About DP World Canada
DP World is a leading provider of smart logistics solutions, enabling the flow of trade across the globe. Wherever we operate, we integrate sustainability and responsible corporate citizenship, striving for a positive contribution to the economies and communities where we live and work. We do this by building and growing long-lasting relationships – with governments, shippers, traders, and other stakeholders along the global supply chain.
DP World Canada’s head office is in Burnaby, BC, and we operate terminals in Vancouver, Prince Rupert, Surrey, Nanaimo, and Saint John. We are Canada’s largest container terminal operator. This Plan focuses on our Nanaimo entity.
Please see below the links to view our Accessibility Plans for our Vancouver, Fraser Surrey, Prince Rupert, Saint John and Shared Services entities:
2025 PROGRESS REPORT
GENERAL
Summary
DP World has made significant progress toward most of the goals set in our Accessibility Plan. Our Accessibility Plan consisted of 10 goals with 15 associated actions, of which we have:
- Completed 1 action items
- Made progress on 6 additional action items
- Identified 2 goals as ongoing actions
- Put 4 goal on hold
- Have 2 pending action items
In our commitment to accessibility and providing a barrier-free work environment, 2 of the goals we set in 2024 have become established processes that will be ongoing business practices. Additionally, the goals that we have not started are dependent on the completion of the goals in progress.
Accessibility Statement
DP World Canada is committed to recognizing and tackling obstacles and limitations that hinder the complete engagement of people with disabilities by executing our Accessibility Plan.
We will continue to seek input from the general public, our workforce, and experts in relevant fields, including people with disabilities, to ensure that we do not introduce new barriers in future business practices.
Accessibility Committee
An Accessibility Committee will be established as a subcommittee within a broader Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Our current Accessibility Plan project group includes:
Kim Macey
VP, People
Michael Chafe
Director, Health, Safety, Security, and Environment
Liz Collins
Senior Manager, People (Parental Leave)
Kelly Proulx
Senior Manager, People
Samantha Mincher
Manager, HSSE
Feedback Process
DP World Canada is committed to providing an open and transparent feedback process. For more information, to provide feedback, or to request alternative formats of this Plan, please contact DP World Canada through one of the following methods:
Contact: HR & HSSE Support (Accessibility)
Email: [email protected]
Direct mail: Suite 1500, Metrotower II, 4720 Kingsway, Burnaby, BC V5H 4N2
Telephone: 604-252-2473
Alternative Formats
DP World Canada’s Accessibility Plan is available in the following formats:
- Large Print
- Electronic
- Audio
A Braille copy of DP World’s Accessibility Plan may be requested by email at [email protected] or by phone at 604-252-2473.
PRIORITY AREAS
Area 1: Employment
Our Accessibility Goal
DP World Canada is dedicated to fostering a workplace culture that fully embraces and actively promotes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for people with disabilities throughout all aspects of our employment policies and practices.
Actions
Commitment 1: To create a barrier-free and inclusive recruitment strategy that is accessible for all job applicants by:
1.1 Continuing to investigate options for expanding candidate outreach to include job boards dedicated to supporting people with disabilities starting in 2024.
Status: Ongoing
2024/2025 Actions: DP World’s recruitment team has identified additional job boards and potential community-based agencies that provide a more accessible application process and that actively seek to support people with disabilities in finding job matches to their skill set. This goal has become an ongoing project for our recruitment team. Our team aims to make sure that our job postings on popular job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed are an inclusive application process, while also researching new opportunities to post jobs on community-specific boards, including boards specifically for people with disabilities.
Commitment 2: Develop a more inclusive culture that promotes inclusivity and accessibility to highlight DP World Canada’s Seven Priorities of Responsible Business Practices, especially Safety, Wellbeing, Ethics, Community Engagement, and People Development by:
2.1 Establishing accessibility and unconscious bias training as part of our DEI training for leaders and hiring managers starting in 2024.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: DP World’s HR team has developed new training materials related to unconscious bias as part of the overall DEI training strategy. This training was rolled out in November 2024. The program includes three modules covering:
- Understanding Unconscious Bias
- Unconscious Bias in the Workplace
- Mitigating Unconscious Bias
The program has been rolled out to all employees and is now a required course for all new employees joining DP World Canada.
Commitment 3: Plan an employee communication campaign starting in 2024 to inform employees of new accessibility policies and services available to them. Communications will include awareness of disability definitions and common barriers to accessibility.
Status: In Progress & Ongoing
2024/2025 Actions: Communication about our Accessibility Plan and related initiatives is an ongoing priority. When the Plan for Nanaimo was first published in 2024, the Plan and Feedback Process were shared with employees. We regularly share updates on new programs, policies, and actions to ensure all employees are aware of the services and support available to them.
Area 2: Built Environment
Our Accessibility Goal
DP World Canada wants to make sure that both employees and customers can access our facilities easily and safely. Our long-term goal is to include accessibility in all our expansion and upgrade projects. In the short-term, we need to understand what changes are possible and how they will impact the roles of different people who use the facilities.
Actions
Commitment 1: Increase the accessibility around the Main Terminal Office by:
1.1 Investigating the feasibility of modifying the main office trailer to be outfitted for wheelchairs by December 2025.
Status: On Hold
2024/2025 Actions: Our Nanaimo terminal is going through a large-scale renovation starting in the Summer of 2025 and scheduled to be completed in the Fall of 2027. All of our public spaces and the lunchroom will be demolished and replaced.
The plans with our contractor were finalized before we had established our accessibility goals, and we will have to consider retrofitting the new structures with accessible features once the renovation is complete. While the upgrade is happening, our main office prefabricated buildings will be temporarily moved to our parking lot. This limits our ability to implement any accessibility features
1.2 Assessing accessibility considerations in future planning for possible expansion as required.
Status: On Hold
2024/2025 Actions: All planning for accessibility is on hold until the current building project is complete.
Commitment 2: To develop a priority plan and budgets for the assessment and incorporation of accessible design into the future development of DP World Nanaimo’s built environment by:
2.1 Creating a list of possible accessible upgrades by June 2026.
Status: On Hold
2024/2025 Actions: All planning for accessibility is on hold until the current building project is complete.
2.2 Establishing a budget for future accessibility upgrades, if required, by June 2027.
Status: On Hold
2024/2025 Actions: All planning for accessibility is on hold until the current building project is complete.
Commitment 3: Establishing designated parking spot(s) near the entrance with proper signage for employees or visitors with accessibility challenges by September 2026.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: While our parking will be limited during the planned renovations, we are prepared to identify an accessible parking space once the main office structure has been moved and we know what area we will have available.
Area 3: Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)
Our Accessibility Goal
DP World Canada wants to make sure that all employees and customers, including those with disabilities, have access to Information and Communication Technology and tools that allow them to engage fully with DP World Canada without any barriers getting in the way of communication.
Actions
Commitment 1: Understand and make available existing accessibility features available through our 3rd-party ICT providers by:
1.1 Establishing a priority list of 3rd-party ICT tools to assess for accessibility features by June 2025.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: The DP World Canada IT team has started looking at the full list of tools that our team uses across all locations to identify the most widely used. We are on track to be able to prioritize these tools by the end of June 2025.
1.2 Starting the roll-out of accessibility features for our top priority 3rd-party ICT tool to employees starting in 2026.
Status: Not Started
Area 4: Communication, other than ICT
Our Accessibility Goal
DP World Canada is committed to removing communication barriers both internally and externally by incorporating accessible design into our communication strategies.
Actions
Commitment 1: Identify any barriers that are preventing inclusive communication norms at DP World Canada and address opportunities to improve how information is communicated by:
1.1 Working with subject matter experts around communicating with people with disabilities to establish a best-practices guide for the development and dissemination of key communications to ensure accessibility (e.g., plain language, formatting, alt-text for images, etc.) by June 2026.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: DP World’s Communication team is in the process of finalizing our guide to inclusive communication. We are working with a 3rd party vendor that specializes in communications and that has a strong foundation of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), including offering an internal resource group for employees with disabilities.
1.2 Providing training opportunities to all employees responsible for communication, including Marketing, HR, and Communications, on using accessible communication standards, best practices, and plain language starting in 2026.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: A new inclusive communication e-learning program is being developed to provide employees with a foundation for respectful and accessible communication. We are on track to launch this training program in 2025. This training will be required for all employees reporting to DP World Canada.
Our Communications team is regional for North America. We are currently looking into what training we can make available to those employees reporting into our US regional offices who serve our Canadian entities.
Area 5: Procurement of Goods, Services, and Facilities
Our Accessibility Goal
DP World Canada believes that creating a barrier-free Canada extends beyond the work we do internally. We know that our procurement process is an opportunity to make sure we and our vendors are committed to accessibility. DP World is committed to understanding how accessibility can become part of our standard procurement process.
Actions
Commitment 1: Evaluate how DP World Canada will promote accessibility and accessible design in the relationship we have with our external vendors by:
1.1 Assessing the feasibility and ability of DP World Canada to incorporate accessibility standards and design practices into our procurement policy by June 2026.
Status: In Progress
2024/2025 Actions: Our Procurement team is currently in the process of looking for ways to incorporate accessibility in our Request for Proposal (RFP) process. In alignment with our Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards, adding accessibility would allow us to identify vendors owned and operated by people with disabilities, vendors that actively employ people with disabilities, and vendors that promote inclusive practices.
1.2 Providing all employees in procurement with training on any changes to our procurement policy that incorporate accessibility starting in 2026.
Status: Not Started
Area 6: Design and Delivery of Programs and Services
Our Accessibility Goal
From the point of sale to interacting with ship captains, DP World Canada aims to identify the accessibility needs at each point of contact with our customers and their employees throughout the delivery of our current programs and services.
Actions
Commitment 1: Provide a barrier-free, accessible experience for our customers by:
1.1 Identifying employee groups that interact with customers regularly and assessing the need for accessibility training by June 2027.
Status: Complete
2024/2025 Actions: There are relatively few employees at the Nanaimo Terminal who interact with customers regularly. These employees have been assigned to complete our Unconscious Bias Training Program and will be assigned to complete the Inclusive Communication Training when it is ready for distribution.
Area 7: Transportation
The Accessible Canada Act identifies transportation as the seventh priority area of accessibility. While we acknowledge our involvement in the transportation industry, it should be noted that DP World Canada is not responsible for the transportation of members of the public. We have included transportation as a priority area as per the requirements of the Act; however, by definition, it falls outside the purview of DP World Canada.
FEEDBACK
In the first two years following the publication of DP World’s Accessibility Plan, we have not received any feedback from employees, customers, or the public through the formal feedback process. In 2024, however, receive feedback from candidates and employees regarding the accommodation process during recruitment. We have incorporated this into Commitment 1.1 under Employment.
Since we have not received feedback, we are taking this opportunity to identify ways in which we can be more proactive in getting feedback on the plan and our progress. Our HR team is working on creating a feedback mechanism that will encourage more regular and direct feedback from our employees and customers.
CONSULTATIONS
Summary
DP World Canada recognizes the importance of the principle “Nothing About Us Without Us,” which emphasizes the need for persons with disabilities to be actively involved in shaping initiatives that impact them. In line with this commitment, DP World Canada collaborated with the British Columbia Centre for Ability (BC CFA) throughout the review and development of our Progress Report, ensuring that lived experience informed our approach to advancing accessibility within our environment.
Consultation Process
We provided the BCCFA with a draft of our Progress Report as a Word document for their review. We followed this with a live session on May 2, 2025, to discuss the impact and significance of our actions towards our accessibility commitments.
The session was hosted virtually on Zoom and the consultation team from BCCFA was asked in advance about any accommodation that may be needed for the session.
During the session, participants had the option to turn on closed captioning. Each priority area of the Progress Report was discussed and accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation for everyone to see.
Results
During the consultation session, we reviewed each of DP World Canada’s goals and the actions we have taken since implementing our Accessibility Plan. We asked the members of the BCCFA team the following questions about each action:
- Is the action written clearly and easily understood?
- What are your initial impressions of the actions we have taken?
- Do you feel that the actions adequately address the needs of people with disabilities?
- Will the action taken have a positive impact?
- Is there an alternative action that would have a better impact?
- Are there any additional actions that you would suggest we take at this time?
The BCCFA’s overall feedback was very positive and confirmed that the plan and progress actions are clearly laid out and easily understood. They were impressed with DP World Canada’s commitment to providing unconscious bias and inclusive communication training for all levels. This will provide a solid foundation for more cultural change across the organization.
They had a few suggestions on how to continue progressing accessibility forward, including:
- Look into government job boards for recruitment, as both jobbank.gc.ca and workbc.ca provide an accessible experience for people with disabilities to browse job openings, apply for jobs, and promote themselves.
- Create an RSS feed for our Careers page, as many community organizations that support job seekers with disabilities will use RSS feeds to monitor job boards for suitable opportunities for their clients and network.
- Review our e-learning design for accessibility, including the use of plain language, descriptive audio, inclusive design principles, and screen reader compatibility.
- Add DP World Canada’s Accessibility Statement to our Requests for Proposal to further highlight our dedication to improving accessibility in all areas of our business.
We have not made any immediate adjustments to our Accessibility Plan based on these recommendations; however, we are working with our HR, Training, and Procurement teams to look into implementing these actions over the course of the next year. If it is not possible in that time, they will be considered for our next Accessibility Plan.
Future Consultations
Future versions of DP World Canada’s Accessibility Plan will place greater emphasis on conducting a more comprehensive consultation process to fully align with the concept of "Nothing Without Us". Our goal is to engage broader mechanisms for consultation of organizations, employees, and customers through testimonials and storytelling, feedback surveys, and facilitated consultative sessions. We recognize that the more robust our consultation phase is in future republications of our plan, the more likely it is that barriers will be identified and meaningful progress on accessibility and DEI will be achieved.