Accessibility
On April 17, 2023, Council approved the creation of an accessibility committee and the development of an accessibility plan. This initiative is in response to the Accessible BC Act, enacted by the Province of British Columbia on June 17, 2021. The Act introduced new accessibility requirements for local governments, mandating the Township of Langley to establish an accessibility committee, formulate an accessibility plan, and implement a mechanism to receive general feedback on accessibility and to report accessibility barriers.
In the fall of 2024, the Township’s Accessibility Committee was officially formed and held its inaugural meeting on October 30, 2024. The committee will convene approximately four times a year over a two-year term, with members having the option to reapply for subsequent terms. The committee members collaborate to:
- help the Township identify barriers faced by individuals within or interacting with the organization
- advise the Township on removing and preventing these barriers
- support the creation and review of the Township's accessibility plan
Definitions:
“Inclusion” means that all British Columbians, including persons with disabilities, should be able to participate fully and equally in their communities
“Disability” means an inability to participate fully and equally in society as a result of the interaction of an impairment and a barrier
“Impairment” includes a physical, sensory, mental, intellectual or cognitive impairment, whether permanent, temporary or episodic
Accessibility Plan
As directed by the Province of British Columbia, and subsequently Township Council, the Township of Langley is preparing an Accessibility Plan.
As described in the Accessible BC Act, the purpose of the accessibility plan is to identify, remove, and prevent barriers to individuals in or interacting with the Township. The plan must be developed in consultation with the Accessibility Committee and reviewed and updated at least once every three years.
The Township is currently in Phase 1 of the project.
Important links
Website accessibility
We have ensured our website, as our most widely accessed communications channel, meets W3C, HTML 5, and CSS 3 Accessibility Standards, supports assistive technologies and site readers, has a responsive design for desktop, mobile, and tablet, and meets other accessibility best practices.
The site provides a language translator, tools to adjust text size, contrasting colours, a powerful search tool, intuitive navigation, and is tested with JAWS, NVDA and ZoomText—three of the most popular assistive technologies in Canada.