The Accessible Canada Act (, long title: An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, Loi visant à assurer un Canada sans obstacles) (ACA) builds on the Canadian Human Rights Act, focusing on the prohibition of discrimination based on disability. Carla Qualtrough presented Bill C-81 for its final reading on June 21, 2019, where it received Royal Assent. This is a Canada-wide accessibility act that applies to the federal public sector, Crown Corporations, and all federally regulated organizations. It is the first national Canadian legislation on accessibility that affects all government departments and federally regulated agencies. The federally regulated organizations include the following industries: railways, airplanes and inter-provincial buses banks, mining companies, railways, airlines, and trucking television and radio Preparation The Office of Public Service Accessibility (OPSA) was responsible for preparing Bill C-81 and creating its implementation strategy. OPSA's mandate will expire in March 2021. Standards development Accessibility standards required for the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) are to be developed by Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC). Priority areas for have been defined as: Employment; Emergency measures; Built environment including parks and outdoor recreation facilities; Information and communication technologies; Indigenous accessibility; Accessible communications. Legislated roles The ACA created the position of an Accessibility Commissioner and Chief Accessibility Officer. The Accessibility Commissioner has the authority to fine organizations up to $250,000 per violation. The Accessibility Commissioner has broad powers to conduct investigations of complaints. If the complaint is substantiated, they have the power to order the appropriate corrective measures and pay compensation to the complainant. Mandates and goals As defined, the ACA will require the public sector to: hire 5,000 new employees who identify as people with disabilities over five years (1,000/year); review anything which may be a barrier for the public or the public sector; create an initial accessibility plan by one year after a date determined by regulations; publish an updated accessibility plan, and notify the Accessibility Commissioner, on an annual basis outlining progress to-date. This plan must be made available to people on request. consult persons with disabilities in the preparation of its accessibility plan and include the manner of consultation in the report. In the Backgrounder on Accessible Government provided by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), several other items have been outlined which pertain to the public sector. Perhaps the most immediate will be the five-year commitment for the public sector to hire a thousand employees per year who