Accessibility Statement

Our accessibility commitment

CanAccess is committed to ensuring that this website is accessible to all users, including people with disabilities. We target WCAG 2.1 Level AAA conformance — the highest level of the international web accessibility standard — because a resource dedicated to accessibility should itself be a model of accessible practice.

We have designed and built this site with accessibility as a primary requirement, not an afterthought.

Conformance status

Target standard: WCAG 2.1 Level AAA Current status: Substantially conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AAA with the exceptions noted below. Last reviewed: January 2025

What we have done

All text colour / background colour combinations meet WCAG AAA contrast ratios (7:1 for normal text, 4.5:1 for large text)
All pages have a logical heading hierarchy (H1 → H2 → H3) with no skipped levels
All images have appropriate alt text — informative images have descriptive alt text; decorative images use alt=""
All interactive elements are keyboard accessible — operable by Tab, arrow keys, Enter, and Space
All interactive elements have visible focus indicators meeting WCAG 2.4.11 focus appearance criteria
Navigation is consistent across pages (WCAG 3.2.3)
All pages have a skip-to-main-content link as the first interactive element
All pages have a descriptive <title> element
ARIA landmark structure is present on all pages: <header>, <nav>, <main>, <footer>
Code examples are highlighted syntactically and have accessible colour contrast
The site respects prefers-reduced-motion — no animations run when the user has requested reduced motion
The site respects prefers-color-scheme — a high-contrast dark mode is provided for users who prefer it
Language is set on the <html> element (lang="en")
The site is fully responsive and reflows correctly at 320px viewport width (equivalent to 400% zoom)
Text can be resized up to 200% without loss of content or functionality

What we use on this site

This site is a static site built with Astro 5.x and Tailwind CSS 4.x. It has no user accounts, no cookies (beyond those your browser sets internally), and no third-party analytics or tracking scripts. There is no client-side JavaScript except for the mobile navigation toggle.

The Pagefind search function, when enabled, indexes the site content statically at build time and runs with minimal JavaScript. The search input and results are keyboard accessible.

Known limitations

We are transparent about limitations and work to resolve them. The following are known issues as of the last review date:

Issue	Area	Severity	Status
Code blocks do not have a visible scroll indicator on overflow	Code examples	Minor	Reviewing
Pagefind search results do not announce count via live region after search	Search	Moderate	Planned fix
Contrast Swatch component high-contrast borders may not meet 3:1 in some dark mode configurations	Design Principles page	Minor	Investigating

If you find an issue not listed here, please report it using the contact information below.

Technical information

This site was tested using:

Automated scanning: axe DevTools (Deque) on all pages
Keyboard testing: Full keyboard walkthrough of all pages on Chrome (Windows)
Screen reader testing: NVDA 2024.1 + Chrome on Windows; VoiceOver + Safari on macOS
Mobile testing: VoiceOver + Safari on iOS 17; TalkBack on Android 14
Contrast verification: Colour Contrast Analyser (TPGi) on all colour pairings
Zoom testing: 200% and 400% zoom in Chrome and Firefox
Reduced motion testing: Chrome DevTools media emulation + macOS system preference

Testing was performed against WCAG 2.1 Level AAA success criteria.

Feedback and contact

We actively want to know about accessibility barriers on this site. If you encounter something you cannot access or that works poorly with your assistive technology:

Preferred: Open an issue on the project repository
Email: Describe the barrier, the page URL, and the assistive technology or browser you are using

We will acknowledge reports within 5 business days and will aim to resolve confirmed issues within 30 days.

Template: Write your own accessibility statement

A public accessibility statement is required for AODA-covered organizations and is best practice for all organizations. Below is a template you can adapt for your organization.

Accessibility Statement Template

[Organization name] Accessibility Statement

Statement date: [Date]

[Organization name] is committed to making our digital services accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities. We aim to meet the [WCAG 2.1 / 2.2] [Level AA / Level AAA] standard for all new and substantially revised content.

Conformance status

This website [is / substantially / partially] conforms to [WCAG 2.1 Level AA]. [If partial or not fully conforming, explain: “The following areas are known to have accessibility issues:”]

Known limitations:

[Describe any known accessibility issues, affected pages, and your plan to address them]
[If no known issues: “We are not aware of any WCAG 2.1 AA failures at this time.”]

What we have done to make this website accessible

[List specific accessibility measures: alt text policy, caption requirement, keyboard testing, etc.]
[Be specific — “We add alt text to all images” is more credible than “We care about accessibility”]

How to report an accessibility issue

If you encounter an accessibility barrier on this website or have difficulty accessing any content, please contact us:

Email: [accessibility@yourdomain.ca]
Phone: [Phone number with relay service alternative]
Mail: [Mailing address]

We will acknowledge your report within [X] business days and aim to resolve confirmed issues within [30/60/90] days.

Enforcement

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact:

[For Ontario organizations]: The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario — ontario.ca/accessibility
[For federal organizations or employees]: The Accessibility Commissioner — accessible.canada.ca
[For human rights complaints]: The Ontario Human Rights Commission, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, or your provincial human rights body

Technical details

This website was last assessed on [date] using:

[Testing method 1: e.g., automated scanning with axe DevTools]
[Testing method 2: e.g., keyboard testing on Chrome]
[Testing method 3: e.g., NVDA screen reader testing on Chrome]

This statement was prepared by [internal team / external auditor name] on [date].

AODA-specific requirements for your statement

Under the IASR, large organizations (50+ employees in Ontario) must:

Publish an accessibility policy — a statement of commitment to accessibility and the steps you are taking
Publish multi-year accessibility plans — plans for removing accessibility barriers, updated annually
File accessibility reports — self-certification or third-party report every 3 years for large organizations (1–49 employees: every 3 years, self-certification only)

Your accessibility statement can fulfil the accessibility policy requirement if it includes:

A commitment to meeting WCAG 2.1 AA (or your chosen standard)
A description of what you have done and are doing to improve accessibility
A feedback mechanism for reporting barriers
A statement that you will provide accessible formats and communication supports on request

For full AODA compliance, your accessibility policy and multi-year plan are separate documents from your website accessibility statement — though they can be linked from it.

More information: ontario.ca/accessibility → IASR → Customer Service Standard → Accessible Formats and Communication Supports.

AODA — Ontario compliance requirements including accessibility plan and reporting obligations
Accessible Canada Act — federal accessibility plan and reporting obligations
FAQs — answers to common questions about accessibility statements and compliance
Testing and Evaluation — how to assess conformance before publishing a statement