Building an Accessible RCMP: The Framework to Deliver the First Departmental Accessibility Strategy and Accessibility Plan 2023-2025

Accessibility leadership

RCMP Governance

Pillar leads

As the identified pillar leads, the business units below will own both the responsibility and accountability for the development and implementation of the pillar-specific Plans inside the broader Accessibility Plan.

1. Communication (other than Information and Communication Technologies) (with 3 separate themes) Chief Human Resources Officer and others as identified in the Accessibility Plan
2. Employment – Chief Human Resources Officer and others as identified in Accessibility Plan
3. Built environment – Property Management and others as identified in the Accessibility Plan
4. Design and delivery of programs and services – Various leads as identified in the Accessibility Plan
5. Procurement of goods services and facilities – Procurement and Contracting and others as identified in the Accessibility Plan
6. Information and Communication Technologies – Information Technology and Information Management and others as identified in the Accessibility Plan
7. Transportation- Fleet Management and others as identified in Accessibility Plan

Organizational context

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is more than just Canada's national police service. We have been part of the fabric of Canada since 1873. We are one of only a few police services recognized around the world for both our policing excellence and our image – the "Mountie".

The RCMP fulfills its mandate from coast-to-coast-to-coast, at the community, provincial, territorial and federal levels, by preventing crime, enforcing the law, investigating offences, and assuring public safety. We also offer our renowned expertise at the international level by conducting international policing activities, including peacekeeping, and sharing intelligence with trusted partners to support investigations, and to disrupt and dismantle criminal operations. Operations focus on three key areas: Contract and Indigenous Policing, Federal Policing, and Specialized Policing Services. We work in over 700 detachments in 150 communities across the country, and provides policing services in more than 600 Indigenous communities.

The composition of the RCMP workforce is unique, adding a distinctive dimension of diversity to our strength in delivering high-quality work that keeps our communities safe. As of April 1, 2022, the RCMP employs 30,726 people. Of these, 19,116 are Regular Member police officers, and 2,940 are Civilian Members, employed under the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Act. 8,670 are Public Service Employees, employed under the Public Service Employment Act.

As the RCMP approaches its 150th anniversary in 2023, our top priority is to be the modern, inclusive, and healthy organization that our employees and all residents of Canada expect of us. This means continuously finding ways to take better care of our employees, treating all those we serve with dignity and respect, and carrying out our police work in ways that builds trust and confidence. This will ensure we can fulfill our primary mandate, which is to keep people safe.

Through the RCMP Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy – Setting A Foundation: Serving Employees and Communities with Dignity and Respect (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy), released in January 2021, the RCMP is reinforcing its commitment to becoming an organization that actively works to denounce and prevent systemic racism and all forms of discrimination and harassment. Key actions are identified under the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy's four pillars: (1) Provide Leadership and Guidance, (2) Be Clear, Accountable and Transparent, (3) Enhance Awareness and Education, and (4) Change Culture and Transform. The Vision 150 and Beyond Plan to Advance Equity, Accountability and Trust and the People Strategy bolster the RCMP's commitment to tackling systemic racism and discrimination through the modernization and organizational culture change we wish to accomplish. Initiatives underway include a rollout of the RCMP's Unconscious Bias, Anti-Racism and Anti-Discrimination training courses, the implementation of a new suite of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion performance metrics, and a renewal of the RCMP's Core Values. These actions and more are supporting the organization's development and application of an Accessibility Strategy to identify, address, and prevent barriers to inclusivity for all employees, partners, and clients of the RCMP, especially persons with disabilities.

The Accessible Canada Act

The Accessible Canada Act came into force on July 11, 2019 to help "Realize a Canada without barriers especially for persons with disabilities".

The Act defines disability as any impairment or functional limitation that hinders a person's full and equal participation in society. It applies to a wide range health challenges - visible and invisible - including those related to pain, flexibility, cognitive development, mental health and chronic illness. Most Canadians have a disability at some point in their lives, whether temporary (such as a broken leg) or permanent (a chronic illness).

The Act applies to Parliament, Government of Canada departments and agencies, crown corporations, and private sector businesses that fall under federal jurisdiction, such as banking, telecommunications and transportation.

While the Act has a long-term vision for full accessibility to be achieved by 2040, it imposes many requirements in the interim. By 2022-2023, federally regulated entities must:

• Prepare and publish an initial multi-year Plan to address accessibility for the people that they hire, and the way that they do business
• Establish a feedback process with two-way exchange with individuals, groups and networks within the disability community
• Report annually on the progress we have made to improve accessibility and to address the feedback received

Nothing Without Us: An Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada

The Government has mandated the Public Service of Canada to lead by example and become an international model of accessibility for others to follow. Nothing Without Us: An Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada presents a policy roadmap for departments to design an initial accessibility Plan that will ensure that decision-making related the inclusion of person with disabilities is more deliberate, transparent and accountable.

At the heart of this strategy are five interconnected goals to guide the public service in its response to the requirements of the Act. They are:

• Recruitment, retention and promotion practices that are inclusive of persons with disabilities
• Built environments that are stress-free to navigate
• Clear communications and technology that is usable by all
• Program and service design and delivery that is barrier-free
• Public servants who are equipped to confidently engage, manage and serve persons with disabilities

Strategic framework

As the Employer of the federal public service, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat's Office of Public Service Accessibility is leading the charge on the implementation of the Accessibility Strategy for the Public Service of Canada, "Nothing Without Us". Employment and Social Development Canada is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the Act and Regulations as the Government of Canada's lead department on labour-related programs.

At the RCMP the Chief Human Resources Officer is the organizational lead for Accessibility, via the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit, which has monitored ongoing developments related to the Accessibility legislative framework and has been assigned responsibility for framing the Accessibility Plan for the RCMP.

In October 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada consulted federal departments on guidance for developing Accessibility Plans. The RCMP's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit and National Council for Diversity and Inclusion provided input. The RCMP also consulted with Persons with Disabilities coupled with expertise from other departments in formulating this Plan. The Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit attended the "Accessibility Plans Boot Camp" events and many others held by the Treasury Board Secretariat's Office of Public Service Accessibility prior to the formulation of the operational Plan. This consultation is an ongoing process and will remain so for the entirety of the Plan.

Current state

The RCMP's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit conducted and prepared an Accessibility Strategy Gap Analysis in June 2019 for the Chief Human Resources Officer. The Gap Analysis included recommended actions for addressing accessibility within the organization.

The Gap Analysis found that the RCMP's most significant employment equity gaps involve the representation of people with disabilities. Employees with disabilities are unrepresented among the public service leadership ranks, and remain largely underrepresented among Senior Officer Ranks. As of 2020-2021, employees with disabilities represent 1.4% of Regular Member police officers (unchanged from 2019-2020), 2.7% of Civilian Members (down from 2.8% in 2019-2020), and 3.5% of Public Service Employees (down from 3.6% in 2019-2020). As we continue implementation of this Strategy, future iterations of the gap analysis will include an intersectional lens, to further unpack the compounding barriers that are faced by persons with disabilities who also identify as members of other equity seeking communities.

The RCMP accessibility statement and vision

The RCMP will have enhanced accessibility for its employees and the public through 2023-2025 and moving forward:

The RCMP will have identified and addressed barriers within its direct control, resulting in employees and clients with disabilities having every opportunity to participate fully and equally in an inclusive, barrier-free environment where they can realize their potential and feel they belong.

Departmental feedback process

As articulated in the Accessible Canada Act, the RCMP has established a departmental process for receiving and addressing feedback regarding the implementation of the present Accessibility Plan and barriers experienced by our employees and people who interact with our organization.

Below, is a description of our feedback process, which will facilitate the provision of anonymous feedback both internally and externally:

• The present Accessibility Plan is to be published on the RCMP internal and external website. It will also be published on open.canada.ca
• The designated person for receiving feedback is Ms. Galina Ivanova, Employment Equity Research Analyst and Project Coordinator, at the following email address: rcmpaccessibility-accessibilitegrc@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
• A survey is published on the RCMP website, which will capture employee and client feedback on the implementation of the present Accessibility Plan
• As they are surfaced, relevant issues will be addressed through governance structures
• Periodically as the Accessibility Plan is updated, it will reflect the feedback received
• A person may use the contact information listed to request a copy of the feedback process description in an alternate format
• The RCMP will ensure acknowledgement of receipt of all its feedback if it is not received anonymously
• Feedback received will be acknowledged in the same manner in which it was received unless it was received anonymously

2020 Public Service Employee Survey

The 2020 Public Service Employee Survey was conducted from November 30, 2020 to January 29, 2021. This comprehensive survey measured federal government employees' opinions about their engagement, leadership, workforce, workplace, workplace well-being, compensation, diversity and inclusion, and the impacts of COVID-19. The final response rate for the overall public service was 61%. At the RCMP, 37% of all employees responded to the survey, of which 44% were Public Service Employees, 41% were Civilian Members, and 33% were Regular Member police officers (Source: RCMP Survey Centre).

The survey results of Public Service Employees ^{footnote 5}, particularly as analyzed by the demographic of employees who identified as a person with a disability compared to those who did not identify as a person with a disability, reveal important information that has informed the RCMP's Accessibility Plan. Overall, employees with a disability have disproportionately less positive experiences on the job and higher incidences of reported harassment and discrimination. Results indicated that employees with disabilities report experiencing disproportionately greater barriers to career development and progression, and promotion, and more work-related stress compared to those who did not identify as persons with disabilities.

RCMP Innovation Inbox

The RCMP's Action, Innovation and Modernization Office maintains an inbox through which employees can submit their ideas and suggestions for making the RCMP more modern, agile, people-focused and effective. To date, over 2,400 employee submissions have been reviewed and analyzed. Members of the Action, Innovation and Modernization Office have personally responded to over 150 submissions and held over 50 meetings to share employees' ideas with Senior Management, Business Lines, Divisions and Directorates.

Many of the submissions that have come through the Innovation Inbox have highlighted accessibility barriers faced by employees, and have proposed innovative approaches for addressing these barriers. A selection of these submissions is synthesized below:

• The organization can support employees with disabilities and those with accessibility needs by making physical/site accessibility information available on the RCMP's internal website, Info Web. This could include information related to accessible public transport, accessible entrances, and more.
• The RCMP is called to take further action to implement accessibility into the Vision 150 and Beyond Plan to Advance Equity, Accountability and Trust.
• Employees suggest that the organization pay greater attention to listening to and implementing their suggestions, as well as communicating steps that are being taken to address diversity and innovation conjointly. Members are threatened with code violations for making suggestions.
• Employees have identified that there is a need for greater attention to the accessibility of the Info Web. It is reportedly difficult to navigate Info Web and employees seek a more user-friendly interface.

The above barriers are being addressed in the RCMP Accessibility Strategy and the Accessibility Plan.

2021-22 RCMP Client and Partner Survey: Canadians' Views of RCMP Policing Services

Each year, the RCMP surveys Canadians to determine their perspective on policing services to make meaningful changes by meeting the public's needs. For the period 2021-2022, a total of 2,934 persons agreed to participate in the survey, of which 1,503 (50%) were women, 1413 (48%) were men, and 18 (1%) considered themselves as the other gender. In addition, 338 (12%) of responders identified themselves as disabled, 221 (8%) were considered a member of a visible minority group,^{footnote 6} 199 (3%) were either First Nations, Métis, or Inuit, and 167 (8%) were from the 2SLGBTQI+ communities.

To optimize its efforts through the evaluation of survey data, the RCMP has decided to identify respondents with disabilities as its target population to answer questions from six divided sections.

The first section refers to the attitudes toward the RCMP. Most responders with disabilities (83%) approved of the importance of the RCMP's contribution to the safety of Canadians. However, only 57% were satisfied with the RCMP's assistance. Also, 53% said they were feeling safe because of RCMP.

In the second section, which focuses on General Questions, over half of the responders with disabilities were satisfied that the RCMP strives to provide service in the official language of choice (68%) and demonstrates professionalism (56%). Yet only 48% admitted to having confidence in the RCMP, and 35% agreed that the RCMP provides the same quality of service to all citizens, which is considered as low.

Another section, linked to Service and Responsiveness, indicates that 52% of respondents with disabilities thought the RCMP personnel had a visible presence in their community, province, or territory. However, the percentage dropped significantly to 34 when asked about the RCMP as an innovative and forward-looking organization.

For the final section, representing the Priorities of the RCMP, more than half of respondents with disabilities (58%) agreed that the RCMP is effectively involved in a range of international activities, such as peacekeeping missions and providing training to foreign police forces. The same goes for its effective response to threats at the border between different ports of entry (58%). Yet, regarding safety and reconciliation with Aboriginal communities, respondents were less convinced (35% and 30%).

As for respondents with disabilities, 32% have been in contact with the RCMP in the past year, specifically men (37%). The reasons for contacting the RCMP were to inform about accidents or traffic violations (21%), to declare being a victim of a crime (21%) or to witness a crime (19%), to make a complaint about a disturbance (18%), to get a check for criminal record, and other purposes (26%).

Regarding contact with the RCMP, 81% of respondents with disabilities found it easy to reach the RCMP. They also found that RCMP staff treated them courteously and respectfully. However, only half of the respondents saw that RCMP staff were doing more than the minimum to provide quality service.

RCMP Disability and Accessibility Action Group and Network

The RCMP launched its Disability and Accessibility Action Group and Network on September 16, 2022. This group's mission is to advocate for disability- and accessibility-related issues by identifying and communicating best practices and solutions to challenges faced by employees with disabilities. The Action Group will consist of employees from all categories of employees in our organization and will provide input and advice to the Accessibility leadership, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit, our senior management team, and the National Council for Diversity and Inclusion to improve the working environment for all employees with disabilities.

On September 16, 2022, the group held its inaugural meeting attended by a number of employees who identify as a person with a disability, want to be an ally to persons with disabilities, or who are in a position to assist in the implementation of the RCMP's Accessibility Strategy. Employees in attendance included those representing Regular Member police officers, Civilian Members, and Public Service Employees from various Divisions and Business Lines. At this meeting, the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Unit held a consultation session where we heard directly from employees with disabilities about their lived experiences and their hopes for the organization's Plan to address accessibility barriers. This was one of many steps towards further intentional and meaningful consultation directly with employees with disabilities.

The following section, "Barriers – What We Heard" details the accounts of these employees. The following section also details some accounts from employees who joined the network and spoke with Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Advisors after the network meeting. The comments are also summarized from email correspondence from the Accessibility and Disability network in the last year.

Barriers – What we heard

RCMP Operational Accessibility Plan 2023-2025

The Operational Accessibility Plan is a multi-year, results-based Plan, consisting of the priority areas for action, desired results and targeted activities to achieve them. The Accessibility Plan identifies leads, partners, timelines and specific activities over a 3-year period, from 2023 to 2025 and will be updated annually.

The Operational Accessibility Plan is significant starting point for making RCMP barrier free. To be truly inclusive and diverse, our organization is focused on building accessibility into aspect of our business lines, including our meetings and materials, interactions with employees and public, and products and services. This Plan is a multi-year and results-based, consisting of the priority areas for action, desired results and targeted activities to achieve them, in alignment with Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. The Accessibility Plan identifies leads, partners, timelines and specific activities over a 3-year period, from 2023-2025 and will be updated annually, in consulting with networks.

RCMP will create governance structures to ensure internal implementation activities are completed within the timeline 2023-2025. This work will position the organization in addressing solutions to systemic barriers within policies, programs, services and work environment. This accessibility plan outlines the actions we will take to identify, remove and prevent barriers at RCMP, in ongoing consolation with networks and other relevant patterns.

Employment Equity Act (section 3)

persons with disabilities means persons who have a long-term or recurring physical, mental, sensory, psychiatric or learning impairment and who

1. consider themselves to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment, or
2. believe that an employer or potential employer is likely to consider them to be disadvantaged in employment by reason of that impairment,

and includes persons whose functional limitations owing to their impairment have been accommodated in their current job or workplace.

The Employment Equity Team at Treasury Board Secretariat is now using the French term "Personnes en situation de handicap" which aligns with international usage and replaces the legislative term "Personnes handicapées" that appears in the Employment Equity Act and the Employment Equity Regulations. The legal definition has not changed.

Accessible Canada Act (section 2)

barrier means anything — including anything physical, architectural, technological or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is the result of a policy or a practice — that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment or a functional limitation.

disability means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment — or a functional limitation — whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person's full and equal participation in society.

Canadian Human Rights Act (section 25)

disability means any previous or existing mental or physical disability and includes disfigurement and previous or existing dependence on alcohol or a drug.

Public Service Superannuation Act (section 3)

disabled means incapable of pursuing regularly any substantially gainful occupation.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Equality rights are intended to ensure that everyone is treated with the same respect, dignity and consideration (that is without discrimination), regardless of personal characteristics such as race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, residency, marital status or citizenship.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

(e) Recognizing that disability is an evolving concept and that disability results from the interaction between persons with impairments and attitudinal and environmental barriers that hinders their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.