Updated Accessibility Plan:
On March 26, 2025, the Town of Antigonish approved its updated Accessibility Plan in accordance with Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act, which requires public sector bodies to review and refresh their plans every three years.
This update outlines the Town’s progress since 2023 and reaffirms our commitment to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers to participation for persons with disabilities. The plan was developed through community engagement, committee input, and internal evaluation, and sets a clear direction for advancing accessibility across all Town operations, services, and infrastructure.
Read the updated plan below:
Click document here (112 KB) to download
Accessibility Plan
The Town of Antigonish and the Accessibility Committee adopted the official Accessibility Plan for the Town of Antigonish on June 1, 2023. The plan was done in partnership with Upland Planning + Design and RHAD Architects.
The purpose of the Accessibility plan is to create a town that is safe for community members and visitors living with disabilities, priortixing a dignified and comfortable experience for everyone.
The plan is in line with Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act, and recognizes the diversity among people with disabilities and aim to improve the independence and wellbeing of residents, community members, and visitors with disabilities.
To download a copy of the pdf Town of Antigonish's Accessibility Plan, click here (3.20 MB) .
To download a pdf Large Text Version of the Town of Antigonish Accessibility Plan, click here. (13.90 MB)
For audio files summarizing the plan and it's recommendations, please visit: https://soundcloud.com/town-of-antigonish/sets/accessibility-plan
If you need to access the plan in an alternate format, please contact Shannon Long, Director of Community Development at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 902-318-9245.
Engagement Summary
In order to write the report, the Town in partnership with Upland Planning and Design undertook an extensive engagement process.
To read the Antigonish Accessibility Plan Engagement Summary, pdf click here (482 KB) . pdf Click here to read the large print version. (579 KB)
The videos below summarize the findings of a local research project focused on learning from the perspective of local experts with disabilities on accessibility of the built environment. The videos also explore the ways in which the Town can work with local persons with disabilities to deliver results in accessibility, with comments from Mayor Laurie Boucher.
This project was completed by Callie Scott, a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, with Supervisor Dr. Amanda Casey (St. Francis Xavier University), in collaboration with PEACH Research Unit. Findings from this project have been incorporated into the Draft Accessibility Plan for the Town of Antigonish.
Provinical Landscape
Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Act mandates the development of both Accessibility Advisory Committees and Accessibility Plans for Municipalities within the province.
For information on the Town’s Accessibility Committee, click here.
The Nova Scotia Accessibility Directorate is responsible for administering the Accessibility Act and advancing disability issues within government, working with persons with disabilities, Municipalities, businesses, post-secondary institutions, and others to achieve the goal of an accessible Nova Scotia by 2030.
The Directorate has published a number of resources for this work, including:
- Planning Accessible Meetings and Events
- Accessibility Planning Toolkit for Municipalities
- Interim Accessibility Guidelines for Indoor and Outdoor Spaces
Two Standard Development Committees were established provincially and have recently submitted their first phase of recommendations on accessibility standards relating to education and the built environment.
Although these recommendations have not yet been established as standards, they are a good starting point, and the Town of Antigonish’s Municipal Accessibility Plan will refer to these documents, as well as the guidelines established by the Rick Hansen Foundation’s Accessibility Certification, a nationally recognized resource.
This Accessibility Plan also falls within the legislative and legal context of the Accessible Canada Act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
