Same old same old
I am afraid that when it comes to some mundane and irritating attitudes, nothing much has changed. Or if I choose to slice it a different way, we are always going to find one bad apple sitting in the middle of a somewhat good bunch.
I am referring to an experience that I recently encountered with the City of Toronto. Here goes.
In 2023 residents of the City of Toronto were asked to complete an online form re occupant vacancy if they owned a home or condo. I had to ask my Provincial member of Parliament to assist me to find someone who could help me to do this as the City’s website was not very accessible or navigable for a blind/vision impaired person.
After a bit of searching my very helpful member of Parliament’s office found someone at the city to help me do so. This person was able to enable me to receive my tax assessment documents in Word format but I needed to ask my sighted friend to help me complete my form.
For this year, I decided to try and navigate the City’s website on my own in order to complete the vacant occupancy form and lo and behold! Just like last year, the site was very difficult to navigate. When I wrote to my contact this is what he said.
“You can ask a family member or friend to assist, if required.
If you are still having difficulty, please feel free to contact me directly upon your return and I will gladly assist you over the phone.”
Now, there are some who would quickly say that this official offered a solution but for me, the statement that I can ask a family member or friend reflects that he simply did not respond in the true spirit of understanding the meaning of accessibility and independence.
Yes, he offered a solution but no! Just the words that I could ask a family member or friend just tells me that it is same old same old! The City of Toronto still has to go a long way to training their customer agents in the rudiments of accessibility and awareness.
Just my two cents for today.
Image =: “An aerial photo of downtown Toronto, including the iconic CN Tower, at dawn. The sky is just starting to turn pink and there’s a bit of morning fog.”
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