Government of Canada 2019 Pilot Public Opinion Research Survey on Accessibility

Employment and Social Development Canada

October 2019

Executive Summary

Prepared for:

Employment and Social Development Canada

Supplier Name: Quorus Consulting Group Inc.

Contract Award Date: June 19, 2018

Delivery Date: October 2019

Contract Amount (incl. HST): $149,955.97

Contract #: G9292-191234/001/CY

POR Number: 012-18

For more information, please contact:

nc-por-rop-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Ce rapport est aussi disponible en français.

Copyright Page

Government of Canada 2019 Pilot Public Opinion Research Survey on Accessibility

This publication is available for download at canada.ca/publicentre-ESDC.

It is available upon request in multiple formats (large print, MP3, braille, audio CD, e-text CD, DAISY or accessible PDF), by contacting 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232).

By teletypewriter (TTY), call 1-800-926-9105.

© Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, 2019

For information regarding reproduction rights: droitdauteur.copyright@HRSDC-RHDCC.gc.ca.

PDF

Cat. No.: Em4-24/2019E-PDF

ISBN: 978-0-660-32678-8

ESDC

Cat. No.: POR-107-12-19E

Projet pilote de recherche sur l’opinion publique sur l’accessibilité réalisé par le gouvernement du Canada en 2019

Vous pouvez télécharger cette publication en ligne sur le site canada.ca/publicentre-EDSC

Ce document offert sur demande en médias substituts (gros caractères, MP3, braille, audio sur DC, fichiers de texte sur DC, DAISY, ou accessible PDF) auprès du 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232).

Si vous utilisez un téléscripteur (ATS), composez le 1-800-926-9105.

© Sa Majesté la Reine du Chef du Canada, 2019

Pour des renseignements sur les droits de reproduction : droitdauteur.copyright@HRSDC-RHDCC.gc.ca

PDF

Nº de cat.: Em4-24/2019E-PDF

ISBN : 978-0-660-32679-5

EDSC

Nº de cat.: POR-107-12-19F

Printed in Canada/Imprimé au Canada logo and Recycle logo.

Political Neutrality Certification

I hereby certify as Senior Officer of Quorus Consulting Group Inc. that the deliverables fully comply with the Government of Canada political neutrality requirements outlined in the Policy on Communications and Federal Identity and the Directive on the Management of Communications - Appendix C.

Specifically, the deliverables do not include information on electoral voting intentions, political party preferences, standings with the electorate or ratings of the performance of a political party or its leaders.

Signed:

The signature of Rick Nadeau, President of Quorus Consulting Group Incorporated.

Rick Nadeau, President
Quorus Consulting Group Inc.

Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. Methodology
  3. Appendices (available under separate cover)

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Incidence of Persons with Disabilities

Figure 2: Regional Quotas for General Population Interviews

Figure 3: Weighting Framework

Figure 4: Comparing Survey Sample with Population Distribution

Figure 5: Dialing Disposition Report for the General Population Segment

Executive Summary

Overview – Background and Methodology

In 2018, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)’s Accessibility Secretariat commissioned a study to measure Canadians’ awareness and experience(s) with accessibility and disability issues. The results of the survey will be used primarily to track progress for Canadians in the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act and becoming a Canada without barriers.

The scope of the study involved two key population segments: persons with disabilities and members of the general population (i.e. individuals who do not have a disability). An Instrument was developed to identify people with disabilities specifically for the purpose of this public opinion research. While some of the wording for some of the questions used was borrowed from the Disability Screening Questions (DSQ) of the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability, the instrument is completely different from the DSQ and does not pretend to replicate it in any way. Questions on difficulty with certain activities along with questions about how these difficulties limit people in their everyday lives were used to screen respondents into the disability segment of the survey. The study focused on accessibility and not the degree a person’s disability limits their daily activities.

The data collection approaches used for each segment can be summarized in the following ways:

General Population

Persons with Disabilities

Study parameters common to both segments included the following:

Depending on their feedback, the survey took respondents approximately 15 minutes to complete.

OVERVIEW OF RESULTS – GENERAL POPULATION

Half believe their province or territory (50%) has accessibility legislation or an accessibility strategy or plan and a similar proportion (55%) believe their municipality has accessibility by laws, strategies, policies or programs.

OVERVIEW OF RESULTS – PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES

The disability screening revealed the following:

Figure 1: Incidence of Persons with Disabilities

A graph with the data on the incidence of persons with different disabilities. Details follow this image. A graph with the data on the incidence of persons with different disabilities

BEGIN KEY:

% respondents: % who “always” or “often” feel the world around them limits their inclusion in society because of this disability FOOTNOTE ASTERISK END KEY.

BEGIN FOOTNOTE ASTERISK:

Base: respondents who indicated having the given disability

END FOOTNOTE ASTERISK.

BEGIN DATA:

Mobility

Overall Incidence: 55%

% respondents: 54%

Pain/chronic pain disorder

Overall Incidence: 54%

% respondents: 51%

Flexibility

Overall Incidence: 48%

% respondents: 43%

Dexterity

Overall Incidence: 35%

% respondents: 49%

Mental health-related

Overall Incidence: 33%

% respondents: 41%

Seeing/visual impairment

Overall Incidence: 30%

% respondents: 37%

Memory

Overall Incidence: 29%

% respondents: 36%

Hearing/hearing impairment

Overall Incidence: 25%

% respondents: 52%

Learning

Overall Incidence: 21%

% respondents: 50%

Communication/communication disorder

Overall Incidence: 19%

% respondents: 55%

Speech

Overall Incidence: 12%

% respondents: 43%

Developmental/intellectual disabilities

Overall Incidence: 10%

% respondents: 59%

Language

Overall Incidence: 9%

% respondents: 47%

END DATA.

Supplier Name: Quorus Consulting Group Inc.

Contract number: G9292-191234/001/CY

Contract Award Date: June 19, 2018

Contract Amount (including HST): $149,955.97

For more information, please contact Employment and Social Development Canada at: nc-por-rop-gd@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca

Methodology

Methodology

The scope of the study involved multiple modes of data collection to survey two segments of the Canadian population:

For the purposes of this study, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA) definition of disability is used. The term “Disability” refers to a physical, mental, intellectual, learning, communication, or sensory impairment – or a functional limitation – whether permanent, temporary, or episodic in nature that, in interaction with a barrier, may hinder a person’s full and equal participation in society.

Questionnaire Design. Quorus designed the survey instruments in English in working with ESDC. Together, they ensured the research objectives were addressed, that plain language was used, and that the questionnaires flowed easily for respondents. To further ensure that the survey script used plain language, ESDC worked closely with a service provider that specializes in developing and revising texts in plain language.

The approved final questionnaires were used to create multiple formats of the questionnaire. The General Population segment responded to the survey through a telephone survey. Quorus, in collaboration with ESDC, created multiple versions of the questionnaire for persons with disabilities to ensure the questionnaire was accessible. The different formats created included:

The English and French telephone versions of the questionnaire were pre-tested according to Government of Canada standards. A total of 39 surveys (22 Disability and 17 General Population) were completed. For the disability segment, 10 surveys were completed in English and 12 in French, the results of which were ultimately included as part of the final dataset. The pretest helped assess the flow of the survey, comprehension of the questions, language, data integrity, and the length of the survey instrument.

Extensive internal testing of alternate formats was completed within ESDC to ensure these formats met Government of Canada accessibility standards.

Respondent Support. Quorus hosted and designed, in collaboration with ESDC, an accessible and bilingual webpage dedicated to this study that described the background and objectives; provided visitors with a study Question and Answer (Q&A); contact information for Quorus and ESDC; and access to the various formats of the survey, including a link to the online version of the survey. Respondents could also contact Quorus or ESDC directly by telephone or email to ask questions or to request a hardcopy version of the questionnaire, including a hardcopy in Braille. They could also email their completed survey back to Quorus or ESDC. The webpage also included a 1-800 number where study participants could request that an interviewer call them back to complete a telephone survey, ask questions or request a hardcopy version of the questionnaire.

Quorus informed respondents of their rights under the Privacy and Access to Information Acts and ensured that those rights were protected throughout the research process. This included: informing participants of the purpose of the research; identifying both the sponsoring department or agency and research supplier at the end of the interview; informing participants that the study will be made available to the public in 6 months after field completion through Library and Archives Canada, informing participants that their participation in the study was voluntary, and that the information provided would be administered according to the requirements of the Privacy Act.

Data Collection

Data collection for both population segments occurred between May 28th, and July 7th, 2019.

General Population Segment. For the General Population segment, a total of 1,350 telephone interviews with Canadians, 18 years of age and older were completed. The sample consisted of traditional wireline telephone numbers and a sub-quota of cell-phone only households (CPO households). Cell phone numbers were added to the landline Random Digit Dialing telephone sample to reduce coverage error and provide a more representative final sample.

Regional quotas were established to generate sufficient data regionally for robust analysis. The distribution suggested for the final sample is the usual distribution of respondents per region when research is conducted for the Government of Canada. Within each region, data was monitored to ensure a 50/50 gender split and that no specific age cohort was under-represented.

Figure 2: Regional Quotas for General Population Interviews

A table illustrates the proportion of regional quotas in ten provinces or territories on the distribution of general population interviews

The table lists the percentage of the general population interviews in ten provinces or territories. The column headers read province or territory and approximate distribution of general population interviews. The data as inferred from the table is as follows: 1, Newfoundland and Labrador, 4 percent; 2, Prince Edward Island, 3 percent; 3, New Brunswick, 4 percent; 4, Nova Scotia, 3 percent; 5, Quebec, 19 percent; 6, Ontario, 30 percent; 7, Manitoba/Nunavut, 7 percent; 8, Saskatchewan, 7 percent; 9, Alberta/NWT, 10 percent; and 10, British Columbia/Yukon, 13 percent. The last row in the table indicates the total distribution which is 100 percent.

PROVINCE/TERRITORY Approximate distribution of General Population interviews
Newfoundland and Labrador 4%
Prince Edward Island 3%
New Brunswick 4%
Nova Scotia 3%
Quebec 19%
Ontario 30%
Manitoba/Nunavut 7%
Saskatchewan 7%
Alberta/NWT 10%
British Columbia/Yukon 13%
TOTAL 100%

The margin of error of this sample size is +/− 2.7%, 19 times out of 20. The research findings can be extrapolated to the broader audience considering the margin of error associated with this sample size. The margins of error for the results in this study will vary based on a variety of factors. For instance, results for subgroups with smaller sample sizes will have a higher margin of error. As well, the margin of error is typically highest for questions where 50% of respondents answered one way and 50% answered another way. The margin of error typically decreases as the percent for a particular response approaches 0% or 100%.

The data was weighted by region and gender to ensure the final distributions within the final sample mirror those of the Canadian population according to the latest census data. In this report, all sample sizes/base sizes are unweighted numbers whereas all percentages pertaining to the General Population are weighted numbers.

The table below shows the weighting framework used for this study:

Figure 3: Weighting Framework

A table depicting the framework for weighting the survey data by gender and region

Region Gender Sample Population Sample Proportion Sample Population
Newfoundland Male 17 207,385 1% 1%
Female 30 221,675 2% 1%
Prince Edward Island Male 19 55,090 1% 0%
Female 26 59,990 2% 0%
Nova Scotia Male 13 363,195 1% 1%
Female 30 396,555 2% 1%
New Brunswick Male 31 296,655 2% 1%
Female 16 315,715 1% 1%
Quebec Male 120 3,206,345 9% 11%
Female 132 3,374,530 10% 12%
Ontario Male 177 5,184,285 13% 18%
Female 227 5,582,440 17% 20%
Manitoba Male 33 480,760 2% 2%
Female 61 504,355 5% 2%
Saskatchewan Male 42 414,510 3% 1%
Female 52 427,355 4% 2%
Alberta Male 65 1,565,685 5% 6%
Female 71 1,578,320 5% 6%
British Columbia Male 81 1,845,345 6% 7%
Female 89 1,960,230 7% 7%
Yukon Male 5 14,105 0.4% 0.05%
Female 4 14,340 0.3% 0.05%
Northwest Territories Male 2 15,975 0.1% 0.06%
Female 0 15,295 0% 0.05%
Nunavut Male 1 11,470 0.1% 0.04%
Female 0 10,940 0% 0.04%
TOTAL 1,344 28,122,545 100% 100%

Non-Response Bias – General Population Segment. Upon completion of this project a non-response analysis was conducted to assess the potential for non-response bias. Non-response is the result of a unit of the sample not participating in the survey—either refusing to take part in the survey (a refusal) or not being reached during the data collection period (non-contact). Non-response results in biases in the survey sample when there are differences between respondents and non-respondents.

Figure 4: Comparing Survey Sample with Population Distribution

A table comparing the survey sample against census population distribution

Description: the table shows the comparison of the survey sample population against the 2016 census population distribution. Survey Sample (unweighted), population (Census), and % difference (plus or minus) from the table is as follows: 1, Male, survey sample 44.90%, census population distribution, 49.11% difference, plus 4.21%.2, female, survey sample 54.70%, census population distribution 50.88%, difference, minus 3.82%.


Survey Sample (Unweighted) Population (Census 2016) % diff (+/−)
Male 44.90% 49.11% 4.21%
Female 54.70% 50.88% -3.82%

Persons with Disabilities. A total of 2,456 surveys were completed with persons with disabilities at least 18 years of age, of which:

A dual sample frame approach was used for this segment of the population. In addition to the RDD (random digit dialing/cell-phone) frame described above, study respondents were also contacted through departmental partnerships and stakeholder networks, including FALA. Hence, for the second frame, there is no information available allowing the research team to understand exactly how many partners were involved, how many outreach invitations were issued to potential survey respondents, how many potential survey respondents accessed the invitation or how many reminders were issued. These limitations impede our ability to calculate a response rate for this portion of the study.

Given the source for many of the contacts invited to participate in this study (departmental stakeholder and partner groups), it is very likely that the segment representing persons with disabilities may underrepresent certain types of individuals, such as individuals with low literacy and those with severe functional limitations. This segment may also be over-represented in terms of individuals who are engaged in disability or accessibility-related causes, who are vocal, who are well-informed and/or who are generally active.

Given the non-probability nature of the sampling approach for the segment focused on persons with disabilities, a margin of error cannot be calculated. As well, data for this segment were not weighted. As such, in this report, all sample sizes/base sizes and all percentages pertaining to persons with disabilities are unweighted numbers.

Response rate – General Population Segment. The portion of the study involving telephone surveys with members of the general population saw a response rate of 6.7% across the entire sample. The response rate was higher for Random Digit Dialing (9.3%) compared to calls made to cell phones (4.5%).

Figure 5: Dialing Disposition Report for the General Population Segment

The table presents the information about the dialing disposition report for the general population segment

DIALING DISPOSITION REPORT

TOTAL RDD CELL
Total Numbers Attempted 118535 33528 85007
Out-of-scope - Invalid 77603 14248 63355
Unresolved (U) 16506 4863 11643
No answer/Answering machine 16506 4863 11643
In-scope - Non-responding (IS) 3057 1366 1691
Language barrier 541 310 231
Incapable of completing (ill/deceased) 255 186 69
Callback (Respondent not available) 2261 870 1391
Total Asked 21369 13051 8318
Refusal 18335 11096 7239
Termination 282 171 111
In-scope - Responding units (R) 2752 1784 968
Completed Interview 2016 1322 694
NQ - Quota Full 595 378 217
31 (INT31) NOT WILLING TO TAKE PART 43 43 0
32 (INT32) (CELL) NOT WILLING TO TAKE PART 60 20 40
33 (INT33) NQ- AGE (LESS THAN 18) 19 5 14
34 (INT34) DONT KNOW/REFUSED 19 16 3
Refusal Rate 87.12 86.33 88.36
Response Rate 6.72 9.25 4.47
Incidence 73.26 74.10 71.69

This study was conducted following the Standards for the Conduct of Government of Canada Public Opinion Research – Telephone Surveys, and, the Standards for the Conduct of Government of Canada Public Opinion Research – Online Surveys.

Appendices (available under separate cover)

1 Bill C-81: the Accessible Canada Act received Royal Assent on June 21, 2019 and came into force on July 11, 2019. This took place during data collection for the survey. 2 Procurement is one of the priorities for the new legislation, however a survey of the general public was not considered the most appropriate way to establish benchmark metrics for this priority area and as such it was excluded from this study. 3 These are respondents who gave a score of 1 to 10 to the question “How would you rate your own understanding of the types of barriers that Canadians with a disability may encounter?” 4 At the time of the development of the questionnaire for this study, very limited data was available on the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability. 5 The only exception was regarding developmental disabilities where anyone saying they had this type of disability would qualify as a person with a disability, regardless of their response to how frequently this limited their inclusion in society or how difficult it is to deal with the disability.