Ontario's Online Magazine for Issues of Accessibility

Accessibility News is devoted to accessibility issues relevant to living in Ontario.

Page Contents

In The News
Calendar Of Events

In The News

CNIB Workers Prepare to Picket

Date posted to site:Saturday, March 13

Workers at Winnipeg's Canadian National Institute for the Blind are preparing to walk off the job on Monday.

Union members on Thursday voted down the CNIB's final contract offer, after negotiating with management for close to a year.

Accommodations for Disabled Have Taken Root

Date posted to site:Saturday, March 13

Some gains for people with disabilities have turned out to be losses

One of my first assignments as a reporter at The Vancouver Sun was to head out to a city parking lot to keep my eyes on the then-new spots with the blue signs warning: "Disabled parking only."

It was 1983. It did not take long for my story to materialize.

Canada Ratifies UN Treaty for Disabled Rights

Date posted to site:Friday, March 12

Canada has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on the eve of the Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

"Canada is committed to promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and enabling their full participation in society," Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Thursday after delivering the ratified document to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in New York City as activist Traci Walters looked on, beaming, from her wheelchair.

Promoting Rights of Disabled New Foreign Policy Focus: Cannon

Date posted to site:Friday, March 12

UNITED NATIONS - Promoting the rights of disabled people around the world will become a key foreign policy focus for Canada, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said at the United Nations Thursday.

Woodstock's Overall Committees Budget Drops for 2010

Date posted to site:Friday, March 12

The budget presentations by the chairs of the city's advisory committees didn't provoke much of a response from councillors.

Combine Paralympics and Olympics, founder urges

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 11

First competitions for people with disabilities were in rehabilitation hospitals

The Paralympic Torch is passed on in a relay around Riley Park, close to venues for the Paralympics on Wednesday.

The founder of the International Paralympic Committee wants to see the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games combined to take advantage of the kind of public support Canadians showed at the 2010 Olympics.

Elite Athletes Who Need a Helping Hand

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 11

Team Canada sledge hockey captain Jean Labonte: hopes people will look beyond Paralympians' disabilities to their athletic performances.

Most able-bodied folks aren't comfortable with disability, despite national heroes like Terry Fox and Rick Hansen.

My dad spent most of his last five years in a wheelchair. Once people saw the chair, many treated him as if his disability was contagious. In that chair, my father was invisible, inanimate, a gimp.

IBM to Collaborate With Universities to Make Mobile Devices More Accessible

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 11

Could Help Make eGovernment Services and Economic Opportunity Available to More Populations

PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM), the National Institute of Design (NID) of India and Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo (RCAST) today announced a new collaborative research initiative to explore an open, common user interface platform for mobile devices, to make them easier to use for disadvantaged populations around the world.

Guelph Man Gets His Wheelchair-Accessible Door

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 11

GUELPH - Matt Wozenilek can't wait to try out the wheelchair-accessible door at his neighbourhood 7-Eleven store after taking the company to the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal and winning.

Wozenilek, 58, can't get around without a wheelchair and didn't like that he couldn't enter the 7-Eleven store at Stevenson Street North and Speedvale Avenue - the only convenience store in his neighbourhood - without someone opening the door for him.

Seeing-Eye Dog Refused Entry to Restaurant

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 11

manager of a Subway restaurant has apologized to a visually impaired Ottawa man who was refused service at the restaurant because he wasn't allowed to bring his seeing-eye dog inside, and advocacy groups for the blind say this happens far too often.

Paralympic Winter Games TV Schedule announced

Date posted to site:Wednesday, March 10

Canada's Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium announced today it would broadcast fifty-seven hours of high-definition television coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in English and French.

Supports Cut for Low-Income B.C. Residents

Date posted to site:Tuesday, March 09

Minor savings to province signal a devaluation of vulnerable people

On April 1, a number of dental, preventive health and medical services for people struggling to live on disability assistance and income assistance will be cut back.

This is not a fool's joke; it is Liberal government social policy.

Study Focuses on Disability and Employment Among Working-Age Immigrants in the U.S.

Date posted to site:Tuesday, March 09

Currently, foreign-born people make up approximately 13 percent of the total U.S. population. As the immigrant population grows, understanding its disability status and employment characteristics becomes increasingly important. People, both native and foreign-born, with disabilities make important contributions to our society, and many individuals continue to work despite a wide range of impairments. A new study by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital focuses on disability and employment among working-age immigrants in the United States.

The Proposed Accessibility Exception to Copyright

Date posted to site:Monday, March 08

The disabled in India are, for the most part, an invisible minority with disability, and often the disabled themselves, being stigmatised. In a country where access to information and education is limited by a variety of factors, including class and caste, persons who have disabilities tend to be far more disadvantaged than the average person of their own caste and class would be.

Guest Commentary: A Moral Dilemma: "Scentual" Pleasure at the Expense of the Fundamental Rights and Freedoms of Others

Date posted to site:Monday, March 08

Hundreds of Canadians have contacted the Canadian Human Rights Commission to find out whether their rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms are being violated because they are unable to access basic services, social and cultural events in their community without becoming ill from fragrance exposure.

Noor Dubai Exceeds Target One Year Later

Date posted to site:Monday, March 08

The charity Noor Dubai, started by Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has reached its first year anniversary - and exceeded its goals.

Scanners to Help Blind in Kitchen

Date posted to site:Saturday, March 06

Blind people in Switzerland will soon have help telling their ravioli from their tinned fruit in the kitchen as a new loud-speaking device able to decipher 50,000 products was launched Monday.

"It is almost indispensable for a blind person who wants to live independently," the spokesman for the Swiss union for the blind that will sell the device, told AFP.

Accessible Inter-City Transportation

Date posted to site:Saturday, March 06

Highway coaches are available for people with mobility issues.

After twenty-five years in the industry, I took it for granted that it was common knowledge this service was available. However, I discovered that many people did not realize that with a minimum of twenty four hours notice, an accessible highway coach can be made available to anyone with mobility issues.

Stage Set for Paralympic Games

Date posted to site:Friday, March 05

Canada's Paralympic team has set a lofty goal of winning enough gold medals to finish among the top three countries. (Nigel Armstrong/Canadian Press)

As the curtain is drawn on Vancouver's Olympic Games, the stage is being set for Canada's first Winter Paralympics.

Accessibility Standards for Customer Service: A Student Perspective

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 04

years ago, the Government of Ontario passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), which will update accessibility standards across the province. The act rolls out in five parts, with 2025 as the goal for a fully accessible Ontario. The first part, Accessibility Standards for Customer Service, came into effect on January 1 of this year, and requires every service provider to take part. This includes the faculty, staff and student monitors here at Ontario College of Art & Design (OCAD).

Smiths Falls to Remove two Provisions in Bylaws Accused of Being Discriminatory, will Study Third

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 04

EMC News - While the Human Rights Legal Support Centre (HRLSC) is happy that the Town of Smiths Falls is planning to withdraw the "most offensive" provisions of the town's Zoning Bylaw and Official Plans related to group homes, it is still concerned about the distancing requirement.

Torch Bearers Named for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympics

Date posted to site:Thursday, March 04

VANCOUVER, B.C., (March 3, 2010) - The Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) is proud to announce the 25 torch bearers it has selected to take part in the Paralympic Torch Relay for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games. These individuals have been selected for their outstanding contribution to the Paralympic Movement. The relay will raise awareness for the Vancouver 2010 Paralympic Winter Games, which will be held from March 12 - 21, 2010 in Vancouver and Whistler.

People With Disabilities Deserve Jobs: Official

Date posted to site:Wednesday, March 03

With the help of a new community support campaign, it's going to be easier for people with disabilities to showcase their talent as part of Ontario's workforce.

"We want to ensure that all Ontarians have the opportunities and tools they need to reach their full potential," said Kristen Tedesco, communications coordinator for the Ministry of Community and Social Services.

Guest Commentary: Stigma & Sensitivities: Must They Coexist?

Date posted to site:Wednesday, March 03

Those with environmental sensitivities look just like anyone else, yet their bodies react very differently to such things as automobile exhaust, moulds, fragrances, tobacco smoke and pesticides. While reactions often effect the respiratory, cardiovascular, digestive and/or muscular systems, most everyone with environmental sensitivities experiences neurological symptoms such as headaches, depression, insomnia, anxiety, coordination problems, difficulties with memory and concentration, feeling spaced out, etc. These types of symptoms can have a strong impact on employability.

The Serotek Ultimatum

Date posted to site:Wednesday, March 03

Serotek declares war on the traditional adaptive technology industry and their blind ghetto products. With this announcement we are sending out a call to arms to every blind person and every advocate for the blind to rise up and throw off the tyranny that has shaped our lives for the past two decades. It is a tyranny of good intentions - or at least what began as good intentions. But as the proverb says, "the road to hell is paved with good intentions."

A Federal Agenda that Includes 'Us'

Date posted to site:Tuesday, March 02

Our elected members of parliament will return to work this week. And with that comes the expectation that some work will finally get done. Over these last few years disability issues have taken a backseat on the national agenda. This has been a real disappointment for me and for many of my colleagues.

Special Diet Program Contravenes Human Rights: Province Considers Scrapping Program in Response

Date posted to site:Tuesday, March 02

/CNW/ - The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal recently found that the provincial Special Diet Allowance (SDA) program violates the Human Rights Code in the way it provides benefits to three individuals. These three individuals are lead complainants in a Tribunal proceeding that involves complaints from nearly 200 other people.

Making Vancouver accessible to all

Date posted to site:Tuesday, March 02

Vancouver's hosting of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games is benefitting one very deserving group of travellers: Those with disabilities.

Vancouver Olympics Web sites are inaccessible to disabled people

Date posted to site:Monday, March 01

Testing shows Vancouver2010.com and CTVOlympics.ca are almost impossible to use for some people with physical disabilities, and hard to use and understand for blind or deaf people.

Coalition on Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities

Date posted to site:Monday, March 01

- Inclusive Emergency Preparedness Canada (IEPC) is developing training materials for emergency reception centres and shelter staff and volunteers on how best to assist people with disabilities during an emergency or disaster.

TORONTO, Feb. 26 /CNW/ - Ontario-wide - Natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, the Asian tsunami and other catastrophic events have keenly demonstrated the need for emergency preparedness for government, businesses, households and individuals. When planning for disasters or emergencies, special consideration needs to be taken to include people with disabilities.