Accessibility.

The commitment

This site exists so that help with careers reaches people after they leave campus. That only works if they can actually read it.

The aim is a site that works with a keyboard, with a screen reader, at large text sizes, and on a small screen, and that does not depend on colour or on a steady hand. Accessibility here is treated as part of building the site rather than as something added afterwards.

What is built in

Honest and specific, as at the date above:

• Pages are built from plain HTML with one h1 each and headings in order, so a screen reader can navigate by structure.
• There is a skip link at the top of every page, so a keyboard user can jump straight to the content.
• Navigation regions are labelled, and the current page is marked for assistive technology rather than by colour alone.
• Keyboard focus is always visible, with a thick high contrast outline.
• The topic filter on the writing page uses real buttons, reports pressed state, and announces the result count politely as it changes.
• The decorative route drawing is hidden from assistive technology, so it is not read out as noise.
• Text is set in relative units, so it reflows when you zoom or enlarge type, and the layout collapses to a single column on a narrow screen.
• The page respects your system light or dark setting, and both palettes were chosen for contrast.
• Nothing moves, flashes, scrolls or plays on its own. There is no autoplay, no carousel and no pop-up.
• The page language is set, and no content is hidden behind hover alone.

The standard being aimed at

The target is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, WCAG 2.2, at level AA. That is the standard most Canadian accessibility law points to.

Aiming at a standard is not the same as meeting it. No claim is made that this site conforms to WCAG 2.2 AA, because the testing needed to support that claim has not been done. Saying otherwise would be exactly the kind of unverified assertion an accessibility statement should avoid.

Known limitations

• The site has not been audited against WCAG by an accessibility specialist, and it has not been tested with screen readers, voice control or switch access by people who use them daily. Automated checks catch only part of what matters.
• Colour contrast was chosen with care but has not been measured ratio by ratio across every combination in both the light and dark palettes.
• The topic filter on the writing page needs JavaScript. Without it the full list still shows and every link still works, so nothing is lost but the filtering.
• A portrait on the about page is still a text placeholder. When a real image goes in it will need alternative text.
• Booking and subscribing happen on Calendly and beehiiv, which are separate products whose accessibility is set by those companies and cannot be fixed here. If one of them blocks you, say so and the booking or the subscription can be handled another way.
• Articles on the writing page sit on publishers' websites, whose accessibility is also outside this site's control.

A full accessibility review, including testing with assistive technology and a measured contrast audit, has not been carried out. This page will be updated when it has.

Where the law stands

Set out plainly, because accessibility statements often imply more obligation than exists:

• Ontario's accessibility legislation requires public websites to meet WCAG level AA, but that requirement applies to public sector organisations and to private organisations with 50 or more employees. A practice of this size is below that threshold.
• British Columbia's accessibility legislation currently places its planning and feedback duties on public sector organisations, not on small private practices.
• Federal accessibility legislation applies to federally regulated organisations, which this is not.

So this statement is published because it is the right thing to do, not because a statute compels it. Human rights legislation does still apply, including the duty to accommodate a person with a disability, and a request for accommodation will be taken seriously on that basis.

Telling us something is in your way

If any part of this site, the newsletter, or a call is difficult or impossible for you to use, please say so at dinukagunaratne@gmail.com. Describe what you were trying to do, what got in the way, and what you were using. You do not have to explain your disability.

You will get a reply within five business days saying what can be done and when, or an honest explanation if something cannot be fixed quickly.

Anything here can be provided another way on request: a plain text or large print version of a page, a different way to book a call that does not use Calendly, or the newsletter in another format. Just ask.