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National AccessAbility Week, May 31 to June 6, 2026, is a time to recognize the contributions, achievements, and leadership of persons with disabilities across Canada, and to honour the workers, allies, activists, and organizations doing the year-round work of removing barriers in every part of society.
This year's theme, “Building a Strong Accessible Canada”, is a direct call to action. A strong Canada is one where every person can fully participate in their workplace, their union, and their community. That standard is not reached alone. It is built every day by workers, by the locals that represent them, and by the people who stand with them.
Accessibility is not a favour, and it is not a one-week conversation. It is a right. It is the everyday work of building workplaces, unions, and communities where every worker belongs.
Our members with disabilities, and the disability activists who came before them, have shown us what is possible when workers organize for dignity. We owe them more than recognition. We owe them progress.
Unifor members with disabilities are leaders in their workplaces, their locals, and their communities. They have led campaigns to win accommodation language, mental health protections, accessible facilities, and inclusive practices at the bargaining table and beyond. Their work has changed our union and continues to change this country.
Accessibility is a collective responsibility. Governments must legislate and enforce strong accessibility standards. Employers must invest in barrier-free workplaces. Unions must lead by example. Every member has a role to play.
This week, Unifor calls on locals and members to take concrete action:
Establish a Workers with disAbilities committee in your local. Use Unifor's 10 Steps Guide to Creating a Workers with disAbilities Committee to get started.
Use Unifor's Inclusive Practices Toolkit when planning local events, meetings, and education sessions, so every member can participate fully.
Support and share accessibility awareness initiatives in your community and build lasting partnerships with disability organizations and advocates who are doing the work year-round.
Locals can also draw on the Government of Canada's National AccessAbility Week toolkit for additional resources.
Building a strong, accessible Canada will not happen in one week. It will happen because workers, locals, and communities keep showing up, in workplaces, at bargaining tables, and in every corner of public life. Unifor fights alongside our members with disabilities, disability activists, and every worker organizing to tear down the barriers that remain.
Together, we build a union and a country where every worker can participate fully, contribute fully, and belong.
In Solidarity,
Lana Payne
