2026-2028 Accessibility Plan (Easy Read Version)
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. Our plan explains how CICS will find and remove barriers for people with disabilities. It also shows what actions we will take to make our workplace and services more inclusive. 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 Listening to feedback about what is working well and what still needs to improve 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: Keep asking for feedback from employees and clients about accessibility. Share updates on accessibility progress every year. Include accessibility and disability inclusion in diversity and inclusion sessions. Reduce noise and distractions in the shared workspace by offering headsets or partitions. Publish a clear, plain-language accommodation policy so employees know how to request help. Offer short, easy training on new digital tools. Encourage bilingual and accessible communication in meetings and documents. Share clear information about accessible routes and entrances at the Ottawa office, including accessible parking and public transit options. Work with our building landlord to improve parking and elevator reliability. Use the new Government of Canada standards on wayfinding signage when they are released. Keep improving the accessibility of our Conference Management System. Create an intranet accessibility space with resources and best practices. Update our website to meet national accessibility standards. Train staff on how to write and share accessible information, and how to make accessible documents. Update our communications policy to include accessibility, bilingualism, and plain language. Share accessibility checklists with clients to help them make their documents and presentations accessible. Promote live captioning in online meetings. Complete and share internal accessibility guidelines for staff. Help clients plan accessible conferences with features like barrier-free venues, captioning, and accessible seating. Continue including accessibility criteria in all purchases. Train staff involved in procurement on accessible purchasing best practices and accessibility standards from Accessible Standards Canada. Create a clear process for employees to request accessible travel for work. Contact Information & Feedback Process CICS welcomes feedback from employees, clients, conference attendees, and the public about accessibility at CICS and this plan. Feedback can be submitted anonymously. We are committed to reviewing the feedback we receive and taking steps to address barriers that […]
by Aaron Lampole
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2026-2028 Accessibility Plan
ISSN 2817-1314 Catalogue: CE32-1E-PDF Table of Contents 1. General 1.1 Description of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) 1.2 Statement of Commitment 1.3 Contact Information and Feedback Process 1.4 Definitions 2. Consultations 2.1 Consultations With Employees Who Have Disabilities 2.2 Consultations With Stakeholders Who Have Disabilities 2.3 What We Heard 2.4 How We Used this Feedback in Our Accessibility Plan 3. Areas Described under Section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) 3.1 Organization-Wide Initiatives 3.2 Employment 3.3 The Built Environment 3.4 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) 3.5 Communication, other than Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) 17 3.6 The Design and Delivery of Programs and Services 3.7 The Procurement of Goods, Services and Facilities 3.8 Transportation 4. Conclusion 1. General This is the full version of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat’s (CICS) Accessibility Plan. An easy read version, that is shorter and simpler than the plan, is available here: www.scics.ca/en/accessibility. Copies of CICS’s first Accessibility Plan (2023 to 25) and annual progress reports are also available on the website. 1.1 Description of the Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS) CICS is a federal agency that provides planning services when different levels of government need to meet with each other. CICS provides services to provincial, territorial, and federal levels of government. First ministers, ministers and deputy ministers often need to share important information and plans with one another. Holding a conference is one way to do this. Conferences can be complicated to plan. CICS helps governments by taking care of the technical and administrative parts of running a conference. This way leaders and speakers at the conference can focus on the information they need to share. We take care of tasks like distribution of documents, setting up conference registration, setting up the conference site, organizing translation and interpretation services, and providing technical support. 1.2 Statement of Commitment CICS provides a valuable service to governments and the people they serve. We help governments communicate important information with each other through conferences. We are committed to being accessible because we are committed to serving the Canadian public and the governments that represent them. That includes people with disabilities. CICS is committed to making work more accessible for our employees. We want our employees to be included and supported at work. We are committed to making sure our services are accessible for people who use them. This includes being accessible for government leaders, workers, and journalists with disabilities. We want clients to know they can trust us with their conference needs. And we will advise our clients to make accessible choices when making decisions about their conferences. We want CICS conferences to be inclusive. This accessibility plan will help us to achieve these goals. Beyond this accessibility plan, we are committed to continuous learning and improvement when it comes to accessibility. We pledge to do this in consultation with people with disabilities. 1.3 Contact Information and Feedback Process CICS welcomes feedback from our employees, clients, conference attendees, and members of the public. We welcome feedback […]
by Aaron Lampole
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2023-25 Accessibility Plan and Progress Reports
2023-25 Accessibility Plan (easy read version) 2023-25 Accessibility Plan (full version) 2023 Progress Report 2024 Progress Report
by Aaron Lampole
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