Knowledge Centres

Although there are wider structural issues with respect to the barriers between research insight and either policy or practical application, it is worth noting some of the key centres of knowledge in Canada contributing to the discourse on accessibility.

Academic Hubs, Consortia and Research Centres

The Canadian Accessibility Network (CAN), under the leadership of the Accessibility Institute at Carleton University, is a national collaboration to advance accessibility for persons with disabilities through research, innovation and related activities.^[1] The Inclusive Design Research Centre (IDRC) at OCAD University, founded in 1993 by Dr. Jutta Treviranus, is “an international community of open source developers, designers, researchers, educators and co-designers who work together to proactively ensure that emerging technology and practices are designed inclusively.”^[2]  The Live Work Well Research Centre at the University of Guelph takes an intersectional, community-engaged approach to disability studies. The Accessibility Research Lab at Mohawk College combines accessibility and usability knowledge to deliver solutions that help organizations outside of the college meet their accessibility requirements.^[3] The RehabiMed Research Group, based at Simon Fraser University, focuses on researching rehabilitation and accessible environments. The Disability Policy Research Program (DiPo) at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy provides and uses evidence-based information to shape public policy and improve the lives of persons with disabilities.^[4] The Centre for Research on Educational and Community Services (CRECS), based at the University of Ottawa, focuses on disability and community services research.^[5] The Canadian Disability Studies Association (CDSA) is a professional organization for scholars, researchers, and students in the field of disability studies in Canada.^[6] The CDSA conducts research and provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and information related to disability and accessibility issues. It also publishes the open-access peer-reviewed Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, based at the University of Waterloo, which contains “original articles that advance research in the multidisciplinary, international field of disability studies.”^[7]

Evidence Centres and Think Tanks

The Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society (IRIS) is a national research institute dedicated to the study of inclusive society, with a focus on disability and diversity.^[8]  They engage in interdisciplinary research and knowledge transfer activities.  The Canadian Disability Policy Alliance is a national network of organizations and individuals working to improve disability policy in Canada. They engage in policy analysis, research, and advocacy.^[9] The Rick Hansen Foundation works to create a more inclusive world, through research, raising awareness of accessibility issues, and providing resources and support for people with disabilities.^[10]  Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital and a world leading research centre in this field. They also engage in research related to disability and accessibility issues. Some think tanks, notably the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP), frequently publish on disability or accessibility.  The Roeher Institute is a policy think tank that “generates knowledge, information and skills to secure the inclusion, citizenship, human rights and equality of people with intellectual and other disabilities.”^[11]

Civil Society

Civil society organizations have been vital to the advancement of accessibility, inclusion, and recognition of the rights and agency of persons with disabilities. Support groups for caregivers, and adaptive sport and recreation clubs are among the legion of grassroots community groups who have pushed the needle on accessibility. As is the trend in other realms of civil society, many organizations begin their life as grassroots citizen-led groups or movements and over time evolve into more professionalized organizations or coalitions.  Among the many shifts in terminology attached to civil society groups, we have seen a shift from organizations with “for” to “of” as prepositions; i.e. to be a society “for” (people with X disability) – implying there is an exogenous agent of care or concern – is different than being an association “of”, which suggests rooting in lived experience and legitimacy of voice.

There are many international civil society organizations important to pushing for accessibility globally.  The London-based International Disability Alliance is a coalition of coalitions (members include the World Blind Union, Down Syndrome International, and the World Federation of the Deaf).  The Alliance operates a Global Disability Summit every four years, the most recent in 2022.^[12] The Global Alliance of Assistive Technology Organizations (GAATO), which operates a grand challenge on assistive technology at the Global Summit, has a mission to “advance the field of assistive technology (AT) and rehabilitation engineering (RE) to benefit people with disabilities and functional limitations of all ages.”^[13]  The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP), a division of the Global Initiative for Inclusive ICT’s (G3ict), aims to support the accessibility profession globally through certification, education, and networking in creating accessible products, content, services, and environments.^[14] Inclusion International is a global advocacy organization for people with intellectual disabilities that works “to create a world where people with intellectual disabilities and their families can take part and be valued equally in all areas of their lives.”^[15] #WeThe15 is a global movement led initially by the disability sports sector to end discrimination, change attitudes, create more opportunities, and improve mobility and accessibility.^[16] The European Disability Forum (EDF) is a pan-European organization that represents the interests of 80 million Europeans with disabilities, working to raise awareness of accessibility and inclusion issues across Europe.^[17]

Civil Society in Canada

In Canada, there are over 5,000 organizations that focus expressly on accessibility or disability, from the Canadian Standards Association to local grassroots advocacy groups.^[18]  Strangely, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which regulates charities, does not have a specific category for organizations serving people with disabilities (among 32 categories of charitable activity).^[19]  As such, it is challenging to measure the number of organizations or the charitable funding that flows toward accessibility and disability issues.  At the time of writing, there are 103 organizations nationwide with “disability” or “disabilities” in their name, and 49 with “ability”.^[20]  Charitable nomenclature also appears to be more frozen in time than the societal norm. In some ways shockingly so, with 38 organizations having “handicapped” in their name, 4 with “crippled”, and incredibly, 2 still using the “R-word”.  Conversely, only 2 organizations have “accessibility” in their title and none use “neurodiversity”.

There are several national non-profit organizations that focus on disability or accessibility. The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), a national cross-disability organization that works to advance the rights and interests of Canadians with disabilities, providing information, resources, and advocacy on accessibility and disability issues and works to promote the full participation and inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of life.  Inclusion Canada, formerly the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL), is a national federation of provincial and territorial organizations that represents and supports the full inclusion of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families in all aspects of life.^[21]  The DisAbled Women’s Network Canada (DAWN Canada) is dedicated to the advancement of women and non-binary individuals with disabilities.^[22]  The Canadian Disability Foundation created and manages Accessible Transportation Canada (ATRACAN), which works to remove barriers in the public and private transportation sectors.^[23]  People First Canada is a rights-focused national voice for people who have been “labeled with an intellectual or developmental disability.”  The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW) focuses on equitable and meaningful employment for persons with disabilities.^[24] The Canadian Foundation for Physically Disabled Persons runs the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame.^[25] The National Institute of Disability Management and Research provides education, research, policy development and implementation resources to promote workplace-based reintegration programs. The Rick Hansen Foundation runs the Accessibility Professionals Network (APN), supporting professionals and students working in accessibility through learning, professional development and networking opportunities.^[26]

There are also a large number of national organizations specific to certain specific domains of disability.  Two prominent examples include the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and Spinal Cord Injury Canada.  The CNIB, founded in 1918, provides support and services to people who are blind or partially sighted, working to increase accessibility and improve the lives of people with vision loss, and offering a range of programs and services, including low vision rehabilitation, assistive technology, and peer support.^[27]  Spinal Cord Injury Canada, incorporated in 1945 as the Canadian Paraplegic Association, provides support and services to people with spinal cord injuries, working through rehabilitation, advocacy, and peer support to promote independence and full participation in all aspects of life. Spinal Cord Injury Canada also convened the Federal Accessibility Legislation Alliance, which included over 100 organizations and thousands of people with a broad range of disabilities collaborating to improve and strengthen Bill C-81 – the 2019 Accessible Canada Act.^[28]

Civil Society in Alberta

A number of Alberta-wide civil society organizations advocate for, or serve, the disability community.  The Alberta Council of Disabilities provides information, resources, and advocacy support.^[29] The Alberta Ability Network, funded by the United Way of Calgary, is a collaborative of stakeholders, people with lived experience and those who support them, health practitioners, academia, community advocates, and government working to address systemic barriers, strengthen the sector and influence policy.^[30]  Inclusion Alberta provides services and support to individuals with developmental disabilities and their families, including early intervention, education, and community living programs.^[31] The Alberta Disability Workers Association builds recognition of the professionals who work in the field of disability community service work, which is roughly 15,000 in the province.^[32]

Civil Society in Calgary

Within Calgary, there are hundreds of organizations serving, or created by, Calgarians with disabilities. Some were formed decades ago, with the aim of better integrating people with disabilities into the broader community.  Following is a list of some of the key nonprofit organizations that cut across a range of disability types:

• The Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre (DDRC), founded in 1952, provides programs and services to support children and adults with developmental disabilities, and serves as a resource centre to the general public to support the inclusion of all people.^[33]
• Chrysalis, founded in 1968 with both a Calgary and Edmonton presence, offers personalized services to provide meaningful opportunities for growth and community inclusion.  The organization now embraces and advocates for a human-centered design approach.^[34]
• The Vocational and Rehabilitation Research Institute, envisioned by University of Calgary researcher Christine Meikle and spurred by a Canada Centennial grant, was founded in 1968.^[35]  Now called Vecova, the organization has pioneered many cutting edge approaches to well-being, including some of the first employment-inclusive social enterprises in Canada (described elsewhere in this scan), and, starting in the 1980s, the practice of ‘reverse integration’ – integrating mainstream users into disability-friendly spaces and experiences.^[36]
• Calgary Alternative Support Services (CASS) was founded in the late 1980s in response to social isolation and loneliness experienced by many in the community.^[37]  It provides support to find housing (also operating two of its own residential properties), employment, or learning and opportunities for community participation.^[38]
• The Independent Living Resource Centre of Calgary (ILRCC), also founded in the 1980s, provides resources, support, and advocacy, including information on disability rights, access to assistive technology, and independent living skills training.
• In addition to Vecova and CASS, there are many other accessible housing providers in Calgary, including Accessible Housing Calgary, Onward Homes, Calgary Society for Persons with Disabilities, L’Arche Association, Aspire Housing (a project of the Sinneave Foundation), Calgary Progressive Lifestyles Foundation (CPLF), and Community Living Alternative Services (CLAS).
• A number of organizations provide adaptive technology or other accessibility resources, including the Ability Society, Calgary Adapted Hub, and Rocky Mountain Adaptive.
• There are also many employment and/or equity and diversity-focused organizations not specifically focused on disability, such as Prospect Human Services, Future Ancestors, and the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion.

Others were formed in more recent years and decades, typically starting as grassroots advocacy groups led by citizens with disabilities.  Disability Action Hall, hosted by the Calgary Scope Society, is focused on telling stories, taking action and changing lives in five areas: disability pride and culture; relationships and networking; living wage, the right to housing; and essential services.^[39]  Focused strongly on public policy advocacy, the Hall stewards and reports on a provincial performance tracker.  The Calgary Employment First Network organizes and hosts Disability Employment Awareness Week (DEAM).  Calgary’s disability pride movement is only one of two such entities in Canada.  Now widespread in the US, having started in 1990, the disability pride movement – there called AmeriPride – has a focus on “accepting and honoring each person’s uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity”.^[40]

Philanthropy & Accessibility

While there are a handful of important global foundations addressing accessibility, such as the Boston-based Disability Rights Fund and the Ford Foundation’s Disability Rights program, accessibility is not a specific focus of grantmaking or investment for many foundations in Canada.  Philanthropic foundations can choose to devote their charitable resources either to grants to other organizations, or to their own programming.  The Calgary-based Sinneave Family Foundation is an example of the latter, an operating foundation that aims to improve education, employment and housing outcomes for autistic youth and adults.  In addition to a wide range of learning, employment-preparedness, and scholarship programs, the Foundation provides programming related to affordable housing and independent living, and operates The Ability Hub, a 17,000-square-foot space located on the University of Calgary campus.^[41]

Private Sector

In 2013, the Harper government tabled the Rethinking disAbility in the Private Sector report, which led to the creation of a Canadian Employers Disability Forum “to bring greater private sector attention to the employment needs of Canadians with disabilities.”^[42]  In the decade since, as part of investors’, executives’, and the public’s growing interest in ESG, there is increasing demand for information on disability inclusion efforts. A growing number of companies are recognizing that disability inclusion can not just help address ESG, but help address the labour shortage, expand markets, and spur innovation.  The biotech, pharma, communications, utilities, and energy sectors are the highest performing sectors, while retail, manufacturing, and insurance are the poorest performing in terms of employment inclusion.^[43]

There are a small number of other corporate disability inclusion tracking and recognition initiatives: Disability:IN is an international nonprofit that serves as a resource for business disability inclusion worldwide. 400 corporations, including many Canadian companies, have committed to the Disability:IN principles.  They also publish the Disability Equality Index, billed as “The most comprehensive benchmarking tool for disability inclusion in business.”^[44]  DiversityInc. has conducted a Top 50 (US) Companies for Diversity survey and ranking since 2001. Among the sub-rankings are the Top Companies for People with Disabilities, in which TD Bank has ranked 1st eight years in a row.  TD is notable not only for their workplace inclusion efforts, but because they invest in leadership development and professional advancement opportunities for people with disabilities.^[45]  PwC’s CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion initiative points to a self-assessment tool called the Disability Employment Tracker™, developed by the National Organization on Disability (NOD).^[46]  The Rick Hansen Foundation certifies companies with respect to the accessibility of their built environments.^[47]  The Presidents Group is a network of 25 British Columnbia business leaders who are champions for more accessible, inclusive workplaces.^[48]

Paralleling the rise of ESG frameworks, there have since been a number of notable moves by companies to innovate with respect to workplace inclusion.  Some of these are discussed later in this Scan, as are  a variety of accessibility start-ups and other small-to-medium enterprises, including social enterprises,.

SPOTLIGHT – Accessibility and the Private Sector: Spotlight on Microsoft