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, Progress Report 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 (i.e. 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 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
VAC’s 2022-2025 Accessibility Action PlanFootnote 1 (the Plan) identifies a number of actions to take to prevent and remove accessibility barriers in these priority areas. The Plan also identifies actions that will support the Department in advancing its accessibility culture shift.
VAC is proud to release this 2023 Accessibility Progress Report, which highlights achievements since the Plan was implemented.
This 2023 Accessibility Progress Report does not cover the entire 2023 calendar year, given the time that was required to have the Report approved and published. With that said, any progress made in 2023 that is not addressed in this Report will be covered in the 2024 Progress Report. The Department also notes that at the time this report was ready for publication, VAC’s analysis of the 2022 Public Service Employee Survey (PSES) results was still underway. However, the Department expects that actions and measures developed in response to these results, as well as measures for the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, will support future progress reporting and our journey to inclusion and accessibility confidence.
As the Department moves forward on its journey to become barrier-free, we will embrace the opportunity to report back annually on progress, and to strengthen our performance measurement capacity. Through updated accessibility action plans and progress reports, the Department will hold itself accountable, and will also respond to the Clerk of the Privy Council’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity and Inclusion.
1.3 Progress at a glance
Upon its publication in December 2022, VAC’s 2022-2025 Accessibility Action Plan identified 37 actions the Department would take to remove and prevent accessibility barriers.
In 2023, after initial publication of the Plan, it was updated to include 2 new actions and 1 new barrier:
- Action: To support VAC’s commitment to achieving a projected workforce representation target for persons with disabilities in non-EX positions of 8.70% by 2025 – and in support of the Government of Canada’s goal to hire 5,000 employees with disabilities in the public service by 2025 – it is projected that VAC will need to hire 100 net new persons with disabilities in this same timeframe.
- Barrier: Acknowledging that while workspaces are fit up to include standard ergonomic equipment (i.e., desks, chairs, monitor arms, along with ergonomic mice and keyboards) by default or upon request, staff may not have the required information to optimally set up their equipment to their individual needs.
- Action: Update VAC’s ergonomic guidelines
Additionally, one action that was initially grouped under an employment barrier has been separated to be its own action. (This action is: finalize the business case including resource requirements, roles, processes, tools and partnerships for a disability management unit, duty to accommodate, long term disability, workers compensation and return to work, using a case management approach).
VAC is well on track to meeting the commitments set out in the Department’s 2022-25 Accessibility Action Plan.
This Progress Report now identifies 40 actions in total. Of these 40 actions:
- 15 actions were/will be completed by December 2023:
- 6 were completed by the original date of June 2023; and
- 9 were/will be completed by the original date of December 2023.
- 23 actions are in progress:
- 10 experienced some delays and had their completion dates amended. In some cases, this may be because the actions are dependent on other organizations (i.e., Shared Services Canada), current operational priorities, or because more work was deemed necessary than initially anticipated. For ease of reference, changes in completion dates are identified in section 2; and
- 13 are on track to be completed by their original dates of completion.
- 2 actions have not yet started:
- Both have maintained their original completion dates.
1.4 Message from the Deputy Minister and VAC’s Accessibility Champion
The Accessible Canada Act passed in 2019 with the goal of creating a barrier-free Canada by 2040, and VAC is more committed than ever to furthering this goal. Departmental accessibility action plans and progress reports are helping us take action to identify and remove barriers, while preventing new ones.
Our work to improve accessibility must also be considered in the context of the broader objective of enhancing a culture of inclusion: we need to continue making progress to ensure all VAC employees feel a sense of belonging in a workplace where diversity is embraced.
As public servants, accessibility must be central in the work that we do, the services we deliver, and in our culture. At VAC, becoming more accessibility confident as a Department is an important goal: we want our entire organization to know what accessibility means, and why it matters.
As the Department’s Deputy Minister, and as VAC’s first-ever Champion of Accessibility, we see many opportunities for Departmental leadership to promote accessibility awareness, and to bring leadership to the important work of removing and preventing barriers for the benefit of employees and Veterans alike.
Like our 2022-2025 Accessibility Action Plan, this 2023 Progress Report benefited from consultation with VAC’s Accessibility Network. We are proud to uphold the “Nothing Without Us” principle, ensuring that the voices of persons with disabilities are heard and reflected in matters that impact them.
We look forward to continuing on this journey to implement the Accessible Canada Act through updated accessibility action plans, progress monitoring, and the continued culture shift that will ensure VAC is a workplace where all can participate fully and equally.
Sincerely,
Paul Ledwell
Deputy Minister
Pierre Tessier
Champion of Accessibility
1.5 Accessibility statement (wording revised)
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.