What is Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)?
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) is Ontario’s 2005 law setting accessibility standards for organizations, including requirements for their public websites.
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In plain English
The website rules sit in the AODA’s Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. Since January 1, 2021, designated public sector organizations and businesses or non-profits with 50 or more employees in Ontario must make their public websites, and web content published after January 1, 2012, meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with exceptions for live captions and pre-recorded audio descriptions.
Smaller organizations still have other AODA duties, such as customer service standards. Other provinces, including Manitoba, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, have their own accessibility laws with varying scope. The Accessible Canada Act covers the federal government and federally regulated organizations, requiring accessibility plans and progress reports rather than a specific website rule for most businesses.
Why it matters for a small business
If you have 50 or more employees in Ontario, the website rules may apply even if you’re based elsewhere. This is general information, not legal advice; a lawyer can confirm what applies to your business. Practically, building to WCAG 2.2 AA from the start covers the AODA’s 2.0 AA requirement and avoids an expensive retrofit.
An example
A Calgary engineering firm opens a Toronto office and starts hiring there. As its Ontario headcount grows, it asks a lawyer how the AODA applies and when it would cross the 50-employee threshold for the website rules. Because its site was already built to WCAG 2.2 AA, the answer changes its paperwork, not its website. (More for engineering firms.)
Common mistakes
Where I see AODA go wrong most often.
Assuming the AODA only applies to government bodies, when large private organizations are covered too.
Assuming a head office outside Ontario means the law can’t apply to your Ontario operations.
Treating WCAG 2.0 AA as the finish line instead of building to the current version, which covers it.
AODA, answered
The website rules apply to designated Ontario public sector organizations and to businesses or non-profits with 50 or more employees in Ontario. Smaller organizations have other AODA duties, but not the website rule.
Not currently. Alberta has no provincial accessibility law setting website standards for private businesses, though the Alberta Human Rights Act prohibits disability discrimination in services, which may extend online.
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- nick@tavro.ca
- 587-439-9994
- Calgary, Alberta