Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, educational materials and library resources of educational institutions, including private vocational institutions and independent schools
M.R. 47/2022, ss. 10-14 (educational institutions and their libraries)
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an educational institution, which includes a private vocational institution and an independent school, the Regulation has applied to you since , whatever your number of employees (ss. 1 and 2 (b) (iv)).
- Document your accessible communication measures, policies and practices and make the documented policies publicly available, and create and document an accessible communication training policy, whatever your number of employees (ss. 3 (2) and 4 (4)).
- Make sure your educators receive accessible communication training, as well as the persons section 4 (1) names for every organization (s. 4 (1) (b)).
- Take appropriate measures to inform your employees, students, applicants and prospective applicants, and their parents and guardians, that educational materials (textbooks, supplementary learning resources, student records, and class, lesson, workshop or program descriptions, availability, scheduling and requirements) are available through a communication support or accessible format on request (ss. 1 and 10).
- On a request for educational material through a communication support or accessible format, consult the person to identify the support or format that would remove the barrier and provide the material through it in a timely manner, and if it cannot reasonably be provided that way, provide a comparable resource (s. 11 (2) and (3)).
- Do not charge a person who requests educational material through a communication support or accessible format more than you would charge a person who did not make the request (s. 11 (4)).
- If you operate a library, consider the accessibility needs of its users when procuring or purchasing library resources, which include software, and inform users of each resource currently available through a communication support or accessible format and the supports or formats available for it (ss. 1, 12 and 13).
- On a request for a library resource through a communication support or accessible format, consult the person and provide the resource through the identified support or format in a timely manner, at no greater cost than for a person who did not make the request, unless it is not technically feasible, the required technology cannot readily be obtained, it would cause undue hardship, you do not have direct control over the resource, or it relates to product labels or other product information (s. 14 (2) to (4)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Failing to comply with an accessibility standard as required under section 20 is an offence under section 34 (1) (b), and a person guilty of an offence is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than $250,000 (s. 34 (3)). A director, officer, employee or agent of a corporation who authorized, permitted or acquiesced in the corporation's offence is also guilty of an offence (s. 34 (2)). A person who pays an administrative penalty may not be charged with an offence for that non-compliance unless it continues after the payment (s. 31 (4)).
Penalty structure
Section 34 (3) states one ceiling of $250,000 for a person guilty of an offence under the Act, on summary conviction, with no separate amount for a corporation and no amount per day. Section 29 (1) lets the director require payment of an administrative penalty "in the amount determined in accordance with the regulations", and neither the Act nor any of the five regulations made under it, as listed on , sets that amount.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- Currency
- CAD
- Fixed cap
- 250,000
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
An inspector whom the minister appoints under section 23 of The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, together with the director appointed under subsection 22 (1)
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Obligation class
Governance, Disclosure
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- All of
- Criteria
- is an educational institution: an adult learning centre registered under The Adult Learning Centres Act, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, a private vocational institution as defined in The Private Vocational Institutions Act, a public school or an independent school as defined in The Education Administration Act, or a university or a college as defined in The Advanced Education Administration Act
What this law does
The Regulation's definition of an educational institution covers adult learning centres, the Manitoba Institute of Trades and Technology, private vocational institutions, public and independent schools, and universities and colleges. Clause 2 (b) applies the Regulation to an educational institution and to a library on the day that is two years after the Regulation came into force. The Regulation came into force on , or on the day it was registered, whichever was later.
It was registered on . The Government of Manitoba states that educational institutions and libraries had to comply from . Section 10 requires an educational institution, beside its general duty to inform the public, to take appropriate measures to inform its employees, students, applicants and prospective applicants, and their parents and guardians, that educational materials are available through a communication support or accessible format on request.
The Regulation defines educational material as textbooks, supplementary learning resources, student records, and the descriptions, availability, scheduling and requirements of classes, lessons, workshops or programs. Section 11 requires an educational institution that receives a request to consult the person to identify the support or format that would remove the barrier and to provide the educational material through it in a timely manner.
If educational material cannot reasonably be provided through a communication support or accessible format, the institution must provide a comparable resource. The institution may not charge a person who makes such a request more than it would charge a person who did not. The library of an educational institution is a library under the Regulation, beside municipal, regional and City of Winnipeg libraries.
Section 12 requires a library to consider the accessibility needs of its users when procuring or purchasing library resources. The Regulation defines library resources as an item, material, recording or software that can be accessed, used or borrowed at a library. Section 13 requires a library to inform its users of each library resource currently available through a communication support or accessible format and of the supports or formats available for it.
Section 14 requires a library that receives a request to consult the person and to provide the library resource through the identified support or format in a timely manner. A library need not do so where providing the resource that way would result in undue hardship, the library does not have direct control over the resource, or the resource relates to product labels or other product information.
It also need not do so where that is not technically feasible or the required technology cannot readily be obtained. Sections 3 (2) and 4 (4), which require documented policies and a documented training policy, bind educational institutions and libraries whatever their number of employees. Section 4 (1) also requires accessible communication training for an educational institution's educators.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.