Philip Rizcallah

Philip Rizcallah is the Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Head of Accessibility Standards Canada. Since 2019, he has led this departmental corporation in setting initial policy, receiving accreditation, and establishing strong governance practices. With his team, he spearheads the development of accessibility standards to deliver on the organization’s mandate to help achieve a barrier-free Canada by 2040. 

Between 2014 and 2019, Mr. Rizcallah led teams at the National Research Council of Canada as Program Director, and prior to that as Director for the Building Regulations Resource Unit. He provided both strategic direction and technical and policy advice to Codes Canada, which covers accessibility requirements for buildings. 

Known for his ability to manage programs involving multidisciplinary teams effectively and efficiently, Mr. Rizcallah has led strategic project proposals, secured financial commitments, and built teams to execute these projects. He has developed and leveraged client relationships with many strategic government and construction industry partners, including Canadian accessibility groups. 

Between 2010 and 2018, Mr. Rizcallah was a key player with the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT) as a federal representative with the Federal Provincial Territorial Working Group. While in this role, he worked to align National Codes in the country and introduced codes accessible free of charge. He also contributed to the development of the ongoing RCT Agreement, which will be key in harmonizing accessibility requirements across Canada. 

A registered Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, Mr. Rizcallah holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering (Technical University of Nova Scotia) and a Bachelor of Science, Honours Mathematics (Dalhousie University).