Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer
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Accessibility Action Plan

Published on December 2, 2022

The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer is committed to becoming a leader in accessibility. Our goal is to remove barriers to accessibility for our employees, our clients, and the Canadian public by January 1, at the latest.

This plan describes how we will strengthen accessibility within our organization in the seven priority areas identified in the Accessible Canada Act.

Message from the Parliamentary Budget Officer

The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer (OPBO) has a diverse and committed team of employees who play an important role in supporting Canada’s parliamentary democracy through the provision of economic and financial analysis to Parliament.

The OPBO understands the importance of accessibility and we are committed to providing a barrier‐free environment for our employees, clients and the general public. We have been working continuously to identify and remove barriers in our workplace, and while we have made great strides, there is still work to do. This three‐year plan charts the way forward towards a barrier‐free OPBO. It outlines our key priority areas and what we hope to accomplish for each one. In order to remove barriers to accessibility, it is essential that we know what they are. We have undertaken broad consultations as part of the development of this plan, but also welcome feedback at any time about accessibility at the OPBO.

Yves Giroux
Parliamentary Budget Officer

General

The CHRO & Manager, HR Services, is responsible for leading accessibility initiatives for the OPBO. Questions or inquiries about the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s accessibility plan and / or other accessibility initiatives can be sent to:

CHRO & Manager, HR Services,
Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer
900‐99 Banks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A9

Email: PBOAccessibleDPB@parl.gc.ca
Phone: 613‐992‐8026

You can also share your feedback about accessibility at the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer by completing our online form.

Executive summary

The Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer is committed to becoming a leader in accessibility. Our goal is to remove barriers to accessibility for our employees, our clients, and the Canadian public by January 1, at the latest.

This plan describes how we will strengthen accessibility within our organization in the seven priority areas identified in the Accessible Canada Act. We have elected to add an eighth priority – culture – as we believe that a stronger culture among our employees regarding disabilities and the importance of accessibility will help us reach our goals.

The plan was developed by and in consultation with persons with disabilities, OPBO employees, Library of Parliament employees, parliamentary clients, and the Canadian public.

Action Plan

Accessibility Statement

The OPBO is committed to providing services that are accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of ability. We are actively working to remove accessibility barriers for our employees, our clients, and the Canadian public in everything we do.

The OPBO aims to conform to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1. AA, amongst other Web accessibility best practices. Conformance with these requirements is an integral part of the development, continuous integration and deployment process of the public website (www.pbo-dpb.ca).

The following technologies are used to provide an accessible user experience for everyone:

  • HTML5
  • Scalable Vector Graphics 1.1
  • CSS
  • JavaScript

The OPBO’s accessibility plan has been published on our website but is also available, upon request, in other formats including:

  • print
  • large print
  • braille
  • audio
  • electronic

Priority Areas

In consultation with employees, parliamentary clients and members of the public, the OPBO identified goals and actions to improve accessibility in eight priority areas: employment; built environment; information and communications technologies; communications; procurement of goods, services and facilities; design and delivery of programs and services; transportation; and culture.

Employment

General objective: Promote accessible and inclusive human resource practices, so that all employees are supported and can contribute to the organization to their full potential.

  1. Ensure that staffing and assessment tools, approaches and resources are accessible and inclusive, with special attention on increasing awareness of the availability for accommodation during assessments and applying plain‐language principles to communications at all stages of the staffing process to hire and retain employees with disabilities.
    1. Activities
      • Review current staffing processes with persons with disabilities to identify possible barriers and gaps.
      • Research best practices (government, private and academia).
      • Prepare an awareness campaign for managers and human resources professionals about best practices to create an accessible and safe staffing process.
    2. Expected completion: Q1 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  2. Provide mandatory training sessions for human resources professionals, directors, managers, and employees at all levels on accessibility, barriers, unconscious bias and accommodation requests and processes so they can build expertise.
    1. Activities
      • Complete an evaluation of the OPBO’s needs in this area and current training offerings.
      • Research existing training from external providers (governmental, private, and academia).
      • If required, develop training tailored to the OPBO’s needs.
      • Develop a bank of tools, checklists, and guidance for employees.
      • Build awareness among different groups of employees on the training and tools and how to register for the training.
      • Build awareness among employees on the available training and tools.
    2. Expected completion: Q1 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  3. Engage persons with disabilities on the review of the OPBO’s programs and policies aimed at onboarding new employees, as well as the employment life cycle. Identify accessibility barriers, gaps, and areas in need of improvement and develop an action plan to remove these barriers.
    1. Activities
      • Consult employees with disabilities to understand areas for improvement with the current onboarding process.
      • Develop an updated onboarding process that includes tools and resources for all employees.
      • Create tools, checklists, and guidance that is meaningful and useful for all OPBO employees and their managers, as employees may need the information without having disclosed their disability.
    2. Expected completion: Q2 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  4. Implement a Workplace Accessibility Passport, as the communications means between employees and managers for accommodations‐related information, solutions, and approvals.
    1. Activities
      • Research different tools, notably the Government of Canada Workplace Accessibility Passport, to determine if it can be used at the OPBO and within the Precinct.
      • Discuss potential options with employees with disabilities and precinct partners to find the best approach.
      • Train managers and employees on the new tools and processes
    2. Expected completion: Q3 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Built Environment

General objective: Provide a barrier‐free environment with secure access to employees, parliamentary clients, and the Canadian public within OPBO spaces.

  1. Engage persons with disabilities on the accessibility of the built environment through surveys, consultations, and site visits. Identify and review areas in need of improvement and develop an action plan to remove the barriers.
    1. Activities
      • Review accessibility assessments from PSPC as they become available.
      • Perform accessibility assessments with OPBO’s employees who are living with various types of disabilities.
      • In collaboration with partners, when appropriate, research potential solutions for the barriers raised in accessibility assessments or by other means.
      • Present and discuss, when appropriate, possible solutions with employees who have various types of disabilities.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  2. Engage with persons with disabilities to review the OPBO’s emergency procedures and business continuity plans, with particular attention to the unique barriers they face. Identify and review areas in need of improvement and develop an action plan to remove the barriers.
    1. Activities
      • Review the current policies and procedures to assess known gaps.
      • Research best practices from parliamentary partners, federal government institutions, as well as the private sector and academia.
      • Determine how procedures and policies could be improved through consultations with employees with different types of disabilities, as well as associations representing persons with disabilities.
      • Update the training for emergency fire wardens to include the improved procedures.
      • Develop an awareness and communication plan to inform employees about the procedures.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  3. Build awareness with the Canadian public about accessibility features and services available through the OPBO’s public‐facing programming and build awareness amongst employees and clients about what is available in the workplace.
    1. Activities
      • Consult persons with disabilities on the tools and services that could strengthen accessibility in the workplace.
      • Research tools and services that could strengthen accessibility in the OPBO’s onsite workplace.
      • Build awareness through various communications of the accessibility tools and services offered by the OPBO.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services
  4. Contribute to a scent‐free environment in the Parliamentary Precinct buildings, in collaboration with partner and service providers.
    1. Activities
      • Install signs to remind employees about the precinct’s scent‐free environments.
      • Build awareness of how this policy applies within OPBO workspaces and why.
      • Encourage visitors and contractors to participate in the scent‐free environment.
      • Procure, whenever possible, products that are scent‐free (office supplies, cleaning products, etc.).
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)

General objective: Promote information and communication technologies that can be used by all employees, clients, and the Canadian public, regardless of their abilities.

  1. Develop an assessment process for new IT systems, hardware, and software, whether they are procured or developed internally or externally, to identify if they meet the leading accessibility standards and any changes that may be required to meet those standards.

    1. Activities
      • Develop an awareness and communication plan to help employees understand the reasons to consider accessibility from the start of the procurement process.
      • Develop a process where users, with or without disabilities, can test IT systems, hardware, and software to ensure they meet accessibility requirements whenever this is possible.
      • Develop a process to ensure new IT systems, hardware, and software, whether they are procured or developed internally or externally, meet the leading accessibility standards, and determine how well they interact with adaptive technologies.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  2. Engage regularly with persons with disabilities on the accessibility of information and communications tools and technology through surveys and/or consultations and assess and test the accessibility of information technology systems with persons with different types of disabilities.

    1. Activities
      • Develop a process where users, with or without disabilities, can test the IT systems, hardware, and software to ensure they meet the needs of the employees, parliamentary clients and the Canadian public, whenever it is possible to do so .
      • Engage with the newly created “The Accessibility Exchange” an online platform that brings people together to build strong and effective accessibility plans.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  3. Review the major corporate systems, hardware, and software currently in use at the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer to identify and address accessibility barriers.

    1. Activities
      • With the help of persons with disabilities, test all major corporate systems, hardware, and software to ensure they are fully accessible and address barriers as needed.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  4. Train employees at all levels in the organization on how to create accessible documents and how to offer fully accessible meetings and events, either virtual or in person.

    1. Activities
      • Assess the level of knowledge within the organization on these topics, as well as available training offerings.
      • Research existing training on these topics offered by parliamentary partners and government organizations, as well as the private sector and academia.
      • If needed, develop training tailored to the OPBO’s needs, as well as a suite of tools, checklists that will provide guidance to employees
      • Build awareness among employees about the training and the tools.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  5. Provide training on accessibility, barriers, and needs of persons with disabilities, to educate IT specialists, publishing and communications specialists, and employees responsible for creating web content on the importance of accessibility and how to build it as a consideration into the assessment, implementation or development of systems, hardware, and software.

    1. Activities
      • Assess the level of knowledge within the organization on these topics, as well as available training offerings.
      • Research existing training on these topics offered by parliamentary partners and government organizations, as well as the private sector and academia.
      • If needed, develop training tailored to the OPBO’s needs, as well as a suite of tools, checklists that will provide guidance to employees
      • Build awareness among employees about the training and the tools.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Communication

General objective: Promote equal access to information for the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s employees, clients, and the Canadian public, regardless of their abilities.

  1. Develop tools, checklists, and guidance on the use of sign language and closed captioning for meetings and events.

    1. Activities
      • Review best practices within the parliamentary precinct, as well as government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • Discuss best practices with persons with disabilities.
      • Prepare tools, checklists and guidance for employees.
      • Develop an awareness and communication plan to inform the above‐mentioned audiences of the tools, checklists, and guidance.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  2. Develop tools, checklists, and guidance on offering written communications in alternate formats, including, but not limited to print, large print, Braille, audio, or electronic formats, before receiving an official request.

    1. Activities:
      • Review best practices within the parliamentary precinct, as well as government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • Discuss best practices with persons with disabilities.
      • Prepare tools, checklists, and guidance for employees.
      • Build awareness among relevant employees of the various resources offered by the OPBO on how to develop written communications in alternate formats.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  3. Engage with persons with disabilities to develop tools, checklists, and guidance for digital media to ensure they are fully accessible to persons with various types of disabilities.

    1. Activities
      • Consult teams within the organization on best practices, and if necessary, supplement this information with best practices from parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • If required, prepare tools, checklists, and guidance for employees, informed by consultations with persons with disabilities, and build awareness among employees of these tools.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  4. Provide workshops or training to equip employees to develop communications that are more accessible to the OPBO’s diverse audiences.

    1. Activities
      • Consult experts within the organization on existing best practices, and if necessary, supplement this information with best practices from parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • Assess how the OPBO currently trains employees on accessible communications and if needed, develop or enhance current training opportunities.
      • Build awareness among relevant employees of the resources available to them on best practices for accessibility, including specific tools, checklists, and other guidance.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities

General objective: Implement procurement practices for goods, services, and facilities that are accessible to the OPBO’s employees, clients, and the Canadian public, regardless of their abilities.

  1. Add information on accessibility in the mandatory training for procurement employees and cost centre managers to educate them of the importance of accessibility and how to include it as a consideration at all steps of the procurement process.

    1. Activities
      • Complete an evaluation of the OPBO’s needs and current training offers.
      • Research best practices from parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • If needed, develop, or enhance current training opportunities.
      • If needed, develop a bank of tools, checklists, and guidance for employees and build awareness among relevant employees of these resources.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  2. As part of the OPBO’s procurement process, determine if a requirement or information about accessibility can be added to scope of work documentation.

    1. Activities
      • Research best practices from parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • Consult the OPBO’s Legal Counsel about the feasibility of this requirement.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Legal Counsel

  3. Research the feasibility of adding a clause in contracts to ensure accessibility in the delivery and/or implementation of goods, services, or technical solutions, and that accessibility requirements are considered during future updates or changes to services or technical solutions.

    1. Activities
      • Research best practices from parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia.
      • Consult the OPBO’s Legal Counsel about the requirement.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services and Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, Legal Counsel

Design and Delivery of Programs and Services

General objective: Deliver programs and services that are accessible to Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s employees, parliamentary clients, and the Canadian public, regardless of their abilities.

  1. Consult persons with various types of disabilities to identify ways to make our programs and services more inclusive and to remove barriers.

    1. Activities
      • Identify programs and services that would benefit from a consultation.
      • Identify ways to consult persons with disabilities.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  2. Review programs and policies to identify any accessibility barriers and develop an approach to address them.

    1. Activities
      • Consult persons with disabilities to identify potential barriers and to understand what they need to access the OPBO’s programs and services.
      • Develop a prioritization document to outline in which order the OPBO will review its various programs and policies.
      • Develop and implement, in consultation with persons with disabilities, tools and processes to help employees review the OPBO’s programs and policies from an accessibility perspective.
      • Build awareness among employees of how the OPBO enhances its programs and services from an accessibility perspective.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: All employees

  3. Ensure that accessibility is a priority during the design of all new programs and services.

    1. Activities
      • Develop and implement, in consultation with persons with disabilities, tools, processes and guidelines to help in the creation of programs and policies that are accessible.
      • Ensure that accessibility is considered during the approval process for major projects or initiatives.
      • Build awareness among employees of the resources that can support them in developing or enhancing programs and services.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

  4. Equip employees with tools and training to design accessible and inclusive programs, policies, and services.

    1. Activities
      • Consult with parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academia on existing best practices and training resources.
      • Develop or enhance current training opportunities to meet the OPBO’s needs.
      • Develop a bank of tools, checklists, and other guidance for employees and build awareness among employees of the training and resources available to them.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Transportation

General objective: Enable work‐related transportation for Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s employees that is accessible for all.

  1. Review the accessible transportation options that OPBO employees can access to perform their work duties and build awareness of those options with employees.

    1. Activities
      • Review current transportation options with persons with disabilities to identify barriers and gaps.
      • Research best practices (government, private and academia).
      • If needed, develop new transportation options for employees, build awareness about them, and add the information to the OPBO’s onboarding information.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Culture

General objective: Create a culture that embraces accessibility in all aspects of its work.

  1. Develop and provide mandatory and optional training and awareness sessions for all employees on accessibility, barriers, inclusion, and unconscious bias, to build an accessible confident organization.

    1. Activities
      • Assess the level of awareness about accessibility issues among employees, as well as current training opportunities available to employees.
      • Research training opportunities offered by parliamentary partners, government organizations, the private sector and academic on attitudinal barriers and stigmas around disability.
      • If needed, create training opportunities on this topic, and build awareness among employees about the training.
    2. Expected completion: Q4 2023
    3. Responsibility: Human Resources Services

Consultations

Consultations are an essential part of this plan. We consulted persons with various types of disabilities (visible and invisible, as well as permanent and episodic), as well as allies of those with disabilities. Consultations took place with key partners and clients in the parliamentary community, and with members of the public through client satisfaction surveys. Employees at all levels of the organization will be invited to participate in group or one‐on‐one sessions to provide anonymized or informal feedback.

Nothing without us: Persons with disabilities will be involved in the development and implementation of the Accessibility Strategy.

Identification of Barriers

Due to COVID restrictions, all meetings and consultation sessions to identify barriers were done virtually. In-person events will be considered.

Employees

I appreciated everything that the facilitator brought to the session: broad knowledge, experience, a great facilitation style, a warm attitude, and open ears.

-- Participant in the employee consultations for persons with disabilities

  • Meetings with OPBO & Library of Parliament’s priority area leads
  • Consultation sessions with employees with disabilities (group and one‐on‐one sessions)
  • Consultation sessions with allies
  • Anonymous feedback mechanism available on the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer Intranet

Clients

  • Meetings with the Parliamentary Precinct Working Group on Accessibility
  • Targeted discussions with Parliamentarians living with a disability
  • Anonymous feedback mechanism available on the OPBO’s client‐facing intranet

Canadian Public

  • Anonymous feedback mechanism available on the OPBO’s public‐facing website
  • Accessibility questions on client satisfaction surveys

Accessibility Plan

Employees

  • Meetings with priority areas leads
  • Online consultations with employees

Clients

  • Meetings with the Parliamentary Precinct Working Group on Accessibility
  • Discussions with the Parliamentary Precinct Persons with Disabilities Network
  • Anonymous feedback mechanism available on the OPBO’s client‐facing intranet

Canadian Public

  • Anonymous feedback mechanism available on the OPBO’s public‐facing website

What we heard

Overall, those we consulted said that the OPBO is on the right path to providing an accessible environment, but that work is still needed to make it barrier‐free.

Some employees are still reticent to self‐identify as a person with a disability for fears of hindering their careers. The barriers that were most often raised by employees in the consultation process are the lack of training and awareness on disabilities and accessibility as well as issues in the accommodation process.

One theme that was repeated by many of the people that were consulted was around Universal Accessibility being key in attaining the goal of a barrier‐free OPBO by 2040. Accessibility is not just about the end result, it’s also about every step through the process.

(A complete list of barriers can be found in Annex A.)

Glossary

Ableism

A belief system that sees persons with disabilities as being less worthy of respect and consideration, less able to contribute and participate or of less inherent value than others. Ableism may be conscious or unconscious and may be embedded in institutions, systems or the broader culture of a society. It can limit the opportunities of persons with disabilities and reduce their inclusion in the life of their communities.

(Source: Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Glossary of Terms.)

Accessibility

The degree to which a product, service, program or environment is available to be accessed or used by all.

(Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Glossary: Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada.)

Accommodation

Any change in the working environment that allows a person with functional limitations in their abilities to do their job. Changes can include:

  • adjustments to the physical workspace
  • adaptations to the equipment or tools
  • flexible work hours or job‐sharing
  • relocation of the workspace within the greater workplace
  • the ability to work from home
  • reallocation or exchange of some non‐essential tasks for others
  • time off for medical appointments.

Accommodations (adjustments) can be temporary, periodic, or long‐term, depending on the employee’s situation or changes in the workplace.

(Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Glossary: Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada.)

Assistive or adaptive device/technology

A device or system designed to help a person to perform a task, including assistive devices or equipment (for example, canes, crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, hearing aids and personal emergency response systems) as well as IT‐related items (for example, computer screen‐reading software).

(Source: Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Glossary: Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada.)

Barrier

Anything that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation. Barriers can be physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal.

(Source: Bill C‐81: An Act to Ensure a Barrier‐Free Canada, S.C. 2019, c. 10.)

Bias

A subjective opinion, preference, prejudice, or inclination, often formed without reasonable justification, which influences the ability of an individuals or group to evaluate a particular situation objectively or accurately.

(Source: University of Victoria, Unconscious Biases.)

Disability

Any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment, or a functional limitation, whether permanent, temporary, or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.

(Source: Bill C‐81: An Act to Ensure a Barrier‐Free Canada, S.C. 2019, c. 10.)

Diversity

The inclusion of different types of people. A diverse workforce in the public service is made up of individuals who have an array of identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, perspectives and experiences that are representative of Canada’s current and evolving population.

(Source: Building a Diverse and Inclusive Public Service: Final Report of the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion)

Inclusion

The act of including someone or something as part of a group. An inclusive workplace is fair, equitable, supportive, welcoming and respectful.

Inclusion recognizes, values and leverages differences in identities, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, skills, experiences and perspectives that support and reinforce Canada’s evolving human rights framework.

(Source: Building a Diverse and Inclusive Public Service: Final Report of the Joint Union/Management Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion)

“Nothing without us”

The foundational principle of “Nothing without us” recognizes that persons with disabilities are equal participants in all areas of life. They should be involved in all decision‐making on policies, programs, practices and service delivery.

(Source: Government of Canada, Consulting persons with disabilities: “Nothing without us”.)

Persons with disabilities

Persons who have a long‐term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who a) consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, or b) believe that an employer or potential employer is likely to consider them to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment.

Persons with disabilities include persons whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace.

(Source: Employment Equity Act)

Self‐identification

Employees providing employment equity information for statistical purposes in analyzing and monitoring the progress of employment equity groups in the federal public service and for reporting on workforce representation.

(Source: Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada for Fiscal Year 2017 to 2018)

Universal Accessibility

Universal accessibility is defined as the character of a product, process, service, information, or environment that, with equity and inclusiveness in mind, enables any person to perform activities independently and achieve equivalent results.

(Source: J. Langevin et al., Research report for Montreal’s associative environments: Universal accessibility and contributory designs (version 5.3), Groupe DÉFI Accessibilité (GDA), Université de Montréal, quoted in Collectif A.U., What is universal accessibility?)

Budget and Resource Allocation

Funding is allocated as required to ensure the OPBO meets the accessibility expectations of staff, clients and other stakeholders.

Accessibility barriers identified during our consultations

Below is a summary of barriers identified during the OPBO’s consultations with our employees, parliamentary clients and the Canadian public. Given that consultations were conducted in collaboration with other employers, some of the barriers and comments may be apply only to other organizations rather than the PBO.

Employment

Accommodation Requests / Duty to Accommodate

  • There is a lack of clear, fair, and effective accommodation policy and procedures, which has contributed to a lack of established timelines and accountabilities for accommodation requests.
  • The process to request accommodation can be intrusive and overly complex. For example, some forms only consider “typical” disabilities and can only be completed by specific health professionals, leading to managers repeatedly requesting that employees provide an official diagnosis in order to consider an accommodation request.
  • Some managers, supervisors, and union representatives are not aware of their responsibilities regarding the accommodation process, resulting in different levels of support for employees with disabilities in different parts of the organization. Managers also provide different levels of support for employees returning from a disability leave.
  • If an employee has previously requested an accommodation for the same reason, they should not need to complete the same medical questionnaire again.
  • There is a lack of understanding and awareness among employees about what accommodations are available and how they can initiate an accommodation request.
  • Many employees do not feel comfortable raising their accommodation needs for various reasons, which can be anxiety‐inducing. Employees find it particularly challenging to discuss their disability or accommodation needs while on probation.

Recruitment

  • Candidates, especially student candidates, may not know that accommodations can be requested during the recruitment process, or what types of accommodations are available.
  • Panel interviews can cause anxiety for some candidates with various types of disabilities.
  • The bilingualism requirements can be a barrier for some people with various types of disability.

Human Resources

  • As employees are expected to use their sick leave before starting a short‐ or long‐term disability leave, they have limited sick days when returning to work, which can create a cycle of stress and anxiety.
  • It is very challenging for employees with certain types of disabilities to report to two managers.
  • Insurance coverage for mental health therapies is not sufficient.
  • Returning to the office for immunosuppressive people might be riskier because of COVID.

Culture

  • There are stigmas, stereotypes and misunderstanding around disability, accessibility and accommodation needs.
  • There is a lack of training about accessibility, disability, unconscious bias, accommodation requests and more.
  • Some employees noticed a difference in the way employees with visible and invisible disabilities are seen by other employees and management.
  • Some language around disability and accommodation can be harmful such as labelling an employee as being high or low functioning.
  • Some people don’t understand the difference between equality and equity (fairness).

Potential Quotes

Employment

We do not feel comfortable raising our accommodation needs and we do not trust our accommodation requests will be dealt with effectively.

-- Comment received from multiple participants in the employee consultations

Design and delivery of programs and services

Some of the Office of the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s policies don’t consider accessibility, especially for non‐visible disabilities.

-- Comment received from some participants of the employee consultations

Culture

The best way to ensure an organization becomes truly inclusive is to remove attitudinal barriers and stigma around disabilities, and the best way to do this is to work on the organization’s culture.

-- Mélanie Provost, Senior Project Coordinator, Accessibility at the Library of Parliament, and person with a disability