Nearly $71 million will be distributed through Canada’s Enabling Accessibility Fund to underwrite 903 retrofit and upgrade projects across the country. Recipients of the new block of funding, which was offered through a call for submissions last fall, have been announced in sync with National AccessAbility Week, occurring May 28 to June 3 this year.

“Making sure persons with disabilities are able to participate in all aspects of their communities is a critical component of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan,” says Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. “By helping organizations across Canada make their buildings more accessible through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, we’re removing barriers to participation that often go overlooked.”

Project proponents are eligible for grants of up $100,000 to undertake a range of upgrades to improve accessibility, such as ramps, accessible doors, accessible washrooms, elevators and lifts, accessible communications technology, accessible playgrounds and multi-sensory rooms and stations. The 2021 federal budget allocated $100 million, to be dispersed in the 2021-2022 and 2022-23 fiscal years, towards the fund, which was first launched in 2007.