When a major telecommunications outage left more than 12 million users without wireless service in July 2022, the disruption was far more dire for the many Canadians dependent on accessibility apps.
Monthly Archives: October 2023
Insider Q&A: AbleGamers Founder Mark Barlet on the Importance of Making Gaming Accessible
Mark Barlet founded AbleGamers in 2004. It’s a nonprofit that works to combat social isolation among people with disabilities using “the power of video games.” Most recently, his organization worked with Sony to help create its new Access controller for the PlayStation, designed to make it easier for people with disabilities to play.
Accessibility News October 28,2023 Update
Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/acnewsca
AbleDocs Inc. is excited to be joining the Accessibility News team to ensure all documents are made accessible and compliant.
AbleDocs is the only organization to guarantee the compliance of the files we produce and back that up with a $10,000,000 guarantee.
We look forward to working with you and Accessibility News for years to come. For more details, please come to https://www.abledocs.com for more information about our revolutionary approach to document accessibility.
The AODA Clock is Ticking
There is 1 year, 9 weeks, 2 days until a fully Accessible Ontario! Will you be compliant?
In this Issue
London Transit Doubles Down on Claim ParaTransit Service ‘Satisfactory’ in 2022
Daryl Newcombe
CTV News London Reporter
Published Oct. 18, 2023
Months after city council rejected the London Transit Commission’s (LTC) Annual Report, the controversial self-evaluation of its service performance returns to city hall- unchanged.
“It’s very difficult to plot a good pathway forward if you don’t fundamentally understand the errors of the past,” accessibility advocate Dr. Jeff Preston told CTV News.
Preston has been calling for significant improvements to paratransit service after Londoners with disabilities spent hours on the phone trying to book rides that often weren’t available- missing doctors appointments and feeling isolated.
So in July, city council took the unusual step of rejecting the London Transit 2022 Annual Report because the LTC self-evaluated its performance as an “integrated, affordable, and valued mobility choice” to be satisfactory.
Advocate Urges Ford Government to Hold TTC Accountable for Missed Accessibility Deadline
By Matthew Bingley Global News
Posted October 21, 2023
The TTC was given two decades to make all of its subway stations accessible, but two years ahead of the deadline, its CEO admitted recently it will be unable to reach the target. Now a prominent disability advocate is calling on the province to hold the transit commission accountable.
When the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed in 2005, the TTC was given until 2025 to make all of its subway stations accessible. At a board meeting in late September, TTC CEO Rick Leary expressed disappointment about being unable to reach the target.
“We have to be realistic, we are not going to meet that mandate,” he said.
Airline Forgets Federal Chief Accessibility Officer’s Wheelchair in Toronto
“Well, Air Canada left my chair in Toronto,” she posted on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m now without my essential equipment. Independence taken away. I’m furious. Unacceptable.”
Math Disabilities Hold Many Students Back. Schools Often Don’t Screen for Them
Preschool students practice math using manipulatives at a public school in Boston in 2016. Experts say all students, not only those with dyscalculia, could benefit from using manipulatives to help visualize problems and graph paper to assist in lining up numbers.
Despite Another Plea, Para Transit Plan Proceeds
Author of the article:Ronald Zajac
Published Oct 18, 2023
Despite a last-minute plea for a U-turn from one para transit rider, Brockville councillors this week took another step toward taking over the service.
Council’s general committee on Tuesday recommended the full council approve the purchase of one accessible minivan and one accessible commercial van as city hall moves from contracting out the transit service for people with disabilities, to running it.
The full council is expected to vote next week on the motion, which would see the city buy one Custom Toyota Sienna Hybrid with a side-deploying access ramp, and one Custom Ram 2500 Promaster with a side-deploying access lift.
New Video Series Retells the History of Ontario’s Grass Roots Campaign for Strong Disability Accessibility Legislation Since 1995
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities
https://www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance
October 27, 2023
SUMMARY
Here is a great new way to learn all about the history of Ontario’s non-partisan grass roots campaign to win the enactment and effective enforcement of provincial disability accessibility legislation. This campaign began in 1994. It continues tenaciously almost three decades later. From 1994 to 2005, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act Committee led the non-partisan campaign to win the enactment of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act 2005. Since 2005, its successor, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, has led the effort to get the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act effectively implemented and enforced.
A Quarter of a Century Ago, the Ontario Legislature Spoke Unanimously About the Need for a Strong Ontario Disabilities Act – With That Anniversary Impending, the Current Ontario Government Keeps Dragging Its Feet
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities Website: https://www.aodaalliance.org
Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com
Twitter: @aodaalliance
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance
October 26, 2023
SUMMARY
Another huge anniversary is just three days away! One Quarter of a century ago this Saturday, on October 29, 1998, the Ontario Legislature unanimously passed a landmark resolution. It declared that Ontario should enact a provincial accessibility law that enshrined the eleven principles that the disability community had formulated. This was the result of a major organized grass roots advocacy effort by Ontarians with disabilities.
