Organizations Leading the Accessibility Movement

Surrey is the first city in Canada to commit to building to a RHFAC Gold for all future civic facilities. With over 40 Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification™ (RHFAC) ratings to date, Surrey boasts the most ratings and certifications of any municipality in Canada. 

The City of Vancouver has mandated that all newly built municipal facilities are required to achieve RHFAC Gold. Twelve City staff will also be taking RHFAC Training to gain knowledge and practical skills to rate their own buildings for meaningful accessibility.

Rick Hansen’s home town of Williams Lake B.C. reaffirmed their commitment to accessibility in June 2023 including all new future city-owned buildings be designed to RHFAC Gold, ensuring all future major renovations meet certification, training city staff to become RHFAC Professionals, and encouraging the building community in the city to adopt RHFAC.

Ottawa’s Carleton University has become the first post-secondary institution in Canada to adopt RHFAC principles into policy. Carleton is in the process of rating over 40 sites on their campus and intends to have all new sites built to RHF Accessibility Certified Gold standards and upgrade all existing buildings to meet RHF Accessibility Certified requirements. Additionally, they are one of six post-secondary institutions to offer the RHFAC Professional Training course and have trained several internal staff to become RHFAC Professionals. 

WorkBC Employment Services prepares job seekers for employment by offering skills training, academic upgrading, and work experience through 102 WorkBC Centres and connects talented and skilled employees to businesses hiring today. All WorkBC offices have either achieved or in the process of achieving Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification.   Visit WorkBC.ca

The Valuable 500 is a global business collective of 500 CEOs and their companies, innovating together to address disability inclusion and drive systemic change to be more inclusive of people with disabilities. RHF is one of only 77 organizations globally selected for the Valuable 500 Directory. It is a unique resource featuring expertise within digital, physical and cognitive accessibility, as well as tools for inclusive recruitment and branding practices.

As part of their commitment to creating a world without barriers, BOMA Canada has partnered with the Rick Hansen Foundation to invite BOMA members to have their buildings rated for accessibility using RHFAC. For BOMA members, an RHF Accessibility Certification both counts towards the BOMA BEST Certification and makes their site eligible for the annual BOMA Canada Accessibility Award. In addition, BOMA Canada has demonstrated leadership by developing an introductory Accessibility Guide for their members in partnership with RHF.

CMHC’s MLI Select is a new multi-unit mortgage loan insurance product that offers scaling flexibilities to encourage the preservation and creation of affordable, accessible and climate compatible units. The RHFAC program is one of the pathways available to receive up to 30 points under the Accessibility pillar of this product for both existing projects and new construction. 

RAIC has collaborated with the Rick Hansen Foundation and PowerED™ by Athabasca University to expand capacity of accessibility certification training for the architectural community, by offering RAIC members a $200 discount on course fees as well as continuing education units (CEUs) towards their designation.

With a presence in nearly every community, Canada Post understands the importance of providing accessible services for all Canadians. The Crown corporation developed national accessibility design standards for its facilities in consultation with RHFAC. Since 2020, Canada Post has used RHFAC to inform over 600 internal audits of its buildings and post offices, resulting in dozens of upgrades. In 2022, an administrative building located at its Head Office campus in Ottawa, Ontario achieved RHFAC Gold certification. Canada Post’s goal is to use RHFAC to inform a minimum of 200 internal audits per year and achieve Gold certification for its flagship sites. Several cohorts of CPC employees from across the company have completed RHFAC Training.