2023-2025 Accessibility Plan – Easy Read Version

Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat

This is the easy read version of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (CICS) Accessibility Plan. The easy read version is shorter and simpler than the plan. The full version is available here: www.scics.ca/en/accessibility.

CICS is a federal agency that provides conference planning services when different levels of government need to meet. Conferences are complicated meetings that are hard to plan. We help different governments plan and run their conferences.

The Accessible Canada Act (ACA) is a law to make Canada more accessible. The ACA says that federal agencies like CICS need to make a plan to be accessible. We made our plan by:

• Talking to people with disabilities and accessibility specialists
• Sending a survey to people who work at CICS
• Sending a survey to people who use CICS’s services
• Looking at the barriers that we already know about
• Making a list of barriers that we found
• Making plans to remove these barriers or reduce them

We plan to make CICS more accessible by doing the following:

• Make a plan to consult people with disabilities.
• Create an accessibility officer role.
• Create a way to receive feedback about accessibility. Add questions about disability and accessibility to our surveys.
• Make sure documents are available in alternate formats.
• Include disability in our diversity, equity, and inclusion plans. Include disability and accessibility in our standards and policies.
• Make our job postings disability-friendly.
• Make our accommodations policy clear and easy to understand.
• Make sure workspaces are accessible and remove barriers in our built environment. Work with our landlord to make emergency alarms accessible.
• Make our web and electronic technology more accessible.
• Train information technology (IT) staff on web accessibility. Train staff on how to make documents and other communication accessible. Train people who buy goods and services on accessibility.
• Make new social media posts accessible. Make documents and other communication accessible.
• Make accessibility a priority in conference planning services.
• Help our clients make more accessible choices when planning conferences.
• Add accessibility to our statement of work (jobs to be done) for vendors (people we purchase goods and services from).
• Make a list of accessibility services providers.

Contact Information & Feedback Process

CICS welcomes feedback from our employees, clients, conference attendees, and members of the public. We welcome feedback about accessibility at CICS and about this plan. Feedback can be submitted anonymously. We are committed to reviewing the feedback we receive and taking steps to address barriers that are identified through this feedback.

You can submit feedback about accessibility at CICS or about this plan by contacting:

Carole Bourget, Assistant Secretary

E-mail: info@scics.ca

Telephone: 613-995-2341

Mail: P.O. Box 488, Station ‘A’, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 8V5

An electronic version of this plan that is compatible with assistive technology can be downloaded immediately from our website at: www.scics.ca/en/accessibility

This plan and a description of our feedback process can also be provided in alternative formats, within the following timelines:

• Print – 15 days
• Large print (Increased font size) – 15 days
• Braille (a system of raised dots that people who are blind or who have low vision can read with their fingers) – 45 days
• Audio (a recording of someone reading the text out loud) – 45 days