To fully participate in our communities’ professional, social, economic, and cultural networks, Canadians need to be connected. However even today, numerous with handicaps actually face boundaries to partaking completely in the computerized economy. As a result, the Canadian government continues to push the boundaries in its search for novel approaches to assisting in the removal of obstacles to accessibility and inclusion.
As part of the $5.8 million investment in the second phase of the Accessible Technology Program, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry, made the announcement on May 4, 2023, that eleven organizations in communities all over the country would receive funding. In order to make it easier for Canadians with disabilities to fully participate in the digital economy, this investment will support the development of new digital technologies and assistive and adaptive digital devices.
Assistive and adaptive devices, on the other hand, must be tailored to the specific requirements of their users, which means that their prices tend to rise as they become more widely available. In contrast, the opposite is true for mainstream technologies. Hence, the ongoing degree of help for the improvement of available innovations should be expanded, given the exceptional requirements of Canadians with handicaps.
The Available Innovation Program will assist with defeating these boundaries, decrease the expenses related with creating assistive and versatile advancements, and address the business challenges that Canadians with handicaps face. This will assist with guaranteeing that they can be more autonomous and land the well-paying positions they need.
The following 11 organizations have received funding:
- AAVAA Inc.
- CanAssist
- CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind)
- Compusult Limited
- Concordia University of Edmonton
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
- Horizon Health Network
- Neil Squire Society
- Technologies HumanWare Inc.
- TrySight Inc.
- Université Laval
