Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, is leading a consultation process that will inform the development of new accessibility legislation. As part of the process, there will be public consultations online and in-person which includes a National Youth Forum between now and February 2017.

Consulting with Canadians on planned accessibility legislation

Canadians, communities and workplaces benefit when everyone can participate equally in everyday life. There has been much progress in making our society more inclusive, but we can do better.

This is why the Government of Canada is committed to developing new planned accessibility legislation to promote equality of opportunity and increase the inclusion and participation of Canadians who have disabilities or functional limitations.

Many Canadians continue to face barriers that affect their ability to participate in daily activities that most people take for granted. These could include:

• physical and architectural barriers that impede the ability to move freely in the built environment, use public transportation, access information or use technology;
• attitudes, beliefs and misconceptions that some people may have about people with disabilities and what they can and cannot do; and
• outdated policies and practices that do not take into account the varying abilities and disabilities that people may have.

In developing this new legislation, the Government of Canada is consulting Canadians both in person and online.

The Government of Canada is seeking your ideas to inform the development of this planned new legislation, including:

• feedback on the overall goal and approach;
• whom it should cover;
• what accessibility issues and barriers it should address;
• how it could be monitored and enforced;
• when or how often it should be reviewed;
• how and when to report to Canadians on its implementation; and
• how to raise accessibility awareness more generally and support organisations in improving accessibility.

The public consultation will be open until February 2017 and information on viewpoints received will be made available after the consultation is closed.

Canadians are encouraged to visit this site often and explore what’s new.

Click here to find out how to participate!

National Youth Forum

This fall, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, will host a one-day national forum for youth with disabilities and youth who have life experience, work experience or academic experience related to disability. The event is part of the Government of Canada’s consultation process to inform the development of planned accessibility legislation.

This is your opportunity to:

• join other youth from across the country and share your ideas on how to improve accessibility and inclusion for people with disabilities in Canada;
• showcase what you have done to remove barriers for people with disabilities; and
• inspire other youth to demonstrate their leadership in promoting the participation of all Canadians in society, including those with disabilities.

The forum will take place on November (TBC), 2016 in Ottawa, Ontario. The date and location of the Forum will be confirmed with participants who are selected. Travel and accommodation expenses for selected participants will be paid, according to Treasury Board of Canada guidelines.

Seats are limited, so see if you meet the participant selection criteria below, and send us your application by September 15, 2016. In order to ensure a broad representation of perspectives, the selection process will take into consideration regional, linguistic, gender and other demographic factors.

We also encourage you to participate in the consultation in other ways—either by attending one of the in-person public sessions or through the online consultation website.

Click here for the National Youth Forum criteria and application!