Response to Government of Nova Scotia Response to Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act Independent Review Report

Here are six things the Minister of Justice promised to do in response to the four year review of the Act done by Dr. Katie Aubrecht of St. Francis Xavier. 

1. continuing our commitment and plan to have standards developed by 2030 in built environment, education, employment, goods and services, information and communications, and public transportation 

The Act says “(c) facilitate the timely implementation of accessibility standards with a goal of achieving an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030;” Implement, not plan.

2. expanding First Voice involvement and using an intersectional approach so a greater diversity of experiences informs implementation of the act 

These bits of jargon don’t have anything to do with the snail’s pace of standards development

3. improving public communications about the accessibility work being done, and broadening community engagement to inform this work 

The public needs:

Minutes from meetings

Drafts of standards

News of compliance

4. continuing to invest in building the capacity of prescribed public sector bodies (PPSBs) to implement their accessibility plans and to comply with accessibility standards. PPSBs include the Government of Nova Scotia, all municipalities, universities, the Nova Scotia Community College, regional libraries, Regional Centres for Education, Conseil scolaire acadien provincial, Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA), Nova Scotia Health and IWK Health Centre, the Nova Scotia Museum, Nova Scotia Art Gallery, and Crown corporations. 

Let’s have results, not capacity

5. monitoring accessibility improvements in health care, justice, and housing so barriers in these areas are removed and prevented 

Let’s have results, not monitoring

6. strengthening monitoring, accountability, and progress reporting.

The four year review of the Act was polite but firm: 

“A stated purpose of the Act is to “facilitate the timely implementation of accessibility standards with a goal of achieving an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030” (s 2c). It is now 2023, yet no standards have been approved for regulation. At present, only built environment and education - two of the six required standard areas - have recommendations. No prepared standards have been posted for public comment. Timelines to achieving an accessible province as laid out in the Access by Design 2030 roadmap are now delayed. Fulfilling the Province’s obligations under the Act will require renewed Government commitment and informed community action.”

The Accessibility Act is about Standards, Enforcement and Penalties.  In the seven years since the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act was made law in 2017, government made quite different choices:

1.  Defended itself in the “systemic discrimination” case

Everyone is entitled to  a robust defence,  but also to good advice.  In a 2021 case: Disability Rights Coalition v. Nova Scotia (Attorney General, 2021 NSCA 70) the Province denied it had treated the complainants in a discriminatory fashion and further denied the existence of systemic discrimination in its provision of services to disabled persons.  

Frank and accurate self-evaluation should have led to the same decision and shown some understanding of the problem and saved a ton of money.  

Following the ruling of the Appeals Court and a flirtation with an appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the government admitted to systemic discrimination in housing and the provision of services  It agreed to 69 tasks to be accomplished by March of 2024,  We await a progress report.

2.  Failed to regulate nondisclosure agreements in Human Rights decisions

In 2022 the Houston government limited Bill 144, the Non-disclosure Agreements Act

designed to regulate the content and use of non-disclosure agreements, to a single reading.

3.  Used “Restorative Justice” to let Human Rights offenders off the hook

In 2018, the Justice Department lost the human rights case of five wheelchair users seeking enforcement of restaurant sanitation standards by Environment and Climate Change.  There was:

An order that the Respondent interpret, administer and enforce the words

"washroom facilities for the public available in a convenient location" in s.20(1)

of the Food Safety Regulations as requiring those washroom facilities to be

accessible to members of the public who use wheelchairs;

Instead of promptly complying with the order, the department invoked ‘restorative justice’ measures to favor the restaurant industry over basic public health measures.  There continue to be restaurants where people with wheelchairs cannot wash their hands.

4.  Delayed Standards

Of the six standards to be developed under the Accessibility Act:  built environment, education, employment, goods and services, information and communications, and public transportation, not one has been implemented.  The proposed Built Environment Accessibility Standard was released for public review in August 2023.  Months ago.

The change in leadership at the Justice Department may help.