January 7, 2025 at 3:33PM

Two articles published yesterday, from both sides of the US-Canadian border:

• Government Executive — “Agencies still struggle with online accessibility, GSA says”
• CBC — “Ontario was supposed to be accessible by 2025. Some advocates say it’s not even close”

Two ledes:

The federal government is often failing to meet its own requirements for digital accessibility, according to a new, congressionally-mandated report released late last month.

The report notes that in the “26 years since the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended to include Section 508, governmentwide Section 508 conformance remains low.”

… and…

When Ontario crossed into 2025, it was supposed to do so as an accessible province. Instead, advocates say it’s missed its own deadline.

In 2005, a unanimous vote carried in Queen’s Park to make the province accessible to people with disabilities within two decades. 

Two more excerpts:

Lawmakers should update the law itself to clearly define who needs to follow Section 508, bring it up to date with the current technological landscape and strengthen enforcement.

The report also calls for increased funding, as resourcing and staffing remain challenges. About half of the agencies surveyed don’t have the resources to even test their most viewed content. 

… and…

Implementation of the act has been reviewed four times over the years, most recently by Rich Donovan. His 2023 report found the legislation wasn’t being enforced and the state of accessibility in the province was in “crisis.” 

“The reality is you can create all the standards you want in the world. If companies don’t adopt them and use them, they’re totally ineffective,” he said in a recent interview with CBC Toronto.

Section 508 and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) are not really directly comparable. But reading these side-by-side is, uh, interesting.