News | Leave a Comment on An Open Letter To Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Hajdu, and Minister Qualtrough Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines From Barrier Free Canada / Canada sans Barrières

An Open Letter To Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Hajdu, and Minister Qualtrough Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines From Barrier Free Canada / Canada sans Barrières

Monday, January 4th 2021 To: The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau,P.C., M.P. Prime Minister of Canada Office of the Prime Minister 80 Wellington Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2 justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca The Honourable Patty Hajdu, P.C., M.P. Minister of Health Health Canada Address Locator 0900C2 Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9 hcminister.ministresc@canada.ca The Honourable Carla Qualtrough, P.C., M.P. Minister ofContinue reading An Open Letter To Prime Minister Trudeau, Minister Hajdu, and Minister Qualtrough Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines From Barrier Free Canada / Canada sans Barrières

News | Leave a Comment on People with Disabilities Last in Line. A Disability Inclusion Plan. Finally … But Will It Deliver?

People with Disabilities Last in Line. A Disability Inclusion Plan. Finally … But Will It Deliver?

October 30th is the day that people with disabilities will begin to receive a one-time payment of $600 in recognition of the significant increase in expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The payout comes a full 14 weeks after authorizing legislation was finally passed following much political wrangling, five months after the financial package wasContinue reading People with Disabilities Last in Line. A Disability Inclusion Plan. Finally … But Will It Deliver?

News | Leave a Comment on Pandemic Has Changed The Way We Shop Grocery Stores Tracking Buying Patterns to Adapt to Consumers’ Needs

Pandemic Has Changed The Way We Shop Grocery Stores Tracking Buying Patterns to Adapt to Consumers’ Needs

It seemed like eons ago when supermarkets looked apocalyptic: empty shelves, lines snaking around the parking lot, shoppers with carts full of toilet paper and dried beans. A trip to the grocer might not be as nerve-wracking now compared to April, but things are far from being back to pre-COVID times. The grocery industry hasContinue reading Pandemic Has Changed The Way We Shop Grocery Stores Tracking Buying Patterns to Adapt to Consumers’ Needs

News | Leave a Comment on Report: Impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities

Report: Impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities

Report: Impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200827/dq200827c-eng.htm Related information: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200827/dq200827c-info-eng.htm PDF (183 KB): https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200827/dq200827c-eng.pdf This release is available in audio: https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/dai/btd/othervisuals/other018 The video “Impact of COVID-19 on Canadians living with long-term conditions and disabilities, American Sign Language https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/sc/video/coviD-19-sign-language is also available. Just over one-fifth of the Canadian population has one or more disabilities.Continue reading Report: Impacts of COVID-19 on Persons with Disabilities

News | Leave a Comment on Ontario Has No Plan for Kids with Disabilities, Critics Say

Ontario Has No Plan for Kids with Disabilities, Critics Say

Advocacy groups in Ontario say students with disabilities will face additional obstacles returning to class following the pandemic, leaving parents unsure if their children will be fully and safely included in school reopening plans. The Ontario Autism Coalition and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance held an online town hall meeting Friday toContinue reading Ontario Has No Plan for Kids with Disabilities, Critics Say

News | Leave a Comment on No Accomodation Available. One Blind Man’s Account of His Experience at the COVID Assessment Centre at Toronto Western Hospital

No Accomodation Available. One Blind Man’s Account of His Experience at the COVID Assessment Centre at Toronto Western Hospital

Hello community, I am offering the story in case it can be used as evidence in anyone’s healthcare advocacy and accessibility work. Yesterday I went to the Covid Assessment Centre at Toronto Western Hospital, in the Bank of Nova Scotia Building on the corner of Dundas St., West in Bathurst Street and Toronto. I wantedContinue reading No Accomodation Available. One Blind Man’s Account of His Experience at the COVID Assessment Centre at Toronto Western Hospital

News | Leave a Comment on Doctors Issuing Unlawful ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders For Disabled Covid Patients ‘Outrageous’

Doctors Issuing Unlawful ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders For Disabled Covid Patients ‘Outrageous’

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 surveyContinue reading Doctors Issuing Unlawful ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ Orders For Disabled Covid Patients ‘Outrageous’

News | Leave a Comment on Are Your Virtual Meetings Accessible for People with Disabilities? Start with This Checklist.

Are Your Virtual Meetings Accessible for People with Disabilities? Start with This Checklist.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way humans interact with one another. With an emphasis on less physical interaction and more social distancing, institutions and organizations are moving their work and meetings online. People with disabilities form about 15 percent of world population, so it is all the more important these online meetings are madeContinue reading Are Your Virtual Meetings Accessible for People with Disabilities? Start with This Checklist.

News | Leave a Comment on Travelling With Masks Makes Journeys More Difficult for Those With Hearing Loss

Travelling With Masks Makes Journeys More Difficult for Those With Hearing Loss

Even now, three months into COVID-19, the picture shocks. Five uniformed airport employees wear black helmets with dark visors that shield their eyes and blue medical masks covering their mouths. Their faces are completely hidden. The photo is from Qatar’s Hamad International Airport, where staff now wear helmets with infrared thermal imaging to take people’sContinue reading Travelling With Masks Makes Journeys More Difficult for Those With Hearing Loss

News | Leave a Comment on A True Dilemma of “Social” and “Physical” Distancing. By: Michelle Buckland, B.A.A. Passionate Learning Consultant

A True Dilemma of “Social” and “Physical” Distancing. By: Michelle Buckland, B.A.A. Passionate Learning Consultant

The COVID-19 crisis is new. It is requiring us all to act, interact and communicate in different ways than we are used to. Social distancing is the term you hear whenever you tune into any media source. In the current context, “social distancing” is understood as being a “physical” distance from another person to helpContinue reading A True Dilemma of “Social” and “Physical” Distancing. By: Michelle Buckland, B.A.A. Passionate Learning Consultant