Information and Communication Standard Development Committee
The Information and Communication Standard Development Committee helps the Accessibility Advisory Board make recommendations to the Minister of Justice on creating and implementing an accessibility standard for information and communication.
The goal of the information and communication standard is to make sure that persons with disabilities have equitable access to information and communication.
About the committee
The majority of committee members identify as having a disability. Committee members include:
- persons with disabilities
- representatives from organizations that provide services to persons with disabilities
- representatives from sectors impacted by the standard (like communications professions, interpretation professions and public and private sectors)
- representatives from the Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions and Communications Nova Scotia
Committee members
- Jeff Overmars, Chair - Communications Advisor, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, Co-Chair, NS Disability Employees Network, Dartmouth
- Linda Campbell, Vice Chair - Professor and senior research fellow, Department of Environmental Science, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax
- Ashar S Ahmed - Cyber Security and Software Advisor, Halifax
- Michelle Bartram - CNIB volunteer and Canadian Council of the Blind National Board, Sydney
- Natasha Benincasa - Northern Region Respite Services, New Glasgow
- Catherine Buckie - Plain language consultant, Dartmouth
- Ashley Campbell - President of Maritime Association of Professional Sign Language Interpreters and Manager of Interpreting Services, Saint Mary's University, Halifax
- Debbie Cavers - Inclusion Nova Scotia, Member of the Board of Directors, Westville
- Adam Fine - Director of Experiential Graphic Design, Fathom Studio, Dartmouth
- Brian Foran - Deaf Community Advocate, Halifax
- Caroline Kovesi - Accessible digital communications specialist, Halifax
- Judy Lewis - Paralegal, Ambassador for Halifax Chamber of Commerce, Patient Family Advisor for Mental Health and Addictions, Nova Scotia Health, Halifax
- Heather McCallum - Clerk/Treasurer, Village of Chester, Lunenburg
- Etta Moffatt - Design Consultant, Communications Nova Scotia, Halifax
- Christine Muise - Braille Transcriber/Tactile Illustrator, Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, Halifax
- Michael Noonan - Communications Director and Lead for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility, Communications Nova Scotia, Halifax
- Laura Offman - Manager, Digital Strategy, Governance and Performance, Department of Cyber Security and Digital Solutions, Halifax
- Zoh Qureshi - Deaf Accessibility Advocate, Halifax
- John Smith - Chair Annapolis County Accessibility Advisory Committee, Middleton Accessibility Advisory Committee Working Group, Accessibility Advocate, Bridgetown
- Emily Towns - Creative Developer, Forward Creative, Hubbards
- Barbara Welsford - Assistive Technology and UDL Specialist, South Shore Regional Centre for Education, Mahone Bay
- Michelle Zou - Educational Audiologist, Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority, Halifax
Contact
Phone: 902-424-8280
Toll-free (within Nova Scotia): 1-800-565-8280
TTY: 902-424-2667
TTY toll-free (within Nova Scotia): 1-877-996-9954
accessibility@novascotia.ca
Related legislation
Related information
- Access by Design 2030
- Accessibility Act review
- Accessibility Act: compliance overview
- Accessibility Advisory Board
- Accessibility in Nova Scotia
- Accessibility resources
- Government of Nova Scotia Accessibility Plan
- Nova Scotia Post-Secondary Accessibility Framework (PDF)
- Nova Scotia Public Libraries Joint Accessibility Framework (PDF)
- Small Business ACCESS-Ability Grant Program
- What We Heard: Accessibility in Nova Scotia