Questioning the Census -- Mandatory Accessibility Mandates Clarity

When completion is mandatory, so too must accessibility be mandatory. Fortunately this was true of the mandatory Canadian census released this month -- though not all aspects of its accessibility were made clear up front.

And while sometimes accessible workarounds may be available, if they’re not communicated well enough, people can be left out.

Earlier this month the 2016 Canadian Censuses of Population and Agriculture were released to the public. Every household should have received a letter indicating how they could access the questionnaire online and were given a household-specific 16-digit security code.

This presents a problem to those of us who are blind.

The online questionnaire is itself accessible; the census website through the Government of Canada has specific sections on accessibility of all kinds -- including how to request alternate formats of the questionnaire as a hard copy in standard-sized font, Braille, or large print, a link to the questionnaire in American Sign Language (ASL), and instructions on how to optimally complete the questionnaire with assistive technology. There is a helpline (both voice and TTY) to complete the questionnaire over the phone, and each question on the questionnaire itself has a Help link for further explanation of the question and why it’s being asked.

However, the security code required to complete most steps in any of these processes is sent as a printed form in standard-sized font. There was no online reference to this accessibility faux pas let alone any suggestion on how to rectify it.

There are certainly workarounds for printed mail – it can be read to its blind or low-vision recipient by a family member, friend, or local volunteer. There is technology that exists which can scan and recognize printed text, converting it into electronic text that can then be read with appropriate size and contrast (for those with low vision), or speech or Braille for those who are blind.

However, these things are not instantly available for many and, given the mandatory nature of the census, I would argue that accessibility in this area should also be mandatory at all steps of the process.

Having found nothing online, I called to the census helpline. After many attempts (and plenty of time on hold) I reached a very helpful individual who solved my problem.

It turns out that a citizen need only call to this helpline, provide his or her address, and they can be issued a new code over the phone which is tied to the one they received in the mail.

Since the May 10^th date was not a deadline for census submission, but rather an assessment date (citizens must provide their information as it was on that date, but can submit their census afterwards), that eased my concerns that alternate questionnaires – sent as Braille or large print – would not arrive in time to be completed by the May 10^th deadline given the date the original security codes were received.

While the mandatory census is accessible from beginning to end, in the future this fact just needs to be better socialized. After all, the census is designed to provide a clear picture of who we are as Canadians -- so it's vital that understanding how to access it is as clear as possible.