Canada
Bonjour. C'est notre histoire. · Hello. This is our story.
We beat Ottawa in court. Then Ottawa wrote our law.
Access on this page: Signed: American Sign Language · Langue des signes québécoise — pending How this page is tested
When the federal government's own websites defeated a blind woman's screen reader, Donna Jodhan sued under the Charter. In 2010 the Federal Court agreed that her equality rights had been breached; in 2012 the Court of Appeal upheld it. In June 2019 the Accessible Canada Act became law — a barrier-free Canada by 2040, with ASL, LSQ and Indigenous sign languages recognised in section 5.1 as the primary languages of Deaf Canadians. And in May 2026 the CRTC put every large streamer on a captioning clock: the whole catalogue within five years. The deadline is written. The delivery is ours to make.
ASL and LSQ videos — this story, in our languages
Named Canadian Deaf creators tell this page's story — one in ASL, one in LSQ. Canada recognised both; so do we. The videos are the page, and the text is their transcript's cousin. These videos existing is the reason this page is allowed to exist.
Every right we have, we won one case at a time.
Now we build the delivery — in both our languages.
What do you want to do?
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I want access
Watch.Understand.Belong.
Streaming, cinema, and services — in ASL or LSQ, captions, or audio description.
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I create access
Create.Get paid.Be seen.
Deaf signers, interpreters, captioners, audio describers — your work, your name, your income.
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I provide access
One API.Every screen.
Platforms, governments, cinemas, companies — deliver real access with one integration.
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I back access
Host.Sponsor.Invest.
The builders who will make 2040 arrive early — be part of the firsts.
Go
More than one of these can be yours. The access is for you, and you can be paid to help make it.
Access in Canada today
One of our cases became a national law.
Jodhan v Canada, 2010, upheld 2012: the government's websites breached the Charter. The Accessible Canada Act, June 2019: barrier-free by 2040, with ASL, LSQ and Indigenous sign languages written into the law itself. CRTC 2026-98, May 2026: every streamer earning over $25 million must caption its whole catalogue within five years.
We also know the exhausting part: each win bound one agency, one chain, one platform — and the next denial started from zero.
The deadline is written: 2040. The delivery comes next — made by us. That is what ally is: Deaf and blind creators, paid to make the access — ASL, LSQ, captions, audio description — delivered to any screen.
In plain words
The law is on your side. What is missing is the service — and that is what gets built here, with the community.
Why captions alone are not enough → Why sign language
Talk to us
Tell us who you are
Write in your own language. We reply in it.
- Emailpartners@a11y.media
- Video messageSend a signed video — no writing needed
Contact us by form, email, or a signed video message — never voice-only.