Frequently asked questions

Very likely. The Accessible Information and Communication Standard Regulation (Man. Reg. 47/2022), made under The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, covers organizations with one or more employees in Manitoba. For most businesses and non-profits, the requirements applied from May 1, 2025 (s. 2(c) (opens in a new tab)). If you have staff in Manitoba and a public website, you should assume the web content requirements in s. 7 (opens in a new tab) apply to you. Our standard explained page sets out the timeline and the sections that matter most. This is general information, not legal advice.

Yes. The regulation applies to organizations with one or more employees in Manitoba (s. 2(c) (opens in a new tab)). There is no small-business exemption based on headcount or revenue. Size does affect some obligations: only large employers must document their measures and policies (s. 3(2) (opens in a new tab)) and their training policy (s. 4(4) (opens in a new tab)). But the core web requirement, that web content meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA (s. 7(1) (opens in a new tab)), is the same for a one-person practice as for a larger firm. This is general information, not legal advice.

Often, yes. Section 7(1) (opens in a new tab) applies to web content published on or after the applicable date, and also to web content that is needed to access your goods or services, whenever it was published. A contact page, a menu, a booking page or a product listing is usually needed to access what you offer. An old news post from 2019 may not be. In practice, most of a working business website falls within the requirement. An audit identifies which pages and features are in scope. This is general information, not legal advice.

Section 7(2) (opens in a new tab) sets out limited exceptions. Web content may be excepted where meeting WCAG 2.1 Level AA is not technically feasible, where the necessary technology is not readily available, where it would cause undue hardship, where the organization has no direct control over the content, or where the content is product labels or product information. These are narrow. "It would take some effort" is not the same as undue hardship. If you rely on an exception, you should be able to explain why it applies. This is general information, not legal advice.

Under The Accessibility for Manitobans Act, inspectors can carry out inspections (ss. 23 (opens in a new tab)-26 (opens in a new tab)), and a compliance order can be issued requiring an organization to fix a problem (s. 27 (opens in a new tab)). If an order is not complied with, an administrative penalty may follow (s. 29 (opens in a new tab)). Orders and penalties can be reported publicly (s. 32 (opens in a new tab)). The Act also sets out offences (s. 34 (opens in a new tab)), with a fine of not more than $250,000 on summary conviction (s. 34(3) (opens in a new tab)), and directors or officers who authorized or permitted a corporate offence can also be found guilty (s. 34(2) (opens in a new tab)). This is general information, not legal advice.

No. We are accessibility specialists, not lawyers. We can tell you, with evidence, whether your website meets WCAG 2.1 Level AA, which is the technical standard the regulation refers to. We can explain what the regulation says in plain language and point to the relevant sections. We cannot tell you how the law applies to your particular circumstances, whether an exception covers you, or how to respond to a compliance order. For those questions, speak with a lawyer. We are happy to share our audit findings with your legal counsel.

Usually very little. We work on a "least visible change" principle. Most accessibility repairs happen in the code that visitors do not see: labels on form fields, text alternatives on images, heading structure, keyboard behaviour. Where a visible change is needed, such as darkening a light grey text colour to meet the 4.5:1 contrast ratio, we choose the smallest adjustment that meets the requirement and stays close to your brand. Any visible change is listed in your quote before work begins, so nothing is a surprise.

In most cases, no. Accessibility problems are almost always fixable in the website you already have, whether it runs on a common content management system, a hosted website builder or custom code. Rebuilding is rarely necessary and is not something we sell. Occasionally a platform imposes limits that cannot be worked around, for example a template that locks certain code. If we find that during the audit, we will tell you plainly, explain what can and cannot be repaired, and set out your options.

Third-party tools such as booking calendars, online ordering systems and payment forms are often where visitors get stuck. We test them as part of the audit because they are usually needed to access your goods or services. Where the widget is under your control, for example through settings or custom code, we repair it. Where it belongs to a vendor you cannot change, we document the issues, explain whether the "no direct control" exception in s. 7(2) (opens in a new tab) may be relevant, and help you ask the vendor for a fix or consider an alternative.

If a PDF is part of your web content, such as a menu, price list, application form or brochure, it is generally expected to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA like the rest of the site. Common problems include scanned pages with no real text, missing headings, unlabelled form fields and a reading order that jumps around. We can audit and repair PDFs, or recommend converting the content to an ordinary web page, which is often simpler to maintain. Your quote will list any documents we include.

We do not use or recommend overlay widgets, the toolbars or scripts that claim to make a site accessible automatically. They do not repair the underlying code, so the barriers that affect screen reader and keyboard users usually remain. Some overlays interfere with the assistive technology people already use. An overlay also does not produce the evidence you would want if your compliance were ever questioned. Repairing the website itself is the reliable approach, and it is what the WCAG standard actually measures.

The repairs we make stay in place until something changes them. What changes them is new content and new code: a blog post with an image that has no text alternative, a new page built with a different template, a plugin update or a redesign. Accessibility is maintained, not finished. When we hand over the work, we explain which everyday tasks carry the most risk and how to do them correctly. If you would like us to keep watch, our ongoing monitoring service checks the site at agreed intervals.

We quote each project individually. After the audit, you receive a fixed written quote for the repairs, based on what we actually found. The quote states the scope, what is included and any visible changes. The price does not change unless you change the scope. We do not publish prices because the work varies too much to price honestly in advance. A five-page site with clean code and a large site with online ordering, PDFs and custom forms are different projects. A published figure would either overcharge one or mislead the other.

It depends on the size and complexity of your website: the number of distinct page templates, forms, third-party tools and documents. A short brochure site takes less time than a site with online ordering and a library of PDFs. Every audit includes automated scans and manual testing with a keyboard, NVDA and VoiceOver, at 200% zoom and at 320 pixel reflow, so it is not instant. We give you a timeline in the quote before any work begins, and we keep to it.

Less than most people expect. To start, we need your website address and a short conversation about what your site is for and which tasks matter most to your customers. For repairs, we need access to make changes, usually an editor or administrator login for your content management system, or access arranged through your web developer. If you use third-party tools, we may ask who manages them. We tell you exactly what access is required before work begins, and we can work alongside your existing developer.

Yes. We work remotely with organizations across Manitoba, from Brandon and Steinbach to Thompson and smaller communities. Accessibility auditing and repair is done on the website itself, so location makes no difference to the quality of the work. Consultations take place by phone, and reports and documentation are delivered electronically.

Yes. You receive a written audit report listing each issue found, the WCAG 2.1 success criterion it relates to, where it occurs and how it was resolved. We also prepare the compliance documentation the regulation calls for, such as your notice about accessible formats and communication supports (s. 5 (opens in a new tab)) and your feedback process (s. 9 (opens in a new tab)), and, for large employers, support for documenting measures and policies (s. 3(2) (opens in a new tab)). You can see the structure of our reports on the sample report page.

An accessibility statement is a public page on your website that explains your commitment to accessibility, the standard you aim to meet (WCAG 2.1 Level AA), any known limitations, and how people can request information in an accessible format or give feedback. It is a practical place to publish the notice required by s. 5 (opens in a new tab) and to describe the feedback process required by s. 9 (opens in a new tab). A good statement is specific and honest. It should not claim full compliance unless that claim is supported by testing.

If anything we repaired is found not to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA, we correct it at no charge. The guarantee covers the work we did. It does not cover content or code added or changed after we hand over the site, or third-party tools we documented but could not control. Those limits are stated in writing in your quote, so you know exactly what is covered.

Yes. Websites change, and each change can introduce new barriers. Our ongoing monitoring service rechecks your site at agreed intervals using automated scans and targeted manual testing, with attention to new pages, updated templates and third-party tools. When we find an issue, we report it with the relevant WCAG criterion and a recommended fix, and we can make the repair if you would like. Monitoring is optional and quoted separately. Details are on the services page.