What is the AODA
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act came into effect in 2005. Its purpose is to create accessibility standards that the public sector, private sector, and non-profits must comply with.
Section 14 of the Act mandates a minimum requirement of websites and web content meeting the WCAG 2.0 Level AA web accessibility standards.
Who must comply?
In Ontario, all public sector organizations including:
- Government
- Public educational institutions
- Municipalities
All private sector organizations with over 50 employees including:-
- Businesses
- Private educational institutions
- Non-profits
When do my websites need to meet WCAG 2.0 standards?
By January 1st, 2020, the Government of Ontario and the Legislative Assembly’s websites (both internet and intranet) must have met WCAG 2.0 Level AA standards.
By January 1st, 2021, designated public sector, and large private sector organizations with more than 50 staff, must meet the WCAG 2.0 Level AA standard.
What’s the impact of my website being inaccessible?
Setting aside the moral implications of having a website that is inaccessible to users with disabilities, there are two main impacts:
- You could be subject to an administrative penalty of up to $15,000*
- You could open your organization up to litigation.
(*Source: O. Reg. 191/11: Integrated Accessibility Standards)
How can Silktide help my organization?
Silktide’s web accessibility testing platform gives you a much simpler way to achieve WCAG 2.1, Section 508, AODA, and ADA compliance, helping you make your websites accessible to everyone.
Silktide regularly reports on accessibility issues and breaks down the impossible into the manageable. Our platform presents the total number of issues, where they occur, and how important they are.
By choosing Silktide, your team will be better able to identify areas of non-compliance against WCAG 2.1. Silktide provides educational content for every issue, so you’ll be able to understand and fix the underlying issues swiftly.
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