At Statistics Canada, we want all employees and leaders to be equipped to make accessibility part of their everyday work. We also want them to understand that barriers to accessibility are often experienced when by people who are part of underrepresented groups. Over the last two years, Statistics Canada (StatCan) has made tremendous progress in prioritizing equity, diversity and inclusion. Accessibility, and living barrier-free, is a human right. That means that, as an organization, it's our duty to create inclusive and flexible policies, programs, and services, and to provide physical spaces that give everyone an opportunity to participate and contribute.
I believe wholeheartedly that to fulfill our mandate as Canada's national statistical agency, our workforce must reflect the populations we serve; foster a safe, inclusive and productive work environment; and remove any barriers that prevent any of us from participating to our full potential.
To this end, I am proud to introduce StatCan's first multi-year accessibility action plan, "Statistics Canada: Road to Accessibility,"which outlines StatCan's commitment to the principles of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA). The ACA aims to make Canada barrier-free by January 1, 2040. It calls on all federal departments and agencies to focus on the experience of persons with disabilities by
- making the built environment more accessible
- making information and communications technologies accessible and usable for everyone
- giving employees the tools to make products, programs, procurement, and services accessible
- customizing the employee work experience to meet individual needs.
I am extremely proud of the progress StatCan has made improving the accessibility of its products, programs, and services, but I know we need to do more. This Accessibility Plan presents the results we expect to achieve. Together, we will proactively identify, remove, and prevent barriers in the workplace, and in our policies, programs, and services.
The journey to inclusion calls on everyone to help remove barriers to accessibility. We all must work to advance disability inclusion by ensuring that the work we do reflects the realities of all Canadians with disabilities, and we must all commit to being inclusive by design and accessible by default.
The responsibility lies with us.
Anil Arora
Chief Statistician of Canada