Ep. 22: The State of Accessibility in Canada — Part 1

Accessibility is a single word that can have a lot of impact. Every day in Canada, indeed across North America and in countries around the world, many people — especially people who have a disability — face challenges in their daily lives because the built environment we all live in, generally isn’t all that accessible.

We mark National AccessAbility Week 2024 in Canada with this episode that’s part one in a two-part series on accessibility. When things are accessible, everyone benefits — emphasis on “when.”

It’s been almost five years since the Accessible Canada Act came into force, with the goal of making Canada totally barrier free by January 1, 2040. Just what is the current state of accessibility in Canada of products, of services, of places? And will we become a truly barrier-free country over the next 16 years?

That’s what we’re exploring in this episode — think of it as a report card on the overall state of accessibility in Canada.

For this high-level barometric reading, we turned to three of the top voices on accessibility in Canada.

Listen to this engaging conversation with:

• Stephanie Cadieux, Chief Accessibility Officer of Canada
• Brad McCannell, Vice-President of Access and Inclusion at the Rick Hansen Foundation
• Lawyer and disability advocate Lorin MacDonald, who is recognized as one of Canada’s disability leaders and is highly regarded by the human rights legal community

SHOW NOTES

• Everyone’s Business: Accessibility in Canada — Report from the Chief Accessibility Officer, 2023
• Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility CertificationTM (RHFAC) Program
• Summary of the Accessible Canada Act
• Episode 22 transcript (PDF)