Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs Canada:
Accessibility Plan 2026-2028

General

As part of our ongoing commitment to inclusion and accessibility, and in keeping with the Accessible Canada Act, the Office of the Commissioner for Federal Judicial Affairs (FJA) is continuing to provide accessible programs, services and environments to federally appointed judges. Key initiatives were identified in FJA’s 2023-2025 Accessibility Plan to advance an equitable, inclusive and barrier-free access, whether in person or virtually.

Contact us

Any enquiry or feedback on this plan or on accessibility can be addressed electronically to accessibility-accessibilite@fja-cmf.gc.ca.

If you would like an alternate format (print, large print or an electronic format that is compatible with adaptive technology intended to assist persons with disabilities) for our plan, our progress reports or any information on our Website, please contact us.

Definitions from the ACA

Barrier

“means anything—including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or a practice—that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.”

Disability

“means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment—or a functional limitation—whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.”

Executive summary

FJA was established in 1978 to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and provide services to federally appointed judges. As such, our Accessibility Plan is in respect to that role and those responsibilities.

As we strive to continuously improve access, we review FJA’s strategies and directives annually to ensure that we provide services, programs, policies and procedures, as well as communication tools, at the highest standards of accessibility for all Canadians, our clientele and employees.

Accessibility statement

In order to carry out its activities and meet the ACA, FJA undertakes, on an evergreen basis, a review of its physical and virtual environments to ensure every consideration is given to accessing, our organization in a manner that is barrier free. Further, FJA emphasizes and continues to provide services in both official languages to its clients and employees.

Since the establishment of the federal judicial appointments process in 1988, FJA has been diligent in bringing about revisions to this process leveraging our ongoing operational experience. The Guide for Candidates, available on FJA’s Website, describes the process with revisions to date. In keeping with the ACA, the questionnaire for those seeking federal judicial appointments was revised in 2016 to better reflect the government of Canada’s commitment to diversity and inclusion of Canadian society on the superior courts. This process is ongoing in consultation with the Office of the Minister of Justice and key judicial stakeholders.

With respect to another of the government’s initiative of going green, FJA has over-hauled its strictly paper-based process for candidates applying for judicial appointment to the superior courts. FJA pivoted, leveraging digital tools to implement an electronic application process reducing the burden on applicants as well as our footprint in submitting nine (9) copies of their application and supporting documents.

A key program developed and delivered by FJA is the judges’ language training program. To stay abreast of emerging needs as they relate to social awareness and cultural sensitivity, FJA continues its ongoing quality control review of the judges’ language training curricula to ensure that its training with regard to terminology also continues to be reflective of cultural diversity.

FJA continues its work towards a completely barrier free experience and will continue to better identify and remove any obstacles that may remain or arise.

Areas under Section 5 of the Accessible Canada Act

(a) Employment

As a small department, FJA does not experience the same mobility in staffing actions as larger departments. However, we do have employees that have identified as being persons with a disability and we continue to work to increase their representation as well as ensuring that any new barriers that may arise are addressed.

Action	Steps	Responsibility	Timeline
Barrier identification Identify mitigation strategies	As and when required	Director HR	Evergreening

(b) The built environment

FJA occupies space in a property owned and maintained by the Government of Canada through Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). PSPC continues to work to bringing and keeping the building up to code for accessibility purposes and ensuring that occupants and visitors have a seamless experience in accessing FJA and all areas of the building. As such, visitors and employees have availability to

• accessible washrooms on every floor,
• Braille options on floor signage and elevator buttons,
• main access doors fitted with passkeys and auto open/close functionality.

PSPC also retrofitted the building’s main lobby and elevator bays on each floor with accessible lighting in its commitment to a safe and accessible environment.

Action	Steps	Responsibility	Timeline
Identify mitigation strategies	Ensure ongoing mitigation measures are adequate and periodically reviewed	Chief Security Officer	Evergreening

(c) Information and communication technologies (ICT)

The IT division is responsible for the provision of all IT related services at FJA. FJA continues its work toward the Cloud, focusing on securing the platforms on which several business functions, including e-learning and virtual committee meetings, are being hosted. Beyond development activities, efforts are made, often on a case by case basis, to ensure that information technology resources are accessible and can be used by individuals with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.

Action	Steps	Responsibility	Timeline
Looking to meet compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) AA and all GC Standard Web standards	Analyze and identify most viewed areas and apply recommended guidelines and standards to those pages to start process of meeting accessibility standards	Deputy Commissioner and Director, Information Systems Services Division	March 2027
Looking into onboarding the federal judicial application process to an online format	Assess current infrastructure to determine requirements for implementing an online federal judicial appointment process.	Deputy Commissioner, JAS Executive Director and Director, Information Systems Services Division	Completed

(c.1) Communication (other than ICT)

FJA ensures that all types of communication, whether spoken, online or printed materials, emails, etc., are available in both official languages to its personnel and clientele. With such an array of accessible communication, FJA’s approach guarantees that important information is provided with confidence.

(d) Procurement of goods, services and facilities

FJA has embedded accessibility requirements within the procurement process by identifying at the procurement request stage, whether or not the goods or services to be procured have accessibility requirements. Procurement officers are responsible for reviewing and assessing accessibility for all procurement actions.

(e) Design and delivery of programs and services

FJA provides services to federally appointed judges. As such, we ensure to create and provide delivery of programs and services to that clientele while respecting key accessibility priorities as prescribed by the Government of Canada.

(f) Transportation

Employees and guests can access our premises autonomously. Furthermore, FJA ensures that all employees that are required to travel are trained and informed on accessible travel journey.

Consultations and feedback

FJA has not received any external feedback and is currently working to address employees requests.

Conclusion

FJA continues to monitor the needs and requirements of its personnel and clients and will address these needs on a case-by-case basis with an eye to continuous improvement aimed at creating an environment that is diverse and inclusive.