When we talk about accessibility in technology, it’s often framed as a matter of convenience or good practice. But for people with disabilities, digital access is a human rights issue. Equal participation in society increasingly depends on digital systems — from banking and healthcare to voting and education.
What Digital Rights Mean
Equal access: Every service, app, or platform should be designed to include people with disabilities.
Privacy & security: Assistive tech users should not have to sacrifice personal data or independence to participate.
Affordability: Specialized hardware, software, or adaptive devices must be financially accessible.
Representation: People with disabilities should shape digital policy and product design.
Canadian Context
Charter rights: Equality rights under Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms extend to digital participation.
Accessible Canada Act (2019): Establishes a framework but leaves gaps in enforcement.
Provincial patchwork: Ontario’s AODA sets higher standards than most provinces, creating uneven protections.
Everyday gaps: Banking apps without screen reader compatibility, or government websites with inaccessible forms, directly undermine rights.
The Challenges
Enforcement gaps: Laws exist, but compliance checks are weak.
Tech inequality: Many accessibility tools are expensive and not covered by public programs.
Systemic barriers: Disability is often treated as a niche issue, not a mainstream design requirement.
Digital divide: Disabled Canadians face higher rates of poverty, compounding access challenges.
The Opportunities
Rights-based framing: Shift from “accommodation” to legal obligation.
Universal design adoption: Normalize accessibility standards across industries.
Public procurement power: Governments can require accessible tech from vendors.
Stronger enforcement: Penalties for non-compliance, alongside support for small organizations.
The Bigger Picture
Digital participation is no longer optional. If people with disabilities are excluded, their democratic, economic, and social rights are denied. Ensuring digital rights is not charity — it is justice.
The Question
Should Canada move toward a Digital Bill of Rights for People with Disabilities, making accessibility a guaranteed right rather than a negotiable feature?
Digital Rights for People with Disabilities
Beyond Accessibility: Framing as Rights
When we talk about accessibility in technology, it’s often framed as a matter of convenience or good practice. But for people with disabilities, digital access is a human rights issue. Equal participation in society increasingly depends on digital systems — from banking and healthcare to voting and education.
What Digital Rights Mean
Canadian Context
The Challenges
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Digital participation is no longer optional. If people with disabilities are excluded, their democratic, economic, and social rights are denied. Ensuring digital rights is not charity — it is justice.
The Question
Should Canada move toward a Digital Bill of Rights for People with Disabilities, making accessibility a guaranteed right rather than a negotiable feature?