Executive Summary

This report examines how accessible emergency alerts are for people with disabilities in Canada. It uses three main sources of evidence: an environmental scan of alert systems in other countries, a national survey of disabled people in Canada, and focus groups that tested and discussed different alert formats. Across all three, a clear pattern appears: Canada has a functioning national alert system and improving technical infrastructure, but the accessibility of alerts is still incomplete and uneven. This document uses a disability-centered and systems-based perspective.

The environmental scan shows a broad move internationally from simple sirens and broadcast‑only systems to layered systems that combine radio, television, cell broadcast, registration‑based text messages, mobile apps, websites, and social media. In all countries reviewed, accessibility problems remain common. Examples are alerts that rely on only one sense (sound or sight), text that is hard to read, poor synchronization between audio and on‑screen text, and limited support for sign language and assistive technology.

The national survey gathered 505 responses (with 493 valid for detailed analysis) from people with different disabilities, including hearing loss, vision loss, mobility loss, speech loss, cognitive impairment and intellectual disabilities, and deafblind participants. Many respondents were active technology users and used multiple assistive technologies such as speech‑to‑text, text‑to‑speech, hearing aids, screen magnifiers, and alternative pointing devices. The survey shows repeated problems across radio, television, wireless alerts, apps, and other channels, including alerts that are too loud or startling, spoken words that are unclear, messages that are too dense or too fast, difficulty reviewing alerts, and inaccessible or confusing websites that were used to present additional information.

The focus groups provided deeper qualitative evidence by showing participants actual and modified versions of television full‑screen alerts, television banners, and cellphone alerts, and by asking them to compare features such as text size, contrast, reading speed, voice quality, wording, and layout. Participants across disability groups emphasized that accessibility is not just about getting the alert but also about being able to process it under stress, review it, and find accessible follow‑up information. Deafblind participants, in particular, highlighted that mainstream audio‑visual alerts often do not reach them at all and that they may need separate or additional alert pathways.

Overall, the report concludes that Canada has the foundation of an accessible alerting system but not a fully mature accessibility regime. Laws such as the Accessible Canada Act, technical standards like the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), and guidance such as the Common Look and Feel document exist, but accessibility requirements are not yet consistently enforced across broadcasters, wireless carriers, device makers, software platforms, websites, or sign‑language provision. The recommendations call for stronger standards‑based regulation, mandatory testing with assistive technologies, clearer rules for plain language and message design, improved multilingual and sign‑language access, better support for reviewing alerts, and ongoing collaboration with disability communities.

Read the plain language summary here.

Read the full report here.

This project is funded by Accessibility Standards Canada/the Government of Canada.