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// ACCESSIBILITY WCAG 2.0 LEVEL AA AODA-ALIGNED

Accessible by default.

4UIT Inc. is committed to making 4uit.ca usable for everyone — keyboard-only, screen-reader, low-vision, motor-impaired, cognitive disability. This page describes the standard we work to, what we've checked, what we know is imperfect, and how to tell us when something is wrong.

1 · The standard

Our target is WCAG 2.0 Level AA, the standard required by Ontario's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) for public-facing web content. Specifically, we follow the Information and Communications Standards within the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11) made under the AODA, with the two AODA-recognised exceptions: live captions (1.2.4) and audio descriptions (1.2.5).

Although AODA's web-accessibility requirements only formally apply to organisations with 50 or more employees, we apply the same standard regardless of company size. Accessibility is a baseline, not a threshold.

2 · What's built in

  • Semantic HTML — proper headings, landmarks (<nav>, <main>, <footer>), lists, tables for tabular data only
  • Keyboard navigation — every interactive element is reachable and operable with Tab / Shift-Tab / Enter / Space
  • Visible focus indicators — focus rings remain visible and high-contrast
  • Alt text on images — every meaningful image has descriptive alt text; decorative images use empty alt
  • Colour contrast — body text on the dark background meets WCAG 2.0 AA (4.5:1 minimum); large text and UI components meet 3:1
  • Resizable text — text can be zoomed to 200% without breaking layout
  • No reliance on colour alone — orange `--signal` is supplementary; meaning is conveyed through text, icons, or structure
  • Form labels — every input has a programmatically associated label
  • Skip-to-content links — implicit through landmark navigation; explicit skip links added where needed
  • Reduced-motion respect — animations defer to prefers-reduced-motion where possible
  • No auto-playing audio or video — we don't use either on this site
  • Document language declared — every page has lang="en-CA" on the <html> element

3 · Known limitations

Honest list of what's imperfect today, and what we're doing about it:

  • SVG decorative graphics — the operator-board node-map and social-kit banner SVGs are decorative and use aria-hidden="true". They're invisible to assistive tech, which is correct. The "operator console" log lines on the homepage and `/cybersecurity` are also decorative and skipped — the actual content is in the prose alongside.
  • Italic emphasis pattern — our heading style uses Instrument Serif italic for emphasised words. Screen readers read these the same as the surrounding text (no announce of italic). This is intentional and accessible.
  • Custom dropdown menus — the Solutions and Industries nav dropdowns expose aria-haspopup="true" with live aria-expanded state synced on open/close, hover, and focus. Esc closes the open menu, Tab cycles through items, focus-out closes the dropdown. On mobile the entire nav becomes a hamburger drawer; the same dropdowns become inline accordions. Full role="menu" with arrow-key navigation is on the roadmap. The dropdown destinations are also reachable via the footer site map for users who prefer not to use the dropdown UI.
  • Blog post tables — the cookie-policy table uses semantic <table> with <th> headers. Screen readers should announce row/column relationships correctly.
  • Third-party content — we link out to vendor sites (Sophos, Microsoft, NIST, government regulators). We don't control the accessibility of those sites. If you encounter a barrier on a linked external page, that vendor's accessibility contact applies, not ours.

4 · How we test

  • Manual keyboard test — every page reachable, every action performable, no traps
  • Screen-reader spot checks — VoiceOver on macOS, NVDA on Windows
  • Automated audits — Lighthouse and axe-core periodically; failures investigated
  • Colour-contrast checks — every text/background pair against the WCAG AA 4.5:1 threshold
  • Mobile accessibility — touch targets sized appropriately (minimum 44 × 44 px), pinch-zoom enabled

5 · Standards references

6 · Report a barrier

If something on 4uit.ca doesn't work for you because of an accessibility issue, please tell us. We treat accessibility reports as priority bugs.

Email: hello@4uit.ca with subject "Accessibility report"
Phone: 1-833-721-4848 (toll-free)

Please include, where possible:

  • The page URL and what you were trying to do
  • Your operating system, browser, and assistive technology (if any)
  • The barrier — what didn't work, what you expected

We acknowledge accessibility reports within two business days and aim to resolve issues within 15 business days. Resolution timelines for complex issues will be communicated transparently.

7 · Alternative formats

If you need any 4UIT communication (proposal, contract, invoice, support article) in an alternative format — large print, accessible PDF, plain-text, audio — email hello@4uit.ca. We provide alternative formats free of charge, in a timely manner, and consult with you on what works best.

8 · Multi-year plan

Although AODA's multi-year-plan publication requirement applies to organisations with 50 or more employees, we maintain an internal accessibility roadmap and make it available on request — email hello@4uit.ca with subject "Accessibility roadmap request." Current focus areas:

  • Improving the dropdown-menu ARIA pattern for screen-reader users
  • Adding skip-link visibility on focus
  • Auditing all blog posts for heading-hierarchy correctness
  • Validating colour contrast on every gradient region

9 · Updates

This statement is reviewed annually and after any significant change to the website. The effective date at the top of the page reflects the most recent review.

10 · Contact

4UIT Inc. — Accessibility
Amanjot Singh, Founder & Privacy Officer
5 - 2000 Thurston Drive, Ottawa, ON K1G 4K7
hello@4uit.ca · 1-833-721-4848

Effective date: 2026-05-02
Standard: WCAG 2.0 Level AA · AODA Information and Communications Standards (O. Reg. 191/11) · aligned with Section 508 Refresh (US, which adopts WCAG 2.0 AA). EN 301 549 (EU) adopts WCAG 2.1 AA — we do not currently claim full 2.1 conformance; users who require 2.1-specific features should contact us.