Peradeo Blog · Canada · Published 2026-08-27 · 7 min read
AODA Website Compliance: What Ontario Businesses Must Do to Meet Web Accessibility Requirements
By Vatsal Shah — Founder & CEO, IAAP WAS-Certified Accessibility Professional
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), passed in 2005, is Canada's oldest provincial accessibility statute and the model that Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia followed. Its goal was an accessible Ontario by 2025 — and for websites, the deadlines have long since passed. If your organization is covered and your site is not conformant, you are out of compliance today.
Who must comply
The web accessibility rules live in the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR, O. Reg. 191/11). They apply to:
- The Government of Ontario and the Legislative Assembly;
- Designated public sector organizations (municipalities, universities, colleges, school boards, hospitals);
- Private sector and non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees in Ontario.
Smaller organizations are exempt from the website requirements, but still carry other AODA obligations such as accessible customer service and accessibility policies — and remain exposed to human rights complaints regarding inaccessible services under the Ontario Human Rights Code.
What the IASR requires from your website
Since January 1, 2021, all public websites and web content of covered organizations must conform to WCAG 2.0 Level AA, with two exceptions: success criterion 1.2.4 (live captions) and 1.2.5 (pre-recorded audio descriptions). The requirement covers:
- Websites and web applications the organization controls directly or through a contract;
- Web content published after January 1, 2012;
- Documents posted on the site (PDFs, Office documents) that the public needs.
Covered organizations must also file an accessibility compliance report with the province on a recurring schedule (every 3 years for businesses and non-profits, every 2 years for the public sector) confirming their status.
Penalties
AODA is not a paper tiger. Directors' and officers' liability is built into the statute:
- Corporations can be fined up to $100,000 per day of non-compliance;
- Directors and officers can be personally fined up to $50,000 per day;
- Filing a false or misleading compliance report is itself an offence.
Ontario conducts desk audits and inspections, and inaccessible websites are also a recurring subject of complaints before the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.
WCAG 2.0 is the floor, not the target
The IASR references WCAG 2.0 AA because that was current when the regulation was written. The W3C has since published WCAG 2.1 and 2.2, which add success criteria for mobile users, low-vision users, and people with cognitive disabilities. Newer laws — Manitoba's Information and Communication Standard, the U.S. ADA Title II rule, and the European Accessibility Act — all reference WCAG 2.1 AA or newer. Auditing against WCAG 2.1/2.2 AA satisfies AODA and keeps you ahead of every other jurisdiction you may serve.
Practical steps to comply
- Confirm your obligations — count Ontario employees and check whether you are a designated public sector organization.
- Audit against WCAG AA with a combination of automated scanning and manual assistive-technology testing.
- Remediate in priority order: navigation, forms, colour contrast, keyboard access, screen reader semantics, and document accessibility are the most common failure areas.
- Publish an accessibility statement and keep evidence of your conformance for your compliance report.
- File your accessibility compliance report on time — it is the most common AODA enforcement trigger.
How Peradeo can help
Peradeo is a web accessibility company based in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Our IAAP-certified specialists audit websites and web applications against WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 AA using real assistive technologies (NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver), remediate the issues hands-on as developers, and prepare the compliance documentation — including VPAT® / Accessibility Conformance Reports and accessibility statements — that regulators and procurement teams ask for.
- Learn more about our web accessibility audit & remediation services
- Request a free accessibility check of your website
This article is provided for general information only and is not legal advice. Requirements change over time — consult a qualified lawyer for advice about your specific obligations.