Accessibility Plan 2026 to 2028: Plain language summary

ASL video

This video is an American Sign Language (ASL) version of the Plain language summary of the CBSA's Accessibility Plan 2026 to 2028. It is also available in Langue des signes québecoise (LSQ).

Listening to Canadians

We asked employees and members of the public to share their experiences. More than 2,600 people responded to surveys. We also held meetings and worked with disability groups. Their feedback helped us understand barriers and shape this plan. We will continue to listen and report on our progress each year.

Employment

We want the CBSA to be a place where there is support to identify and remove barriers that make work harder for people with disabilities. When we do this, it helps everyone. We want all employees to have what they need to do well. To make this happen, we will:

Support hiring and growth

Support the hiring and career growth of persons with disabilities by training managers, improving staffing processes, and clearly explaining how workplace accommodations work.

Remove barriers in daily work

Help managers remove barriers in hiring and day-to-day work, and follow recommendations from audits and evaluations to strengthen inclusion.

Improve accommodations

Improve how we provide workplace accommodations and equipment, and make the process easier for both employees and job candidates.

Use feedback to improve

Gather feedback from candidates and employees, involve persons with disabilities in finding solutions, and update training so it reflects current accessibility needs.

Raise awareness

Increase awareness about disabilities — especially non-visible ones — by working with employee groups, disability organizations, and national networks to share best practices.

Review systems

Review our employment systems and engagement strategies to better understand barriers and build a more inclusive workplace across the agency.

Information and communication technology (ICT)

Digital tools and services must work for everyone. We are taking action to:

Review systems

Review our digital systems regularly to find and fix accessibility barriers, starting with the tools most used by the public and our employees.

Follow clear accessibility standards

Design, build and test digital tools using recognized accessibility standards so expectations are clear and consistent.

Design with accessibility in mind

Build accessibility into every stage of IT work — from planning and design to testing and final approval.

Strengthening adaptive technology support

Improve support for adaptive technology by keeping equipment up to date and making sure employees get timely, personalized help.

Listen to users

Ask users for feedback through surveys and use the results to improve our digital services.

Ensuring accessibility is part of how we lead and manage

Add clear accessibility checkpoints to our IT governance processes so accessibility is always considered before systems are approved or launched.

Track progress

Track our progress each year and use what we learn to guide the next Accessibility Plan.

Design and delivery of programs and services

Canadians interact with the CBSA at borders, airports and online. We want these services to be accessible to all. Our plan is to:

Train program designers

Train employees who design programs and policies so they understand accessibility and can apply it in their work.

Review programs regularly

Review our programs and services every year to find and fix barriers, using national accessibility standards.

Provide tools

Give staff easy‑to‑use tools, templates, and checkpoints so accessibility is built into every step of program design.

Use accessibility feedback

Use accessibility feedback from the public and employees to improve our programs, and create a clear process to track and respond to feedback about program design and service delivery.

Co-design with persons with disabilities

Involve people with disabilities in designing or updating programs, and share what we learned with the communities we consulted.

Learn and improve

Increase participation in accessibility training and use what we learn each year to guide the next Accessibility Plan.

Other priority areas

Accessibility touches every part of our work. Beyond jobs, technology and services, we are also improving our buildings, purchasing processes, communications and transportation. To strengthen accessibility across the agency, we will:

Built environment

Improve CBSA buildings and workspaces by developing design standards and guidelines, auditing CBSA workspaces, and using employee and public feedback to find and fix barriers where possible, with a focus on changes that have the biggest impact.

Procurement

Make sure the goods and services we buy meet accessibility standards by training staff, improving guidance and tracking how often accessibility is included in purchases. We will monitor progress, work with employees and persons with disabilities to improve our approach, and document clear reasons whenever accessibility cannot be included.

Communications (other than information and communication technology)

Improve accessibility in all CBSA communications by using plain language, checking social media posts for accessibility and creating a central hub with tools and templates. We will run annual awareness campaigns and provide tools to help employees create accessible documents, meetings and visual content.

Transportation

Work with partners to remove barriers in travel and make border services easier to navigate for people with disabilities. We will:

• update and deliver required transportation training
• publish clear accessibility information for all ports of entry
• review how we transport people in our custody
• use data and community feedback to improve our guidelines and future planning

Provisions to meet Canadian Transportation Agency's regulations

We will meet all Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations by improving employee training, providing software support for kiosks and removing barriers in our travel services. We will also continue to report on our progress to show how we are meeting national accessibility standards. For signage, we have asked for an exemption to produce large signs. We developed a compact, durable tactile booklet with braille and raised lettering. These booklets are available at Canada's largest airports and offer travellers with visual impairments the information they need in a format that meets regulatory requirements.

We continue to explore additional accessible products and work closely with persons with disabilities to reduce barriers in their travel experience.

Moving forward

Accessibility is a long term commitment — not a one time project. Each year, we will publish progress reports, share feedback and adjust our actions as we learn. We will continue listening to employees, partners and the public, making sure every voice helps shape the path ahead.

Together, step by step, we are building a CBSA that is barrier free, inclusive and respectful of all. This plan is a reflection of our commitment: to ensure everyone can participate fully, with dignity and respect.