Accessible Canada Act

The purpose of the Accessible Canada Act is to make Canada barrier-free by January 1, 2040. This involves identifying, removing and preventing barriers in federal jurisdiction in the following priority areas:

• employment
• the built environment (buildings and public spaces)
• information and communication technologies
• communication, other than information and communication technologies
• the procurement of goods, services and facilities
• the design and delivery of programs and services, and
• transportation (airlines, as well as rail, road and marine transportation providers that cross provincial or international borders)

Communication, as a priority area, includes the use of:

• American Sign Language
• Quebec Sign Language (Langue des signes québécoise), and
• Indigenous sign languages

The Act recognizes these sign languages as the primary languages of Deaf people in Canada.