Inclusive Practices Toolkit

ABOUT THIS TOOLKIT

Many people live with disabilities, visible or invisible. This toolkit provides guidance for creating inclusive events and workspaces for Local Unions, Regions and the National Union — built on respecting identity, providing accommodations, and fostering inclusion.

It sets out practical ways to assess physical spaces, create accessible materials, book support services, and design registration forms that capture the accommodations members need to take part fully.

How to use this toolkit

  • Assess the physical environment and venue accessibility
  • Create accessible event and meeting materials
  • Book interpretation, captioning and support services
  • Design registration that captures accommodation needs

INTRODUCTION

Many people live with disabilities, visible or invisible. Some identify directly with their disability (“I am a Deaf person”); others do not (“I am an individual living with Deafness”).

Some use “disability,” others prefer “disABILITY,” “differently abled,” or a less familiar term. It is important to respect the identity labels people choose for themselves — and equally important to accept a request when someone indicates they have a disability and/or a need for accommodation.

DIVERSITY THROUGH INCLUSION

Recognizing intersecting identities, removing barriers, and designing every event so members never have to choose between facets of who they are.

Legal Framework

Beyond the best practices in this guide, event organizers should ensure compliance with applicable federal and provincial accessibility legislation.

  • Federal: Accessible Canada Act (ACA)
  • British Columbia: Accessible British Columbia Act
  • Saskatchewan: The Accessible Saskatchewan Act
  • Manitoba: The Accessibility for Manitobans Act (AMA)
  • Ontario: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)
  • Quebec: Act to secure handicapped persons in the exercise of their rights (Chapter E-20.1)
  • New Brunswick: Accessibility Act (New Brunswick, 2024)
  • Nova Scotia: Accessibility Act (An Act Respecting Accessibility in Nova Scotia)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: Accessibility Act (Newfoundland and Labrador, 2021)

Check before you plan: Check your provincial regulations to distinguish between mandatory requirements and recommended best practices.

Scheduling & Intersectionality

People are diverse, often identifying in multiple ways. When we fail to recognize intersectionality, we create barriers to participation.

Workers with disabilities can also be racialized workers, women, 2SLGBTQIA+, or carry any number of other facets that form their identity.

One simple way to remove barriers is to schedule caucuses and meetings at different times — so members are never required to choose between facets of who they are.

Plan around the whole person

  • Identities intersect: disability, race, gender and more overlap
  • Stagger caucus times: so members can attend more than one
  • Remove the choice: no one should pick between communities

Remember: An accessible event recognizes that members belong to many communities at once.

Accommodating Physical Disabilities

Wherever budget permits, plan travel and accommodation around the realities of attending with a disability.

Allow participants who travel to arrive a day before the event and depart a day after — travel can carry additional, often unexpected demands.

Reserve accessible hotel rooms in advance. The most common requirements are wider door entrances, roll-in showers (no tubs), and adequate power supplies to charge wheelchairs, scooters and other mobility aids. Provide rest areas with charging at the venue.

If you are unsure of a person's needs, ask them what they require — never assume.

Build this into the budget

  • Arrive early, leave late: an extra day each way
  • Accessible rooms: wider entrances, roll-in showers
  • Power to charge devices: rooms and rest areas

Key requirement: Accessible rooms must have adequate power to charge disability-related equipment.

Designing for Focus

Accessibility also means designing for neurodiverse members — those with autism, ADHD or learning disabilities — and for members living with mental health conditions.

These members experience events differently. Small, deliberate choices — a quiet room, a predictable agenda, a quieter palette of sound and light — remove real barriers.

Reduce the sensory load, and you make the room work better for everyone.

Four ways to design for focus

  • Quiet spaces: a low-stimulation room to regroup
  • Flexible participation: online or virtual options
  • Clear communication: plain language, predictable agendas
  • Mental-health supports: available, and easy to find

“Unifor works to remove all barriers — so that every member can participate fully in their union.” Unifor Workers with disAbilities Committee

VENUES & ACCESSIBILITY

Safety, access and universal design are the starting points for choosing where members meet.

Anatomy of an Accessible Venue

Safety, access and universal design are the starting points. Look for these features when you choose a space — and where one falls short, offer hybrid participation so no one is left out.

  • Accessible parking: Close to the main entrance.
  • Ramped main entrance: Step-free access at the main door.
  • Elevator with Braille: Low buttons, Braille and audio floor cues.
  • Accessible & gender-neutral washrooms: Available in each venue.
  • Rest area with power: To charge mobility devices.
  • Step-free routes throughout: Wide, level paths for wheelchairs and walkers.

People Helping People

Every large meeting should have an Accessibility Liaison — a clear point of contact for disability-related needs, trained in CPR and First Aid.

  • Ask before assisting: Never help without checking first.
  • Don’t touch devices: A mobility aid is part of someone’s personal space.
  • Speak to the person: Address the individual, not their interpreter or support worker.

Train your team: Brief staff and organizers on accessibility awareness and disability etiquette before the event.

Accessible In Person — and Online

Whether members join in the room or from home, the same standards apply: clear audio, captions, accessible slides, and platforms that work with assistive technology.

  • In the room: Presenter, captioned screen and microphones. Roving and floor mics, clear sightlines, and seating that lets everyone take part.
  • Hybrid & online: Remote participants on video, with live captions. Accessible slides and screen-reader-friendly platforms bring the room to them.
  • Scent-free space
  • Soft, steady lighting
  • Low background noise
  • Comfortable temperature

Standard to meet: For online and hybrid events, ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2 — captions, transcripts, accessible slides, and screen-reader support.

PREPARING EVENT MATERIAL

Materials, services and schedules designed so every member can read, hear, follow and take part.

One Document, Many Formats

Offering materials in a range of print and digital formats widens your audience and removes barriers. Start from one accessible source, and branch out to meet members where they are.

From a single source document, produce every format a member might need:

  • Large print
  • Braille
  • Audio
  • Memory stick
  • Accessible website
  • Plain language

Set the baseline: Use a minimum of 16-point type — 24 is better — in high contrast, and keep a few printed copies on hand.

Reaching Everyone in the Room

When you present visuals, make sure the information reaches everyone — those who can't see the screen, and those who can't hear the audio.

  • Describe the screen: Say aloud what is shown in charts, tables and diagrams.
  • Caption videos: Use captioned video, and check the captions in advance.
  • Transcribe audio: Provide transcripts of audio as a matter of course.

Say what you see: Describing what is on screen ensures every participant receives the same information.

Where Inclusion Begins

Registration is the first accommodation. Ask everyone to register — including guest presenters — so organizers can plan individual supports.

  • Invite requests: “If you have a Human Rights Code/Act related need, let us know in advance so we can take reasonable steps to accommodate.”
  • Capture the details: Mobility, dietary, hotel and communication needs — on an accessible, computer-fillable form.
  • Follow up in good time: Confirm with each member whether their accommodation will be available.

Remember: Remind all attendees that wearing perfume or heavily scented products is not permitted.

Interpretation & Intervener Services

These services are in high demand and require advance booking. Ask each member which option meets their needs.

  • ASL / LSQ: Sign-language interpretation for members who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
  • Oral interpretation: For members who lip-read rather than using sign language.
  • CART: Communication Access Realtime Translation — the spoken word, captioned live.
  • Video Relay (VRS): Remote sign-language interpretation delivered by video.
  • Assistive listening: FM and infrared systems for members who are hard of hearing.
  • Intervener: For DeafBlind members — a trained attendant who signs into their hands.

Plan ahead: For any event longer than one hour, more than one interpreter is required.

Keeping Everyone in the Conversation

Captioning benefits Deaf and hard-of-hearing members and anyone with auditory-processing, learning or language needs. Build the room so the spoken word reaches every channel.

  • Presenter speaks clearly: At a steady pace, describing what is on screen.
  • Accessible slides: High-contrast and uncluttered, readable from the floor.
  • Live captions: On screen via CART — in the room or remote.
  • Remote attendees: Hybrid access for those who can’t be there in person.
  • On their own device: Captions and a transcript to follow at their pace.

On-site CART: On-site captioning keeps going even if the internet fails — and captures questions from the floor.

Designing an Inclusive Day

Pace and structure shape who can take part. Build the day around the realities members live with — with room to breathe between sessions.

Start and end the day while accessible public transit is still running.

  • Time to respond: Leave room in presentations for questions — not everyone responds at a set pace.
  • Regular breaks: For medication, rest and scheduled meals, so no one is excluded.
  • Transit & remote access: Offer call-in options for remote and rural members.

Off-site events: For marches and rallies, ensure accessible transportation for members with mobility needs.

Designing the Floor for Every Voice

Set up the room so every delegate can speak, move and be heard — wherever they choose to sit.

  • Ramped stage: Always provide a ramp; avoid raised platforms without one.
  • Roving microphones: Staff bring a wireless mic to members who can't reach the floor.
  • Floor mic with a seat: A chair beside each mic to rest while awaiting a turn to speak.
  • Staggered tables: Spaced so mobility devices move freely and members choose their seat.
  • Flash-card signalling: A bright card signals the need for a microphone.

APPENDICES

Ready-to-use tools: sample language and forms, the access-symbol guide, accessible seating layouts, and a complete planning checklist.

This toolkit was developed to help Local Unions, Regions and the National Union remove barriers and make every event accessible.

Accessibility is never finished. Keep asking members what they need — and keep listening.