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Advisory Group for Disability Issues – Meeting Summary – April 10, 2018

Table of Contents

1. About the Advisory Group for Disability Issues

The Advisory Group for Disability Issues ("Advisory Group") is mandated to:

  • provide Elections Canada (EC) with subject matter expertise on accessibility
  • consult with EC when the agency designs or implements projects and service improvements related to elections
  • validate EC's accessibility initiatives

Many Advisory Group members, invited as experts, are leaders of organizations and participate in a personal capacity. The Advisory Group's composition reflects cross-disability perspectives, a varied policy focus, and gender, linguistic and geographic diversity.

On April 10, 2018, the Advisory Group met for a technical session and participated in a demonstration the next day. The following members were present:

  • Rene Binet
  • Gary Birch
  • Kory Earle
  • Shelley Fletcher
  • Frank Folino
  • James Hicks
  • Laurence Parent
  • Christopher Sutton

Stéphane Perrault, Acting Chief Electoral Officer, gave opening remarks. Susan Torosian, Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs, and Dani Srour, Senior Director, Operations and Field Governance, co-chaired the meeting. Discussions were moderated by a third-party facilitator.

2. Introductory Remarks

Stéphane Perrault, Acting Chief Electoral Officer, opened the meeting by welcoming all on behalf of EC and thanked members for their ongoing commitment to the Advisory Group. He introduced a new member to the group, Christopher T. Sutton, National Executive Director of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Perrault noted that the process of selecting a new Chief Electoral Officer was still underway and that Parliament had yet to table amendments to the Canada Elections Act. Mr. Perrault explained how the agency would proceed with the modernization agenda in the absence of new legislation. Mr. Perrault went over some planning assumptions, expectations and timelines.

3. Election Officer Training

Alan Webb, Instructional Designer, Operations and Field Governance, presented the accessibility component of the election officer training module. He also sought input on the relevance and effectiveness of the Ask–Listen–Do model that is currently used to train poll workers.

Advisory Group members commented on the risks involved in trying to identify people who may need help in order to offer them assistance. According to members, such an attempt could result in embarrassing some voters or overlooking those who might truly need assistance. As such, members recommended more intense training on disabilities for election officers. They also suggested placing a designated table or sign so as to encourage people to ask for assistance. Members also stressed the importance of effective and plain language communications on accessibility through the Voter Information Campaign before election day. Moreover, they located areas of the training module where the language could be improved through the use of more appropriate terminology.

4. E-Registration Enhancements

Mireille Kantiebo, Senior Project Manager, National Register of Electors, gave an overview of the planned changes to online registration. These changes include visual, plain language and technical improvements to enhance the overall user experience. Advisory Group members then had the opportunity to provide input on the key considerations that could arise during accessibility testing–including technical and user testing; and on which organizations and groups, among others, to involve in the process.

Advisory Group members recommended asking organizations working with people with disabilities to test the online registration and the tool with people with disabilities. Members also noted the importance of testing the online registration tool on different devices and platforms to take various work environments into account.

To conclude, members were advised that EC would ask them for feedback in the fall once the application is launched so that members can test the applications using their own adaptive technology.

5. Pre-event Assignments

Louise Tremblay, Assistant Director, Field Readiness and Event Management, updated Advisory Group members on the progress made in selecting suitable polling places for the next general election. She also presented an overview of the work that returning officers will be doing when selecting polling places to account for accessibility, proximity and familiarity. Advisory Group members reminded everyone of the importance of checking for polling place accessibility, taking into account construction sites and transportation services in rural areas.

Ms. Tremblay concluded her presentation by asking for input on using bigger buildings as polling places (i.e. campuses, arenas, community centres, etc.). Some members mentioned that bigger polling places can be intimidating or hard to navigate. They recommended assigning staff outside of polling places to direct electors as well as using clear signs for way-finding.

6. Demonstration Day

Susan Torosian, Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs, provided an overview of the agenda for Demonstration DayFootnote 1, which was scheduled for the day after the day of the Advisory Group meeting. The objective was to give members an opportunity to ask questions before experiencing the voting services that will be offered in 2019.

This event was intended to respond to what EC heard after the last general election. Among the three demonstrations to be made and various kiosks, participants engaged in facilitated discussions where they were asked to share their thoughts on the communication products and their voter experience satisfaction.

7. Forward Agenda and Closing Remarks

Susan Torosian presented a list of topics that will be brought forward to the Advisory Group in future meetings. These topics include the Voter Information Campaign, the Community Relations Officer Program, guidance on accessibility for political parties, accessibility at the polls, and updates on the ballot redesign and tactile template.

Advisory Group members also raised some points they would like to see in future meeting agendas, including outreach with organizations representing people from different ethno-cultural communities, inclusive advertising and photos on ballots.

Advisory Group members were reminded that having photos on ballots were not part of the CEO's recommendations to parliament, and that this is a topic they need to raise with parliamentarians.

Susan Torosian closed the meeting and thanked members for their involvement in the Advisory Group for Disability Issues.

Appendix A: List of Elections Canada Participants

Stéphane Perrault, Acting Chief Electoral Officer

Michel Roussel, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Events

Susan Torosian (co-chair), Executive Director, Policy and Public Affairs

Dani Srour (co-chair), Senior Director, Operations and Field Governance

Lisa Drouillard, Director, Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement, Policy and Public Affairs

Mariann Canning, Associate Director, Outreach and External Relations, Operations and Field Governance

Robert Sampson, Legal Counsel, Legal Services, Regulatory Affairs

Louise Tremblay, Assistant Director, Location Management Services, Operations and Field Governance

Mireille Kantiebo, Senior Project Manager, Online Registration, National Register of Electors

Alan Webb, Instructional Designer, Field Training, Operational Support Services

Annie Desrosiers, Director, Voter Information Campaign, Policy and Public Affairs

Juan Melara-Pineda, Senior Outreach Officer, Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement, Policy and Public Affairs

Cyntia Henley, Outreach Officer, Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement, Policy and Public Affairs

Footnote 1 On April 11, 2018, EC held its first Demonstration Day. Members of several stakeholder groups representing electors who face barriers to the electoral process (Indigenous electors, persons with disabilities, new Canadians and youth)–as well as representatives of political parties and from provincial election management bodies–were invited to experience and provide feedback on several innovations in how elections will be delivered in 2019. The first component consisted of a series of short online surveys on the communications products, which were sent to all invited participants in the week preceding Demonstration Day.