By Joshua Klyber, RAS, APAC-BE, ICC-AIPE
The development of new accessibility standard for existing buildings in Canada is starting. There are already accessibility standards for new construction, some of which are the National Building Code of Canada (NBC), the provincial codes, and CSA B651-18, Accessible design for the built environment. However, these published standards do not extensively address accessibility for existing buildings and facilities.
Under the current standards, existing buildings, when renovated, must meet the standards for new construction. If the new requirements cannot be met, variances must be applied for. This simplistic approach does not consider the complexity of the physical conditions and external forces on the built environment. This new existing building standard will provide much more detailed and prescriptive guidance.
Under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA), Accessibility Standards of Canada (ASC) was created to develop new accessibility standards for the federal government and federally regulated entities. The ASC is currently developing 15 new accessibility standards, covering major topics such as new construction, existing buildings, outdoor spaces, wayfinding, and emergency egress. This set of standards will provide the necessary guidance to fulfil the ACA mandate that all federal owned, operated, and regulated properties be accessible by 2040.
Accessibility regulations in Canada
Accessibility regulations gained momentum in Canada during the 1970s and 1980s with the enactment of several major pieces of legislation. The Human Rights Act and Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms were passed in 1977 and 1982, respectively, prohibiting discrimination based on physical or mental ability. Shortly after, the federal government enacted the Employment Equity Act of 1986, which sought to achieve equality and full representation in the workplace for persons with varying abilities and cultural backgrounds. During this time, the federal government also strengthened accessibility requirements for national transportation under the National Transportation Act (now the Canada Transportation Act).
The disability rights movement continued to grow in Canada throughout the 1990s and 2000s, eventually fostering the creation of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in 2005. Various provinces across Canada followed suit, introducing their own accessibility laws in the years after. The most recent development in Canadian accessibility legislation is the ACA, which established a framework for advancing accessibility standards for federally owned, operated, and regulated properties.
New accessibility standards
ASC, under the guidance of Philip Rizcallah, chief executive officer, and Dino Zuppa, chief operating officer, is co-ordinating the development of an entire suite of accessibility standards. Topics include existing buildings, as well as new construction, outdoor spaces, emergency egress, and wayfinding, among others. All these standards are currently under various stages of development.
ASC’s goal is to develop one of the most progressive sets of accessibility standards in the world, one that takes into account current best practices in both accessibility and universal design. Where accessibility tends to focus on code compliance for wheelchair users and, to a limited extent, visual disabilities, universal design aims to address inclusion for every person regardless of their abilities, culture, age, size, or other attributes. In addition to considering the specific design needs of various communities, including those related to gender, religion, age, and body size, this vast undertaking requires an understanding of the disparate types of federal programs, as well as the latest trends and technologies within universal design.
Standard development process
Developing a new standard is a lengthy and complex process. The process begins with extensively researching other similar standards and new developments to inform the framework, tone, and goals of the standard being developed. With the ASC standard, it was a great opportunity to improve upon prior codes, incorporate evolving approaches to universal design, and push the envelope about what it means to be inclusive. As such, several existing codes, standards, best practices, and industry experts were used to inform the seed document, which is essentially a first draft of the new accessibility guidelines for existing buildings.
Having been updated on a three-year cycle since its publication in 2003, the International Code Council’s (ICC’s) International Existing Building Code (IEBC) was an ideal basis for forming the new ASC standard. Many of the major Canadian standards were also researched to take into account various precedents, including the NBC, provincial accessibility codes, and CSA’s B651. The seed document also draws upon concepts in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Existing Building Code and incorporates a variance process based on current Australian best practices and universal design principles, as developed by Ronald Mace.
In addition to worldwide standards, other industry resources were consulted. Accessibility experts with the ICC graciously offered insights about opportunities to better the IEBC framework. Information presented by advocacy groups, anthropometric research facilities, and industry leaders heavily influenced the seed document as well.
Once developed, the seed document is reviewed, debated, and revised by a technical committee of persons selected to represent various stakeholders, which includes people with disabilities and lived experience, industry representatives, and policymakers. A draft of the revised standard will then be published on the ASC website and open for public comment for a period of 60 days. Received public comments will be reviewed and potentially incorporated into the final standard as well.
Following the publication of the standard, the complicated implementation process will begin along with an ongoing conversation, as real-world conditions will mandate interpretation, analysis for edge cases, and hopefully few corrections.
Overview of the seed document
The ASC’s new accessibility guidelines will be mandatory for most federal buildings and federally regulated facilities. This includes governmental offices, judiciary and penal facilities, transit facilities (such as ferry terminals and train stations), national parks, post offices, banks, and some health care facilities. Notable exceptions include heritage, military, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), industrial, and agricultural facilities. Additional details about which facilities will be required to comply with the new standards continue to be developed.
The seed document, or initial draft, provides a three-tiered approach to compliance, starting with a basic level of access and ascending to equivalence to new construction standards. Each tier is written as a standalone section that can be easily read and applied to a facility. It is not within the scope of this seed document to determine which compliance tier must be met. This will be left up to the individual department to determine based on its own resources, priorities, and timeline for meeting the ACA mandate to become barrier-free by 2040.
The first tier requires accessible egress and access to all public programs and services. This does not necessarily mean all building areas must be accessible but at least each portion of each type of public program and service is provided in an accessible location. The second tier requires increased, but not full, accessibility provisions to all building areas. The third tier requires accessible provisions as close as technically feasible to new construction standards.
Take, for example, accessible entrances. The first tier would require a single accessible entrance to spaces where public programs and services are offered. Under the second tier, two accessible entrances would be required for the building. Under the final third tier, all public and employee entrances would be required to be accessible.
Egress and life safety are the highest priorities for the code requirements, which is a departure from the more common approach of prioritizing access. While accessing facilities and services with dignity is important, an individual’s personal safety is paramount. By ensuring adequate egress for every individual, many of the requirements for access will already be in place.
Prescriptive reductions
Due to the wide variety of facilities covered by this standard, along with the inherent complexity of existing conditions, there will be situations where a building cannot be reasonably brought into full compliance. The seed document provides an approach called prescriptive alternatives to address technically infeasible situations. These are pre-approved, acceptable provisions that take into account commonly seen situations in existing buildings while maintaining the standard’s intent. For example, automatic door actuators can be installed where required door maneuvering clearances cannot be provided. Another example is addressing stairs that are not sufficiently wide.
Variance process
New research and technologies will arise as the accessibility and universal design field continues to develop. Similarly, there will be technically infeasible conditions which this standard cannot foresee. To accommodate these conditions, a performance-based approach, or variance process, will be included in the seed document. This small but critical section creates flexibility within the standard to allow the use of innovations and prevent the document from becoming outdated.
The variance process in the ASC guidelines is based on the standard successfully used in Australia. The variance must demonstrably meet the intent of the code and universal design principles while ensuring the user’s safety. This process is not intended to be adjudicated by a panel, as they may have difficulty in assembling, financing, and meeting the quantity of variance applications. Instead, the intention is for the process to be reviewed by a specific group of knowledgeable and interested parties, specifically the owner, contractor, accessibility consultant, and oversight official.
Harmonization
As this new body of standards are developed, it is important for it to be internally consistent with the other ASC standards as well as with the other potentially applicable standards, such as the NBC, provincial codes, and B651. For internal consistency, the existing building standard is written such that it references the ASC standard for new construction, except where prescriptive reductions are allowed. The new existing building standard provides explicit and prescriptive guidance where there is a lack of detail under other accessibility standards. The intent is to not conflict with other standards but provide guidance where full compliance with new construction requirements cannot be reasonably achieved.
Summary
The development of this new set of accessibility guidelines by ASC is a unique opportunity to improve upon existing international standards. The seed document for the new existing building standard pulls in the best parts of different, vetted standards while incorporating the best practices of accessibility and universal design. The standard also provides flexibility in application as it strives to navigate the complexities of combining idealist best practices with the hard realities of existing buildings. Through the variance process, the standard can accommodate the eventual, unforeseen conditions that arise during implementation, as well as new research and technologies.
Following review and improvement by a technical committee of interested stakeholders, the seed document will be published and open for public comments. Keep an eye out for their publication, as public opinion will be invaluable to shaping the final standard. More information can be found at https://accessible.canada.ca/centre-of-expertise/built-environment.
