Important events that impact people with disabilities in the news
Greg Thomson, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, July 25, 2019 Two years ago, the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario rendered a controversial and deeply troubling decision about the rights of students with disabilities in Ontario schools. An 8-year-old boy with autism wanted to bring his certified autism service dog to school with him….
Gilbert Ngabo, Staff Reporter, The Star, July 24, 2019 A group that advocates for better accessibility standards in Ontario is voicing concerns about the province’s new assessment plan. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) Alliance says the plan to conduct accessibility assessments of public and private buildings will remove few barriers and is…
CTV News, Accessibility News International, July 23, 2019 A man who’s blind was told his guide dog wasn’t allowed inside a Kamloops gas station, and when RCMP arrived, he thought they would defend his rights, but instead, the officers put him in handcuffs. The Toronto man was on a road trip to celebrate after graduating…
Marielle Hossack, Press Secretary, Employment and Social Development Canada, July 11, 2019 The Government of Canada is pleased to announce the coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act. The coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act establishes a framework to create a barrier-free Canada through the proactive identification, removal and prevention of accessibility…
Kalev Leetaru, Contributor, Forbes, July 6, 2019 Silicon Valley has become obsessed with addressing AI bias. As deep learning algorithms have graduated from the academic research lab into the real world, there has become a growing awareness of the implications of their innate biases as their limited Western training data has collided spectacularly with a…
Carleton Newsroom, June 26, 2019 Building on its reputation as Canada’s most accessible university, Carleton University is launching the Canadian Accessibility Network, the first entity of its kind in the country. The announcement follows the historic passage of the federal government’s Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act. The bill sets groundbreaking accessibility standards for the…
Greg Thomson, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update, June 11, 2019 On May 30, 2019, the Ford Government used its majority to defeat a resolution in the Ontario Legislature about Ontario’s Disabilities Act, that was proposed by NDP MPP Joel Harden. Worded in measured terms that tracked Doug Ford’s 2018 election pledges on…
Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press, May 30, 2019 Disabled Canadians declared a partial victory Thursday hours after the government voted to enact Canada’s first national accessibility law, calling it a major step forward while cautioning that more work was still needed to ensure it achieves its goal. The Accessible Canada Act, which aims to improve…
The Star, Star Editorial Board, May 27, 2019 An early childhood educator who is uniquely qualified to work in a preschool for disabled children couldn’t get the job because the building isn’t fully accessible for wheelchairs. Surely this is just what former Ontario lieutenant-governor David Onley meant when he wrote of the soul-crushing barriers that…
Mike Hager, Vancouver, The Globe and Mail, MAY 22, 2019 Disabled Canadians and their supporters are pushing Ottawa to pass a bill enshrining their right to more accessible and inclusive federal workplaces before the next election, legislation they say could help improve the lives of those with physical and mental disabilities. If the amendments recently…
