AODA website rules for Ontario restaurants: who must meet WCAG 2.0 AA and what to fix first

Ontario is the one province where website accessibility is a binding rule for private business. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, known as the AODA, and its Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation set requirements for websites and web content. If you run a restaurant group, a larger café chain or a catering company in Ontario, you may be covered. If you run a single small restaurant, you may not be, but the rules are still a useful guide. This guide is general information. Read the regulation on ontario.ca, or ask a lawyer, before you decide whether you are covered.

Who has to comply?

The website requirement applies to public-sector organizations and to private or non-profit organizations with 50 or more employees. The obligation took effect for private organizations on 1 January 2021 for their public websites and web content. The rule applies to content published after 1 January 2012, while older content and internal intranets are generally exempt. Count your employees carefully, since part-time and seasonal staff may be counted.

There is also a separate duty to file accessibility compliance reports. Who must file, and by when, depends on your size and the reporting cycle, so check the Ontario government's AODA page for your deadline rather than relying on a date you heard.

What standard applies?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.0, at Level AA. The regulation refers to version 2.0. Building to a newer version is a sensible way to avoid redoing the work later.

What counts as your website?

Your public website, and web content you control, including your booking page, online menu, ordering pages, event pages and any app pages on your own domain. Content on a third-party platform that you do not control, such as a delivery app, is the platform's job. But if you embed a booking widget or ordering page on your site, ask your supplier whether it meets the standard.

What should a restaurant fix first?

Start with the things that stop a person using your site at all:

1. Menu in text. A menu that is only a photograph or a scanned PDF cannot be read by a screen reader. Publish it as web text.
2. Booking or order forms. Every field needs a visible label, and the form must work with the keyboard alone.
3. Colour contrast. Text must have enough contrast against its background.
4. Image descriptions. Add text alternatives to images that carry information.
5. Video. Provide captions, and avoid autoplay with sound.
6. Headings and links. Use real headings in order, and link text that makes sense out of context.
7. Pop-ups and banners. They must be closable by keyboard and must not trap focus.

How do you test?

• Try to complete a booking using only the keyboard.
• Zoom the page to 200 percent.
• Turn on a screen reader, such as the one built into your phone, and try to find your opening hours.
• Run a free automated checker, then fix what it finds. Remember that tools catch only part of the problems.
• Ask a person who uses assistive technology to try your site, and pay them for their time.

What are the risks if you ignore it?

The Ontario government enforces the AODA through compliance reports and audits, and penalties can apply for non-compliance. Beyond the law, an inaccessible site costs you customers. Ontario's Human Rights Code also prohibits discrimination in services.

Do you need an accessibility statement?

It is good practice. Write a short statement that says what standard you aim for, what you know is not yet fixed and how to reach a person who can help. Make sure someone answers when people use that contact.

What about the dining room?

The AODA also has standards for customer service, which require businesses with one or more employees to have a policy on serving people with disabilities, train staff and allow service animals and support persons. Make sure new staff learn this in their first week.

A simple plan

1. Find out your employee count and whether you are covered.
2. Audit your site against the list above.
3. Fix the menu and the forms first.
4. Publish a statement.
5. Review each time you rebuild the site.

More guides for your business:

• Delivery app commissions in Ontario: the 2020 pandemic cap, where it stands and how to protect your margin
• Ontario food handler certification: the one-per-hour rule, who qualifies and what a fine costs
• Ontario health inspections for restaurants: what public health inspectors check and how to keep a clean record

More in the Canadian guides for food businesses.