See What They Have Done Once Again!

How many times will our beloved Federal government be allowed to get away with this kind of sloppy advertising? Or should I say this type of disrespectful and discourteous behaviour?

Now, what am I grumbling about you may be asking? It's that darn ad that recently started appearing on our TV channels.

In it and if you are unable to see it, all you hear is the sound of coins falling followed by the spoken words: "A message from the Government of Canada."

Shocker or shaker? No shocker and no shaker! Why? Because this kind of nonsense continues to persist. An Absolute disregard for those of us who are unable to see these ads. A government that barely acknowledges our existence as Canadians!

I had to ask my mom what was being shown on the TV screen and she informed me that it was an ad for Canada savings bonds. Maybe and just maybe, the Government does not feel that it is necessary for it to produce an ad with audio description because and maybe just because they have once again forgotten to take into account that Canada is also home to those who are unable to see TV screens. The last time I checked, my passport identified me as a Canadian citizen and this means or should mean equal access to information. I pay taxes, I contribute to the economy, and the last time I checked my savings were still safely ensconced in the bank. Believe it or not, I earn income and work very hard just like so many other Canadians so why am I not being given the opportunity to take advantage of Canada savings bonds? Am I missing something here?

The point is this! The Canadian Government continues to display a wanton disregard and disrespect for its blind and visually impaired citizens. To produce an ad that cannot be deciphered by blind and visually impaired persons are a total embarrassment, a total lack of disrespect, and in short simply unacceptable. Maybe our Government does not feel that it is necessary for them to produce ads with audio descriptions because it does not think that blind and visually impaired Canadians can afford to buy savings bonds? Maybe and just maybe, this government is probably thinking that we as a group are unable to buy bonds because most of us are unemployed? After all, over 80% of blind and visually impaired Canadians are presently unemployed and whose fault is this? So please allow me to tally up some of the more glaring wrongs:

• The Government continues to keep the majority of special needs Canadians mired below the poverty line.
• They continue to deny us job opportunities due to inaccessible websites and training programs.
• They continue to deny us equal access to information.
• They produce ads that are inaccessible to us because of a lack of audio description.
• They continue to cut services to us as a group. Should I continue on? Have you heard enough?

Whatever the dark and hollow reason for the huge glitch with regard to this present ad, I would like to put forth this additional thought: The lack of audio description for this ad not only affects blind and visually impaired persons. It also affects those who have difficulty reading TV screens because of other reasons other than visual problems. This is yet one more slap in our faces from our Government and it is time for us to start fighting back.

I urge you to contact your local MP and voice your protest. Enough is enough!

It is bad enough that the Government limits our access to information on the Internet. How much more are you going to endure or prepared to endure before rising to the occasion?

I'm Donna J Jodhan your free lance writer and reporterwishing you a terrific day.

If you require accessibility, research, and writing services visit
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If you visit www.untappedwealth.com/businessdesk.html you will learn the latest news on very important issues as they happen and you can check out my weekly feature called important answers to consumers concerns.

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www.numpadplus.com/blog

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