In her role as Chief Accessibility Officer, Stephanie Cadieux is often asked how other countries are doing when it comes to accessibility, where we might stand to learn, and where we might serve as a model. So for this International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we’re excited to share a pre-recorded conversation with our international partners about what’s new and exciting in accessibility around the world, who’s leading the way, and common barriers.

We wanted to be sure to let our valued friends, allies, stakeholders, collaborators and partners know about the release of this video on our YouTube channel, which is why we are reaching out to share it with you today. Please feel free to forward this message to your teams and share the video with your networks.

The video features the CAO in conversation with 5 panelists from countries with different accessibility legislation, issues, and advances. Sharing experience, insight and best practices across borders is critical to arriving at the best solutions. We all stand to learn so much from each other. Panelists include:

• Dr. Shani Dhanda (United Kingdom)
• Yat Li (Canada)
• Tricia Malowney (Australia)
• the Most Honourable Kerryann F. Ifill (Barbados), and
• Jeff Wissel (United States of America)

Their enlightening and candid discussion touches on the latest in assistive tech and legislation, the potential and risks of AI, accessibility wishlists, accessibility blunders (learning moments), and more.

The video is available on our YouTube channel, in both French and English, with ASL and LSQ interpretation and captioning. You can also find the videos on our LinkedIn and Facebook pages. We hope you’ll enjoy and learn as much from the conversation as we did!

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ocao-bdpacanada
LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ocaobdpacanada
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OCAOGC

Please note, there is a brief technical glitch in the English version around the 33 minute mark, where the French interpretation replaces the English for about one minute. English captions and ASL remain on during this time. We can also offer a full transcript of the video upon request. We apologize for this glitch, but as the CAO often says, it’s important to fail forward and improve next time.

Wishing you a happy International Day of Persons with Disabilities! Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to a barrier-free Canada!

From the whole team at the Office of the Chief Accessibility Officer