Policies Public-facing policies
DeafMap and Sign Language Policy
How Map.ca supports the Deaf community: sign-language layers, captioning, and Deaf-community-led design.
- Version
- 0.1.0
- Effective
- May 20, 2026
- Last reviewed
- May 20, 2026
- Review cycle
- every 12 months
- Master Policy Index entry
- §4 #45
Policy text
Accessibility is infrastructure (Constitution §2 principle 10). The DeafMap and Sign Language Policy is the part of that infrastructure that meets Deaf users where they are: sign-language video layers on Pins, ASL/LSQ captioning standards, Deaf-community-led design review for surfaces serving the community, and structured discoverability of Deaf-friendly businesses, events, and civic services.
It applies to the Map.ca accessibility team, product teams building DeafMap surfaces, and partner Deaf-community organizations.
Principles this policy enforces
- Accessibility is infrastructure
- Community benefit must survive scale
What it requires
- Support sign-language video on supported surfaces.
- Caption every Map.ca-produced video for accessibility compliance.
What it forbids
- Do not ship a Map.ca video without captions.
- Do not design DeafMap surfaces without Deaf-community input.
How it applies
- Map.ca accessibility team
- DeafMap product teams
- Deaf-community partner organizations
References
- Map.ca Policy Constitution §2 principle 10 — Accessibility is infrastructure
Related policies
Accessibility Policy
How Map.ca builds and maintains accessibility for seniors, Deaf, blind, low-vision, mobility-limited, neurodiverse, newcomer, and low-bandwidth users.
Multilingual Access Policy
Map.ca's commitment to French and English official-language access, plus the multilingual layer for newcomer communities.
Low-Bandwidth and Device Access Policy
Performance targets that keep Map.ca usable on older devices, slower connections, and rural and northern networks.