Accessibility Plan

To build the NAV CANADA Accessibility Plan, we looked at seven important areas of our business and how we could make them more accessible. These areas are:

• Employment
• Built environment (buildings)
• Technology
• Communications
• Procuring (buying) goods, services, and facilities
• Programs and services
• Transportation (for passengers)

And gathered information as follows:

• We asked people with disabilities, including employees and people who use our services, about barriers to accessibility at NAV CANADA.
• We used surveys to collect this information. We included people who work in relevant roles at NAV CANADA to help with our accessibility planning.
• We had accessibility experts look for barriers in our digital technology and our buildings. We thought about how we could remove barriers to accessibility.

In the next 3 years, we will:

• Make a plan to continue talking with people with disabilities about how we can become more accessible
• Train our employees on disability and accessibility
• Make a plan to fix barriers we know about in our buildings
• Work with people who know about building accessibility when we improve old buildings or build new ones
• Make plans to keep people with disabilities safe in an emergency
• Install automatic door openers, and keep them working
• Look for other barriers in our buildings, and make a plan to fix them
• Make our meetings more accessible
• Make the accommodations process easier
• Set up a support person(s) to help move through the accommodations process
• Make sure that people are trained on accommodations and why they are important
• Make the hiring process more accessible
• Work to hire more people with disabilities
• Improve the accessibility of our corporate website
• Train staff on how to make digital technology more accessible
• Looks for ways to make our technology more accessible
• Make sure all social media posts are accessible
• Communicate best practices and encourage defaulting to electronic formats for documents that we publish
• Develop plain language guidelines for information we communicate, to be used where possible
• Consider accessibility when buying goods or services
• Work to be more accessible for our customers

We are open to feedback on our plan and about accessibility at NAV CANADA. You can give us your feedback using one of the following methods:

Mail:
Manager Legislated Programs
151 Slater Street, Suite 120  
Ottawa, Ontario 
K1P 5H3

Email: accessibility-accessibilite@navcanada.ca

Telephone: 
1-800-876-4693
8:00 to 18:00 ET, Monday to Friday

Our online feedback form

NAV CANADA is dedicated to being accessible for everyone, including customers, employees, partners and members of the public who have disabilities. Our commitment to accessibility is driven by our commitment to diversity overall. At NAV CANADA, we believe that a culture of innovation and excellence is created by the mix of backgrounds, ideas and perspectives that can be found in a diverse and inclusive workforce. We cannot have diversity in our organization without accessibility. This is why we are committed to improving accessibility in our business.

We recognize that people with disabilities are the experts in their own experiences as well as in accessibility. We want to build a culture of accessibility by developing relationships with people who have disabilities. Consulting with people with disabilities and learning from their experiences will be an important step as we carry out the goals in this accessibility plan. We will also work to remove barriers as we become aware of them, even if they are not a part of this plan. This plan represents a big step towards NAV CANADA becoming more accessible. Our work begins here, but it does not end here. We commit to making accessibility a priority in everything we do.

NAV CANADA plays a unique and critical role managing the 18 million square kilometres of Canadian civil airspace and the North Atlantic oceanic airspace under Canada’s control.

Air transportation is an essential industry that connects Canada to the world. It plays a vital role in our economy and in our communities from coast to coast to coast. Our critical role within the aviation ecosystem is to help guide aircraft safely and efficiently through our airspace.

We oversee air traffic through a sophisticated network of area control centres, air traffic control towers, flight service stations, maintenance centres, flight information centres and navigation aids across the country. Our customers include airlines, business aviation and air cargo operators, air charters and air taxis, helicopter operators and general aviation pilots and owners. In short, we oversee safety in the sky by connecting with aviation professionals from across Canada.

NAV CANADA has approximately 4700 employees and over 100 staffed sites.

Much of the work at NAV CANADA is physically and mentally challenging. Safety is a high priority in our operations. Air travel and air navigation is a highly regulated industry. NAV CANADA is committed to finding ways to balance the demands of the industry with the needs of employees and customers with disabilities. The NAV CANADA Accessibility Plan is a step towards achieving that balance.

NAV CANADA welcomes feedback from our employees, customers and members of the public, about our Accessibility plan and accessibility in general at NAV CANADA.

What feedback can I provide?

• You can provide feedback about NAV CANADA’s Accessibility plan
• You can provide feedback about barriers encountered when dealing with NAV CANADA

Feedback can be provided anonymously.  You will receive an acknowledgment of receipt unless you submitted the feedback anonymously.

How will my feedback be used?

• Your feedback will be shared with and considered by the team(s) responsible for accessibility at NAV CANADA.
• Your feedback may be actioned during the length of the current plan or considered for a future plan.
• Your feedback and how it was considered will be included in our progress reports.
• Your feedback will be retained for a period of 7 years.

How can I provide feedback?

You can give us your feedback using one of the following methods:

Mail:
Manager Legislated Programs
151 Slater Street, Suite 120  
Ottawa, Ontario 
K1P 5H3

Email: accessibility-accessibilite@navcanada.ca

Telephone: 
1-800-876-4693
8:00 to 18:00 ET, Monday to Friday

Our online feedback form

You can request alternative formats of the NAV CANADA Accessibility Plan, or the description of our feedback process. To request this plan or the feedback process in an alternative format please contact:

Mail:
Manager Legislated Programs
151 Slater Street, Suite 120  
Ottawa, Ontario 
K1P 5H3

Email: accessibility-accessibilite@navcanada.ca

Telephone: 
1-800-876-4693
8:00 to 18:00 ET, Monday to Friday

Our online feedback form

A digital version of this plan that works with assistive technology is available immediately from our website at: (link to the plan).

We will respond to requests for other formats as soon as we can. For each alternative format, NAV CANADA will provide a copy within a certain number of days:

• Print: available within 15 days of the initial request.
• Large print (increased font size): available within 15 days of the initial request.
• Braille (a system of raised dots that people who are blind or who have low vision can read with their fingers): available within 45 days of the initial request.
• Audio (a recording of someone reading the text out loud): available within 45 days of the initial request.

The following definitions apply throughout this plan:

Disability: Any impairment, or difference in physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, or communication ability. Disabilities can be permanent, temporary, or can change over time.

Barrier: Anything that might hinder people with disabilities full and equal participation. Barriers can be architectural, technological, attitudinal, based on information or communications, or can be the result of a policy or procedure.

Accessibility: The design of products, devices, services, environments, technologies, policies and rules in a way that allows all people, including people with a variety of disabilities, to access them.

In the preparation of this plan, we talked to key staff members about accessibility in their departments. We also reached out to all employees, including employees with disabilities, to ask for their feedback and experiences on accessibility at NAV CANADA. We worked with accessibility professionals to conduct sampling audits of key digital tools, as well as representative buildings to look for barriers to accessibility.

Recently, NAV CANADA has made changes to improve accessibility, including improving the accessibility of our corporate website, and updating some of our physical sites to have greater accessibility. We want accessibility to become a priority across the organization. And we want to make sure that people with disabilities are the leaders of this cultural change. We have included goals in this plan that will help increase awareness about disability and accessibility at NAV CANADA, as well as help us develop relationships with stakeholders with disabilities.

Accessibility Goals

• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will develop a strategy around ongoing engagement and consultations with people who have disabilities.
• By June 2026, NAV CANADA will source and implement training on disability and accessibility awareness for all employees.

Accessibility of the built environment has a significant impact on whether people with disabilities can access space and if they can use a space in the same way as those who do not have disabilities.

NAV CANADA has over 100 staffed sites. This includes our area control centres, air traffic control towers, flight service stations, maintenance centres, flight information centres and office buildings across the country. While our buildings were built to meet building code requirements, some of our older buildings were built at a time when accessibility was not a priority in building codes. Other buildings could be improved. This means that barriers exist across our physical spaces. We have taken steps to address some accessibility barriers. We have made modifications to ensure that older NAV CANADA buildings are more accessible. However, some barriers remain.

The following goals will help us to reduce barriers in our built environment.

Accessibility Goals

• Effective immediately, when renovating or replacing features of the Technical Systems Centre, we will consult people with disabilities as well as architects and engineers who are knowledgeable about accessibility. We will incorporate accessibility into the design of any renovations from the beginning.
• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will revise emergency evacuation plans to take into account employees or visitors with disabilities who may need support in evacuating the building.
• By June 2025, we will explore the feasibility of installing emergency alarms that include both auditory and visual warning cues for people with sensory disabilities. We will work to install them where feasible. We will provide step-free access to all ground level emergency exits or to an accessible area of evacuation.
• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will ensure that emergency evacuation information is in large print and available in various formats (tactile, Braille) and in a place that is clear of obstacles. We will include information about locations of accessible exit routes and refuge areas.
• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will install and maintain automatic door openers in buildings that we own. Where spaces are leased, we will work with landlords to have them installed and maintained.
• By June 2026, we will review our recently completed built environment sampling audit and conduct a thorough accessibility audit of unaudited offices and facilities. We will implement the high priority changes and lower cost changes that have been identified through various audits. We will also develop a plan for addressing the more challenging and costly office changes that have been identified.

NAV CANADA employs approximately 4,700 people across its various work sites. Some of our employees have disabilities. By making NAV CANADA more accessible, we can better support these employees. We also want to welcome more employees with disabilities into our organization moving forward.

NAV CANADA is in the process of developing our formal accommodations policy. This will ensure we have a defined process to accommodate employees and applicants. We are also developing an internal committee to support current and future accessibility initiatives. This will help NAV CANADA fulfill its obligations in this first accessibility plan. It will also ensure there is continuous discussion about accessibility initiatives, especially as things evolve within the organization. We recognize our employees with disabilities must be included in all current and future accessibility planning. Consulting with them is a priority.

Accessibility Goals

• By June 2024, in order to reduce meeting overload and increase meeting effectiveness NAV CANADA will communicate best practices, such as sharing meeting information, agendas and/or materials ahead of time.
• By June 2025, we will review the accommodations process, to look for barriers and ways to simplify the process.
• By June 2025, we will implement changes to accommodations systems based on the results of review. Goals for these changes will be the following:
• Make this process as easy as possible for employees;
• Shorten wait times for receiving accommodations.

• By June 2025, we will establish an internal committee or dedicated support person to help employees navigate through the accommodations process.
• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will ensure that all managers and employees involved in the accommodation process get training about the reasons for accommodation and the legal duty to accommodate employees.
• By June 2025, NAV CANADA will review hiring practices and make a plan to address short-term and long-term barriers in the hiring process. We will offer accommodations to all candidates at each step of the recruitment process.
• By June 2026, NAV CANADA will develop a targeted recruitment strategy specific to people with disabilities. We will also incorporate statements on job postings welcoming applicants with disabilities.

NAV CANADA uses more than 200 technologies and digital tools. These tools are used to manage the Company’s internal processes, as well as to help us provide our services to customers. This includes NAV CANADA’S public website (www.navcanada.ca), its internal human resources (HR) management system (Workday) for employees to access information relevant to their jobs, as well as social media platforms. Besides these tools, we also develop air navigation systems and technologies. Overall, many of NAV CANADA’S digital products and tools are commercial off-the-shelf (e.g. Workday, Microsoft 365 suite). Some of our other tools are custom, which means they have been designed in-house or specifically for NAV CANADA. These in-house products and tools can be adjusted for accessibility. 

We have taken steps to improve accessibility in our digital tools. Some of these actions have been an overhaul to our corporate website, which included efforts to make it accessible according to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. In an audit of Workday, our internal HR system, the system was found to be largely accessible. Despite these efforts, some barriers remain with respect to these tools.

Accessibility Goals

• Starting immediately, NAV CANADA will fix existing barriers to our corporate website.
• By June 2025, we will add information about WCAG 2.0 best practices to our internal guidelines for developing web content.
• By June 2026, NAV CANADA will source and deliver digital accessibility training for key information technology (IT) staff.
• By June 2026, we will include prompts to consider accessibility when creating new systems and when updating older systems. These prompts will help us determine how these systems can be more accessible and when they should be more accessible. We will implement accessibility features accordingly, keeping in mind safety and functionality.

NAV CANADA communicates with stakeholders, including pilots, airlines, and members of the aviation industry in a variety of ways. Much of our communication is about the work that we do to maintain safety in the sky. This includes communicating information important to the air travel and air traffic industry, such as flight planning notices, airport advisory services, and weather briefings. Members of the public can contact us by phone, email, or mail.

Accessibility Goals

• By the end of 2023, NAV CANADA will create and adopt a social media standard to ensure that all posts are accessible, with consistent use of alternative text.
• By June 2024, we will communicate best practices and encourage defaulting to electronic formats of any documents and communications.  NAV CANADA will provide information on the website for requesting alternative formats of communications (e.g. electronic, Braille, or large text).
• By June 2025, we will develop guidelines for plain language, detailing best practices to be applied when developing communication material including plain language target and how it can be verified. This information will be shared with all employees.

NAV CANADA often buys external applications and goods that support our operations and services. This process of buying goods outside of the organization to help us in our operations is known as “procurement”. Accessibility has not systematically been a consideration in NAV CANADA’s procurement of good services and/or services.

 Accessibility Goals

• By June 2024, NAV CANADA will review procurement-related policies and documents and where relevant we will include considerations for accessibility as part of the procurement process.

NAV CANADA provides safe and effective air navigation services. In other words, we maintain safety in the sky for our customers. Customers include airlines, pilots, air taxis, helicopter operators, air cargo operators, and other people and businesses who use Canadian airspace. We deliver services through a network of area control centres, air traffic control towers, flight service stations, maintenance centres, flight information centres and navigation aids across the country. Specifically, our services include delivering air traffic services, providing critical information, and designing and building technology.

NAV CANADA is committed to continue to improve accessibility in the future to meet the needs of employees and customers with disabilities.

Accessibility Goals

• By June 2025, we will develop accessibility guidelines for event planning, including offering attendees information on what accessibility measures are already in place and how to request accommodations.
• By June 2026, we will review our programs and services and consider when and how accessibility should be prioritized. When creating new service offerings or updating guidelines and procedures with respect to current offerings, we will include accessibility as part of the procedure where relevant.

NAV CANADA does not offer services related to transporting people. Therefore, no goals have been included here.

NAV CANADA is committed to listening to the perspectives of people with disabilities. To ensure that this commitment is upheld, we intend to consult with people who have disabilities during implementation of this plan. People with disabilities will also be consulted in the development of other major projects undertaken by NAV CANADA. The following sections of this plan outline how people with disabilities were consulted in the preparation of this plan. However, NAV CANADA recognizes that consultations need to be ongoing, and we are dedicated to building relationships of trust with people who have disabilities to engage in effective consultations going forward. For this plan, we consulted people with disabilities through a survey for employees with disabilities and a survey for NAV CANADA’s stakeholders with disabilities.

To get the insight of persons with disabilities, we sent out an anonymous, electronic survey to all employees, seeking feedback from those with disabilities or who are close to someone with a disability. The survey asked employees to share their experiences working for NAV CANADA. The survey also asked them to note any accessibility barriers they might have noticed while working at NAV CANADA.  The most common feedback received from employees relates to accessibility barriers in the built environment of NAV CANADA’s physical spaces, the lack of organizational understanding of disability, and barriers in the employee accommodations process.

Making all aspects of our operations inclusive for people with disabilities is a priority for NAV CANADA. We recognize that we are at the beginning of our accessibility journey, but we are committed to the process. We are dedicated to continuing the work of examining our practices on an ongoing basis to find and address future barriers to accessibility. We understand that accessibility is an ongoing process. We are committed to engaging in that process through consultation with people who have disabilities, and through building a culture of accessibility.