April 13, 2022 — News release by​ the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, Employment and Social Development Canada, the Public Service Alliance of Canada, the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Today, the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS), Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announce that they have reached an agreement to settle a complaint before the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal about the accommodation of persons with disabilities. The settlement reflects the parties’ mutual interest in ensuring that there are robust measures in place for accommodation of ESDC employees.

The settlement builds on the newly implemented Treasury Board Policy on People Management and its suite of supporting directives and tools that came into effect on April 1, 2020, including the implementation of the new Directive on the Duty to Accommodate. ESDC agrees to provide tracking and reporting of accommodation requests. ESDC has established and will maintain a process to expedite any assistive devices purchase that costs $10,000.00 or less. TBS will improve visibility of key TB policies on the Canada.ca website. As well, PSAC, TBS and ESDC will work together to provide assistance and resources to the Joint Learning Program to develop more targeted accommodation training for managers and supervisors.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission is pleased that the parties have reached a settlement that it expects will have far-reaching benefits for employees requiring accommodation.