In 2019, the Government of Canada passed a new law called the Accessible Canada Act. There is also a plain language version of this law. The Accessible Canada Act’s goal is to create a country without barriers for all people – especially people with disabilities. The law applies to programs and services that the federal government controls. The law focuses on barriers in seven main areas. One of these areas is communication.
Having a law is the first step to creating an accessible Canada. The next step is to create Accessibility Standards. Accessibility Standards are rules that help organizations find and remove barriers.
The federal government gave funding to community groups to help them with this work. For the past three years, Inclusion Canada, People First of Canada and the CAMH Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre have been exploring ways to make information more accessible for people with intellectual disabilities and their families. We’re excited to share what we’ve learned with the Government of Canada and with you!
Read the Plain Language Research Report we prepared for the Government of Canada. It talks about barriers and best practices for accessible communication for people with intellectual disabilities. The full report is available in Plain English and Plain French.
See an Easy Read version of the Recommendations from this project. This Easy Read is available in English and French.
Read the Best Practice Info Sheets. These 5 documents explain how to use Easy Read documents, videos, audio, images, and more to make information accessible to people with intellectual disabilities.
- Best Practices for Easy Read available in English and French.
- Best Practices for Videos available in English and French.
- Best Practices for Audio Resources available in English and French.
- Best Practices for Participation Guides available in English and French.
- Best Practices for Using Images available in English and French.
This project received financial support from Accessible Standards Canada.