Which accessibility obligations touch employee training in Canada?

Who has to provide accessibility training in Ontario?

Section 7(1) of the Integrated Accessibility Standards requires every obligated organization to provide training on the requirements of the accessibility standards in the regulation and on the Human Rights Code as it applies to persons with disabilities. The audience is set by the same section: every employee and volunteer, every person who takes part in developing the organization's policies, and every other person who provides goods, services or facilities on the organization's behalf.

Section 7(2) requires the training to be appropriate to the duties of the people trained. Section 7(4) adds an ongoing duty: training on any change to the policies described in s. 3 of the regulation.

Which training records does the Ontario regulation require?

Section 7(5) names who keeps records and what they contain. The Government of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly, every designated public sector organization and every large organization keep a record of the training provided under s. 7, including the dates it was provided and the number of individuals it was provided to.

A large organization is defined in s. 2 as an organization with 50 or more employees in Ontario, other than the Government of Ontario, the Legislative Assembly or a designated public sector organization. A smaller private organization has the training duty in s. 7(1) but is not named in s. 7(5).

Does the training platform itself have to be accessible?

Section 14(2) requires designated public sector organizations and large organizations to make their internet websites and web content conform to WCAG 2.0, initially at Level A and increasing to Level AA. The schedule in s. 14(4) reaches Level AA for all internet websites and web content by January 1, 2021, with the two success criteria listed in that subsection excepted. Whether a training platform used by staff falls under that section depends on how it is deployed, which is a question for counsel.

In Quebec, the Standard sur l'accessibilité des sites Web, SGQRI 008 3.0, came into force on April 29, 2024. It applies to the public bodies covered by s. 2 of the Act respecting the governance and management of the information resources of public bodies and government enterprises. It is based on WCAG 2.1 at Level AA, with selected criteria from WCAG 2.2, and its definition of a website includes intranet and extranet sites. The standard does not state that it applies to private-sector organizations.

What does the Accessible Canada Act require of federal employers?

The Accessible Canada Act applies to the entities and persons listed in s. 7(1): entities named in Schedules I to V of the Financial Administration Act, Crown corporations, designated portions of the federal public administration, the Canadian Forces, and any person or organization that operates a work, undertaking or business within the legislative authority of Parliament. Regulated entities prepare and publish accessibility plans and related progress reports under ss. 42 and following.

The text of the Act, as read on the access date, contains no provision on employee training records. The training-record duty on this page comes from the Ontario regulation, not from the federal statute.

How does EmbayLMS handle this?

EmbayLMS records the date of every completion and reports completions per course, so the two elements s. 7(5) names, the dates and the number of people trained, are read from the transcript rather than counted by hand. Training on policy changes is handled as a new assignment to the affected group. This page does not make a conformance claim for the platform itself; ask for the current accessibility information before relying on it for an obligation under s. 14.

This page summarizes statutory provisions in general terms as they read on the access date given for each source. It is not legal advice, and it does not state what the law requires of your organization. Consult a lawyer about your own obligations before you rely on it.