A/HRC/43/41/Add.2 Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled. 14. At the regional level, Canada has ratified the Charter of the Organization of American States and is bound by the human rights obligations set out in the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man. However, it is not a party to the American Convention on Human Rights and its Protocols, the Inter-American Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities or the InterAmerican Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. 15. Canada regularly engages with the United Nations human rights mechanisms, including by extending a standing invitation to the special procedures. Its first report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was reviewed in 2017. At the country’s universal periodic review in May 2018, the Government accepted all recommendations concerning the rights of persons with disabilities and pledged to work on advancing social and economic inclusion and promoting the coherence and complementarity of its legislation and policies (A/HRC/39/11/Add.1, para. 23). 16. At the national level, the Constitution protects the rights of persons with disabilities. Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right to equality without discrimination, including on the grounds of disability. The adoption of specific laws, policies and programmes aimed at accelerating or achieving de facto equality of persons with disabilities is not considered discriminatory. The federal, provincial and territorial governments must cooperate in promoting, protecting and ensuring respect for human rights in their respective jurisdictions. 17. The Canadian Human Rights Act guarantees protection against discrimination on grounds of disability by the federally regulated organizations and provides that the denial of accommodation of individual needs constitutes a prohibited form of discrimination. All governments in Canada have similar legislation prohibiting discrimination on various grounds, including disability, in the private and public sectors. The Supreme Court has indicated that human rights legislation takes precedence over other legislation. 18. At the federal level, persons with disabilities are considered under various laws, including the Criminal Code, the Canada Evidence Act, the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, the Canada Elections Act, the Employment Equity Act, the Canada Health Act, the Canada Pension Plan Act, the Income Tax Act, the Canada Disability Savings Act, the Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, the Canada Transportation Act, the Personnel Training for the Assistance of Persons with Disabilities Regulations and the Broadcasting Act. The amendment to the Criminal Code permitting medical assistance in dying, which came into force in June 2016, is also of relevance. 19. On 11 July 2019, the Accessible Canada Act came into force. The Act aims to enhance the full and equal participation of all persons in society, especially those with disabilities, by helping to create a barrier-free Canada through the identification, removal and prevention of barriers. The Act gives the federal Government the authority to create new accessibility standards and regulations for itself and for sectors under its jurisdiction, such as the banking, telecommunications and federally regulated transportation services sectors. The State has committed 290 million Canadian dollars over six years to implement the Act. 20. At the provincial and territorial level, only Ontario, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Quebec have enacted disability-specific and accessibility legislation, none of which is comprehensive nor fully in line with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Various provincial and territorial laws explicitly refer to persons with disabilities and their families but there are great variations from one jurisdiction to another, resulting in different levels of enjoyment of rights throughout the country. Policy areas that fall within these jurisdictions include health and social services, administration of justice and education.5 5 4 Constitution Acts, 1867 to 1982, chap. VI.