December 21, 2022. Publication of "Questions and Answers"

Background and Purpose of this Request for Information (RFI)

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is starting to develop the next set of regulations under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). These regulations would deal with removing barriers and improving accessibility in the area of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT).

ICT covers all the things we use to communicate and do business in the digital world. New ICT accessibility regulations made under the ACA would apply to federally regulated entities. This includes sectors like banking, pipelines and the Government of Canada itself. Sectors like retail, health, education and manufacturing usually come under provincial or territorial jurisdiction. Regulations made under the ACA would generally not apply to them.

The first step in the process is conducting early consultations with stakeholders. While ICT suppliers are generally not federally regulated entities, they provide ICT products and services to federally regulated entities.

Through this Request for Information (RFI), the Accessible Canada Directorate, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and its partner departments are seeking to understand vendors’/suppliers’ readiness toward any international ICT standards, the challenges to meeting those standards, as well as the impact those standards have on the disability community.

ESDC is also seeking vendors’/suppliers’ feedback on their experience with international accessible ICT standards and/or ICT procurement tool kits.

Please see attached documents for a complete description.