Overview

Message from the Speaker

As Speaker, I am proud to work with a team of diverse employees who do the important work of keeping the House of Commons running smoothly. Our Institution wants everyone in the workplace to have a voice and contribute in their own way to excellence.

All our activities and services must be accessible, so that everyone can participate fully. To become more accessible, the House of Commons is working to raise awareness, remove barriers, and promote inclusion in the workplace.

We are making accessibility a priority because we recognize that every person has their own strengths and challenges, and we value this diversity. Accessibility is much more than a legal obligation; it’s about making sure everyone has equal access to information, services and opportunities.

Hon. Greg Fergus, P.C., M.P.

Statement

At the House of Commons, we are committed to meeting all our obligations under the Accessible Canada Act, including its regulations and standards, and to being a leader in accessibility. We are determined to acknowledge and respect the independence and dignity of everyone interacting with the House of Commons.

Therefore, we will develop and implement strategies and policies to ensure that accessibility is at the forefront of the House's activities. Identifying, removing and preventing accessibility barriers is a priority and part of a concrete initiative that will allow everyone the right to fully participate in the work of the House of Commons.

Accessibility Plan

Consult the House of Commons Accessibility Action Plan for 2023-2025 adopted by the Board of Internal Economy and published on December 1, 2022, and the Feedback Process.

Read the 2024 Progress Report on the House of Commons Accessibility Plan, prepared in accordance with the Accessible Canada Act. This report outlines the organization's progress over the past year in identifying accessibility barriers, mitigating related impacts, and preventing future barriers.

Accessibility in the parliamentary precinct

Visitors to Parliament

Visitors to Parliament can learn about accessibility, accommodations, and assistive services available for guided tours by consulting the Plan Your Visit page.

Committee meetings and appearances

Committee witnesses and visitors can request accommodations and assistance by contacting the committee clerk.

Web accessibility

Guidelines

The House of Commons strives to make the OurCommons.ca website compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 (level AA). We regularly audit this site to ensure the compatibility of features such as zooming, scaling, keyboard navigation, screen reading, and high-contrast themes.

Diligence

The site draws information from many documents, publications and applications provided by various authors and third parties. As this may result in standards not always being met, the House continues to work with partner organizations to improve the compliance of these documents.

Despite our ongoing efforts, some of our web content may not be fully accessible. This includes:

• documents that may only be produced in PDF format;
• scans of archived documents;
• bills that may be difficult to read, particularly with assistive tools; and
• pages with inconsistent designs, navigation and features

Closed captioning

Closed captioning is available, live and on demand, for the Chamber and for televised or webcast committee proceedings on ParlVu.