Background

In June 2021, the Province enacted the Accessible British Columbia Act. The Act provides a framework for government to work with people with disabilities, communities, and partners to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to the full and equal participation of people with disabilities.

The Province is committed to developing new accessibility standards that will work to achieve this. The first two standards in development are about Accessible Service Delivery and Employment Accessibility.

• The goal of Accessible Service Delivery standards is to ensure that events, activities, and the process of buying goods are carried out in accessible ways for people with disabilities 
• The goal of Employment Accessibility standards is to identify, remove and prevent barriers in hiring, training and employee retention 

The Act provides for government to consult key partners in the development of these standards. The Accessibility Directorate is supporting the Provincial Accessibility Committee (PAC) to facilitate province-wide public consultations on the Accessible Service Delivery and Employment Accessibility standards between the end of May and July 2024.

This input from this engagement will be used to help shape standards recommendations the Provincial Accessibility Committee will bring to the minister responsible for accessibility in 2025. These recommendations will form the basis of future accessibility regulations in B.C. 

Links for further information

• Accessible British Columbia Act – BC Laws 
• Accessibility Directorate of British Columbia
• Provincial Accessibility Committee
• Technical Committees
• Read or access the Summary Report of initial consultations (2019)