2026-2028 Accessibility Plan

Marine Atlantic is a federal Crown Corporation tasked with fulfilling the constitutional mandate of offering a year-round 96 nautical mile daily freight and passenger ferry service between Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), and North Sydney, Nova Scotia (NS). The Corporation also offers a seasonal 280 nautical mile non-constitutional service to Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador. Marine Atlantic’s service is vital to connecting the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador with the rest of Canada. The organization is guided by the corporate vision of being an essential, progressive transportation system that people trust to deliver, as well as the Corporation’s values of safety, teamwork, diversity, integrity, excellence, and commitment.

Marine Atlantic operates four vessels and three terminals, as well as various administration office spaces. Public terminals are maintained in Port aux Basques, NL, and North Sydney, NS, with a seasonal terminal operated in Argentia, NL. Marine Atlantic leases corporate office space in St. John’s, NL, and owns various administration and operations buildings in each port town. Marine Atlantic’s current vessels include the Ala’suinu, which is under a 5-year charter agreement, as well as the Highlanders, the Blue Puttees, and the Leif Ericson, which are owned by the Corporation. All vessels are maintained to strict regulatory and safety standards and must comply with Transport Canada Marine Safety Statutes and Regulations. They are inspected by Transport Canada Marine Safety and DNV, a world-leading classification society, to ensure compliance with these regulations and codes.

Marine Atlantic employs approximately 1,300 individuals, approximately 1,100 full-time equivalent employees, and aims to have a workforce reflective of the diverse communities it serves. The organization benefits from continued feedback from its Accessibility Advisory Committee, which is comprised of both internal representatives from multiple departments and various external members representing disability and advocacy organizations from target groups.

Preventing and removing barriers for both its customers and employees is important to Marine Atlantic, with the organization striving to create an environment in which everyone is treated with dignity and can fully participate. As a transportation service provider, the Corporation’s goal is to provide a positive, accessible transportation experience for persons with disabilities regardless of physical or sensory impairments. Marine Atlantic is proud of the achievements to date in removing barriers and making the organization and its services accessible and commits to continuing this work into the future.

This 2026-2028 Accessibility Plan is the second for the organization. It seeks to provide information on recent activities and those that are on Marine Atlantic’s accessibility road map for the next three years.

Marine Atlantic welcomes feedback on any accessibility-related items. The Manager of Customer Relationships is the designated position that reviews and responds to accessibility-related feedback on behalf of the Corporation, collaborating with other parts of the organization as required.

Feedback is accepted through any of the contact methods below. See also Our Feedback Process for more information.

This plan is also available in alternative formats including print, large print, braille, and audio. Requests for one of these alternative formats may be made through the contact information above, as well as online at www.marineatlantic.ca/alternative-format. 

Alternative formats will be provided as soon as feasible after a request is received – within 15 days for print and large print formats and within 45 days for braille and audio formats.

As a federally regulated marine transportation service provider, Marine Atlantic is subject to the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations from the Government of Canada, which has the goal of removing barriers to transportation for persons with disabilities.

The Corporation is both a carrier and a terminal operator and subject to the following applicable sections of the regulations: 1–25, 28, 30–35, 37–38, 40-42, 46, 48–61, 134–138, 140, 142–144, 153, 178, 212–223, 225–231, and 243.

Applicable to vessels other than the Ala'suinu: 39 and 164.

Applicable to the Ala'suinu only: 139, 141, 145-152, 154-163, 165-177, and 179-182.

Marine Atlantic consolidated several administrative office locations in Port aux Basques, NL to its newly opened administration building at the end of 2024. Accessibility was a focus throughout the design and construction of the project, and this new space provides significant improvements in accessibility over many prior work locations. In the fall of 2025, Marine Atlantic issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) with the goal of identifying interested organizations with an existing vessel and are prepared to enter into a 5-year charter agreement. This vessel will replace the Leif Ericson which was built 35 years ago. As per the RFP, the charter vessel will be a maximum of 195 metres in overall length, offer between 1,800-3,000 lane metres of deck space, carry up to 1,000 passengers, be ice-class, and offer passenger amenities such as cabins and restaurant facilities. It is anticipated project work will continue through 2026.

As referenced in the prior plan, Marine Atlantic continues to research several adaptive technologies available to assist persons with disabilities in navigating public spaces. Review of options for shore-based locations began during the last period and continues as additional technologies have been identified. Further discussion of the potential benefits of the various options will be held with the organization’s Accessibility Advisory Committee in 2026.

Based on feedback received from the Accessibility Advisory Committee and passengers, Marine Atlantic will review options to improve the animal relief areas onboard its vessels. Some users have stated the location and design of the areas, which are somewhat limited by the physical realities of the space available onboard vessels, make them difficult for animals to utilize. The feedback will be reviewed in detail and ideas generated and vetted on potential improvements by the end of 2026. Further feedback on the options will be reviewed with Accessibility Advisory Committee members in 2027.

Marine Atlantic also plans to review potential options to create public-access sensory-friendly spaces in terminal buildings and onboard vessels. The first step will be to learn more about the best practices relating to these spaces from subject matter experts. It is anticipated this work will begin in 2027.

Based on feedback from members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee after touring the North Sydney Terminal facility and Ala’suinu, Marine Atlantic will look at options for improvements to lighting and customer-use tables. Options to increase lighting in the main passenger entrances at the terminal, passenger lounge area, and the shuttle bus loading area will be investigated. Options will also be investigated for different styles of tables for the terminal lounge area that provide better access to both manual and powered wheelchair users. Likewise, the possibility of replacing some tables in the restaurant onboard the Ala’suinu with an option that provides more access to power wheelchair users will be investigated. All onboard plumbing will also be reviewed in light of the concern about exposed drainpipes which present the potential for a person with no or limited feeling in their legs being burned from hot water going down the drain. It is anticipated recommendations will be ready for budgetary review and planning before the end of 2026.

Led by the Manager of Onboard Services and the Manager of Customer Relationships, Marine Atlantic will undertake a review of the potential use cases and options for a person lift device for use onboard vessels. This review is based on feedback from members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee and is anticipated to be complete in 2027.

As part of onboard safety requirements, crew members participate in regular emergency drills that mimic potential emergency situations. From an accessibility perspective, including a disability-related aspect in some of the drill scenarios provides the opportunity to think about and practice providing assistance to persons with disabilities during an emergency. This idea was tried during the past year and met with positive feedback. By the end of 2027, recommendations will be prepared on ways to make incorporating these aspects into future drills a standard practice.

As discussed previously, a plan to survey employee engagement with accessibility topics remains at the budgetary and implementation planning stage. The goal is to better understand employees’ current knowledge on various accessibility topics, both as it relates to the transportation service provided by the Corporation, as well as their own employment. This information can then be used to identify knowledge gaps and provide benchmarking information on which future progress can be measured.

Marine Atlantic intends to seek opportunities to include accessibility aspects as part of its regular internal audit departmental and program reviews. The potential to include some accessibility-focused aspects into regular quarterly reviews will also be investigated. The goal of these actions would be to further cement accessibility into the foundation of Marine Atlantic processes. Further discussions on these opportunities will be led by the Director of Internal Audit with participation of the Manager of Customer Relationships in 2026.

Security services at terminal sites are provided by an external contractor. Marine Atlantic intends to review the accessibility-related training provided to the contracted employees with the goal of identifying any potential gaps or opportunities for improvement. The Manager of Corporate Security will work with the Manager of Customer Relationships on this review anticipated to start in 2027.

Marine Atlantic is seeing an increasing number of customers travelling with service dogs and other support animals, as well as general pets. These types of animals all have different access levels, and it can be difficult for employees to visually determine the category of animal in order to control that access. The Manager of Customer Relationships will work with other internal resources to investigate options to make the identification of animals easier for staff while not increasing barriers for passengers. It is anticipated this work will continue into 2027, including discussion with the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

Marine Atlantic offers embarkation and disembarkation assistance to passengers with disabilities as required. Current practice often includes guiding these passengers through crowded areas to have early access to vehicle decks upon arrival in port. There has been feedback from some passengers that this can lead to feeling rushed or increase anxiety levels as well as being difficult to physically navigate in some circumstances. The Director of Passenger Services, with support from the Manager of Customer Relationships, will investigate potential changes to the approach used to assist passengers in these situations. Feedback on the options developed will be discussed with the Accessibility Advisory Committee in 2026.

The organization utilizes numerous forms for various internal purposes. Recently, many of these forms have been moved to a digital format as part of the Corporation’s innovation journey. A review of all internal-use forms and the possibilities that may exist to make them more accessible and user-friendly will be undertaken, led by the Manager of Information Management. It is anticipated this work will begin in 2026 and be ongoing through 2028.

As a federal Crown corporation, Marine Atlantic makes a wide variety of information available, both to internal audiences and publicly, through various means. The Director of Corporate Communications will undertake a review of corporate information available via the organization’s website with the goal of identifying potential opportunities to improve accessibility. This review, supported by the Manager of Customer Relationships, will include investigation into regulatory requirements and best practices, with one of the goals being to increase the awareness and understanding of these responsibilities throughout the organization. It is anticipated this review will be complete by the end of 2026.

Marine Atlantic will also create an internal procedure to formalize its efforts to ensure information shared via social media has high accessibility. This will include incorporating Alt text in all images, using high contrast colours, ensuring video content has correct subtitles, and sharing written content that is easy to understand on text to audio devices. This is anticipated to be in place in 2026.

Marine Atlantic will look to enhance its internal communications through additional specific actions. The Director of Communications will lead the work to investigate accessible technologies that can be incorporated with the organization’s intranet, work with other internal resources to research the diversity and accessibility requirements of the employee base, and develop internal communication standards on how documents should be developed and shared, including font sizes, styles, colours, etc. that meet accessibility guidelines. Work on the development and implementation of these actions is anticipated to be ongoing throughout the three-year plan period.

Marine Atlantic was anticipated to release the debut version of its own mobile app in late 2025. The app was built on native Android and iOS platforms and was developed using standards including WCAG 2.2, ATAG 2.0, iOS Accessibility API, and Android Accessibility Suite. Release 1 is anticipated to include accessibility-friendly features and abilities allowing customers to create bookings, manage trips, check sailing status and avail of push notifications. It will also provide access to electronic menus, interactive vessel maps, and onboard entertainment. A presentation on the app was made to the Accessibility Advisory Committee in late 2024 during planning and development phases with positive feedback received. Further follow-up will be done with the committee for additional feedback in 2026. Release 2 is anticipated for 2027 with additional releases in planning for future iterations.

The organization is planning improvements to its online Commercial Portal, which is used by commercial customers to track drop trailer and we-load units in transit. Some of the accessibility-related goals included in current planning are WCAG 2.2 compliance across all workflows, keyboard-only navigation and screen reader optimization, and investigation of potential integration with assistive technologies. The project is anticipated to be active beyond the end of 2028.

Marine Atlantic will investigate potential improvements to its online booking functionality. Some of the accessibility-related enhancements include semantic layering for screen reader clarity, saved passenger profiles for dropdown selection, and simplified navigation. The project is expected to launch in 2026 with an anticipated completion in 2028. A review of technologies used for announcements and paging in terminals and onboard vessels will be undertaken with the goal of identifying potential improvements to how information is provided to passengers. The possibilities for the use of multiple formats and/or multiple channels will be investigated, as will the ability of these technologies to be integrated with others in use or planned for the organization. This work is anticipated to start in 2027 and continue through 2029.

Marine Atlantic will look to incorporate accessibility as a key consideration during the initial scoping and planning phases of new infrastructure projects. The organization used this approach during construction of the new administration building in Port aux Basques as well as the procurement of the Ala’suinu and recognizes the benefits of ensuring accessibility considerations are included from the beginning of such projects. It is anticipated discussions on best practices around the most beneficial timing and process will continue over the next two years with recommendations ready for approval and implementation by the end of 2027.

The organization has also seen benefits from its work, as discussed in prior updates, to ensure accessibility is a consideration early in the procurement process. The procurement team continues to investigate further possibilities for improvements. The Director of Supply Chain will work with internal resources to develop a statement on accessibility for inclusion on various procurement templates, as well as update the formatting of those templates to increase accessibility. It is anticipated this will be done by the end of 2026. A review of potential process changes to the purchasing process for acquisitions valued between $25,000 and $100,000 continues as referenced in prior updates. It is anticipated a new process will be implemented on a trial basis by the end of 2027.

As part of its current recruitment practices, Marine Atlantic includes offers for accommodations at several different points and continues to look for opportunities to improve. During 2026, the Director of People and Culture will lead a review of the online recruitment system to determine what possibilities exist to enhance accessibility with recommendations ready for review by the end of the year.

Marine Atlantic will also review potential improvements to its internal training procedures. Some of the possible opportunities include creating accessibility guidelines for internally produced training materials and a procedure to ask employees if they require any accommodations when they are contacted to schedule training. The Director of Employee Experience will lead these initiatives which are anticipated to be complete by the end of 2027.

Work to re-organize Marine Atlantic’s accessibility training program as discussed in the prior plan and updates remains ongoing. Moving toward a content-based modular system will allow content to be better tailored to specific employee groups and may also provide opportunity for more frequent and meaningful refresher training. Project work is anticipated to continue through 2027 under the lead of the Manager of Customer Relationships, with support of various internal and external resources.

Marine Atlantic continues to engage with its Accessibility Advisory Committee and recognizes the importance of and benefits from open dialogue between various internal departments and subject matter experts from the disability community. Current external members of the committee represent various disability-related organizations including CNIB, Guide Dogs of Canada, Canadian Council of the Blind, NL Association of the Deaf, People First NS, Coalition of Persons with Disabilities NL, Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, and Spinal Cord Injury NL. Meetings are held twice per year, with additional meetings or specific contacts undertaken as required.

The committee visited the North Sydney Terminal and the Ala’suinu as part of a meeting in October 2024. Feedback overall was notably positive with committee members also making some suggestions for improvements for consideration. Suggestions related to uneven curbs, wheelchair straps for use on shuttle buses, visual aids for screen edges, soap dispensers and announcement communication were all addressed in the following weeks and months. Other suggestions form a part of this plan including those on plumbing, lighting and table design which are included in the Bulit Environment section. The Accessibility Advisory Committee was engaged to review the draft of this plan in October 2025. Initial feedback on the draft plan was overwhelmingly positive from committee members with several comments made supporting the work ongoing at Marine Atlantic. Generally, committee members were pleased to see a continued focus on accessibility items, a drive to incorporate accessibility into core practices, and the overall attitude and willingness to collaborate.

There were a few specific suggestions as well.

• It was suggested that Marine Atlantic seek feedback on its app, as described in the Information and Communication Technologies section, from persons with disabilities, including those who use adaptive technologies like screen readers, etc. It was suggested this be done at the earliest possible stages to prevent the need to rework development that creates unrecognized barriers. Plans to engage with members of the committee were already underway with the Marketing and IT departments.
• A specific emerging adaptive technology for persons with hearing disabilities was suggested as a potential for Marine Atlantic to monitor. The specific technology was added to the review of adaptive technologies available to assist persons with disabilities in navigating public spaces as discussed in the Built Environment section, as well as the investigation into technologies used for announcements and paging in terminals and onboard vessels described in the Information and Communication Technologies section.

Although not specifically connected to feedback provided on the plan, Marine Atlantic also incorporated other ideas gained from consultations with members of the Accessibility Advisory Committee.

• As discussed in the section on the Built Environment, there will be further review of feedback on animal relief areas onboard vessels.
• A review of the use cases and potential options for person lifts onboard vessels was added to this plan in the Built Environment section of this plan.

Accessibility Advisory Committee – a shortened name for the Marine Atlantic Accessibility and Inclusion Advisory Committee which is comprised of internal representatives from multiple departments and various external members representing disability and advocacy organizations from target groups.

Class Society - A ship classification society is a non-governmental organization that establishes and maintains technical standards for the construction and operation of ships and certify a vessel complies with relevant standards.

Drop trailer – the trailer portion of a commercial tractor-trailer, with no attached truck.

Foot passengers – passengers travelling without vehicles.

Ice class – a term that described vessels with extra strengthening that can navigate sea ice safely.

Lane metres – a measurement of space available to transport vehicles onboard a vessel. 

Nautical mile - Nautical miles are used to measure the distance travelled through the water. A nautical mile is slightly longer than a mile on land, equaling 1.1508 land-measured (or statute) miles.

We-load – vehicles that Marine Atlantic employees drive on/off the vessel as a service to customers.