified under paragraph 47(1)(a), 56(1)(a), 65(1)(a) or 69(1)(a) of the Act, as the case may be; and
• (c) “Consultations”.

“General” heading

(2) The information that is included under the heading “General” must include the manner by which the public can communicate with the regulated entity, namely the civic address of its places of business that is available to the public, a telephone number or an email address.

“Consultations” heading

(3) The information that is included under the heading “Consultations” must be drafted in accordance with subsection 47(5), 56(5), 65(5) or 69(5) of the Act, as the case may be.

Publication

6 (1) An accessibility plan must be published

• (a) in a format that meets the requirements for Level AA conformance that are set out in the WCAG;
• (b) on the main digital platform that the regulated entity owns, operates or controls and that it uses to communicate with the public; and
• (c) in a manner that makes the plan accessible on the digital platform either directly on the home screen or homepage or by way of a direct hyperlink from that home screen or homepage.

No public digital platform accessible to public

(2) A regulated entity that does not have a digital platform that is made available to the public must publish its accessibility plan by displaying a printed copy of the plan in a location where it is clearly visible and accessible to the public in the reception area or entrance of each of its places of business.

Notice to Accessibility Commissioner

7 Within 48 hours after its accessibility plan is published, a regulated entity must notify the Accessibility Commissioner of the publication by email or other electronic means and provide to the Accessibility Commissioner either the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or the addresses of the places of business where the plan is published.

Manner of request

8 (1) A request for an accessibility plan referred to in subsection 47(8), 56(8), 65(8) or 69(8) of the Act must be made to the regulated entity in a manner specified by the regulated entity and that it uses to communicate with the public.

Format

(2) A regulated entity must make its accessibility plan available, to a person who makes a request, in print, large print, braille, audio format or an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology and is intended to assist persons with disabilities.

Deadlines to obtain accessibility plan

(3) The accessibility plan must be provided to the person making a request as soon as feasible but, at the latest,

• (a) on the 15th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a regulated entity described in paragraphs 7(1)(a) to (d) of the Act;
• (b) on the 15th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 100 employees or more during the year preceding the day of the request;
• (c) on the 20th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 10 to 99 employees during the year preceding the day of the request; or
• (d) on the 45th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a request for braille or audio format.

Feedback

Simple, clear, concise language

9 (1) A regulated entity must ensure that a description of its feedback process established under subsection 48(1), 57(1), 66(1) or 70(1) of the Act is written in simple, clear and concise language.

Feedback process

(2) A regulated entity must ensure that its feedback process allows a person to provide feedback anonymously and in any manner by which the entity communicates with the public.

Acknowledgment of feedback

(3) The regulated entity must acknowledge receipt of feedback, unless it is received anonymously, in the same manner in which it was received.

Publication

10 (1) For the purposes of subsections 48(2), 57(2), 66(2) and 70(2) of the Act, the description of a regulated entity's feedback process must be published

• (a) in a format that meets the requirements for Level AA conformance that are set out in the WCAG;
• (b) on the main digital platform that the regulated entity owns, operates or controls and that it uses to communicate with the public;
• (c) in a manner that makes the description accessible on the digital platform either directly on the home screen or homepage or by way of a direct hyperlink from that home screen or homepage; and
• (d) at the same time as the regulated entity publishes its initial accessibility plan under subsection 47(1), 56(1), 65(1) or 69(1) of the Act.

No public digital platform accessible to public

(2) A regulated entity that does not have a digital platform that is made available to the public, must publish a description of its feedback process by displaying a printed copy of the description in a location where it is clearly visible and accessible to the public in the reception area or entrance of each of its places of business.

Amendment of feedback process

11 If a regulated entity amends its feedback process it must publish a description of the new process in accordance with section 10.

Notice to Accessibility Commissioner

12 Within 48 hours after a description of its feedback process is published, a regulated entity must notify the Accessibility Commissioner of the publication by email or other electronic means and provide to the Accessibility Commissioner either the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or the addresses of the places of business where the description is published.

Progress Reports

Timeline

13 A progress report that is required by subsections 49(1), 58(1), 67(1) and 71(1) of the Act must be prepared and published by

• (a) the first anniversary of the day of publication of an accessibility plan; and
• (b) the second anniversary of the day of publication of an accessibility plan.

Language and headings

14 (1) A progress report must be written in simple, clear and concise language and must include the following headings:

• (a) “General”;
• (b) a heading in respect of any area identified under paragraph 47(1)(a), 56(1)(a), 65(1)(a) or 69(1)(a) of the Act, as the case may be;
• (c) “Consultations”; and
• (d) “Feedback”.

“General” heading

(2) The information that is included under the heading “General” must include the manner by which the public can communicate with the regulated entity, namely the civic address of its principal place of business that is available to the public, a telephone number or an email address.

“Consultations” heading

(3) The information that is included under the heading “Consultations” must be drafted in accordance with subsection 49(4), 58(4), 67(4) or 71(4) of the Act, as the case may be.

“Feedback” heading

(4) The information that is included under the heading “Feedback” must be drafted in accordance with subsection 49(5), 58(5), 67(5) or 71(5) of the Act, as the case may be.

Publication

15 (1) A progress report must be published

• (a) in a format that meets the requirements of Level AA conformance that are set out in the WCAG;
• (b) on the main digital platform that the regulated entity owns, operates or controls and that it uses to communicate with the public; and
• (c) in a manner that makes it accessible on the digital platform either directly on the home screen or homepage or by way of a direct hyperlink from that home screen or homepage.

No public digital platform accessible to the public

(2) A regulated entity that does not have a digital platform that is made available to the public must publish each of its progress reports by displaying a printed copy of the report in a location where it is clearly visible and accessible to the public in the reception area or entrance of each of its places of business.

Notice to Accessibility Commissioner

16 Within 48 hours after its progress report is published, a regulated entity must notify the Accessibility Commissioner of the publication by email or other electronic means and provide to the Accessibility Commissioner either the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) or the addresses of the places of business where the report is published.

Manner of request

17 (1) A request for a progress report referred to in subsection 49(7), 58(7), 67(7) or 71(7) of the Act must be made to the regulated entity in a manner specified by the regulated entity and that it uses to communicate with the public.

Format

(2) A regulated entity must make its progress report available, to a person who makes a request, in print, large print, braille, audio format or an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology and is intended to assist persons with disabilities.

Deadlines to obtain progress report

(3) The progress report must be provided to the person making a request as soon as feasible but, at the latest

• (a) on the 15th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a regulated entity described in paragraphs 7(1)(a) to (d) of the Act;
• (b) on the 15th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of a regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 100 or more employees during the year preceding the day of the request;
• (c) on the 20th day after that day on which the request is received, in the case of regulated entity described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of 10 to 99 employees during the year preceding the day of the request; or
• (d) on the 45th day after that day on which the request is received in the case of a request for braille or audio format.

Document Retention and Provision

Document retention

18 (1) A regulated entity that prepares and publishes accessibility plans, descriptions of its feedback process and progress reports in accordance with these Regulations must

• (a) retain each plan, description and report on its digital platform that is accessible to the public for a period of six years after the day on which the plan, description or report is published; and
• (b) retain an archived electronic copy of each plan, description and report for a period of one year after the period referred to in paragraph (a).

No public digital platform

(2) A regulated entity that does not have a digital platform that is made available to the public must retain an electronic copy and a print copy of each plan, description and report for a period of seven years after the day on which the plan, description or report, as the case may be, was published.

Feedback

19 A regulated entity must retain an electronic copy or print copy of any feedback it receives under section 9 for a period of seven years after the day on which it is received.

PART 2

Service of Documents

Individual

Service

20 Service of any notice or order made under the Act or the Regulations on an individual named in the notice or order may be made

• (a) personally, by leaving a copy of it with the individual at any place, or if it is impracticable to find the individual, with someone who appears to be an adult member of the same household at the individual's last known address or usual place of residence;
• (b) by sending a copy of it by registered mail or courier to the individual's last known address or usual place of residence; or
• (c) by sending a copy of it to the individual by fax, email or other electronic means.

Regulated Entity

Service

21 Service of any notice or order made under the Act or the Regulations on a regulated entity may be made by

• (a) leaving a copy of it at the entity's head office or place of business with its agent or mandatary or with an officer or other individual who appears to be in control of or to manage the head office or place of business;
• (b) sending a copy of it by registered mail or courier to the head office or place of business of the entity or its agent or mandatary; or
• (c) sending a copy of it by fax, email or other electronic means to any individual referred to in paragraph (a).

Copy of notice or order

22 If a notice or order is sent by fax, email or other electronic means, a copy of the notice or order must be sent either by registered mail or courier within 48 hours after the original transmission.

Date of Service

Date of service — signature

23 (1) If a certificate of service of a notice or order states that the notice or order was served on an entity or person named in the certificate and states the means of service, the individual who signs the certificate is deemed to have served the notice or order on that entity or person on the date that is determined under subsection (2).

Date of deemed service

(2) A notice or order served in accordance with section 20 or 21 is deemed to have been served

• (a) in the case of service made under paragraph 20(a), on the day on which it is left with the person or other person;
• (b) if it is sent by registered mail or courier on the 10th day after the date indicated on the receipt issued by the post office or courier; and
• (c) if it is sent by fax, email or other electronic means, on the day it is sent.

PART 3

Administrative Monetary Penalties

Definition of small business

24 For the purposes of this Part and Schedule 2, small business means a regulated entity referred to in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the Act that has an average of fewer than 100 employees during the year before the year in which it is served with a notice of violation under the Act or, if the regulated entity has been established for less than one year, fewer than 100 employees on the day on which the notice of violation is issued.

Classification

25 A violation related to a provision that is set out in column 1 of a Part of Schedule 1 is classified as a minor, serious or very serious violation as set out in column 2 of that Part.

Penalty range

26 (1) The range of penalties in respect of a violation within a classification set out in column 1 of a Part of Schedule 2 that is committed by a person, a small business or a regulated entity that is not a small business is set out in column 2 of that Part for a first violation, in column 3 for a second violation, in column 4 for a third violation and in column 5 for a fourth or subsequent violation.

Prior violations

(2) For the purposes of subsection (1), only prior violations that the regulated entity or person is deemed or determined to have committed during the five years before the day on which the notice of violation is served are taken into account.

Determining penalty amount

27 (1) The amount of the penalty is determined by the formula

((A − B) × C/28) + B

where

A

is the maximum amount in the applicable range of penalties set out in column 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the applicable Part of Schedule 2;

B

is the minimum amount in the applicable range of penalties set out in column 2, 3, 4 or 5 of the applicable Part of Schedule 2; and

C

is the gravity value.

Gravity value

(2) Subject to subsection (3), for the purpose of subsection (1), the gravity value is the sum of the values from the gravity scale set out in column 2 of the table to this subsection that are ascribed to each of the applicable criteria set out in column 1. A lower or negative gravity value reflects a mitigating factor, while a higher or positive gravity value reflects an aggravating factor.

TABLE

Item	Column 1 Criteria	Column 2 Gravity Scale
1	The degree of negligence of the regulated entity or person	0 to 4
2	The degree of harm that resulted or could have resulted from the violation	0 to 4
3	The degree to which the regulated entity or person derived any competitive or economic benefit from the violation	0 to 4
4	The level of effort made by the regulated entity or person to change the corporate culture or attitude toward accessibility	-2 to 4
5	The level of effort made by the regulated entity or person to mitigate or reverse the violation's effects	-2 to 4
6	The manner in which the violation was brought to the attention of the Accessibility Commissioner	-2 to 4
7	The degree of assistance that the regulated entity or person provided to the Accessibility Commissioner	-2 to 4

Zero gravity value

(3) If the gravity value would, but for this subsection, be a negative amount, it is deemed to be zero.

Lesser amount

28 (1) For the purposes of subparagraph 79(1)(b)(iii) of the Act, the lesser amount that may be paid in complete satisfaction of the penalty is an amount equal to 90% of the penalty if paid within 15 days after the day on which the notice of violation is served.

Day of payment

(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), an amount is deemed to be paid

• (a) if sent by electronic means, on the day indicated by the electronic system used by the Accessibility Commissioner for the purpose of receiving electronic payments;
• (b) if sent by regular mail, on the day indicated on the postmark stamped on the envelope, or if no postmark is legible, on the day on which the Accessibility Commissioner receives the amount; or
• (c) if sent by registered mail or courier, on the day indicated on the receipt issued by the post office or the courier.

PART 4

Coming into Force

Registration

29 These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

SCHEDULE 1

(Section 25)

Classification of Violations

PART 1

Accessible Canada Act

Item	Column 1 Provision	Column 2 Classification
1	47(1)	Minor
2	47(2)	Minor
3	47(3)	Minor
4	47(4)	Minor
5	47(7)	Minor
6	48(1)	Minor
7	48(2)	Minor
8	48(3)	Minor
9	49(1)	Minor
10	49(2)	Minor
11	49(3)	Minor
12	49(6)	Minor
13	56(1)	Minor
14	56(2)	Minor
15	56(3)	Minor
16	56(4)	Minor
17	56(7)	Minor
18	57(1)	Minor
19	57(2)	Minor
20	57(3)	Minor
21	58(1)	Minor
22	58(2)	Minor
23	58(3)	Minor
24	58(6)	Minor
25	65(1)	Minor
26	65(2)	Minor
27	65(3)	Minor
28	65(4)	Minor
29	65(7)	Minor
30	66(1)	Minor
31	66(2)	Minor
32	66(3)	Minor
33	67(1)	Minor
34	67(2)	Minor
35	67(3)	Minor
36	67(6)	Minor
37	69(1)	Minor
38	69(2)	Minor
39	69(3)	Minor
40	69(4)	Minor
41	69(7)	Minor
42	70(1)	Minor
43	70(2)	Minor
44	70(3)	Minor
45	71(1)	Minor
46	71(2)	Minor
47	71(3)	Minor
48	71(6)	Minor
49	73(8)	Serious
50	124	Very serious
51	125	Very serious
52	126	Very serious

PART 2

Orders Made or Amended Under the Accessible Canada Act

Item	Column 1 Provision	Column 2 Classification
1	73(2)(i)	Serious
2	73(2)(j)	Serious
3	73(2)(k)	Serious
4	73(2)(l)	Serious
5	74	Serious
6	75(1)	Serious
7	76(4)	Serious

PART 3

Accessible Canada Regulations

Item	Column 1 Provision	Column 2 Classification
1	9(2)	Minor
2	9(3)	Minor
3	18(1)	Minor
4	18(2)	Minor
5	19	Minor

SCHEDULE 2

(Subsections 26(1) and 27(1))

Penalties

PART 1

Range of Penalties — Person

Item	Column 1 Classification	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
		Range of Penalties ($)
		First Violation	Second Violation	Third Violation	Fourth or Subsequent Violation
1	Minor	250 to 2,500	2,500 to 6,250	6,250 to 12,500	12,500 to 18,750
2	Serious	2,500 to 6,250	6,250 to 12,500	12,500 to 25,000	25,000 to 37,500
3	Very serious	6,250 to 12,500	12,500 to 25,000	25,000 to 37,500	37,500 to 62,500

PART 2

Range of Penalties — Small Business

Item	Column 1 Classification	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
		Range of Penalties ($)
		First Violation	Second Violation	Third Violation	Fourth or Subsequent Violation
1	Minor	500 to 5,000	5,000 to 12,500	12,500 to 25,000	25,000 to 37,500
2	Serious	5,000 to 12,500	12,500 to 25,000	25,000 to 50,000	50,000 to 75,000
3	Very serious	12,500 to 25,000	25,000 to 50,000	50,000 to 75,000	75,000 to 125,000

PART 3

Range of Penalties — Regulated Entity that is not a Small Business

Item	Column 1 Classification	Column 2	Column 3	Column 4	Column 5
		Range of Penalties ($)
		First Violation	Second Violation	Third Violation	Fourth or Subsequent Violation
1	Minor	1,000 to 10,000	10,000 to 25,000	25,000 to 50,000	50,000 to 75,000
2	Serious	10,000 to 25,000	25,000 to 50,000	50,000 to 100,000	100,000 to 150,000
3	Very serious	25,000 to 50,000	50,000 to 100,000	100,000 to 150,000	150,000 to 250,000