AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act)
AODA is the Ontario provincial law (Statutes of Ontario, 2005, Chapter 11) that mandates accessibility for organizations doing business in Ontario, with WCAG 2.0 AA as the technical standard for digital content.
Detailed explanation
The AODA covers all public, private, and non-profit organizations with one or more employees in Ontario. Its Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR, O. Reg. 191/11) requires WCAG 2.0 Level AA conformance for websites and web content, with a tiered compliance schedule that completed for large private-sector organizations on January 1, 2021.
Penalties under the AODA include administrative monetary penalties up to CAD 100,000 per day for corporations and CAD 50,000 per day for individual directors/officers. Enforcement is administered by the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario and inspections are routine.
How this applies to Shopify stores
A Shopify store with any Ontario-based employees, contractors, or fulfillment is in scope for AODA. The technical bar (WCAG 2.0 AA) is lower than the practical 2.1 + 2.2 standard most other regimes target, but documentation and reporting requirements (a multi-year accessibility plan, status reports every two years) are stricter.
Primary source: ontario.ca