In 2022, approximately 8 million Canadians aged 15 years or older reported living with disabilities that limit their daily activities. As individual groups, women, seniors and Indigenous peoples report some of the highest rates of disability. Therefore, the legislation and policies that aim to support various people who live with disabilities have an impact on many Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
In force since 11 July 2019, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) sets out the framework that guides efforts to make Canada barrier-free in areas under federal jurisdiction. The term “barrier” is defined in the ACA as including “anything … that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.”
The ACA builds on an existing human rights framework encompassing anti-discrimination legislation, other federal legislation with disability-related provisions enacted across several policy areas, and the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. While progress has been made, concerns remain, particularly regarding the pace of ACA implementation, the continued existence of barriers to accessing certain government programs and services, and the way in which implementation and enforcement are split across different organizations designated under the ACA. The fragmented nature of protections across provincial and territorial jurisdictions, where accessibility laws and policies differ, has also been noted.
Accessibility Rights Framework
Accessible Canada Act and Regulations
The ACA aims to achieve a barrier-free Canada by 1 January 2040, through the identification, removal and prevention of barriers to accessibility in prescribed areas under federal jurisdiction. These prescribed areas include:
- employment;
- built environment (including buildings and public spaces);
- information and communication technologies;
- other communication (including the use of American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language and Indigenous sign languages);
- procurement of goods, services and facilities;
- design and delivery of programs and services; and
- transportation (including air, rail, road and marine transportation providers that cross provincial or international borders).
The ACA requires that federally regulated entities publish accessibility plans, set up processes to address the feedback received on implementing these plans and issue progress reports. Implementation details are set out in the following regulations made under the ACA:
- the Accessible Canada Regulations;
- the Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations; and
- the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission Accessibility Reporting Regulations.
In addition, the ACA has created the position of Chief Accessibility Officer who is a special, independent advisor to a minister designated by the Governor in Council. This person is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the results achieved under the ACA and on systemic or emerging accessibility issues. The ACA has also created the departmental corporation known as Accessibility Standards Canada which develops standards for accessibility, among its other responsibilities.
Responsibility for enforcing the ACA and its regulations is shared among three organizations:
1) the Accessibility Commissioner to the Canadian Human Rights Commission;
2) the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission; and
3) the Canadian Transportation Agency.
The Federal Public Sector Labour Relations and Employment Board, along with the three organizations noted above, handle accessibility complaints.
Federal Anti-Discrimination Legislation
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter) is embedded in the Constitution Act, 1982. Under its equality rights provision, the Charter guarantees “equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination,” based on grounds that include mental or physical disability. As the Charter applies to all government action across all Canadian jurisdictions, governments are prohibited from discriminating based on these grounds through their laws and/or programs, subject only to such reasonable limits as can be justified in a free and democratic society. The Charter also permits proactive measures aimed at ameliorating the conditions of disadvantaged individuals or groups, including those who have mental or physical disabilities.
Canadian Human Rights Act
The Canadian Human Rights Act (CHRA) protects people from discriminatory practices based on prohibited grounds of discrimination, such as disability, when they are employed by or receive services from entities under federal jurisdiction. The CHRA defines “disability” as “any previous or existing mental or physical disability and includes disfigurement and previous or existing dependence on alcohol or a drug.”
Discriminatory practices prohibited under the CHRA include denying someone goods, services, facilities or accommodation, and pursuing policies or practices that deprive people of employment opportunities, based on a prohibited ground of discrimination. Employers and service providers have a duty to accommodate individuals who are protected under the CHRA in order to avoid discrimination; they are exempt from this duty, for example, if a bona fide occupational requirement or justification exists. In this case, it must be established that an accommodation would impose undue hardship on the employer or service provider, considering factors such as health, safety and cost. Organizations that fulfil accessibility requirements under the ACA could still face discrimination complaints under the CHRA.
Figure 1 – Other Federal Legislation with Disability-Related Provisions
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In 2010, Canada ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention requires each state party to enact national laws to prevent discrimination, eliminate barriers to accessibility, and promote the capabilities and contributions of people who live with disabilities.
On 3 December 2018, with the support of all the provinces and territories, Canada acceded to the Convention’s accompanying Optional Protocol, which establishes procedures to strengthen the implementation of the Convention.
Additional Resources
Finlay, Brittany et al. Disability Policy in Canada: Provincial and Territorial Report, January 2025.
Mason, Robert. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: The Development of the Supreme Court of Canada’s Approach to Equality Rights Under the Charter, Publication No. 2013-83-E, Library of Parliament, 30 August 2024.
Mason, Robert, and Laura Munn-Rivard. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities: An Overview, Publication No. 2013-09-E, Library of Parliament, 25 November 2021.
Mason, Robert, Julia Nicol and Julian Walker. An Examination of the Duty to Accommodate in the Canadian Human Rights Context, Publication No. 2012-01-E, Library of Parliament, 1 December 2020.
Naef, Brendan and Mayra Perez-Leclerc. Legislative Summary of Bill C-81: An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, Publication No. 42-1-C81-E, Library of Parliament, 27 June 2019.
Statistics Canada. Canadian Survey on Disability, 2022.
By Mayra Perez-Leclerc, Library of Parliament
Categories: Law, justice and rights, Social affairs and population