Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents
Presenter(s)
T-Base Communications
Lawrence Euteneier and Darold Lindquist
Government of Canada, Industry Canada
Email: le@ic.gc.ca
Email: lindquist.darold@ic.gc.ca
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Industry Canada is one of a number of departments of the Government of Canada that recognizes that issues exist with the level of accessibility provided to its employees with disabilities to its information and communication technology (ICT). While efforts at Industry Canada are underway to address the issue, a far more concerted effort is required if suitable policy and standards are to be developed to remedy the current situation. Such activity is necessary now before further inaccessible ICT is purchased / developed as retrofitting ICT for accessibility is costly if not always possible. Building accessibility in at the design stage is far more cost effective, and required under the TBS/PSC Duty to Accommodate policy. Accommodating federal employees through interventions focused on the employee is no longer an acceptable practice when dealing with known systemic barriers that can be eliminated with out causing undue hardship.
"Industry Canada has a large, internal commitment to see that things happen - it is probably the most knowledgeable department and the loudest and the most involved …"
Industry Canada Employee Interviewed
Assessing the present level of accessibility to ICT at Industry Canada is a necessary step towards understanding the scope of the issue, and is what T-Base was contracted to undertake. The assessment findings are presented along with research and analysis in this report, which includes an overview of the progress being made by governments in other developed countries (i.e. Australia, the European Union, United States), as well as the status of ICT accessibility within the Government of Canada as a whole. Recommendations for remedying the situation are provided, along with each of the ICT Test Observation Reports generated by T-Base's assessment team using assistive technology installed on an Industry Canada workstation.
Research of other countries, i.e. United States, European Union and Australia, indicates that with respect to policies and regulations surrounding the accommodation of persons with disabilities Canada is positioned behind the United States and the European Union and slightly ahead of Australia.
The Common Look and Feel Policy (draft) for Intranets and Extranets, published in October 2003, provided the criteria used by T-Base to measure the accessibility of ICT at Industry Canada. The draft standard represents a significant and positive step in the right direction, and replicates criteria already in use in existing federal policy concerning federal Internet sites.
Working with the Web Accessibility Office at Industry Canada, T-Base undertook to identify and assess accessibility and usability issues of ICT at Industry Canada over a ten-day period. It was estimated that no more than 5% of the total ICT at Industry Canada was assessed; however, an exact percentage could not be determined due to the vast amount of ICT and forms, etc., content utilized daily by employees over computers connected via local area networks and server-based intranet sites and applications. Reports of those technologies that demonstrated no significant barriers are not included as certifying a technology as being fully accessible would have taken a significant amount of time, and would have seriously limited the total number of sites that were assessed for systemic barriers. It was determined that 73 separate internet, intranet, applications and e-forms did not comply with Common Look and Feel Standard 1.1.
Industry Canada can lead by example by: enforcing the CLF Policy and CLFIE; identifying standards for accessible information management systems (not covered by CLF and CLFIE); mandating accessibility within the procurement cycle; and by supporting the establishment of an independent testing laboratory.
By following the recommendations set out in this report, Industry Canada and its employees will benefit by eliminating existing systemic barriers and ensuring that no new barriers are introduced into the work place that significantly impact on both productivity and the quality of working life of all employees. Industry Canada would also serve as an example of a best practice to other federal departments, and suppliers to Industry Canada will quickly realize the benefits of providing accessible ICT from their enhanced positioning in both the Canadian and international market places.
Finally, the state of accessibility for employees with disabilities at Industry Canada is likely the same in most other public and private sector places of employment that utilize ICT. Thus, sharing this report with other government departments would ensure that all federal employers and employees with disabilities are able to benefit from this investigative effort.
Go to previous article
Go to next article
Return to 2005 Table of Contents