On this page

• Overview
• Simple, clear and concise language
• Conformance to WCAG 2.1 at Level AA
• Where to publish your feedback process descriptions
• When to publish your feedback process descriptions
• Exemptions
• Notifying the Accessibility Commissioner and other authorities
• Amending the feedback process
• Requests for alternate formats of your feedback process description
• Retaining copies of your feedback process description

Overview

Remember: The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) and the Accessible Canada Regulations (regulations) require that you publish a description of your feedback process.

The ACA and its regulations do not specify minimum or maximum lengths for your feedback process description.

Your feedback process description must meet certain requirements set in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Specifically, it must meet the requirements for Level AA conformance in the most recent WCAG available in both French and English, which is presently WCAG 2.1.

You can also consult the Digital Accessibility Toolkit and the Canada.ca Content Style Guide for recommendations on creating accessible documents.

Simple, clear and concise language

The regulations require that you publish your accessibility plans, progress reports, and descriptions of your feedback process in language that is simple, clear, and concise. Doing so will ensure that they are easy to read and understand.

This means that, when possible, you should:

• keep your sentences short and direct
• avoid or reduce the use of technical words or industry jargon
• be consistent in what words and phrases you use to describe things

In short, someone who knows nothing about your organization or its work should be able to understand the feedback process description's contents.

Additional guidance on the use of simple, clear and concise language will be available in the coming months.

Conformance to WCAG 2.1 at Level AA

The digital version of your feedback process description must fulfill certain requirements set in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). Specifically, it must meet the requirements for Level AA conformance set out in the most recent WCAG version available in both French and English. This is currently WCAG 2.1.

Note: Level AA conformance means that the digital platform satisfies all the Level A and Level AA success criteria. Whenever your organization amends the digital version of your feedback process description, the amended version must also meet these requirements.

Where to publish your feedback process descriptions

You must publish your description on the main digital platform that you own, operate, or control, and that you use to communicate with the public.

Whatever digital platform you use, you must either:

• publish the description on that platform’s homepage or home screen, or
• provide a hyperlink on that platform’s homepage or home screen that leads to the description

Whichever you choose, you should display the description or the link leading to it in a way that is prominent and easily findable. For example, you could place it near your latest accessibility plan and progress report on your homepage or home screen. You do not have to publish your description and your plan in the same document.

If your organization does not have a digital platform, you must print a copy of your description and display it with your accessibility plan. You must display these documents in the reception area or entrance of each of your organization’s places of business. The documents must be clearly visible and accessible to the public.

When to publish your feedback process descriptions

Remember: you must publish a description of your feedback process at the same time that you publish your first accessibility plan. This does not mean that you must include the description and the plan in the same document.

Regulated entities must publish their first accessibility plans within 1 year (12 months) after the day fixed in the regulations. The dates fixed in the Accessible Canada Regulations produce the following deadlines for publishing initial accessibility plans and feedback process descriptions:

• federal government entities, including departments, agencies, Crown corporations, or government-related entities such as the Canadian Forces or Parliamentary entities: by December 31, 2022
• federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 100 or more employees: by June 1, 2023
• federally regulated private sector entities with an average of between 10 and 99 employees: by June 1, 2024

Read subsections 1(2) and 1(3) of the regulations to learn how to calculate your average number of employees. You can also consult the Accessibility web pages of the CHRC’s web site for examples of these calculations.

Note: The deadlines above apply to regulated entities that are not exempt, and that existed and were subject to the ACA during 2021. The regulations fix different dates determining initial accessibility plan deadlines for regulated entities that were once exempt, but are no longer exempt. They also fix different dates determining initial accessibility plan deadlines for entities that came into existence after the regulations went into force.

Such entities must also publish their initial accessibility plan within 1 year (12 months) after the day fixed in the regulations. They must also publish their feedback process descriptions at the same time that they publish their initial accessibility plans. Consult sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the regulations to determine the deadlines for such entities.

Regulated entities must also publish a new description of their feedback process, as soon as is feasible, whenever they change the feedback process itself.

Exemptions

Not all organizations to which the ACA and its regulations apply need to publish a description of their feedback process. The regulations set out the details of these exemptions:

• exemptions for organizations described in paragraph 7(1)(e) or (f) of the ACA, and that have an average of fewer than 10 employees
• exemptions for First Nations Band Councils, applying for a period of 5 years from the day (December 13, 2021) that the regulations came into force

Notifying the Accessibility Commissioner and other authorities

Your organization must notify the Accessibility Commissioner within 48 hours of publishing any version of your feedback process description. The Accessibility Commissioner is a member of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC).

You must send your notification messages to the Accessibility Commissioner by email or other electronic means. Each message must include the URL, hyperlink, or physical address(es) of where you have posted your description. You must send a notification message whenever you publish an amended version of your feedback process description as well.

Remember: the regulations require that you publish the description of your organization’s feedback process at the same time as you publish your initial accessibility plan. You must still notify the Accessibility Commissioner about both documents. You may send a separate notification message for each document, or send both notifications in a single message. Remember to include the appropriate URLs, hyperlinks or physical addresses for both documents.

Read the guidance section on the notification responsibilities of entities that also report to the CRTC or the CTA.

Amending the feedback process

If you amend your organization’s feedback process, you must publish a description of the new version of the process as soon as feasible. You can change your feedback process, and amend your description, at any time.

Requests for alternate formats of your feedback process description

The regulations say that you must make a copy of your feedback process description available in the following formats upon request:

• print
• large print (larger and clearer font)
• Braille (a system of raised dots that people who are blind or who have low vision can read with their fingers)
• audio (a recording of someone reading the text out loud)
• electronic (an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology that is intended to assist persons with disabilities)

People may submit these requests using the contact information you include under the “General” heading in your accessibility plans or progress reports. You could retain electronic or print copies of such requests in the same way that you must retain copies of feedback.

You must fulfil these requests as soon as is feasible, and no later than the deadlines below. These deadlines depend on the size and sector of the entity, as well as the type of format someone requests.

• For print, large print, and electronic formats:
  • federal government entities, including departments, agencies, Crown corporations, or government-related entities such as the Canadian Forces or Parliamentary entities: within 15 days after the day you received the request
  • federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 100 or more employees: within 15 days after the day you received the request
  • federally regulated private sector entities with an average of 99 or fewer employees: within 20 days after the day you received the request
• For braille or audio formats:
  • all entities: within 45 days after the day your received the request

Read subsections 1(2) and 1(3) of the regulations to learn how to calculate your average number of employees. You can also consult the Accessibility Commissioner’s website for examples of these calculations.

Retaining copies of your feedback process description

• a period of 7 years beginning on the day on which you publish the description, or
• a period beginning on the day on which you publish the description, and ending on the day on which you publish a new description

If you have a digital platform that is accessible to the public, you must retain the description on that platform. If you do not have such a platform, you must retain an electronic or print copy of the description that is accessible to the public.

Remember: your organization must also keep an electronic or print copy of any feedback you receive for 7 years from the day you receive it. You must also comply with any applicable privacy laws or regulations, such as the Privacy Act or the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act.