Guilty Of First Degree Discrimination And Reckless And Willful Misconduct

It gives me no pleasure to write the following editorial but when someone and their organization deliberately chooses to discriminate against a specific group of Canadians then it is time for me to say something. This is neither a shocker nor a shaker! This is downright discrimination, reckless willful misconduct, condescension, and a total lack of regard for the rights of blind and visually impaired Canadians. In short, a National disgrace and if this individual and her organization is not stopped immediately then I fear that others will soon follow in their footsteps and this can only mean sure doom for those blind and visually impaired persons wishing to pursue Internet careers and opportunities.

As I state in my bio: "One of my greatest passions in life is to ensure that blind and visually impaired kids of the future have an opportunity to enjoy a barrier free Internet" and this is why I refuse to let this one go without a fight. Many may say that this fight may be futile especially so when it is against an individual and an organization that has deliberately chosen to ignore the obvious but for the few of us who truly care about the future of our kin folk; we are hard pressed to turn our backs and walk away. For walking away only admits defeat but fighting the good fight may one day bring about that small difference that would allow blind and visually impaired persons to enjoy equal access and equal opportunity. I am absolutely loathe to allow anyone to stomp on the future of blind and visually impaired persons without saying my piece and it would be a crying shame if others did not take up the cry to convince this individual and her organization to do what is right.

My attention was drawn to the ads on TV that started running in early July; the ones that were advertising for special needs applicants to apply for a web training course. These ads were the handy work of the CSSD, the Canadian Society for Social Development. When I followed up on this organization's ad, I was told in no uncertain terms that they would not accept anyone who had a greater than 30% loss of vision. I am not going to bore you with long and mundane details. Instead I am going to let you be the judge. I'll give you the relevant facts and I'll end by giving you our panel's own sentence.

First, this was the mission statement issued by the CSSD. Mission Statement "To ensure equal opportunities for all Canadians, the CSSD, using internet based technologies, will provide entrepreneurial training and will enhance employability for persons experiencing barriers to employment." Second, here is the ad that the CSSD placed in a recent issue of the Abilities electronic newsletter. "Canadian Society for Social Development (CSSD) is promoting two online national training programs designed especially for persons with disabilities and others facing barriers to employment. The CSSD programs Business Abilities and Internet Business Development for Entrepreneurs (IBDE) deliver challenge, camaraderie and learning enjoyment while bringing hope and the opportunity for a better future. Business Abilities is the online business management program which is currently only available to PWD. Enrollment is ongoing, and clients can apply anytime at www.businessabilities.ca/?q=signup Tuition for this program is generously provided by Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC). IBDE is a program where students learn web design. The course is a six-month 30 hours per week program and is accredited by Selkirk College. The next intake for IBDE is fall 2008, clients can access the registration page at www.ibde.ca/signup Students are responsible for their own tuition, which is usually available locally. CSSD staff is available to assist students in finding this funding."

Despite letters from the CFB and the AEBC to Ms Ryan, this lady has deliberately chosen to ignore pleas for an examination of the present criteria being used by the CSSD. Instead, she continues to hold to the flimsy excuse that her organization is unable to afford to accommodate blind and visually impaired students. Here now is a portion of the text of an email that MS Ryan sent to John Rae, first Vice President of the AEBC in response to his letter. "Please note that our board did meet the end of September and changed our Mission Statement (prior to Ms. Jodhan's second article in the Accessibility newsletter). I am sorry that we cannot afford to make any major changes to our program to allow us to accommodate all disability types, but you will note that our website clearly states that we cannot accommodate all the different kinds of disabilities that Canadians may have, (as it did prior to Ms. Jodhan's article)."

Well, not to keep you in suspense any longer, here is the verdict from our panel of wise judges. Ms Ryan, you have been found guilty of first degree discrimination, and reckless and willful misconduct. You and your organization have blatantly discriminated against blind and visually impaired Canadians and you have used underhanded methods to develop criteria to shut out blind and visually impaired applicants.

We are not sure how you decided to use the >30% vision loss to decide whether or not to accept a blind or visually impaired applicant but this is downright discrimination and an absolute disgrace. The excuse that you are unable to afford to accommodate blind and visually impaired students is outrageous; when for at least over two months your organization placed several ads on various TV stations advertising your program. Some of those funds could have been used to develop accommodations for blind and visually impaired students. You have also seemed to have conveniently forgotten that whenever the Federal government funds a program, it means that the program in question must be made accessible to all Canadians including blind and visually impaired Canadians.

You and your organization deliberately chose to ignore letters from the AEBC and the CFB instead choosing to change your mission statement and message on your website thus falsely believing that this would fix your error. However, according to our panel, this has only made matters worse for you because it shows us that you are not prepared to fix your discriminatory acts. You have refused to address concerns over problems of accessibility to your website. You stated in a letter to the CFB that you had a web access consultant review your websites but we find this very difficult to understand when there are glaring errors that violate the W3-C guidelines. Your mission statement and various ads clearly state that your program caters to those facing employment barriers and that it is your hope that your program would bring "hope and the opportunity for a better future." May we gently remind you that blind and visually impaired persons face many barriers to employment, and that they are classified as persons with disabilities.

What astounds the panel of judges here is that you have somehow managed to partner with such organizations as: CcRW, Neil Squire, EBC, Microsoft and ReBOOT Canada and that you have also managed to obtain funding from such funders as: Human Resources Development Canada, Vancouver Foundation , Selkirk College, and the CFDA. Your organization dares to call itself the Canadian Society for Social Development but true to form you in no way represent the true meaning of your name. We wonder if your funders and partners are aware of your present discriminatory behaviour?

Another thing that is absolutely shocking to us is your attitude about the entire affair! Your stubborn resistance to even try and rectify this wrong, and your inability to understand why it is wrong. Above all, you show no remorse choosing instead to change the mission statement and message on your website. So sad and so disgraceful! You may want to examine your conscience before you take the next step.

Final recommendations: You should take some time to read your press releases before putting them out. If your objective is to offer courses to special needs Canadians or persons with disabilities as you say, then you need to remember that blind and visually impaired persons are classified as persons with disabilities. Changing your mission statement and message on your website only makes things worse for you and only serves to make you and your organization look more guilty and discriminatory. Your weak excuses that you are unable to afford accommodations for blind and visually impaired applicants , and that you are just a small not-for-profit organization is nothing more than a feeble effort to justify your action. Your recent actions with regard to changing your mission statement and the message on your website only goes to show your guilt over this entire affair.

If you are unable to do something in the right way then maybe you should seriously consider shutting down your organization and quit while you can. This matter is not going to go away because we can assure you that it has drawn attention of some very high level officials in the Federal government. The decision is yours; Do the right thing or face continuing scrutiny and damage to your image. In the true spirit of helping to break down barriers to employment, take the time to work with accessibility experts that know what they are about instead of offering excuses that could be best described as asinine, insulting, and whimpish.

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

If you require accessibility, research, and writing services visit
www.sterlingcreations.ca

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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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To reach me please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would also be delighted to send you a copy of our latest newsletter.

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