If you build websites for businesses in Ontario, there's a provincial law that quietly sets your accessibility target: the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Here's the developer's version of what it asks for. It's general information, not legal advice; the Government of Ontario's own pages are the official source.
Who the website rule covers
The detailed rules sit in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (Ontario Regulation 191/11). Its website requirement (section 14) applies to designated public sector organizations and to large organizations: 50 or more employees in Ontario. For them:
- since 1 January 2021, all public websites and web content (including web apps they control) must meet WCAG 2.0 Level AA;
- two success criteria are excepted: live captions (1.2.4) and pre-recorded audio descriptions (1.2.5);
- it covers content published after 1 January 2012.
Smaller organizations aren't covered by section 14, but every organization with at least one employee in Ontario still has customer-service duties, including providing accessible formats when someone asks. In practice, building to Level AA is the safe default for any Ontario client.
Build to WCAG 2.2 AA, not 2.0
The law names WCAG 2.0, but W3C states that content conforming to WCAG 2.2 also conforms to 2.0 and 2.1. So targeting WCAG 2.2 Level AA meets the Ontario rule and the current guidelines in one go.
What usually fails on a business site
In practice, these are the areas that most often need work on a business website:
-
Keyboard access: every control reachable and usable without a mouse, with a visible focus indicator (don't
outline: nonewithout a replacement). - Colour contrast: at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text, including placeholder text and buttons on images.
-
Forms: real
<label>s, errors that say how to fix the problem, and errors announced to screen readers. -
Structure: one
h1, headings in order, lists marked up as lists, landmarks (header,nav,main,footer). -
Images: useful alt text for informative images, empty
alt=""for decorative ones. - Video: captions for pre-recorded video.
- Consistency: navigation in the same place and working the same way on every page.
A practical order of work for an existing site
- Inventory the site, subdomains, web apps, forms and important PDFs.
- Audit with an automated scanner plus manual testing with a keyboard and a screen reader (automated tools catch only part of the problems).
- Prioritize the pages and tasks people use most: home, contact, checkout, booking.
- Fix in templates and components first, so one change repairs every page.
- Keep it accessible: add accessibility checks to your definition of done, and re-test after redesigns.
Reporting
Ontario's guidance says businesses and non-profits with 20 or more employees in Ontario file an accessibility compliance report every three years. Worth mentioning to your client: a clean, documented audit makes that report easier.
The full guide, with links to the official Ontario sources and a note on the federal Accessible Canada Act: AODA and your website: what Ontario businesses should know.
Written by the team at Dzimark, a website, app and AI development company working with businesses in Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia.
