Tell us your province, sector and size and get a free PDF card listing the federal and provincial laws worth reviewing for your website, with links to the official text and a short WCAG checklist.
This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a law applies to your organization depends on facts we have not reviewed. Confirm your obligations with the official sources linked here or a qualified lawyer.
Accessibility overlays and toolbars add a layer on top of a site. They do not by themselves make a website conform to WCAG: conformance depends on the site's own code and content. If you use one, still test with a keyboard and a screen reader and fix barriers at the source.
See the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative's guidance on selecting evaluation tools (opens in new tab).
Plain-language summaries of who each law is aimed at. Whether one applies to you depends on details of your organization — read the official text or ask a lawyer.
Federal
May be relevant to federally regulated organizations (for example, federally regulated banks, telecommunications and broadcasting companies, and interprovincial transportation) and the Government of Canada.
Check the Act and its regulations for planning, feedback and progress-report requirements, and whether any technical standard applies to your organization.
Ontario
May be relevant to organizations that provide goods or services in Ontario. The website requirements in its Integrated Accessibility Standards depend on the type and size of organization.
Check the Integrated Accessibility Standards regulation (O. Reg. 191/11) for which website requirements apply to your organization type and size.
British Columbia
Currently aimed at prescribed public-sector organizations in B.C. Check the Act and its regulations for whether your organization is prescribed.
Check which accessibility-plan, committee and feedback requirements apply to prescribed organizations.
Federal, provincial and territorial
Human rights laws across Canada prohibit discrimination in services on the basis of disability. Federally regulated organizations fall under the Canadian Human Rights Act; others fall under the human rights code of their province or territory.
Whether a website barrier amounts to discrimination depends on the facts. Get legal advice for specific situations.
A starting point, not an audit. The full standard is WCAG 2.1 (W3C Recommendation) (opens in new tab).
A one-page reading list of the laws worth reviewing for your province and sector.
Accessibility and web development
Grow Wild Agency Inc. builds websites and offers accessibility assessments and remediation.
This card is a free, general-information resource. It does not assess your website and is not legal advice.