By Nick Eagland, Vancouver Sun, July 16, 2018 More than 600,000 people in B.C. have disabilities. Many of them encounter barriers in society that keep them from fully participating. While they are protected by human rights legislation, they must prove on a case-by-case basis that their rights have been denied. To address that — and…
By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter, The Star, July 3, 2018 Advocates for the disabled are praising the Ford government for appointing a cabinet minister to oversee the often-intersecting areas of accessibility and seniors’ issues. Progressive Conservative Premier Doug Ford appointed Scarborough North MPP Raymond Cho minister for seniors and accessibility on June 29.
By Laurie Monsebraaten, Social Justice Reporter, The Star, June 21, 2018 Disability rights advocates welcome long-awaited national accessibility legislation, tabled in Ottawa Wednesday, but say the law needs significant strengthening to meet its goals. The Accessible Canada Act, which covers federally regulated sectors such as banking, inter-provincial and international transportation, telecommunications and government-run services such…
Michelle McQuigge, The Canadian Press reporter, The Globe and Mail, June 20, 2018 Canadians with disabilities felt a surge of tempered optimism on Wednesday as they watched Canada table its first piece of federal legislation aimed at improving accessibility for people with disabilities. The Accessible Canada Act, presented hours before the house rose for the…
By Yannis Vardakastanis, President, European Disability Forum, Journal General of Europe, June 4, 2018 Reflections on the occasion of the European Social Economy Day Seven months ago the leaders of the 28 EU member states adopted in Stockholm the so-called European Pillar of Social Rights, by which they committed to a set of 20 principles…
Kate Bueckert, CBC News, June 1, 2018 A new wayfinding system will help University of Guelph students who are blind or visually impaired get around campus this fall, and all students need to do to access it is download an app on their phone. A few years ago, the university wanted to do more to…
Jaren Kerr, Staff Reporter, The Star, May 15, 2018 Toronto’s subway and train stations, including the TTC’s newest, have design flaws that can make travelling difficult or dangerous for people with disabilities, according to a new video that illustrates the problems. A 30 minute video released Tuesday Making Progress on Disability Issues: The Agenda with…
Sally Abrahams and Lee Kumutat, BBC Radio 4, Money Box, May 6, 2018 HSBC, Metro Bank and Halifax have all admitted to failings after redesigning websites that made it hard for their blind or visually impaired customers to access full services online. In a statement, HSBC told Money Box it has just finished upgrading the…
Andrea Gordon, Education Reporter, The Star, May 4, 2018 Students face daunting academic and social barriers that can leave them excluded, vulnerable to bullying and set them up for low expectations for the future, said the report, a joint project by experts in disabilities law and education. Their parents are asked to keep them home…
Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Division, Accessibility Directorate of Ontario, May 4, 2018 The AODA review committee has submitted their final proposed revisions to the Transportation Standards of the AODA to the Minister Responsible for Accessibility. The minister may accept the 32 proposed revisions in whole, in part, or with modifications. Any proposed changes to…
