1.1 Process for receiving and dealing with accessibility-related feedback
The Accessible Canada Act (the Act) and the Accessible Canada Regulations require federally regulated entities, including VAC, to establish a process for receiving and dealing with accessibility-related feedback.
Feedback on accessibility can include your thoughts on:
- the implementation of VAC’s Accessibility Action Plan
- accessibility barriers at VAC
- how accessibility barriers at VAC can be prevented and/or removed
- accessibility best practices or success stories related to accessibility at VAC
An accessibility barrier is anything that does not allow persons with disabilities to be included and take part in all areas of life and society. Barriers prevent persons with disabilities from taking part in the same way that persons without disabilities can. The Act identifies five types of accessibility barriers:
- physical or architectural
- technological
- related to information and communications
- attitudinal
- systemic
How to provide your feedback
Feedback for Veterans Affairs Canada
Please send questions or feedback related to the Department’s Accessibility Action Plan, or accessibility at VAC in general, in one of the following ways:
Email:
Phone:
Toll-free: 1-866-522-2122
TDD/TTY: 1-833-921-0071
Mail:
Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Services Branch
Veterans Affairs Canada
PO Box 7700
Charlottetown PE C1A 8M9
Attention: Director General, Human Resources
Online:
Through the anonymous feedback form on the VAC website.
Feedback for the Bureau of Pensions Advocates (BPA)
Please send your questions or feedback related to the accessibility of BPA’s service in one of the following ways:
Email:
Phone:
Mail:
Bureau of Pensions Advocates Accessibility Feedback
P.O. Box 7700
Charlottetown, PE C1A 8M9
Online:
Through the anonymous feedback form on the VAC website.
Please note that all feedback will be acknowledged in the same manner it was received (e.g. an email response to an email message), unless it was provided anonymously. Your feedback will be used to improve accessibility at VAC. We may address some feedback right away, or use it to develop future accessibility plans. We will include your feedback and how we used it in our progress reports.
Alternate formats
Note that you can use the contact information above to request the following documents in alternate formats:
- VAC’s Accessibility Action Plan
- VAC’s description of its accessibility-related feedback process
- annual progress reports on the implementation of VAC’s Accessibility Action Plan and how feedback is being taken into consideration
Alternate formats include:
- large print (increased font size and clarity)
- 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)
1.2 Introduction message
On 11 July 2019, the Accessible Canada Act (Bill C-81) came into force. The Act seeks to make Canada barrier-free by 1 January 2040.
The Act has a number of guiding principles, including that:
- Everyone must be treated with dignity.
- Everyone must be able to participate fully and equally in society.
- Persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services, and structures.
The Act also requires federally regulated entities to develop an Accessibility Action Plan to identify, remove, and prevent accessibility barriers under federal jurisdiction in the following priority areas:
- employment
- the built environment (buildings and public spaces)
- information and communication technologies
- communication, other than information and communication technologies
- the procurement of goods, services and facilities
- the design and delivery of programs and services
- transportation
While the Plan is a legislative requirement, this work on accessibility provides Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) with the opportunity to promote a respectful, inclusive work environment, where Veterans, clients and employees alike can participate to their full potential. Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat’s (TBS) statistics from fiscal year 2020-2021 indicate that 7.8% of VAC employees identified as having a disability, while the workforce availability was 9%.Footnote 1 And, in terms of the Veterans VAC serves, we know that when compared to the general Canadian population, recently-released Veterans have a higher prevalence of physical and mental health conditions.Footnote 2
VAC’s Accessibility Action PlanFootnote 3 is the result of a thorough gap analysis and environmental scan, completed to identify areas for improvement – and related actions to take – within each of the priority areas named in the Act.
Good work is already underway. VAC has a long-standing history of serving clients with disabilities and, as such, in considering accessibility in its work. See Section 6 for a list of recent actions taken to improve accessibility.
While progress is being made, VAC’s Accessibility Action Plan also recognizes that there is important work to be done with respect to the Department’s accessibility culture shift.
With this in mind, VAC’s Accessibility Action Plan includes an “organizational culture” section – an additional area for action that the Department has deemed a priority. Through this Plan, VAC commits to increasing accessibility-related awareness, developing accessibility-related knowledge and abilities, and fostering an environment of continuous learning and improvement. VAC will strive to make accessibility a standard part of its decision-making, its everyday thinking, and its operations.
The Department will also collaborate with persons with disabilities to incorporate accessibility in the future of work, including VAC’s “hybrid work model” following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, the action items outlined in this Plan reflect the Department’s commitment to Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA Plus) and related GBA Plus tools and training. VAC will ensure that actions taken to improve accessibility consider the specific needs and circumstances of persons with disabilities and other intersecting identity factors.
VAC is also pleased to note the creation of a new Executive Inclusion Officer. This position, along with the Department’s Champion of Inclusion, will ensure that accessibility and persons with disabilities continue to be important topics of discussion at departmental leadership tables.
VAC looks forward to implementing this first Accessibility Action Plan. In keeping with the Act, the Department will issue an updated Plan every three years, and will release yearly progress reports in between Plans. In this way, we will position ourselves for continuous improvements and success on our journey to become barrier-free by 2040.
1.3 Message from the Deputy Minister
As the Deputy Minister of Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), I am pleased and humbled to present VAC’s first Accessibility Action Plan. This 2022-2025 Accessibility Action Plan is the result of a Department-wide effort to identify barriers and actions to remove and prevent them, and to ensure VAC is a workplace where persons with disabilities can participate fully and equally. The Plan represents our first critical path towards becoming accessibility-confident: ensuring that as an organization, we know what accessibility means and why it matters, and that we are equipped to make the Department a more accessible and inclusive workplace and service provider. And, although this is our first Accessibility Action Plan, it will not be our last, as we join our Government of Canada colleagues in our shared goal of realizing a barrier-free Canada by 2040.
To put disability and accessibility in context, it’s worth noting that in 2017, 22% of the Canadians aged 15 years and over had one or more disabilities.Footnote 4 Considered alongside the fact that the prevalence of disability increases with age, and that disability is the most common ground of discrimination for complaints to the Canadian Human Rights CommissionFootnote 5, it goes without saying that much work lies ahead.
As a department, we have a long and proud history serving Veterans, including those with disabilities. Moving forward, we can draw from this strong foundation in a renewed commitment to optimal accessibility for the Veterans we serve, as well as for our colleagues with disabilities.
I am proud to note that our 2022-2025 Accessibility Action Plan was developed in consultation with persons with disabilities, allowing us to put the “Nothing Without Us” principle into practice. Individuals with lived experience should have full and direct participation in decisions and the design of policies, programs, and services that will impact them.
On that note, I would like to recognize our Veterans for the sacrifices made in serving our country. VAC will continue to work to make the Department’s benefits and services more accessible. Additionally, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to the Veterans and other external stakeholders who have taken the time to share their experiences and thoughts on accessibility with us. This includes those who participated in the Let’s Talk Veterans (LTV) consultation on Accessibility in Fall 2021. We asked about barriers that could be prevented and removed at VAC and the Veterans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB), and received over 200 responses, identifying issues and suggesting ways we might improve accessibility. This feedback has been shared with the appropriate areas of VAC and/or VRAB, and it will be considered in our work moving forward, including in this Accessibility Action Plan.
I would also like to recognize our VAC employees with disabilities and emphasize how valuable your perspectives are. Thank you for the important contributions you make. Since 2020, VAC’s Accessibility Network has been providing feedback and suggestions to help VAC on its journey to become more accessibility-confident and to strengthen the collaborative effort needed to create an accessible work environment. We look forward to working with and learning from the Accessibility Network in the years ahead.
To achieve our goal of becoming accessibility-confident, it is important that we change our mindsets, both individually and as an organization. This will only happen through awareness and education to develop accessibility-related knowledge, abilities, and empathy. I encourage all of us to learn how to make documents accessible; to take the necessary steps to plan accessible meetings and events; and, to take every opportunity to listen and learn from the lived experience of persons with disabilities and their allies. These are just a few examples of ways we can make improvements to accessibility at VAC and in our everyday lives.
I look forward to providing yearly updates that communicate our progress on the Accessibility Action Plan, and thank all of you who have started this important work to identify, remove, and prevent barriers. Through this collective effort, we are taking the necessary steps to help VAC continue to build its capacity as a learning organization; one that is committed to accessibility and inclusion today and into the future.
Sincerely,
Paul Ledwell
Deputy Minister
1.4 Message from the Accessibility Network
As members of the Accessibility Network, we are excited for the launch of the 2022-2025 Accessibility Action Plan at VAC. We are proud to have been a part of the process as active members, and were consulted extensively on the barriers that exist and the actions proposed to resolve them. As persons with disabilities, we acknowledge the challenges that we face every day living in an able-bodied and neurotypical world. Through our involvement with the Accessibility Action Plan, we feel seen and heard in regards to the daily barriers we face and are hopeful for the future.
We are eager to see positive changes made to remove barriers that persons with disabilities face in order to improve the quality of the services we offer to Canadians, and the work environment of the employees. As we move forward together, we will stay up to date on progress of the Action Plan, provide feedback with our ongoing experiences of barriers and improvements, and advocate for equality and accessibility throughout VAC. Making change is the responsibility of everyone and we hope that you will be our allies as we move forward!
1.5 Accessibility statement
VAC commits to continuous learning, and to taking steps now and into the future to foster a respectful, equitable and accessible environment that removes accessibility barriers and supports inclusion for all.