Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation, accessible web content and web applications (WCAG 2.1 Level AA)
M.R. 47/2022, ss. 7 and 8 (web content and web applications)
In force since .
An accessibility requirements rule binding public and private bodies.
- Conformance standard
- WCAG 2.1 AA
As of .
What it requires
- If you are an organization subject to the Act that has one or more employees in Manitoba, make your web content, meaning information published on your Internet website, meet or exceed the standards in WCAG 2.1 Level AA if it was published on or after ( for an educational institution or a library) or if it is required to access your goods and services (ss. 1, 2 (c) and 7 (1)).
- Make a web application, meaning a software application that runs on a web server and is accessed by a user through a web browser, meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 Level AA if it is published, or receives an update that changes its functionality, user base or purpose, on or after (s. 8 (1) and (3)).
- The web content and web application duties do not apply where it is not technically feasible to publish in accordance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, the required technology cannot readily be obtained, doing so would cause undue hardship, you do not have direct control over the content or application, or it relates to product labels or other product information (ss. 7 (2) and 8 (2)).
- The definition of web content reaches the Internet website of an organization within clause 2 (c), and reaches an intranet website only for the bodies in clauses 2 (a) and (b), which include educational institutions (among them private vocational institutions and independent schools) and libraries (s. 1).
- Section 8 reaches a software application that runs on a web server and is accessed through a web browser; a native mobile application, which is not accessed through a web browser, is outside it (s. 8 (3)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of . Also read by: Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Accessibility Office (guidance, recorded ).
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)
Settledness
Section 8 (3) defines a web application by access through a web browser, and the Government of Manitoba's frequently asked questions answer that mobile apps do not need to be made accessible under the standard.
- As of
- Guidance link
- https://accessibilitymb.ca/resources/ic-standard/general/ic-standard-faq.pdf
- Guidance body
- Government of Manitoba, Manitoba Accessibility Office
What it reaches
Instrument type
a regulation made under an act
Applicability criteria
- As of
- Combinator
- All of
- Criteria
- has one or more employees in Manitoba
What this law does
Section 7 requires an organization's web content to meet or exceed the standards set out in WCAG 2.1 Level AA if the content was published on or after the day the Regulation applies to the organization, or if it is required to access the organization's goods and services. The Regulation defines WCAG 2.1 Level AA as the World Wide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 Level AA.
The Regulation defines web content as information published on the Internet website of an organization listed in clause 2 (a), (b) or (c), and on the intranet website of an organization listed in clause 2 (a) or (b). Section 7 does not require web content to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA where publishing it that way would result in undue hardship, the organization does not have direct control over the content, or the content relates to product labels or other product information.
Section 7 also does not require it where it is not technically feasible to publish the web content in accordance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA, or the technology required to do so cannot readily be obtained. Section 8 requires a web application to meet or exceed WCAG 2.1 Level AA if it is published or receives a significant update on or after the day the Regulation applies to the organization.
The Regulation defines a web application as a software application that is run on a web server and accessed by a user through a web browser. The Regulation defines a significant update as an update that changes the web application's functionality, user base or purpose. Section 8 carries the same exceptions as section 7 for undue hardship, lack of direct control and product labels or other product information.
Section 8 also does not require a web application to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA where it is not technically feasible to publish it that way, or the technology required to do so cannot readily be obtained. The Government of Manitoba states that the Regulation came into force for all organizations on . Because section 8 (3) defines a web application by access through a web browser, section 8 does not reach a native mobile application.
Educational institutions and libraries came under sections 7 and 8 on , and the definition of web content reaches their intranet websites as well. The Government of Manitoba's frequently asked questions answer that mobile apps do not need to be made accessible under the standard.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app ships a consumer interface.