- Ableism
- A belief system, analogous to racism, sexism, or ageism, that sees persons with disabilities as being less worthy of respect and consideration, less able to contribute and participate, and 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.
- Accessibility
- The combination of aspects that influence a person's ability to function within an environment.
- Accessibility confidence
- The ability of organizations to "manage disability as a business priority related to customer experience, talent, productivity, innovation, new product development, brand reputation and investment in human potential" (source: Business Disability International).
- Accessible
- Refers to a place that is easily reached, an environment that is easily navigated or a program or service that can easily be obtained.
- Accommodation (adjustment)
-
Any change in the working environment that allows a person with functional limitations in their abilities to do their job. Changes may 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.
- Assistive or adaptive device or 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)
- Barrier
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Things that prevent people with disabilities from fully and equally participating in society. The Accessible Canada Act defines barrier as anything
- physical
- architectural
- technological
- attitudinal
- based on information or communications the result of a policy or a practice
that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment. An impairment may be
- physical
- mental
- intellectual
- cognitive
- learning
- communication
- sensory impairment
- a functional limitation
Examples of barriers:
- documents that are not available in alternate formats like large print or braille
- videos and virtual meetings that do not have captions
More examples can be found on the Canadian Human Rights Commission website
- Captioning or Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART)
- The live, word-for-word transcription of speech to text so that individuals can read what is being said.
- Disability
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According to the Accessible Canada Act, any impairments or functional limitations that, when combined with barriers, prevent people from fully and equally participating in society. Disabilities can be
- visible or invisible
- temporary or permanent
- episodic, meaning they change over time; people can be born with disabilities or develop disabilities when they get sick or injured
- Disability types
-
There are many types of disabilities, including
- seeing disabilities affect vision, including total blindness, partial sight and visual distortion
- hearing disabilities affect ability to hear, including being hard of hearing, deafness or acoustic distortion
- mobility issues affect ability to move your body, including the required use of a wheelchair or a cane, or other issues impacting your mobility. Issues with flexibility or dexterity affects ability to move joints or perform motor tasks, especially with your hands
- mental health issues affect psychology or behaviour, such as anxiety, depression or social/compulsive disorder or phobia or psychiatric illness
- sensory/environmental disabilities affect sensitivity to light, sounds or other distractions, as well as allergens and other environmental sensitivities
- cognitive disabilities affect ability to carry out tasks involving executive functioning, such as planning and organization, learning information, communication and memory, including autism or Asperger's syndrome, attention deficit disorder, and learning disabilities
- intellectual disabilities affect your ability to learn and to adapt behaviour to different situations
- chronic health conditions or pain affect ability to function on a regular or episodic basis due to migraines, Crohn's disease, colitis, and other disabilities or health conditions
- Discrimination
- Treating someone differently or unfairly because of a personal characteristic or distinction, which, whether intentional or not, has an effect that imposes disadvantages not imposed on others or that withholds or limits access that is given to others.
- 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).
- Inclusive by design or disability-inclusive design
- A philosophy that recognizes the inherent value of every individual, regardless of their abilities or limitations. It goes beyond mere compliance with accessibility standards and regulations, seeking to create environments, products and experiences that cater to the needs of all people, regardless of their physical, cognitive, or sensory abilities.
- Nothing Without Us
- "Nothing About Us Without Us," is the concept that any decisions about people with disabilities should involve people with disabilities
- Plain language
- Communication your audience can understand the first time they read or hear it. It is writing that is clear, concise and well-organized that follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field and intended audience
- Systemic barrier
- A pattern of behaviour inherent in the policies and practices of an organization that creates or perpetuates disadvantage for persons with disabilities
- Workforce availability
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For the core public administration, refers to the estimated availability of people in designated groups as a percentage of the workforce population. For the core public administration, workforce availability is based on the population of Canadian citizens who
- are active in the workforce
- work in those occupations that correspond to the occupations in the core public administration