Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, accessible communication measures, training, notice and requests
M.R. 47/2022, ss. 3 (1), 4 (1)-(3), 5, 6 and 9 (accessible communication)
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an organization subject to the Act that has one or more employees in Manitoba, establish and implement measures, policies and practices respecting accessible communication (ss. 2 (c) and 3 (1)).
- Educational institutions, which include private vocational institutions and independent schools, and libraries have been bound by the Regulation since , whatever their number of employees (ss. 1 and 2 (b)).
- Make sure accessible communication training is provided to those who communicate directly to the public or to another organization in Manitoba on your behalf, including employees, agents and volunteers, to your educators if you are an educational institution, to those who develop or maintain your web content, to those who purchase or procure information technology or communication tools, and to those who develop or implement your accessible communication measures, covering the matters in section 4 (2), as soon as reasonably practicable and on an ongoing basis when your measures change (s. 4 (1) to (3)).
- Take appropriate measures to inform the public and your employees that on request you will provide information through a communication support or accessible format (s. 5).
- On a request for information, including information related to emergency procedures or public safety, through a communication support or accessible format, consult the person to identify the support or format that would remove the barrier and provide the information through it in a timely manner (s. 6 (1) and (2)).
- Do not impose a cost or fee for providing information through a communication support or accessible format that is greater than the cost or fee imposed on a person who did not make a request (s. 6 (3)).
- You need not provide the information through a communication support or accessible format if 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 information, or the information relates to product labels or other product information; section 6 does not apply to information in educational materials or library resources (s. 6 (4) and (5)).
- Make reasonable efforts to provide a process for receiving and responding to feedback about accessible communication that suits persons disabled by barriers, and for documenting your resulting actions and making that documentation available on request (s. 9).
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
- has one or more employees in Manitoba
What this law does
Section 2 applies the Regulation to any other organization subject to the Act that meets the test in clause 2 (c), on the day that is three 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 the Regulation came into force for all organizations on .
Departments of the government, government agencies, health authorities, the City of Winnipeg, other cities, educational institutions and libraries came under the Regulation earlier. The Regulation's definition of an educational institution covers private vocational institutions and independent schools as well as public schools, universities and colleges. The Government of Manitoba states that educational institutions and libraries had to comply from .
The duties of the government departments and the other public bodies are not described here. Section 3 requires an organization to establish and implement measures, policies and practices respecting accessible communication.
Section 4 requires accessible communication training for the persons who communicate on the organization's behalf, who develop or maintain its web content, who procure information technology or communication tools, and who develop its accessible communication measures, and for an educational institution's educators.
Section 5 requires an organization to take appropriate measures to inform the public and its employees that information will be provided on request through a communication support or accessible format. Section 6 requires an organization that receives a request for information through a communication support or accessible format to consult the person and provide the information in a timely manner.
Section 6 lets the organization decline where providing the information would result in undue hardship, the organization does not have direct control over the information, or the information relates to product labels or other product information. Section 6 also lets the organization decline where it is not technically feasible to provide the information through a communication support or accessible format, or the technology required to do so cannot readily be obtained.
Section 9 requires reasonable efforts to provide a process for receiving and responding to feedback about accessible communication. Sections 10 to 14 add duties for educational institutions and libraries.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.