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Service Animal Final Rule
United States government Department of Transportation, Press Release, December 2, 2020
The U.S. Department of Transportation Announces Final Rule on Traveling by Air with Service Animals. The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced that it is revising its Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA) regulation on the transportation of service animals by air to ensure a safe and accessible air transportation system. The Department received more than 15,000 comments on the notice of proposed rulemaking. The final rule announced today addresses concerns raised by individuals with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants, airports, other aviation transportation stakeholders, and other members of the public, regarding service animals on aircraft.
Disability rights groups decry Ford government secrecy about COVID-19 triage guidelines
Brendan Kennedy, Social Justice Reporter, The Star, December 2, 2020
A coalition of disability rights groups is calling on Doug Ford’s government to make public the directions they plan to give hospitals about how to decide who should be prioritized for life-saving treatment if intensive care units become overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. The call comes after the government’s initial COVID-19 triage protocol, which leaked in March but was never officially released, was rescinded after it was criticized for discriminating against people with disabilities.
ARCH Disability Law Centre press release.
Accessibility GO! A Guide to Action
World Blind Union, November 2, 2020
The World Blind Union (WBU) and CBM Global Disability Inclusion have launched the new Accessibility GO! A Guide to Action. With 10 years to realise the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, accessibility is the foundation to building a more inclusive, equitable world where no-one is left behind in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Recent examples of global crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic amplify the need to urgently increase our efforts to address persistent and emerging accessibility barriers which sustain inequalities and exclusion of persons with disabilities. The response to this critical challenge begins with a willingness to change and work together to take a few collective steps towards creating a world that removes barriers and promotes inclusion. Organisations around the world must decide on how to adapt their structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of all within their communities. To address this challenge, the WBU and CBM Global Disability Inclusion are delighted to introduce the newly developed Accessibility GO! A Guide to Action.
As deadline looms, expert says businesses are ‘just starting’ to take digital accessibility more seriously
Pragya Sehgal, ItBusiness.ca, November 2, 2020
Canadian businesses face a January 1, 2021 deadline to make all internet websites and web content more accessible, and experts are urging Canadian businesses to take a hard look at their web presence and take the deadline seriously. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) requires organizations with 20 or more employees to file a compliance audit* before this deadline. AODA will require Canadian businesses in Ontario to meet web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0) Level AA other than criteria 1.2.4 (live captions) and 1.2.5 (pre-recorded audio descriptions). Canada scores a 64 overall out of 100, according to the World Accessibility Map, an online resource that allows users to compare the web accessibility level of countries around the world.
Rights of woman who is deaf and blind were breached by student loans program, Ontario court finds
Ryan V. Parkinson, The Canadian Press, October 27, 2020
An Ontario court has ruled that the provincial and federal governments must operate their student loan program in a way that ensures those with disabilities who take longer to complete their studies are not saddled with more debt than their able-bodied peers. The judge delivered his ruling this week in a lawsuit filed by Jasmin Simpson, who is deaf and legally blind, against the Ontario and federal governments. In his ruling, Sossin found that Simpson’s equality rights under the charter had been breached by decisions made under the loan program, but declined to scrap the system, saying its structure is not inherently discriminatory. The court also issued a declaration that Simpson need not pay off debts arising from the discriminatory application of the program, and that the federal government reimburse her for any payments related to its unconstitutional operation.
Breaking barriers: JAAC recognizes accessibility in Grimsby
Luke Edwards, Grimsby Lincoln News, October 19, 2020
Lincoln Park Retirement Residence scored a 97 per cent on committee’s assessment. Since he lost his vision a decade ago, Stephen Barker (chair of the joint accessibility advisory committee, a group that advocates for accessibility and inclusivity in Grimsby, Lincoln, West Lincoln, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Thorold and Pelham) has been working to take down barriers in his life. It’s similar for anyone with accessibility issues, whether that be mobility, vision or a loss of hearing. Removing barriers becomes a part of their lives. Retirement counsellor Heather Butler said the staff were proud to receive the certificate.
Federal COVID-19 supports for Canadians with disabilities are too little, too late, advocates say
Kathleen Harris, CBC News, September 18, 2020
Advocates say pandemic has caused disproportionate hardship for those already struggling against barriers. More than six months into the global pandemic, the Liberal government is being accused of failing to meet the needs of the Canadians with disabilities who are among those hardest-hit by the public health crisis. The federal government has promised a one-time $600 emergency benefit for Canadians with disabilities but that money has not yet been spent. People with disabilities face more challenges in a pandemic climate. Those who are blind or visually impaired have to rely on touching non-sanitized surfaces and can’t see if people around them are practising safety protocols. People who are deaf or hard of hearing who normally rely on reading lips to communicate now face a world of masked faces. And there are longer waits now for health care and other services, while the prolonged isolation caused by pandemic containment measures can have a negative impact on mental health.
How blind Nova Scotians are navigating the strange world of COVID-19
Vernon Ramesar, CBC News, September 16, 2020
Carrying on a normal life during the pandemic can be difficult for everyone, but some people with vision loss say it can be a minefield. Darlene Wournell is blind and treasures her independence, but she says some of the measures put in place to reduce the spread of COVID-19 have proven to be especially challenging. Of course, not having any vision whatsoever, it’s hard to tell if people are within your six foot bubble,
said Wournell, a resident of Lake Echo, N.S., and the national secretary of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians.
Strengthening Canada’s disability community in a post-pandemic world
By David Onley, Mayo Moran and Charles Beer, The Toronto Star, September 15, 2020
The past six months have been among the most challenging in our history. Over the past decade each of us was asked to carry out the first legislated reviews of Ontario’s groundbreaking Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). During the course of our work, we had the opportunity to meet with a number of extraordinary people, all living with disability. The disability community is often invisible or ignored. But in fact almost 25 per cent of Canadians live with some kind of disability. According to Statistics Canada, that population is more likely to be single, female, un-or-underemployed, and living in poverty with more than one type of disability. Since COVID-19 hit our shores, meaningful support has been extended to various parts of our society, including the unemployed, small and medium sized business, students, renters, and the health and social services sectors. But one key population has not received the focused support it needs: our fellow citizens who live with physical, mental and developmental disabilities. Statistics Canada released a new report in late August that surveyed some 13,000 Canadians with disabilities. The fallout from the pandemic has negatively impacted their employment, income, housing payments, basic utilities and prescription medication. Simply put, the disabled face grave economic hardship.
Girl from Kenora, Ont. inspires House of Commons petition to promote accessibility for visually impaired
Logan Turner, CBC News, August 31, 2020
Petition calls on government to require braille or tactile symbols on consumer product warning labels. Jo-Hannah Atchison of Kenora, Ont. has inspired a House of Commons petition calling on the government to require Braille or tactile symbols on consumer product warning labels. Samantha Atchison of Kenora, Ont. remembers the day her daughter Jo-Hannah was diagnosed with optic nerve hypoplasia at four months old. Atchison says her daughter’s diagnosis made her realize just how inaccessible the world is for her daughter, from infant toys to things such as hazardous materials
. Melillo sponsored a petition by Atchison in the House of Commons on Tuesday that calls on the government to require braille or tactile symbols on consumer product warning labels. It is currently available for members of the public to view and sign the petition.
The Right to Accessible Information
View point, Canadian Human Rights Reporter, August 12, 2020
One in five Canadians lives with one or more disabilities. Everyday these 6.2 million individuals encounter various barriers. These barriers prevent persons with disabilities from participating fully in all aspects of society. It is thus not surprising that 60 percent of complaints received by the Canadian Human Rights Commission relate to disability. High proportions of disability-related complaints can be seen in all jurisdictions in Canada. The barriers faced by persons with disabilities are as varied as they are numerous. Communication, attitudinal, environmental and organizational barriers cause people with disabilities to be excluded from equal participation in many opportunities and activities of society. Inaccessible websites can prevent persons with disabilities from working and having equal access to vital information about their health. The consequences can be grave. As noted by one disability rights groups, Persons with disabilities may also be at increased risk of contracting COVID-19 because information about the disease, including the symptoms and prevention, are not provided in accessible formats
. In light of this, accessibility advocacy groups have argued that it is now more than ever that companies and Public Administrations must prioritize accessibility in their pages, and therefore, their services
in order to ensure that people with disabilities are not deprived of lifesaving information
. Despite the increased importance during the pandemic of ensuring that information on the internet is accessible, the Government of Canada has lagged behind. Rather than being a forerunner for inclusion, it has continued the longstanding practice of discriminating against persons with visual impairments in the design of its websites. In fact, it is fighting a human rights complaint lodged by the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) against Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), regarding its inaccessible website. Because of the barriers in ESCD’s website and online application form, the AEBC was not able to submit a complete grant application and did not obtain funding.
Delayed COVID-19 support another example of the government’s inequitable treatment of disabled Canadians
Hanna Warsame, Contributor, The Pigeon, August 4, 2020
Disabled Canadians spent months waiting for federal COVID-19 benefits. The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) was announced in March 2020 to support Canadians struggling financially due to COVID-19. Since then, 8.46 million Canadians have applied for the benefit, and 86 per cent of Canadians have agreed the CERB is a necessary and useful aid. However, while the federal government has extended COVID-19 support to countless Canadians, those with disabilities were left in the lurch. The financial needs of disabled Canadians appear to have been wholly neglected by the government until recent weeks. It took until the end of July for any legislation supporting disabled communities to pass into law. Even so, disabled Canadians were offered only a fraction of what the average non-disabled adult has received in financial support. According to the Canadian Survey on Disability, about 20 per cent of Canadians over the age of 15, 6.2 million people, self-identified as having one or more disabilities in 2017. Why was the federal government so delayed in implementing and passing a bill in support of this underprivileged group, whose financial struggles were a problem long before COVID-19?
Opinion: It’s time to unify the disability movement
Al Etmanski and Kathleen O’Grady, The Globe and Mail, August 4, 2020
A decision to issue one-time, $600 federal payments to Canadians with disabilities, in order to cover the extraordinary expenses they have incurred because of COVID-19, has finally received royal assent. But it is too little, too late, and reaches too few. The $600 amount is nowhere near the extra monthly costs many people with disabilities have incurred during the pandemic. It was issued four months after most other Canadians have received support and well after the country has emerged from lockdown. And it leaves around 60 per cent of Canadians with disabilities behind. Payments will also not be issued until the fall.
Air Canada lays off blind longtime employee, saying it can’t accommodate him amid pandemic
Christine Long, CTV News Montreal Entertainment Reporter, and Selena Ross, CTV News Montreal Digital Reporter, July 21, 2020
In 2016, Sean Fitzgibbon starred in an Air Canada promotional video about inclusion. It showed him on the job, working as a stock-keeper. He was also given the company’s award of excellence for his service. So it came as a shock when he got a letter saying the airline could no longer accommodate his medical condition. Fitzgibbon has been legally blind for seven years, and last month Air Canada told him that now that it is downsizing its workforce amid the pandemic, the company can no longer provide him with a suitable job that he can safely perform. Even stranger, in a way, was a message included in the letter: Should your medical condition improve… please advise the Company immediately, as this information may impact your ability to return to work,
it said. The union says the company did not try hard enough to find him another position.
House passes bill to extend and reform wage subsidy, introduce disability benefits
CBC News, July 21, 2020
Legislation introduced by the Liberal government to change the federal wage subsidy and provide relief to people with disabilities passed the House of Commons today by unanimous consent. The legislation, C-20, expands the number of companies that qualify for the wage subsidy, changes the amount companies can put toward their workers’ wages and extends the wage subsidy program to the end of the year. The bill also sends a one-time payment of $600 to people with disabilities and extends some legal deadlines for court cases.
Doctors Issuing Unlawful Do Not Resuscitate
Orders For Disabled Covid Patients Outrageous
Gus Alexiou, Contributor, Forbes, June 23, 2020
A report due to be launched this week by disability advocacy organization Inclusion London affirms the fear many disabled people have experienced throughout the pandemic over being denied life-saving treatment, should they become seriously ill with coronavirus. In the report entitled, Abandoned, forgotten and ignored – the impact of Covid-19 on Disabled people
, several survey respondents attested to being pressured by their doctor to have DNR, or Do Not Attempt Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation orders placed on their medical records. This is further supported by research carried out last month by disability charity Scope, which found that 63% of disabled people feared they would not receive the treatment they needed if they were hospitalized due to coronavirus. A more insidious practice has also been brought to light in which some doctors have been placing unlawful DNR orders on the records of individuals with learning disabilities without prior consultation with the person’s family or carers.
Opinion: Many Canadians with disabilities shut out of pandemic funding
Dr. Jennifer Zwicker, deputy chief scientific officer for Kids Brain Health Network, Calgary Herald, June 17, 2020
The federal government recently announced a one-time, federal tax-free payment for Disability Tax Credit recipients intended to reduce financial barriers for persons with disabilities during the pandemic. This proposed bill failed to secure unanimous consent in the House of Commons for debate. In part, persons with disabilities are getting caught in the political crossfire. However, known issues with eligibility for the DTC warrant the equity concerns raised by opposition parties. The issue is that many Canadians with disability who should receive this funding are not DTC recipients and consequently won’t receive the support they need. In some provinces, less than 40 per cent of individuals with qualifying disabilities are estimated to have CRA-deemed eligibility to the DTC. Currently, persons with disabilities receiving provincial disability income assistance are deemed ineligible for the $2,000 a month CERB, or have had their funding clawed back at different rates depending on the province. This means most persons with disabilities on income assistance receive significantly less than the amount received by CERB recipients, and this varies by province.
YouTube: Demanding Disability Rights Amid COVID-19
The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO, May 8, 2020
More than 2.5 million Ontarians live with a disability. Many of them are seniors, one of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to contracting COVID-19. How has Ontario’s response been toward ensuring people with disabilities are protected from the disease and are safely and effectively social distancing?
CERB a slap in the face
for Ontarians scraping by on disability payments
Omar Dabaghi-Pacheco, CBC News, May 3, 2020
Some Ontarians who rely on provincial disability support say the federal government’s new emergency benefit for people affected by COVID-19 is laying bare a double standard when it comes to the question of what’s considered a livable income. The federal government’s Canada Emergency Relief Benefit (CERB) provides about $2,000 per month to people who have lost their income because of the pandemic. The maximum amount someone available through the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is just $1,169. No lost income, no CERB. Ottawa lawyer Ken Pope, whose firm specializes in disability and estate planning, agrees ODSP payments are barely enough for most people to live on, and notes that ODSP payments have failed to keep up with inflation since the program was introduced in the late 1990s.
Ontario needs emergency plan for urgent needs of millions with disabilities
David Lepofsky, Contributor Opinion, The Star, April 20, 2020
Media have reported on some of the most extreme COVID-19 impacts on people with disabilities, the tip of a horrific iceberg, like the government’s scandalous failure to effectively protect residents in nursing homes and independent living residences. Let me reveal a worrisome but unreported thread running through those reports that connects hitherto-unconnected dots. People with disabilities suffer a brutal triple whammie during this crisis, beyond what the broader public faces. First, many people with disabilities are disproportionately medically prone to contract COVID-19 and to suffer its harshest physical impacts. Second, a cruel confluence of government policies and neglect makes people with disabilities even more prone to contract COVID-19. Third, people with disabilities can fear going to hospital. They face a health care system replete with disability barriers pre-dating COVID-19.
I am afraid disabled people like me won’t be saved from Covid-19
Samantha Renke, Metro News, April 7, 2020
Mike Marsland says: I have been referred to as vulnerable
a lot over the past few weeks. Although, as someone with a disability, I am no stranger to the word, according to society, vulnerable
is almost synonymous with having an impairment. Up until now, however, I had not realised the potential power and damage of this label. The word vulnerable
has taken on a different, much more sinister meaning in the current situation. That is because being labelled vulnerable
could mean that you don’t get access to a hospital bed or life-saving treatment such as a ventilator. I say this after myself and many within the disability community were hit with devastating news after the publication of the British Medical Association’s ethical guidelines for doctors dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak. In the event that medical resources become scarce, which may happen as coronavirus stretches the NHS. The guidelines suggest that Health professionals may be obliged to withdraw treatment from some patients to enable treatment of other patients with a higher survival probability
. From the moment I was born and diagnosed with brittle bone condition, doctors said I would not live very long. I am now 34 years old. They also said that I would never attend a mainstream school or live independently. But I have been to university, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in languages and completed a postgraduate certificate in education to qualify as a language teacher. I also reside alone and independently in an apartment in central London and am currently living my best life despite all of my health conditions. Yet, to this day, some medical professionals still ignore me, talking to my personal assistant, friend or family member at appointments, or gazing at me in astonishment when I tell them I work in television and am self-sufficient.
Disabled to be denied COVID-19 care?
Antonella Artuso, Toronto Sun, April 7, 2020
A document that has left people with disabilities scared
they’ll be denied an intensive care bed or ventilator during the COVID-19 pandemic is just a draft,
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says. The Clinical Triage Protocol for Major Surge in COVID Pandemic, a copy obtained by the Toronto Sun dated March 28 is not stamped with the word draft
, sets out guidelines for health-care professionals as a last resort
when allocating life-saving resources during a shortage. Advocates say the document makes unfair value judgments about the quality of lives lived by those in the disabled community in violation of their human rights, and has left many of them fearful that they won’t be entitled to the same level of care as everybody else.
Virtual Public Forum Reveals Serious Hardships Facing People with Disabilities During COVID-19 Crisis and Makes Practical Recommendations for Urgent Government Action – But Will Governments Listen and Act?
Hosted by ACCESSIBILITY FOR ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT ALLIANCE and ONTARIO AUTISM COALITION, April 7, 2020
organized by Ontario grassroots disability advocates, revealed that people with disabilities are disproportionately exposed to the risks of COVID and the hardships this pandemic is causing. Ten experts gave the government practical priority measures needed now to alleviate these hardships. today’s virtual public forum shone a spotlight on critical needs facing 2.6 million Ontarians with disabilities and over 6 million Canadians with disabilities. We regret that the Ontario Government declined to send anyone to speak at this virtual public forum about what it is doing. The Government’s line ministries that are working on crisis planning have not answered the AODA Alliance’s offers to work with them.
Anchored by Ontario Autism Coalition president Laura Kirby-McIntosh and AODA Alliance chair David Lepofsky (an Osgoode Hall Law School visiting professor).
COVID-19 visitation bans for people in institutions put many at risk in other ways
Natalie Spagnuolo and Michael Orsini, CBC News Opinion, March 29, 2020
Disabled people know a lot about social isolation. Many, including those with intellectual and psychiatric disabilities, are relying on the success of COVID-19 containment strategies, and lives are indeed at risk if they are not taken seriously. However, public health measures that restrict visiting rights to those in institutional settings are putting many at risk in other ways. While public health principles have a rightful place in our decisions, so too do principles that recognize the humanity and dignity of people with disabilities. As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds, recent decisions to implement visitation bans in group homes for people with intellectual disabilities, in psychiatric hospitals and wards, and in prisons, recall a familiar and painful history for many disabled people. In these days of physical distancing, it is important to emphasize that this is one of the oldest public health measures aimed at containing
the imagined threat of disability. Many disabled people are already separated from non-disabled people. It is a legacy of eugenic segregation, which has been resisted by survivors of former government-run institutions for people with intellectual disabilities, such as Huronia and the Rideau Regional Centre in Ontario.
United From A Distance – From Where I Sit
Kathy Bates, a teacher, advocate, and writer, March 28, 2020
I just want to share some things that have been on my mind lately. I find it ironic that it takes a pandemic like a coronavirus (COVID-19) for everyone to start thinking about some of the issues that people with disabilities have been struggling with their whole lives. The feelings of social isolation or complete loneliness, the need for assistive technology that works well for them, accommodations and generally the need for more flexibility in the workplace are all common problems for many people with disabilities. Social isolation may not be easy, but if you are stuck at home with the ones you love most in the world it could be a good thing. I think it’s important to take this time to reconnect with each other while everything has slowed down a little. Processing and communication take a little bit longer for some people. In a way, the world has come to a standstill, so use this time to connect with the people that live in your house. This pandemic will end, and everyone will go back to their lives but, for many people with disabilities, isolation and profound loneliness are a part of everyday life but it doesn’t have to be that way. A crisis like the Coronavirus can bring out the best in people. I am very thankful for my amazing family and everyone who supports me.
The mass migration to online learning is leaving disabled students behind
Mythili Sampathkumar, Digital Trends, March 27, 2020
As universities and schools try to quickly transition learning from physical classrooms to online ones, disabled students have been (and will continue to be) disproportionately affected. The rapid migration to virtual classes has forced disabled students into using websites and apps that were never designed to accommodate them. Mark Shapiro, president of the Bureau of Internet Accessibility, tells Digital Trends that the federal American Disabilities Act considers websites, even those of private organizations, to be public places, and organizations that are requiring people to work and/or study remotely are creating a new place requiring public accommodations.
Now that online education is the new normal, university courses need to be accessible for a wider swath of people. According to a 2019 analysis of 10,000,000 websites, at least 98% were found to fall short of the website compliance guidelines laid out by the ADA and WCAG 2.1 A good place to start for ed tech companies is to make sure all their accessibility features are actually requirements and do not cost academic institutions any extra to require. The next step would be for companies like Apple, Google, and others to provide free laptops and tablets compatible with accessible accessories to disabled students so they are not held further back from other students during the pandemic.