Beginning May 1st, provincial legislation for the Accessibility for Manitobans Act will introduce a new accessibility standard. This standard will apply to all public sector sector, libraries and educational institutions in Manitoba. The Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation aims to make digital, print, and technological interactions barrier-free.
Key points of the standard:
- It builds upon existing requirements of Manitoba’s Human Rights Code.
- It helps organizations identify and remove barriers for print and website users.
- It adopts globally recognized web content accessibility guidelines.
The main requirements of the Accessible Information and Communication Standard include:
- Websites must meet WCAG 2.1 level AA standards for accessibility.
- All new or updated content must adhere to WCAG 2.1 level AA guidelines.
- Informing the public that your information is accessible is required.
- Organizations must offer information in accessible formats upon request.
- Organizations must establish a process for receiving and responding to accessibility feedback.
- Employees must receive accessible communication training to identify and remove barriers.
Is this news to you?
You can work towards compliance by the May 1 deadline by prioritizing your efforts with this strategy:
- Start with the documents you use most often.
- Make sure documents most commonly accessed by others are accessible.
- Make a plan and implement how you will offer alternative formats
You can reach out if you have questions or if you need some help to meet this deadline. Let’s work towards moving your organization forward. It’s what we do!
