What the Act and the standards require of procurement

The Act's purpose is a Canada without barriers on or before January 1, 2040. It names seven areas in which barriers are to be identified, removed and prevented. The procurement of goods, services and facilities is one of them, alongside employment, the built environment, information and communication technologies, other communication, programs and services, and transportation.

The Act applies to organizations under federal jurisdiction: federal departments and agencies, Crown corporations, the Canadian Forces, and businesses in sectors regulated by the Government of Canada, such as banking, telecommunications and transportation.

Each regulated organization must publish an accessibility plan, publish an updated plan at least every three years, and publish a progress report on the plan. Plans and progress reports must carry a heading for each area the plan covers. For most organizations that list includes procurement, so procurement has to be addressed by name.

Broadcasters, telecommunications carriers and service providers, and federally regulated transportation providers address procurement in a separate part of their planning. For broadcasting and telecommunications, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission makes the regulations for that part; for transportation, the Canadian Transportation Agency does.

Organizations must consult persons with disabilities when preparing their plans and progress reports, and must have a process for receiving and dealing with feedback on how the plan is being carried out and on the barriers people meet.

Employee numbers are averages for the year the Regulations came into force. Businesses with an average of fewer than 10 employees are exempt from planning and reporting. An organization that became subject to the Act later has a fixed day of June 1 of the following year, so its dates differ from the table.

Part 1.1 requires conformity with the ICT Standard, which it defines as CAN/ASC-EN 301 549, Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services, published by Accessibility Standards Canada, as amended from time to time.

When one of these organizations starts a process to buy products or services for developing or providing a web page or mobile app covered by Part 1.1, it must obtain, as part of that procurement, a conformity assessment including a gap analysis against the ICT Standard:

• federal public sector organizations, other than broadcasting or telecommunications entities;
• federally regulated businesses with an average of 500 or more employees over the preceding three years, other than broadcasting or telecommunications entities.

The Government's explanatory statement describes a conformity assessment with gap analysis as setting out which requirements of the ICT Standard apply to the technology being bought, and whether it conforms. It says these assessments are typically provided by vendors or suppliers, and that organizations may instead produce them with in-house experts or contractors.

Buying documents does not trigger the rule. The explanatory statement says a proposed assessment requirement for documents was removed after consultation, because documents offered on public web pages and apps must already conform.

Each assessment report, with its gap analysis, must be kept until the fourth anniversary of the day the assessment was completed. From December 5, 2027, employees involved in procuring ICT must also have training in accessibility fundamentals for those technologies, refreshed at least every three years.

An assessment against the ICT Standard works through its clauses. Most requirements apply only where a stated condition is true; each one has a test in Annex C; and the result for each is not applicable, pass, fail or, in exceptional cases, not testable.

Accessibility Standards Canada published it in May 2024. It adopts the European standard EN 301 549 (2021 edition) without changes, which is what “IDT” (identical) in its title means. The European standards bodies CEN, CENELEC and ETSI prepared it, and it describes itself as written in a form suitable for public procurement, for use by both buyers and providers.

The Accessible Canada Regulations make it binding for the organizations and dates in section 3 by naming it the ICT Standard.

Status: draft. ASC posted it in April 2026 and expects to publish it in winter 2027. A draft can change before it is published. The Accessible Canada Regulations, consolidated to 30 September 2026, do not refer to it.

It is written for procurement by federally regulated organizations, and says it should also be used by provincial, territorial and municipal governments and by private and non-profit organizations. It covers roles, defining accessibility requirements, a mandatory justification when accessibility is left out, procurement information and websites, engagement activities, the procurement life cycle, and training.

Policies. Accessibility is considered in every procurement regardless of dollar value, in every phase and every method of supply, including contracts, standing offers and supply arrangements. The client defines accessibility requirements and evaluation criteria and checks deliverables; the procurement professional advises, helps find experts and challenges a requirement set that leaves accessibility out.

Flexibility. When a solution cannot conform when the solicitation closes, clients take a flexible approach: the contractor provides a roadmap, in an accessible format, for reaching conformity within a timeframe set in the contract.

Excluding accessibility needs a written justification. “Not applicable” is not enough. The justification gives the reasons and the decision process, such as consulting end users and experts, checking standards and the market, considering a flexible approach and assessing the risk. It is signed by the client with delegated authority, kept on the procurement file, and confirmed by the procurement professional.

Information and engagement. Policies, templates, solicitations and notices are written in plain language (CAN-ASC-3.1) and in formats that meet CAN/ASC-EN 301 549, as are procurement websites and applications. Industry days and bidder meetings offer accommodation, and documents go out at least two business days before an engagement.

Planning. Clients identify applicable standards, consult end users and accessibility experts, including people with disabilities, and decide whether a demonstration or third-party testing is needed. When buying to meet one person's accommodation needs, that person takes part in choosing the solution.

Evaluation and bidding. Evaluation allows enough time for accessibility, and the panel includes accessibility expertise or people with lived experience. Solicitation periods allow time to get documents in accessible formats. Bidders may itemize the cost of accommodating themselves or their employees; those costs are kept out of the financial evaluation and built into the basis of payment. Debriefs for unsuccessful bidders are accessible on request.

Contract management. Clients confirm accessibility requirements are met throughout the contract, including inspection for barriers by persons with disabilities before delivery, and that reported issues are resolved. Organizations measure and report on accessibility in their procurement.

Training. Everyone involved in procurement, senior management included, is trained on accessible procurement, at least every two years. People with disabilities help develop and deliver the training and are paid for their time.