Accessibility – West Coast Editorial Associates

Three smiling teens with their arms around each other’s shoulders standing outside a brick building with a sign reading “Onoir” above the door.

An eye-opening experience

On a sunny, breezy evening in Montreal, my two daughters, my nephew, and I walked through the front door of an unassuming-looking restaurant named Onoir.

Cover of Editors Canada's Professional Editorial Standards 2024

New Professional Editorial Standards

Editors Canada's updated Professional Editorial Standards move our profession forward.

A collection of colourful cut-out letters.

As writers and editors, we understand the importance of choosing the right words to communicate with our intended audience. Another part of communicating is how our words are presented on the page or onscreen.

On the right-hand side, there is text that says “ISO plain language standard: All industries and sectors benefit from improved communication.” On the left, there are 6 white circles with people in them, performing tasks: male and female physiotherapists helping a person get up from a wheelchair; a woman with a spreadsheet and a calculator; a female lawyer standing beside a scales of justice; a woman doing research with papers and filing them; a female math professor writing on a chalkboard; a female scientist with a microscope and test tube who has a thought bubble with DNA in it.

High standards for plain language and editing

June 1, 2023
Lana Okerlund
Accessibility, Lana Okerlund, Plain language

Coming soon: two new plain language standards to help readers find, understand, and use information.

A laptop and mobile phone on a desk, both with a circle bordering a person with their legs wide and arms stretched out, a symbol of accessibility. Two hands are shown typing on the laptop keyboard, and a coffee cup sits on the desk next to the laptop.

Editing for accessibility

As editors, we are advocates for readers—the people who use the documents we help produce. If a document is not accessible, a significant portion of the intended audience may not be able to receive the message.