On June 11, 2026, the Disability Screen Office (DSO) hosted an online event to celebrate the launch of Reframing Access: A Best Practices Guide on Disability Inclusion in Canada’s Screen Industry, a new resource that provides practical, actionable recommendations for employers, producers, executives, creators, and organizations seeking to integrate accessibility into every stage of production. The launch event brought together close to 200 people, including DSO staff and board members, our research partners, industry leaders, funding organizations, and the disability community for a deep dive into the steps that led to the guide's publication and an overview of the topics it explores.
This event was held in both official languages, with simultaneous interpretation, CART captioning, and ASL and LSQ interpretation provided, and featured a variety of presenters including Winnie Luk (Executive Director, Disability Screen Office), Yazmine Laroche (Board Chair, Disability Screen Office), Cara Nye (Accessible Media Inc.), Jessica Lea Fleming (Canada Media Fund), Becki Brisson (Rocket Fund Canada), Karen Thorne-Stone (Ontario Creates), Rachel Desjourdy (Board Director, Disability Screen Office), Kaila Hunte (DSO Research Project Working Group), Katia Shannon (DSO Research Project Working Group), Charlotte Panneton (Nordicity), and Alethea Bakogeorge (Director of Programs and Development, Disability Screen Office).
Before diving into the content of Reframing Access, we recognized the generous support of partners who made this project possible, including DSO founding partner Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Accessibility Standards Canada's Advancing Accessibility Standards Research Program, the Canada Media Fund, Rocket Fund Canada, Ontario Creates, Creative BC, Bell Fund, and Picture NL. We also spotlighted those who made critical contributions to this work, including the DSO's Research Project Working Group, our research partners at Nordicity, and the disabled creatives who shared their experiences through surveys, interviews, and focus groups.
Key Numbers
A central theme throughout the launch event was the importance of community-based research. Guided by the disability community principle of "Nothing About Us Without Us," this guide was created using findings from:
- Canada’s Screen Industry Survey on Disability, a national, accessible survey that received 872 responses from across the country.
- Fourteen focus groups conducted across regions, languages, and industry segments, including participation from 105 individuals with lived experience of disability.
- Consolidated analysis integrating qualitative and quantitative findings (including StatsCan Census data).
Our findings highlight the urgent need for industry-wide change. Among Canada’s Screen Industry Survey on Disability survey respondents:
- 44% reported that their disability had been a barrier to getting a job in the industry.
- 41% said their disability had limited opportunities for career growth and advancement.
- 28% experienced challenges related to job retention or accessing consecutive employment opportunities.
- Only 8% reported that their disability did not affect their work in the screen industry.
Focus group participants also indicated:
- Encountering limiting beliefs about disabled creatives and what work they are capable of doing in the screen industry, including that only certain kinds of people (i.e. those without disabilities) are best suited for screen industry work;
- Facing stigma, and hiding their disabilities in order not to be seen as difficult, less capable or lose work;
- Losing priority and/or seniority in hiring and being relegated to specific roles after disclosing their disability; and
- Being unable to get regular work within the film industry, keep a work-life balance, or feel secure in employment compared to non-disabled colleagues.
Participants also highlighted the prevalence of inaccessible workplaces, long working hours, and limited accommodations in the industry as a whole, and shared concerns about disclosing disabilities for fear of losing opportunities.
Honouring our Board Chair
Additionally, this event provided us with a moment to recognize outgoing Board Chair Yazmine Laroche, who will conclude her term with the Disability Screen Office at the end of July.
Executive Director Winnie Luk paid tribute to Yazmine's four years of dedicated service, highlighting her role as a founding bBoard member who helped guide the DSO from an ambitious vision to a nationally recognized force for change. Winnie acknowledged Yazmine's leadership, wisdom, generosity, and commitment to advancing opportunities for disabled creatives across Canada.
Looking Ahead
In her closing remarks, DSO Executive Director Winnie Luk encouraged attendees to reflect on a simple but powerful question: “What is one small change that could be implemented in my workplace today to make it more accessible and inclusive?”. Reframing Access offers a roadmap for answering that question and taking meaningful action toward a more inclusive screen industry for everyone.
The guide is part of DSO's broader strategy to advance accessibility in the screen industry, which includes:
- The second publication stemming from our Mapping Representation and Barriers to Participation by People with Disabilities in the Screen-Based Media and Broadcasting Sectors study, which will be submitted to Accessibility Standards Canada (ASC) ahead of its publication in early 2027, and will present data in more detail and provide policy recommendations about how to improve the accessibility of the screen sector as a whole.
- Expansion of the Industry Resource Hub to include a national database of disabled creatives.
The upcoming launch of the Accessibility & Disability - E-Learning Series and of a best practices guide focused on festivals and industry events through our Screen Festival Accessibility Program.
- The development of the ProdAccess Initiative, in association with the National Screen Institute.
- Continued support for disabled creatives through the Industry Events Access Program.
- A Sector-Wide Accessibility Support and Facilitation Initiative to assist disabled creatives in accessing funding opportunities.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special event and contributed to making this work possible. The full recording will be available soon. Stay tuned.