Manitoba Access Awareness Week 2025: focusing on real barriers, practical progress

Organizations and individuals across the province will soon mark Manitoba Access Awareness Week (May 25-31), an annual campaign aimed at increasing understanding and action on accessibility.

Established in the 1980s, MAAW is recognized during the last week of May and serves as a reminder while Manitoba has made important progress toward accessibility, there is still a long way to go.

MAAW was created to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities and to recognize the individuals and groups working to prevent, identify and remove accessibility barriers.

Barriers can exist in physical spaces, design of information and technology, hiring practices, customer service approaches and policies or procedures that do not accommodate a wide range of needs. The focus of the week is to shine a light on those realities through tangible education, discussion and reflection.

One of the core truths MAAW reinforces each year is accessibility affects everyone. Nearly every Manitoban either has a disability, will acquire one in their lifetime or is connected to someone who does. Disabilities can be visible or invisible, temporary or permanent, and can arise at any stage of life. A more accessible province is not only necessary for a portion of the population — it ultimately benefits all Manitobans.

The Manitoba Accessibility Office co-ordinates and promotes activities for MAAW, and its official web site (accessibilitymb.ca) provides up-to-date information about events, educational materials and tools to help organizations meet their obligations under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act.

Passed in 2013, the act lays out a roadmap for improving accessibility through standards in customer service, employment, information and communications, transportation and the design of public spaces.

Each year, the Manitoba Accessibility Office hosts a free event to anchor the week. In 2025, that event is a virtual webinar titled “Accessibility History: a Manitoba Perspective — Past, Present and Future.”

Scheduled for May 28 (2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.), the session will explore Manitoba’s role in the accessibility movement through a roundtable discussion. Topics include how legislation has evolved, the current state of compliance and participation and where challenges remain. The event will be hosted on Zoom and will include accessibility features such as American Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning. (The webinar will be recorded and later made available through the province’s accessibility website.)

Registering for the webinar is free via the website. Accommodations for registration by phone are available through the Manitoba Accessibility Office at 204-945-7613. This ensures the event is accessible not just in content, but also in access to participation — an important but often overlooked element of inclusive event planning.

Outside of the formal event, the broader aim of the week is to encourage dialogue about how accessibility is — or is not — being integrated into daily life and operations across Manitoba.

While awareness campaigns like MAAW are valuable for education, their success depends on practical application. The Manitoba Accessibility Office offers free resources to support this, including employer guides, compliance templates and training videos. These tools are geared toward a wide range of organizations, from municipalities and school divisions to small businesses and non-profits.

There is an ongoing need for organizations to move from awareness to action. Accessibility is not only a matter of equity, but also a compliance issue. Under the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, organizations in the public, private and non-profit sectors are required to meet certain accessibility standards.

As of 2025, all five accessibility standards under the act have been developed, and many are already in force depending on the type and size of the organization. Yet many workplaces and service providers remain unaware of their responsibilities or are unclear on how to implement meaningful changes.

For example, the Customer Service Standard has been in place for several years and applies to almost all Manitoba organizations. It requires staff to be trained on how to serve customers with disabilities and mandates basic practices such as allowing service animals and support persons into facilities. Despite the relative simplicity of these requirements, some businesses still fail to meet them — whether due to lack of awareness, training gaps or assumptions the standards don’t apply to them.

Similarly, the Employment Standard requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations throughout the employment process — from hiring to retention and advancement. This can include making application forms accessible, providing interview accommodations or offering assistive technology on the job. Yet implementation is often inconsistent and many employers underestimate the practical value of these accommodations in attracting and retaining skilled workers.

Accessibility is not about perfection. It’s about recognizing where barriers exist and making a reasonable, sustained effort to address them. It’s also about listening to people with disabilities and applying that input to policy, service delivery and communication design.

Manitoba’s disability community has long advocated for the right to participate fully in society — not just through symbolic gestures but through real, enforceable standards that create meaningful change.

Another issue MAAW helps highlight is that progress is uneven. While some organizations have made significant strides in accessibility, others are still at the starting line. Rural and remote communities may face different challenges than urban centres and small businesses may need additional support to make changes. This is why the province’s accessibility framework includes outreach, education and transitional support. The key is to start working towards change by accessing the extensive resources that are available.

While MAAW is a celebration of what’s already been done, it’s also a checkpoint to ask where gaps remain, who is still being excluded and what tools exist to improve the situation.

It’s also a reminder accessibility is not a single project or program. It is a continuous process that must be revisited regularly, updated thoughtfully and prioritized consistently. As Manitoba’s demographics shift and technologies evolve, accessibility must remain an active priority in both public policy and organizational practice.

Manitoba Access Awareness Week 2025 asks all of us — employers, service providers, educators, policy makers and community members — to assess our environments, question our assumptions and use the available tools to make improvements.

Accessibility is not something to be reserved for annual campaigns or committee reports. It is a daily responsibility that, when taken seriously, creates better outcomes for everyone.

Tory McNally, CPHR, BSc., vice-president, professional services, is a human resource consultant, radio personality and problem solver. She can be reached at tory@legacybowes.com