Category: Access to Information

Canada’s Banks Changed for the Better Canadian Human rights Commission

Banks across Canada make an effort to ensure that their services are accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. Some banks offer brochures in braille. Others offer talking bank machines for people who cannot see touch screens. But these options were not always available.
In 1991, two banking customers, Chris and Marie Stark, were frustrated when they could not access important information about their mortgage and other bank services. Since they were both blind, the Starks could not read banking information that was only available in printed brochures.
The Starks filed a complaint under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The complaint was accepted by the Canadian Human Rights Commission. It was resolved in an out-of-court settlement in 1996. The case inspired Canada’s banking system to make important changes. In 1997, Canada became the first country in the world to offer talking ATM machines to better serve people who are blind or partially sighted.

Milestones of Human Rights in Canada | Canadian Human Rights Commission

http://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/milestones-human-rights-canada

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MARJORIE FULTON: LIFELONG ADVOCATE By: Sara Bennett, CBM Associate Editor

Editor’s Note: Marjorie Fulton, who passed away on November 15, 2009, was an advocate on accessibility issues for people with disabilities, including sitting on AEBC’s Copyright Subcommittee. Below is an outline of Ms. Fulton’s advocacy journey, based on some of Marjorie’s own writings.

Marjorie Fulton was born on her family’s farm in Manitoba in 1931. At age ten, she lost her sight from progressive myopia and enrolled in the School for the Blind in Brantford, Ontario. A bright student, she left the school after grade 12 at the age of 16, and in 1952 earned a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Manitoba. She was assisted by volunteer readers, as this was before the advent of tape recorders, and by friends who acted as sighted guides, as orientation and mobility training had not been available at the school for the blind at the time of her attendance. It was when she was a Social Work student, in fact, that Marjorie learned how to use a white cane. She would acquire her first guide dog in 1988.

After graduating from university, Marjorie worked at the Winnipeg YWCA for nine years, where she lobbied for increased minimum wages for sewing factory workers and for a change in policy to allow pregnant women to stay in the residence. When she moved to Family Services of Winnipeg, she contributed to the improvement of Manitoba’s family laws. But it really wasn’t until the 1970s that she began advocating on disability issues, like being part of a group that persuaded the Winnipeg public library, as well as the provincial public library system, to develop and provide through interlibrary loan a collection of audio materials, including both talking books for the blind and commercially available audio tapes.

By the late ’70s, the Independent Living Movement, which sought to replace the medical model of disability with a social model, had reached Manitoba. The province’s disabled citizens, through their involvement with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, were instrumental in triggering the Special Parliamentary Committee on the Handicapped during the International Year of Disabled Persons, 1981. At the time, Marjorie was arranging for the preparation and distribution of audio and braille copies of conference documents, but when the Parliamentary Committee’s report “Obstacles” resulted in an amendment to the Human Rights Act–adding disability as prohibited grounds for discrimination–and the position of policy analyst opened up, Marjorie got the job. She moved to Ottawa in 1982 to begin working for the Canadian Human Rights Commission. According to Marjorie, perhaps a quarter of the complaints filed under the act were based on disability and this proportion did not lessen over the years.

In 1989, Marjorie began working at Human Resources Development Canada in the Employment Equity Program. This legislation required federally regulated businesses–banks, airlines, broadcasters etc.–federal contractors and the federal government itself to recruit and retain women, visible minorities, Aboriginal people and persons with disabilities in proportion to their representation in the workforce. Its best results, according to Marjorie, was its application to contractors doing business with the Canadian government.

After her “retirement”, and in response to suggestions from some blind Ottawa residents, Marjorie put together a brief on the need for accessible pedestrian signals, which eventually succeeded in getting the city to adopt a comprehensive policy. Also, as a member of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities’ (CCD) Access to Information Committee, she helped to develop a Canadian standard for accessible banking machines, which eventually resulted in some banks installing such machines. Similarly, she got involved in proceedings related to the revision of the Canadian Copyright Act. As it was necessary to secure permission from the copyright holder to produce material in accessible formats, a process that often resulted in delays in getting such things as textbooks, Marjorie and others sought a requirement that publishers provide accessible alternatives for comparable charges on request. Instead, an exemption now means that it is no longer an infringement of copyright to make an accessible version. Through CCD, Marjorie also lobbied the publishers’ associations to begin depositing their own electronic files with a central repository, from which alternative versions could be produced as needed. This is still taking shape.

“The world has treated me very generously,” Marjorie wrote in an item about her advocacy work. “I had a loving family and supportive friends. I was also fortunate in timing, starting college just when farm income enabled my father to fund my post-secondary education, training for social work just when jobs were multiplying, and being a known activist when disability rights employment opened up.” But perhaps final credit for Marjorie’s advocacy efforts should go to what she learned both personally and as a social worker: “What stayed with me was that, in maturing, you stop waiting for Santa Claus, and instead become Santa Claus, taking action to address your own needs.”

BLIND MONITOR

Volume 30, Summer/Fall 2010 Voice of the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
The Canadian – Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
www.blindcanadians.ca/sites/aebc/files/docs/cbm/31/cbm31.doc

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Furnace, Speak to Us! By Chris and Marie Stark by Chris and Marie Stark

Editor’s Note: Chris and Marie Stark are long-time advocates for increased access, universal design and true inclusion for persons who are blind. They live in Ottawa, Ontario.

“It’s 6:30 a.m. Please hurry,” the talking alarm clock tells us. Picking up the bedside phone, we disarm the home alarm system and are told that the internal temperature is 18 degrees and outside it’s minus ten. We figure it is much too cold to get out of bed, but a couple of telephone keystrokes later, the furnace speaks through the phone and tells us it is now set to 21 degrees and rumbles into life.

Welcome to another day in the Stark household.

When our children left the nest, and we decided to purchase a newly built bungalow in an adult life style community, our desire to live independently was our guiding principle. We were seeking a level of integration where technology would enhance our abilities and would contribute to our quality of life. In our dream home, we wanted to obtain an array of services that met our needs, and that we could use efficiently, and at the same cost as our sighted neighbours.

We wanted to know about smart house design techniques such as programmable thermostats, environmental and security equipment that can be operated without visual prompts, audio house locators, intercoms and phones whose features were not screen dependent, appliances with accessibility features, lighting considerations, and other cost effective design hints for persons who are blind.

We were disappointed in the lack of information available from the building industry about the choices that could help homeowners who are blind. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, for example, did not have any relevant information for people who have disabilities, besides that for people who use wheelchairs. Organizations for the blind, like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), had no experience or advice to offer in this area.

This lack of information made us feel like we were experimenters–on our own, once again.

One of our biggest problems was obtaining information such as operating manuals, satellite or cable channel guides and feature sheets in formats we could read. We need electronic information files without columns, graphics and charts. Compared to braille, or printing costs, for that matter, meeting our customer service need for information is simple, within the capability of most companies, and relatively inexpensive.

We set out to equip our new house with smart home technology, without the accessibility barriers of visual only on-screen programming and menus, or keypads we cannot feel.

We did lots of research and talked to many persons who are blind, in search of solutions to annoying barriers. We thought that the simpler the solution, the more effective and usable it would be. Solutions that work would be a mix of traditional devices and experimental technology, together with ingenuity. We did find some solutions, but often at a higher cost than our neighbours.

The outside lights are now integrated into our talking smart home security system. We can program them ourselves, so they are turned on and off at the appropriate times, according to changes in daylight or dark.

We considered using a home sound emitting locator device to help us find our house, but opted for a low-tech solution. A wind chime provides confirmation that our guide dogs are on the right track.

The integrated automatic garage door opening system gives us quick access to the garage, where we dry our guide dogs and clean the mud off them before entering the house.

A front door voice intercom allows us to check who has rung the doorbell, from speakers located in key places within our home. This system also announces when a door or window is opened, and which one. Being surprised in your own home, or having to open a door without knowing who is there, are legitimate security concerns. Looking through the window or peephole to see who is there is something most homeowners do automatically. We can now also choose to send the unwanted salesperson away, without opening the door.

The intercom system allows us to communicate without having to yell from one end of the house to the other, and not really hearing the message clearly. The call for supper now comes over the intercom, which has replaced the old dinner gong.

We continue to have difficulty with phone service accessibility, including call answering, voice mail and call display. We did try a small talking caller ID device, but found it did not provide all the information we need, at the same cost as those who can see. No two phone models have the same key layout, and function key labels are neither tactile nor audible. Speed dialing features, furthermore, require the operator to use visual prompts on the screen. We are still seeking solutions to some of these phone barriers.

As alluded to earlier, we can use our telephone to control the security system, some lights, heating and air conditioning, with voice prompts and action confirmations via voice or beeps. This can also be done through telephones outside our home, which is a convenient feature.

We have high speed internet connection with multiple computers simultaneously and independently accessing the world, using email, surfing the web and listening to online radio. We can scan documents, such as operating manuals and product directions, and then read them with our refreshable braille display or talking computers.

In-house email and file transfer capacity between computers is important for us as no two persons use the same equipment configurations. We have a Residential Universal Network (RUN) box for distributing computer, phone and video signals throughout the house.

Our VCR has talking on-screen programming that lets us set the event timer, by ourselves, to record programs. We only wish that the new digital television and DVD player on-screen programming had been introduced with an audio option, which would have given us easy access to this entertainment information.

Since we have access to multiple independent computer, television, radio and Internet capabilities, we both can watch different programs at the same time–Marie her hockey or football game, and Chris the news. We have hooked up a small transmitter to one of our computers, and we can now broadcast Internet programs through the house and pick them up on any radio, even in the backyard!

We have acquired a new clock that sings to us on the hour with different bird melodies, but which mercifully has a sensor that stops it from singing after dark, just like the real creatures in the trees!

Our electric stove has a numeric keypad that has been labeled in braille, which enables us to set oven temperatures and other functions like self-cleaning and timers by ourselves, with accuracy and confidence. The stove also beeps when dinner is ready. There are now some talking microwaves available, but we will use our old one until it gives up the struggle.

There are still some kitchen challenges we have not totally solved. For instance, we still have to label some products with braille, in order to identify them, and package directions are still inaccessible. The braille cookbook provides good recipes, as long as we get the right ingredients from the packages, with print-only labels and instructions!

One type of information we have and need is the weight given us as we step onto our talking scales. On second thought, maybe we could do without that information, after all!

This article appears in
CBM v. 20 – Home and Community

http://www.blindcanadians.ca/publications/cbm/20/furnace-speak-us

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* Braille phone bills give blind more independence: Needing others to read statements reduces privacy, woman says

About 600 words and just as many numbers. Fine print,
graphics, charts, dates and explanations. That’s your monthly phone bill. But say your eyesight was failing. How would you read it?

Two months ago, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) forced phone companies and their subsidiaries to provide bills in braille, large print or
electronic format for the visually impaired. The CRTC ruled on a
case launched by a middle-aged blind man from Ottawa more than five years ago.

With so many companies offering competitive long distance and
cellular packages, the regulatory body deemed it unjust
discrimination to deny blind customers the necessary tools to make
informed consumer choices.

And not a moment too soon, said CRTC spokesperson Campbell Laidlaw. Canada’s aging population will increasingly need help to read all that small print.

“Its implications were and remain quite profound,” said Laidlaw,
director of consumer policy. “It and subsequent rulings are
indicative of the awareness of people who are disabled that not only do they have rights they can exercise, but technology abounds to
meet their requirements.”

Edmonton physiotherapist Janet Brandly has been blind since birth and recalled, as a university student, having to hire someone with sight to read through her mail once a week. A confessed control
freak, Brandly resented someone else going through her bills and she couldn’t always be sure every word was read.

“It comes down to the privacy issue. As blind people, we have to
give up a lot of privacy that sighted people don’t. Even something
as simple as the mail,” said Brandly, whose sighted husband reads
through the bills. “I think the principle of billing in alternative
format is long overdue. We just have to make sure it’s handled
properly.”

* That means privacy again. If companies contract out braille
services, third parties have access to people’s private information.
“There must be a clause, a safety net built in there to protect
information,” she said.

Telus spokesperson Nick Culo said Telus has been providing
alternative billing for the visually impaired for about four years.
The latest CRTC ruling requires major carriers such as Telus and
Bell to ensure its long distance resellers, such as Sears or
Zellers, provide the same billing options on demand.

Right now, about 1,200 Alberta and British Columbia customers get
* their bills in large type, 50 get braille bills and 20 receive
electronic diskettes which run off expensive software to vocalize
text for users.

Telus electronically transfers billing information to the Canadian
National Institute for the Blind which then transforms them into the preferred braille or electronic format and mails them to customers. All Telus privacy rules and regulations apply to CNIB staff, Culo said, and customers sign a waiver permitting their bills be handled by a third party. It costs Telus $20 for each braille or electronic bill. Large print bills are produced in-house.

Chris Stark and his wife, Marie, launched a series of complaints
against Bell Canada in 1997 which led to a host of new CRTC rules
favouring the blind.

“It ain’t charity and it ain’t perks and it ain’t something
special. It’s the cost of doing business as the population greys,”
said 54-year-old Stark from his home near Ottawa. “It’s a mark of
our independence to read a bill and see a rate change and a service
charge and understand it. You can’t make a choice on what’s best for you if you can’t read the information.”

CNIB has about 9,000 clients in Alberta, two thirds of whom are 65
years old or older. Nearly half of all clients have macular
degeneration — blurry central vision which affects mostly the
elderly. Only about five per cent of blind people are proficient in
* braille.
–

Sunday, June 2, 2002BYLINE Lisa Gregoire, Journal Staff Writer Edmonton Journal

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LEGAL GROUP TAKES ON PHONE FIRMS OVER LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY

LEGAL GROUP TAKES ON PHONE FIRMS OVER LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY
By: Helen Henderson

Editor’s Note: The following article is reprinted from the Toronto Star, October 4, 2003.

*Image: Head shot of Chris Stark and Marie Stark.

More than a decade ago, after George Bush Sr. was elected President of the United States, American pollster Louis Harris did a survey. The Harris poll showed 50 percent of the votes that secured the election for Bush Sr. in 1988 were a direct result of his support for what would become the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act.

We have no way of knowing the role played in this week’s Ontario election by the Conservatives’ weak, ineffectual 2002 Ontarians With Disabilities Act. Indeed, so few surveys are taken on disability issues anywhere in Canada, there’s little wonder that related policy decisions are few and far between. If you’re interested in seeing what research has been done, one of the best places to go is right here in Toronto.

ARCH: A Legal Resource Centre for Persons with Disabilities has been gathering information for more than 20 years. It’s about to formally open a library housing a wealth of information on everything from human rights and employment to accessibility. (See details below about an open house.) It’s also in the midst of a David-and-Goliath battle, pitting a blind couple against major telecommunications giants like Bell Canada and Telus. The outcome could affect the way all of us use telephone products in future, so it’s a good time to start paying attention.

ARCH, which started in 1980 as the Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped, specializes in precedent-setting cases. At issue in the battle over telephone equipment is whether the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) should regulate it and, if so, what kind of regulations are needed to make sure people with disabilities can use it easily.

Think about the rapidly growing array of telephones, electronic message pads, hand-held computers and the like. They have thousands of applications that rely on visual acuity and manual dexterity. If your fingers have difficulty pinpointing targets, how do you master a tiny, cramped keyboard? If you are blind and there’s no uniformity in the way keys are placed, how do you know whether you’re pushing “hold” or “redial”? And what use is call display for screening calls?

Chris and Marie Stark, an Ottawa couple, have fought long and hard to help those with so-called perfect vision see the other side of the coin.

Because of the Starks and other pioneering advocates, banks have tried to make automatic teller machines more accessible to people with disabilities. But the marketers of telephone equipment haven’t been so accommodating.

The technology exists to use audio instead of visual cues. And it’s not difficult to manufacture raised symbols that can be identified by touch. But Canadian marketers have chosen, by and large, to ignore accessibility issues.

The Starks note that phone keypad layouts are not consistent and function keys are seldom at the same place, even on different models from the same manufacturer. “The most frustrating thing about this issue is that all the equipment is new,” says Marie Stark. “It was developed without considering the needs of people who are blind. Operation without sight thus becomes an after-the-fact retrofit, rather than a design element to ensure that the terminal is usable by as many people as possible.”

The Starks initially took their complaint to the Canadian Human Rights Commission. It referred the issue to the CRTC.

The Ottawa couple hopes regulation by the commission would, among other things, force manufacturers to build in accommodation for customers who are blind. ARCH has joined the battle, hoping to get the commission to recognize the needs of all people with disabilities.

“The goal is to improve the quality of life for others,” says Stark. And that includes able-bodied people. Take car cellphones, for example. A driver who has to reach out and press buttons to make a phone call does not have both hands on the wheel. If phone numbers could be reached by giving voice commands, it would be safer and more convenient for everyone, Stark points out.

The CRTC suspended proceedings on the issue, saying it wants more time to do research on the accessibility of telephone equipment.

ARCH has already consulted a number of disability groups but it is still interested in hearing from anyone with ideas to share, says staff lawyer Lana Kerzner. You can email her at kerznel@lao.on.ca More information is also available on the CRTC’s website: www.crtc.gc.ca

Reprinted with permission–Torstar Syndication Services.

ADVOCACY AND PERSONAL EMPOWERMENT
By: Chris and Marie Stark

*Image: Chris Stark and Marie Stark with dogs Ritchie and Zena

Editor’s Note: Chris and Marie Stark are long-time advocates for increased access, universal design and true inclusion for blind persons. They live in Ottawa.

People who are blind, deaf-blind and partially sighted have been sucker punched for years by product and service providers, who say that universal design and retrofits are too costly to ensure usability for all.

But advocacy provides a practical vehicle for change and empowerment, and it can have a direct positive impact on quality of life and personal well-being.

In 1996, we settled a human rights complaint with the Royal Bank of Canada on condition they develop and implement an accessible automated banking machine (ABM). The first accessible ABM was introduced in Ottawa in 1997.

Once the technology was proven, we believed access to most ABM’s in Canada would follow. Seven years later, however, less than one percent of ABM’s can be used independently by blind Canadians and none by People who are deaf-blind.

We first received our bank, credit card and other statements in braille, but we kept pushing and now we can get most of that information online or via email. The Royal Bank has made its websites and telephone banking service reasonably functional for people who are blind.

But exclusion is a chronic problem, and it is a part of Canadian corporate culture. Nowhere is this more evident than the telecommunications sector.

In the mid 90’s, we first became entangled with Bell Canada over a plan to charge people who are blind for directory assistance, even though they didn’t provide us with accessible phone books. Other decisions related to pay phone and yellow page accessibility, and the provision of phone bills we can read independently. A decade later, we are still struggling to gain equal and equitable service, like in the use of cell phones.

Television service providers apparently didn’t think they had to serve people who are blind either.

When we asked the weather network to make its visuals accessible, it offered a separate, inferior and not-real-time information weather broadcast service designed especially for “the Blind”.

We asked that cable companies like Rogers make their channel line-ups, bills and terms and conditions of service available to us in formats we can read. They were ordered to do so.

Again, we expected that awareness of our needs would lead to inclusion. Imagine our consternation when digital television came along with on-screen programming menus that we cannot use!

On a more local level, the ability to vote privately and independently in municipal elections has long been a fundamental issue for persons who are blind. In the good old days, citizens who are blind were asked to bring someone to mark their ballots or election officials occasionally insisted on marking the ballots. On one memorable occasion, we were forced to go into the utility closet among the mops and brooms and verbalize our selection to an election official. We did this in order to cast as secret a ballot as possible given the inaccessibility of the voting process at the time, including the lack of ballots we could use independently.

More recently, we were offered a template with our ballot, along with a list of candidates in large print and braille. We placed our marked ballots in a privacy sleeve and inserted it into the machine ourselves. We felt confident that our votes were counted accurately. As the machine will indicate if a ballot is unmarked, destroy the ballot and direct the voter to cast another ballot, gone are the days of spoiled ballots, which was always a concern for voters who are blind.

Sidewalks, or lack thereof, are a never-ending community issue. We do not like walking along the curb on the edge of streets. It is hazardous to move around cars that are parked in the road.

We have had many sidewalks built as retrofits. The first was along a busy street so that we could walk our six-year-old daughter to dance class in safety. At first we were told not to worry because drivers could see that we were blind and would react accordingly. We pointed out that drivers could not see a white cane against a snowbank in a blizzard. It was a lovely sidewalk that enabled us to go to several stores as well, and others use it today with their children.

Access to information is perhaps the greatest barrier that we face as citizens who are blind in attempting to live independently. The strongest case for readable material centres around the right to know what you are paying for, including hydro, water and property tax bills. Technology has made providing this information easier, and we now get some sent to us electronically and securely over the internet.

Obtaining shopping information is a continuing challenge. Some stores like the local market will email us their specials. After a prolonged and protracted struggle with Canadian Tire involving a human rights complaint, its website and e-flyer were made usable. Zellers, M and M Meats and a few other chains have dabbled in making their sales flyers accessible to persons who are blind.

One of our information needs is for grocery store specials. For many years, again after a human rights complaint, The IGA in our former community made its specials available to us and provided a store person to assist with shopping. When we moved, Loblaws became the largest nearby grocery store. We asked for its flyer, and after a letter to the President pointing out the irony in having a Loblaws Charitable Foundation while refusing to provide sales information in a readable form to people who are blind, the flyer was provided for a time. More recently, however, the employee responsible for this work left, and we have been waiting for the service to resume. We will have to fight this battle a second time.

It is discouraging that new services start out as inaccessible and informed consumer choice is still not a practical reality for Canadians who are blind. Universal access is still dependent on individual initiative.

Here are a few do’s and don’ts that we have found helpful:

Be specific in the demand, expressing clearly what you want and why.

Be explicit about why the existing arrangement is not appropriate. Often this relates to equal access.

Be careful not to let the service provider pass your request off to a charity.

Be prepared for the exclusion arguments like: number of users; too costly; who do you represent?; what do the experts in blindness think?; who else must we consult?; and who else is doing it?.

Try to prevent the issue from taking on a life of its own–requiring studies, standards and other excuses–something that hinders the development of a solution now.

Try to avoid solutions that segregate or are labelled “special”–solutions just for you.

Try to work with the appropriate officials, but be clear that the price of cooperation is progress now.

Be prepared to go outside the system in order to remove resistance, like by involving the media, elected representatives or regulatory bodies.

Do not apologize for your commitment, beliefs or feelings.

Decide how much effort the issue is worth in terms of your valuable time and stamina, and be prepared to walk away sometimes with just the satisfaction of trying.

To us, advocacy means personal choice and commitment. It is a life force for bettering our human condition and a value to be cherished. Self-advocacy is a lifelong occupation–from the cradle to the grave.

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Voting is a Challenge

Trying to vote is a challenge

Finally, we have identified an experience more painful than visiting the dentist. In Ontario, voting for us, persons who are blind, is more traumatic than a root canal procedure.

Shortly after the 1999 election was called, we received a print only information sheet. We called Elections Ontario for a copy in a format we, as voters who are blind, could read. We were informed that a tape recording had been ordered from CNIB but no delivery time was known and we should call back in a few weeks. After going to and fro for some time, it was agreed to send us an electronic version by the Internet.

At the same time, we requested, for the first time, information about how persons who are blind vote and our accessibility options for casting our ballots. There was no information offered or available but we were told that we would receive a call back at a later time. We never did, and several subsequent requests were similarly filed away without the requested information ever being sent to us.

Next in the voting process came the enumeration card in print only. It would have been nice to have had some tactile marking or even a braille name on all cards, so that when people who are blind received them, it would be possible to separate these cards from the junk mail.

Because we could not vote on election day, we called for information about the advance poll. We called the Returning Office for our area for information about advanced polls and the provisions to facilitate the casting of secret ballots by voters who are blind. We were told that the locations were published in the newspapers. We were further told that we HAD to use a notched ballot. A later conversation with the Chief Returning Officer for Gloucester Carleton confirmed this information. We were further brusquely notified that she was concerned with the needs of “the broader masses”. The advance poll locations had not been selected with accessibility in mind and adequate, frequent public transportation service was not a consideration for selection.

The next morning, one day prior to the advanced poll, we managed to speak with the chief electoral officer for the province.

The conversation commenced with him delivering a lengthy lecture on why we should not use a template. He did not recommend them. He said that thousands of templates had been printed and circulated through the province. Very few would be used. It was a waste of money. It was further stated that the notched ballots were tested with eight persons who were blind. However, he was unable to tell us how to use them to vote with confidence.

With respect to the location of polling stations and advanced polling locations, we were informed once again that the information was published in the newspapers. We were told that at the bottom of the advertisement was a request that family and friends inform people who could not read about the information in the advertisements of voting locations and related information. As we indicated that we had no friends or acquaintances who were willing to do this for us, it was agreed to send us an e-mail with locations, dates and hours of operation of advanced polling stations we could use. He did call the local returning officer and after some time the templates were located and an assurance was given that they would be available. However, since they were discovered on the day prior to the advanced poll, we were apprehensive that no one had been trained on how to provide information and directions to voters arriving at polling locations without the ability to access print direction signs. Staff most likely would not know how to prepare the ballot with
the template for proper use by a voter who is blind.

So, it was with trepidation and uncertainty that we faced the challenge of voting in the advance poll. We called for directions from the bus stop to the polling station. Despite self identifying several times that we were persons who are blind the directions consisted over and over of the confident statement that “you will see the signs.” We finally determined after persistent questioning that the polling station was five doors down a strip mall after a parking lot next to a Macdonald’s restaurant.

We set out on local busses to vote. Before we would return home, it would be two and a half hours later. Eventually, we arrived at the strip mall in an adjacent suburb. The pathway from the street was half the width of a sidewalk and sloped on the side of a bank. We crossed in front of the repair bays of a garage and encountered an even narrower sidewalk blocked by open doors and gas feeder pipes and valves, to mention just a few of the obstacles that made the sidewalk impassable. Eventually, we were assisted through the building and entered the voting station.

It seems that the back of the industrial building faced the street and not the front. While there, several sighted voters came in and voiced concern about the difficulty they experienced finding the location. For us, it was finally time to vote.

The template and ballot was proffered and we marked our x. The attendant was not able to describe the way to fold the ballot and this meant that one of us folded it with the voting surface exposed. It would have been helpful to be told that the ballot has three creases in it, fold the left hand section over the middle and then the right hand section with the notches over the top of the other two. If the notches are on the left of the folded ballot it is folded in a way to preserve the secrecy of the vote cast. Finally, we found a valuable use for the notches as tactile folding markers.

Marking our x was also made very difficult because of the small size of the spaces for placing an x and thus the small size of the template holes. These spaces are at least three times smaller than the spaces provided on ballots in federal elections. This stingy space means that you can not use a second finger in the space provided to feel where the pencil point is as you mark an x. The federal system works and Ontario should seriously and honestly review its election procedures to ensure a welcoming and helpful environment for citizens who are blind to vote. We voted but felt like second class citizens whose vote was discouraged at every step of the way by Election Ontario officials.

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THE URBAN KILLING FIELDS

“It’s a mine field!” “It’s really hazardous out there.” “It’s life threatening.” “It’s a product of an unthinking and uncaring society.” These are just a few of the phrases used by people who are blind to describe today’s beautiful, well-planned, resident-friendly suburban neighbourhoods.

Planners, architects and traffic engineers are well paid to design communities that meet the needs of our society, but do not seem to consider the needs of people who are blind. Apparently, we are not significant enough.

Politicians, however, are finding out that we are a significant segment of the community. Politicians are also finding out just how bad suburban designs are. It would have been cheap to make the suburban environment a safe place for all if we had started from scratch. Now it will cost big bucks to retrofit. Persons who are blind have human rights that democracy does not supersede. Even though money is tight, the deficit is growing and revenues are dropping, the needs of persons with disabilities must be met.

“Majority rules” or “the will of the people” are inadequate excuses when a whole segment of the population is being neglected. Politicians are becoming increasingly embarrassed at being put in the position of publicly having to defend negligence and behaviour by municipalities that threatens the lives of people who are blind.

It might have seemed logical as a cost-saving measure to not require subdivision developers to put at least one sidewalk on each street. But now people who are blind are expected to play “chicken” with moving vehicles as we share the same thoroughfare. It is hard to appreciate the original logic while cars are honking at you to get out of the way.

Parking is allowed on both sides of many of these “sidewalk-less” streets. They, in effect, become one lane roads with traffic in both directions and pedestrians who are blind competing for the centre of the road. In the winter, only one lane is ploughed down the centre of these streets because of the parked vehicles. In 1992, a frustrated official of our city told us that our street was not a street that people who are blind should live on. In other words, the problem of a lack of sidewalks was our fault for being blind.

When they reside on one side of the road, sidewalks will seldom meet. Pedestrians are constantly crossing the road from one side to the other to stay on the sidewalks. People who are blind are confused by this “dungeons and dragons” unconnected maze. We become disoriented and lost, to say nothing of repeatedly crossing the street looking for the sidewalk so we can stay out of the path of fast-moving vehicles.

Sidewalks are now frequently built next to the road without a grass divider separating them. In addition to having the feature of exposing pedestrians to drenchings from fast-moving vehicles, this design has the advantage of increasing the noise level and effectively reducing the usefulness of hearing for people who are blind.

Many obstacles populate our sidewalks as a matter of custom and usage: parked cars sticking out of driveways, signs, sandwich boards, bicycles, mail boxes, poles, newspaper dispensers, merchandise, chip wagons, awnings jutting at head level, improperly barricaded construction holes, construction equipment, parking meters in the middle of the sidewalk instead of at curb side and a host of other examples of the brick-a-brack of every day life.

You may think that this is pretty trivial stuff. Perhaps a few of my anecdotes will change your mind. We have had accidents with all of the above examples of obstacles. Oh yes! The response of the police is without fail that there is no by-law. We are concerned with traffic offences and crime. Ensuring order and public safety does not include pedestrian safety at all. The police are unwilling to help and have suggested when we express our concerns that we are creating a public nuisance.

I can tell you that walking into a bicycle handle bar or falling on concrete after tripping over a bicycle wheel really hurts. So does falling over a tricycle or getting your cane caught in the wheels of a doll carriage, but this is usually accompanied later by neighbours checking out the trike or carriage with concern to see if it is broken.

A driver looking to the left to make a right hand turn into the traffic on a fast moving street drove onto the sidewalk and flattened this unsuspecting person who is blind. With the return of consciousness came the awareness of a sermon being delivered by the motorist about “looking where you are going on the sidewalk”. So it’s the fault of the person who is blind for not seeing the sighted driver?

A nail puncture in my shoulder is the souvenir of a collision with a construction bin on wheels piled high with rubble being pushed out of a work site by a person who could not see where he was going over the top of the rubble.

A white cane does not give the average user enough warning time to stop moving into the unknown after it taps thin air. A particularly nasty fall into a partially barricaded hole in the middle of a crosswalk helped me make the decision to get a guide dog. These wonderful animals, however, bring with them their own set of urban hazards. Unleashed pets are a real danger. Glass, unbagged or canned garbage on the street and chemicals used to control weeds can threaten a dog’s health. Drivers who sometimes think I am sighted when they do not see my dog at the curb because he is beneath their field of vision think it is all right to play “chicken” with me. This is an unwanted game of Russian Roulette. Such games of chance in which the odds are stacked against the unsuspecting victim can be fatal.

Now that we have made our way through the uncharted mine field to the street corner, the battle begins in earnest. This is the area of maximum peril for people who are blind. We have no warning radar, protective armour or white flag of truce. At most corners, it is “Pedestrian beware”. There are no pedestrian safety laws. All the laws are written from the perspective of the motor vehicle operator. Laws permit vehicles to turn on red lights, except in “la belle province”. This vehicle movement on a red light is a particularly dangerous hazard for people who are blind. Our lives are in the hands of these people’s judgement. Hardly a week goes by without a close call.

The worst of it all is that when there is an accident, rarely is the vehicle operator held negligent. Blindness seems to carry with it its own inherent negligence and guilt because of our defencelessness in the sighted persons’ territory. The most famous case of this type occurred outside the office building of a well-known rehabilitation agency for persons who are blind, when a blind man was killed as he walked across a road on the crosswalk. The death was judged an accident because the driver did not see the blind person. The blind person’s lack of vision was fatal.

In the good old days, corners were true right angles. This ninety-degree angle allowed us to travel in straight lines across intersections by lining up with the angle.

Then came along a creative designer who figured out that vehicles could travel through intersections faster if the intersection curb was rounded. Now it is impossible to know when you have reached the corner. There are not even tactile markings. Guide dogs have the same problem since their training relies on the “straight line” concept and the user’s ability to line up with the intersection in the direction she or he wishes to cross the road. The rounded curb is a new and very dangerous menace for us.

These same creative traffic engineers figured out that if islands were placed in the intersection, cars could move even faster with access lanes that allowed right hand turns without even coming to a stop at the intersection. Now people who are blind or who have guiding vision have to cross these lanes to reach the islands and the area where traffic is controlled by the lights. Of course, the driver approaches from behind the pedestrian and cannot see a cane and the pedestrian’s body blocks his guide dog. The driver thinks that it is just one more sighted person who can see him coming and will use his sight to know when to swerve out of the way.

Finding these islands from a rounded curb with traffic which does not stop for pedestrians regardless of the colour of the lights is a killing field for people who are blind. Now, add to this insanity the needs of people who use wheelchairs without regard for people with sensory disabilities and an impossible challenge is created. The first curb cuts were built at the crosswalks. People who are blind started strolling into the middle of intersections, believing they were still on a safe sidewalk. The warning of the curb was gone. Now, to save money, curb cuts are built in the middle of the corner so that one will service both directions. We now can step into the intersection at a forty-five-degree angle and double our risk by jay walking without any warning.

In winter, the sides of these curb cuts become very icy and cause numerous accidents for people who are blind. They cannot see the curb cuts and thus do not line up on the it correctly or avoid it all together. Inevitably, the street snow plough ends up plugging the ends of sidewalks at the intersections after the sidewalks have been ploughed. This lack of co-ordination and failure to clear the ends of sidewalks is very disorienting as it buries the curb. The curb is key to safe mobility for people who are blind. Needless to say, scaling snow banks in close proximity to moving traffic is a particularly nasty game of chance, as is walking on a “sidewalk-less” street in the winter where the white cane blends into the snow flakes and snow bank.

Some intersections have unique traffic light patterns where cars in one direction are given a preference to turn across the path of traffic in the opposite direction. Listening to traffic motion does not give us warning of this circumstance. There is even an intersection we know of where there are only crosswalks on three of the four sides. There are not any barricades on the fourth side as there are in England to warn the unsuspecting pedestrian, only visual signs.

At many intersections, it is possible to judge the status of the lights by the noises made by moving traffic. Where the traffic flow volume is not even in all directions we need help from audible traffic signals. Their sound need only be at a volume just a hint above the environmental noise level of the intersection. When a new set of suitable traffic signals were erected in our neighbourhood, they sounded like air raid sirens. They were audible from blocks away. They probably would have shattered crystal. The response to our inquiry about the loudness of the signals was a declaration with pride that “They are so loud, people who are profoundly deaf can hear them.”

What is needed is understanding and planning for all needs. A first step in this process is acceptance of the fact that blindness really means a lack of sight. This is a self-evident truth that has yet to be believed by urban planners, architects, designers, traffic engineers and the elected officials who oversee their grandiose schemes.

This oversight is unfathomable in the face of known fact. According to Transport Canada transportation fatality statistics, pedestrian deaths are one of the top three causes of death in Canada today. People who are blind helped to elect these officials too, and it is high time that municipally-elected office holders started representing us all!

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Then and Now – Is anyone Listening

One evening in 1990, we received a call from Irene Lambert, a founder of the Montréal chapter of AEBC. She said that the phone company was going to charge for directory assistance and not give her a phone book she could read. She asked if anything could be done. This request started a fifteen year struggle with the Canadian Radio Television Commission(CRTC) which culminated in the 2008 hearing and report on accessible phone and television services.

While this particular need was solved early on and free directory assistance for persons who are blind was ordered, that was only the tip of the iceberg of inaccessibility.

Subsequently, numerous broadcasting, cell phone and telephone complaints have been filed and treated as nuisances by the CRTC, even though we were known by the CRTC to be paying more for services because of in-accessible features, or going without these services for the same reason.

. Canadian carriers must provide, upon request, billing statements and billing inserts in Braille, large print or on computer diskette. The Commission also found that a carrier may also provide billing information in any other alternative format(s) mutually agreed upon between the carrier and its visually impaired customer.

customers must be advised of the availability of new services. In Order 96-1191, the Commission ordered Bell to send an insert in Braille to its visually impaired subscribers and to report on other steps taken to advise them of the availability of billing information in alternative formats.

. The Commission considers that Canadian carriers involved in the provision of public pay telephones should be required to install sets that provide, at a minimum, certain functionalities, when they replace or upgrade their existing sets or when they install pay telephones in new locations.

a) a more tactile key pad, larger buttons on the keypad spread further apart than standard sets;
b) bright, contrasting-colour coin and/or card mechanisms to make them easier to see;
c) a feature which enables the user to start the call over if an error is made;
d) a screen which displays context-sensitive dialling instructions in a larger size than can be accommodated with printed instruction cards;
e) a card-reader for a variety of telephone cards; and
f) voice prompts to assist in placing calls or using features.

The CRTC observed that same functionality would help with cell phone and terminals sold to the public. Most of these mandated services, particularly notice of service change and enhancements, are not regularly provided today.

The CRTC itself must bear most of the responsibility and accountability for the shocking lack of access for people who are blind. The Commission could have, and should have, made accessibility a condition of its decisions to forbear regulating telephone terminals, cell phones, and set-top boxes. Furthermore, when matters are brought to the Commission for help, our experience is that the Commission fosters an adjudicative confrontational environment where citizens are pitted against gaggles of company lawyers, service provider associations, and those types of profiteers.

Quote from Report on Interactive Television Services from CRTC begins.
6.6 Accessibility (for persons with Disabilities)

Two parties, the Starks and the “ AEBC “() raised concerns about the accessibility of new technologies, equipment and services for people who are blind or partially sighted. They pointed out that digital set top boxes now provide detailed information in a print format that is unusable to people who are blind or partially sighted.

They stated that digital terminals should be able to provide on-screen information in an accessible format, both in large print and synthetic speech. It recommended that if such technologies do not already exist, the introduction of interactive digital services should be stopped so that the industry can ensure that the equipment used to provide such services is accessible.

The Starks called upon the Commission to take a more proactive stance when it comes to addressing accessibility issues. They were critical of the Commission for not addressing the need for access in its public notices and proceedings.

The Starks recommended that no digital service should be licensed or renewed, and no set-top box should be allowed to be attached to the broadcasting system until the ability of the company and the technology to serve people who are blind has been put in the equipment

Nearly a year after the report of the CRTC hearing was released, little improvement has been seen. People who are blind still face the technological barriers of Canada’s telephone and broadcasting services, as informationally disadvantaged citizens.

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We’re Talkin’ Baseball

Sunday, July 24, 1994

We’re Talkin’ Baseball on CJAD

I’m Jim Fanning, talkin’ baseball on CJAD — and I want to tell you about the nice people you meet at the ball game. A couple from Ottawa sat by me last night — they arrived about the 4th inning accompanied by two beautiful golden retrievers.

They had tickets in the Disabled Section but asked of an expo employee if they could possibly have a-little better seats to better see the game. They were obliged — and ended up sitting by me.

I heard the employee say — “Oh, you’re sitting by Jim Fanning – he’ll tell you about the game.” The lady then made my day — “Oh, Jim Fanning, we listen to you every morning and the Sunday show. She said CJAD was their station for the sports — and that they listen to Expos games on CFRA in Ottawa or CKCH, the French station.

Well, Marie and Chris Stark – two great Expos fans are blind — yet they see so much. Marie attended the Nazareth school for the Blind here in Montreal and CHris, the school for the blind in Halifax — they then went to university and are both gainfully employed in Ottawa. They have a 16 and 20 year old – who, incidentally, don’t like baseball.

It started for Marie at 16 – at Jarry Park in 1969 – as she was taken to games by her brother and father. She had the sports pages read to her — she started talking about Rusty, Coco, Mack and all the others like it was yesterday. Her brother Michael, runs Sportsman in Trave and puts together the annual West Coast Tour — which Marie and Chris took last year. — As Chris said, it was great seeing the west coast parks — but it was tough listening to the out of town broadcasters … and how they missed Dave VanHorne — who they’ve listened to for 26 years and they fondly talked of Dave and Russ, Dave and Duke, Dave and Jim and Dave and Ken — they Met Ken Singleton on the trip last year and were thrilled. As Chris addeed. “What makes the games so great is the broadcasts.”

Oh, Yes, the seeing eye dogs… Luna and Quincy — they rested peacefully at the feet of their masters. They had their toys and bones to remind them of home. Chris said the crowds don’t bother them, but the Fireworks in San Diego sure did…

And… do they know their baseball. they continually worked the volume up and down on their radios — when Wetteland came on to pitch, Marie said. “Jim, I don’t like it when John goes to his slider when his FastBall is so good.” I was giving them the speeds on Wettlenads FB –93, 94, 95.. Chris asked if I was getting those numbers off the message board — 1 said, No., the Seattle scout beside me had a radar gun…

They are very anxious to go to Chicago and see Wrigley Field — and sing along with Harry Carey…

At one point Marie turned to me and said, “Wasn’t that some kind of All Star game – and see all those Expos there.” Then as we were leaving, she asked, why don’t they sing Valderee-Valdera anymore — alomst on cue — the departing fans started to sing that very song.

Marie told me the only time she misses anything is when there’s so much rackett. well, there was plenty of that last night….

Of course, I asked a lot of questions. . .How’d you get here — by train… Who came with you to the park. . . No one — our dogs took us – they know the way. . We never have a problem.

As we were leaving I said, what can I do for you….Chris said, “Well, we always need a rest room after a game and our dogs need a little grass… On our way to the rest room – I’m trying to think now — where is the closest grass….Chris said, oh we’ll take you there — it’s the door just next to the Expos Boutique. There I led them — though it wasn’t necessary — and sure enough, there was a nice patch of grass… When these important needs were taken care of and we were back in the rotunda they said.. “OK, we’ll see you — we’re headed for the metro — our dogs will take us home — we’ll be back tomorrow and for the Atlanta series.

I watched them disappear into the crowd — not losing a step — and knew they were more confident than any of the thousands who were headed that way. I know one thing for sure — they were two of the happiest. …

Chris and Marie Stark don’t see the game as I do — But, man, they see it all.

I’m Jim Fanning, talkin’ baseball on CJAD.

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Service to Travellers with Disabilities

The length of the line of passengers never diminishes, despite the work being done. In the midst of this crowd, you are confronted with a passenger who does not put her bag on the counter as you have asked her to do. Do not jump to the conclusion that this passenger is uncooperative and trying to make a difficult situation more so for you. She might be a traveller with an invisible disability, such as a hearing or cognitive disability, who has not received the information which others often take for granted. Perhaps your view of her cane or guide dog has been obstructed by the service counter. Perhaps she is a person in a wheelchair who cannot reach up to the counter. Don’t succumb to the pressure of the situation. Take the time to determine why this passenger has not conformed to the standard procedure. Maybe it’s a person with a disability for whom the standard procedure is an obstacle.

When in doubt, particularly if the traveller with a disability seems to be confused or under stress, politely ask “How may I be of assistance to you?” and identify yourself as a transportation provider’s representative. It is important to identify yourself because the person may not be able to see your uniform or name badge and therefore may not accept your help because she or he thinks it is being offered by an untrained but well meaning fellow passenger. A person with a disability will appreciate the gesture and either decline or accept your offer of assistance since she or he is the person most knowledgeable about her or his disability. You will need to ascertain how much and what type of help is preferred and you should be prepared to provide a great deal of assistance to one person with a disability and perhaps not as much, if any, to the next person with a similar disability.

Always state what you are about to do. Having a hot cup of coffee cup placed in one’s hand can be a shock. Also, there is no need to shout or speak differently to a person with a disability. Always speak directly to a person with a disability and not through that person’s companion, if one is present. The “companion” may simply be another passing traveller who has stopped to exchange pleasantries. Attendants, escorts or interpreters assist disabled persons — they do not make decisions for or represent persons with disabilities.

If you notice that a person is not responding to your voice or to the announcements emanating from the public address system, get her or his attention by discreetly waving your hand or tapping her or him on the shoulder. This is a common approach deaf people use to get each other’s attention and it is as natural as a hearing person’s “Excuse me…”.

A few deaf people read lips well enough to carry on a comfortable conversation. A majority do not. At best, only 25 to 40 percent of words spoken can be lipread, so this is a limited means of communication. Most deaf people prefer to communicate with a pad and pencil for the sake of accuracy. Gestures, sign language, fingerspelling, facial expressions, etc. are other means of relaying messages. If a deaf person does not seem comfortable reading your lips, use a pad and pencil.

If you are guiding a blind person, let that individual take your arm, or, if the person has limited guiding vision or a guide dog, walk beside you. The person will be using your body as a guide. Describe the surroundings and provide an indication of potential obstacles such as stairs, partitions, open doors, or overhanging objects. If you are giving a blind person documents, explain what they are, when they will be needed and provide assistance in completing customs forms and other similar documents. You may be asked to provide aircraft, food tray, or terminal facility orientation to a blind person. The verbal picture you paint is as important as a glance. Use the image of a clock to provide direction, for example, “Your salad is in the top left hand corner of the tray at approximately 11 o’clock”. When you leave, always tell a blind person that you are going. There’s nothing worse than to be talking to yourself in public.

If you tell a person with disability that you will return in ten minutes, even if the flight is delayed, come back in ten minutes and renew the contact. Never forget a commitment to a traveller with a disability and keep her or him informed of any changes as they occur. During the waiting period it is also helpful to tell the traveller with a disability how to find a transportation company representative should assistance be required in between your contacts.

Persons who use wheelchairs prefer to remain in their own chairs as long as possible as these chairs are often custom-fitted. Furthermore, many wheelchair users prefer to perform seat transfers in private to avoid public attention.

You Can make a difference.

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Self-Interest Advocacy Personal empowerment

As those senior moments become more frequent, quality of life becomes increasingly important. As we age with dignity, the desire to enjoy life becomes stronger. Retirement is imminent. Comfort, security and enjoyment are life forces growing in strength.

We have long wanted to do an article on personal advocacy. It provides a practical vehicle to empower the individual to carve out access n an inhospitable world.

Advocacy can have a practical and direct positive impact on quality of life and personal well-being. We share the following experiences in an effort to illustrate the power of advocacy.

As time dragged and expressions of boredom were uttered, a University reader once said that the older you get the faster time flies and the days will pass you buy. Since time has reached supersonic speed now for us, we have to pick our projects and efforts to create change. We are too old to change the world. We can, however, have a positive impact on our community. We are fortunate that today in Canada the action is at the grass roots. Downloading has meant that the buck stops with community government. This level of government has the most direct and immediate impact on daily life.

Lack of ability to vote in municipal elections independently was a fundamental issue In the good old days – citizens who are blind would be asked to bring someone to mark their ballots. Election officials would occasionally insist on marking the ballot for voters who are blind. Poling stations would be set up at locations without sidewalks to them from the nearest bus stop .

On one memorable occasion, we asked to be able to tell our choice in secret and we were closed in the utility closet among the mops and brooms so that we could preserve secrecy of our selection when we told the election official how we wanted our ballot marked.

In most recent municipal elections, we were offered several choices. A template was offered with our ballot. A list of candidates in large print and Braille was provided. When we marked our ballots, we placed it in a privacy sleeve and inserted it into the machine ourselves. It worked the first time and we felt confident that we marked the ballot as we wished to and our choice was counted. As an aside, the machine will indicate if a ballot is not marked, destroy the spoiled ballot and the voter is told to redo their voting. Gone are the days of spoiled ballots which was always a big concern for us voters who are blind.

Lack of sidewalks is a never-ending issue. We do not like walking along the curb on the edge of streets. We believe that all urban streets should have at least a sidewalk on one side of the street. Modern urban planners save money by eliminating sidewalks on collector residential streets. It only takes one vehicle to kill a person who is blind. Without sidewalks pedestrians who are blind are weaving in and out of the middle of the street as they pass by parked vehicles along the curb. It can be done, but in our view it is hazardous.

We have had many sidewalks built as retrofits. The first sidewalk we had built was along a busy street so that we could walk our six year old daughter to dance class with safety. At first, we were told not to worry about the lack of sidewalks as drivers could see and would react to our blindness. We used absurdity to shame officials into building it as we pointed out that drivers could not see a white cane against a white snow bank in a blizzard. It was a lovely sidewalk that enabled us to go to several stores too. Others now use it with their children today.

On another memorable occasion, we had a sidewalk built because the existing sidewalk ended at the base of a tree at a corner. A prominent citizen vehemently opposed our request. However, after a newspaper picture of city waist: building a sidewalks for animals to reach their favorite tree for relieving a compromise magically appeared and the sidewalk was built around the tree. All were happy and later on the City received an award for environmental sensitivity in urban development for this sidewalk which meandered around the prized tree. We even had a platform built after a train left us off in a snow drift a quarter of a mile from the nearest building with a baby in arms in sub zero weather.

There is a long list of poles, fire hydrants and litter boxes which we have had moved from the middle of the sidewalk to the side of the sidewalk to eliminate this artificially and unnecessarily created safety hazard.

As people who are blind, we even have had a road completed. When we moved to a new development, the promised bus service was not offered because an unrelated developer was not going to build his section of the road for a few years. Intervention by a caring city councilor on our behalf and a lone with interest from the City to the developer got the road completed and we now have bus service. For the record so do about a thousand other families and the express bus is packed most of the time .

Another urban challenge is crossing streets at light controlled intersections. Audible pedestrian signals are available that chirp when the walk hand is white and are effective. For years, there was resistance. We could not understand the logic that said that people who can see need lights, crosswalks and signage to help them cross an intersection but people who are blind should do it safely without any equivalent information. Installations were done on a case by case basis after a vigorous challenge involving traffic counts and consultations with not for profit charitable organizations like CNIB to validate the consumers request. It took years to get an intersection equipped with audible pedestrian signage. We banded together with other dissatisfied consumers and created a working group. Council accepted our recommendation that all new and retrofitted traffic control systems at intersections were to be equipped with audible pedestrian signals. So when an intersection was equipped with traffic lights in our new community all we had to do was push the walk light button and the miracle of sound came. Gone were the years of pleading, arguing and time consuming meetings where the person who is blind needing the help is the only one not paid to be there and prolong the process. Eventually the problem will be eliminated, as all the traffic lights in the City are replaced. We will then have a truly universal design solution for all.

Access to information is the greatest barrier which we have to cope with as citizens who are blind attempting to live independently in the community. The strongest case for readable material centers around the right to know what you are paying for including telephone bills, hydro bills, water bills and property taxes. Technology has made providing this information easier, as we now get all electronically sent to us securely over the internet. Gas, cable bills and other costs like life insurance are provided when we want them. Since the costs are constant and not metered we find annual statements work well and help to mark the passage of time year after year.

Obtaining shopping information is a continuing challenge. Some stores like the local market will e mail us their specials. After a prolonged and protracted struggle with Canadian Tire involving a human rights complaint their web site and e-flyer were made usable. Unfortunately, this commitment to access by Canadian Tire has gradually eroded overtime. Zellers, M and M Meats and a few other chains have dabbled in making their sales flyers accessible to persons who are blind using adaptive technology. Our greatest need is for grocery store specials. For many years, again after a human rights complaint, The IGA in our former community made its specials available to us and provided a store person to assist us with shopping. When we moved, we found Loblaws to be the large grocery store near us. We asked for their flyer, and after a letter to their president pointing out the dichotomy between having a Loblaws Charitable Foundation and refusing to provide sales information in a readable form to people who are blind, the flyer was provided for a time. Then the person doing the work left the company and we have been patiently waiting for nearly a year for them to start again. Regrettably we have had to fight that battle for the second time. Now Loblaw’s has set up an accessible flyer service on their web site. While others, once again, took credit for our accomplishment to further their charitable ambitions, we, never the less, reap the benefit. What is difficult to understand is why other grocery chains like Sobies have not done the same. Obviously a complaint should bring about resolution of systemic problems when resolved.

The bottom line is financial records. We first received bank statements, credit card statements and the like in Braille. We kept pushing and now we can get most of that information on line as the Royal Bank has made its web sites reasonably functional for people who are blind. The telephone banking service also is very functional. Now we can track transactions in real time. We still receive our VISA statements by e mail too because it is the only way to track the actual amount billed on the print statement The monthly statement is the demand for payment and it is necessary to know this figure to manage interest charges. Canada Customs and Revenue Agency deserves a lot of credit for making it possible to file tax returns independently in the format most convenient to filers who are blind. The accessible forms are right on the web site side by side with the traditional forms.

Restaurant menus usable by diners without sight is also problematic. Most American chains with Canadian restaurants like Dennies will have Braille menus. Some have menus on their web sites which can be used to plan the eating experience before we go out to dine. In future, we will have talking menus but today we have to make do.

Self-advocacy is a never ending life long occupation. It is a cradle to grave activity. Some of our advocacy challenges today are asking for contemporary services in a mainstream solution like: screen phones, cell phones, on-screen programming, and web based information.

It is a source of discouragement that new services start out as inaccessible as small print to people who are blind. Informed Consumer choice is still not a practical reality for persons who are blind in Canada today. Universal access is still dependent on individual initiative. Here are a few doos and don’ts that we have found helpful:
Be specific in the demand

Be specific about what you want and why

Be explicit about why the existing arrangement is not appropriate equal access

Be careful not to let the service provider pass your request off to a charity

Be prepared for the exclusion rationales like: the number of users, the too costly argument, the who do you represent legitimization , what do the experts in blindness think, who else must we consult with and who else is doing it.

Try to prevent the issue from taking on a life of its own requiring studies, standards and other excuses to avoid a solution now

Try to avoid solutions that segregate or are labeled SPECIAL just for you

Try to work with the responsible officials but be clear about the fact that the price of cooperation is progress now

Be prepared to go outside the structure to remove resistance by involving the media, the elected representatives or the regulatory bodies.

Do not apologize for your commitment, beliefs, feelings and emotions.

Decide how much effort the issue is worth in your valuable time and stamina and be prepared to walk away with the pride of trying at that point ,

If the issue did not mean something to you personally, then it was not worth spending time working on in the first place. To us, advocacy is a personal commitment. Advocacy is a life force for bettering our human condition. Self-advocacy is self-interest and a value to be cherished. Advocacy is true integration.

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SEE-THROUGH BARRIERS Making Conferences and Events Accessible to People who are Blind. by MARIE LAPORTE-STARK

Most of us attend meetings, conferences and exhibits, whether for work, community involvement or personal interest. Unfortunately, people who are blind frequently encounter barriers preventing their full participation.

Even in the United States, where the Americans with Disabilities Act should have brought the U.S. light-years ahead of Canada, people who are blind routinely encounter accessibility problems. This is surprising, since all we need are a few low-cost or no-cost items.

Accessibility features (including Braille or large print documents) are available at most major gatherings of people with disabilities and even at some mainstream events. What’s often overlooked are a few simple steps which could make people who are blind feel welcome. Here are some ideas:

THE ANNOUNCEMENT
Promotional material should invite participants to advise of their needs in advance and mention the availability of material in alternate formats. Avoid using the word “special”, as these needs are not frills.

If possible, circulate notices electronically. Many people who are blind have access to computers with speech readout, refreshable Braille displays or enlarged characters on conventional monitors.

Too often, people are referred to a website for access information. People who are blind have difficulty accessing materials in a Windows environment because of design barriers such as graphics, frames, charts and formats such as Adobe Acrobat. If you must refer people to a website, always provide the address, particularly if Intranets are used for distribution. Ensure that the website and Intranet site meet World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) access standards.

Call people with visual disabilities before the event to give details about room layout and amenities. You can provide basic orientation, such as the route from the nearest bus stop to the event, and washroom locations. If simultaneous translation is available, describe how translation units are acquired and the location of the equipment table. Discuss the best way to access slides or other visual aids used by presenters.

All staff working at the event should know how to provide directions and other orientation information to participants who are blind.

THE FACILITY
When choosing a location, consider people who do not drive. Is the bus service adequate? Are there sidewalks? If the event is in a multi-use building, is there someone at the entrance to give directions? Is the route from the entrance to the event uncluttered and free from obstacles that are not cane detectable? In meeting rooms, ensure that cables, wires and microphones don’t block traffic.

REGISTRATION
When officials greet people who are blind, it is important that they identify themselves and ask how they can assist during the event. Some people will not want assistance, while others will ask to be guided. If you’re guiding, the person will take your arm and walk a pace or so behind you to obtain directional information from your body movement. If they are using a guide dog, they may ask the animal to follow you. It is appreciated if you describe the surroundings, including obstructions, as you approach them. When showing someone to a seat, indicate that you are going to place their hand on the back of the chair to facilitate orientation and seating.

Registration desks can be particularly disorienting as they are frequently in noisy and crowded open spaces. It is often impossible for staff at the desks to see the end of the line of people waiting to register. And it is also difficult for people who are blind to find the start of the line and move through it without touching strangers. People with visual disabilities may also be singled out by a staff person repeatedly yelling, “Next!”, “Over here!” or “Come here!” accompanied by hand gestures and an increasingly frantic voice. It would be most helpful if someone could monitor the line and discretely ask people with visual disabilities if they could assist. Do not reprimand someone who is blind for not being in line. It is frequently easier to find the table than the end of the line. Guide them to the appropriate waiting area.

When someone who is blind approaches the registration table, explain the registration process and signage information. Go through options and choices, including cost implications. Do not assume that people who have a visually disability will want the cheapest possible choice available.

If nametags are used, have a tactile indicator to show the top, so that the tag can be put on the right way up. You can put the tag on for the guest, but ask first. If there are colour or other codes on the tag, explain them, so the person who is blind can find coded activities.

Review the information kit and explain all documents. People receiving alternate formats should also be given the printed kit. This is frequently needed for their company’s files or discussion with colleagues. The kit may also contain promotional items and product samples.

Be sure to mention display tables or coffee services before the person leaves the registration table.

STARTING THE EVENT
The first announcement at each event should include the topics to be covered. This is vitally important when there are simultaneous activities. The announcement should identify the speaker, and mention amenities in the room. These would include: location of beverage services, water bowls for guide dogs, officials who could offer assistance, procedures for obtaining simultaneous translation devices, locations of microphones and how they’re activated, where to find washrooms, the time of the first break, and relieving areas for guide dogs.

CHAIRING THE EVENT
At smaller meetings the chairperson could ask everybody to identify themselves and mention their organizational affiliation. At larger gatherings, each speaker could be asked to identify themselves before speaking for the first time.

Remember that, during open discussions, people who are blind will not know the way from their seat to the floor microphone or when the microphone has been activated. Nor will they know whom the chair has recognized to speak or when they themselves have been recognized. After each question, the chair should say who will speak after the next participant. This allows people who are blind to know if they are in the speakers’ line-up and who else is going to comment.

Recognizing each speaker in turn helps those who cannot see to know when another person has finished speaking and not just paused for a second to consult their written notes. It is difficult to know when it is appropriate to jump in and speak without some visual or verbal clues. Frequently, people who are blind have to be overly forceful to have their comments heard at meetings because they are often passed over when only visual indications are used. Microphones activated with a toggle switch, rather than a push-button and red light can be helpful.

PRESENTERS
It is important that presenters verbalize visual presentations. This does not mean screens must be read verbatim. The message conveyed by each image can easily be woven into the verbal narration. “This slide shows…” leaves the audience members who are blind out of the loop. However, if you read the bottom line of the graph, chart or diagram, this not only helps people with visual disabilities, it also reinforces the message for others.

If complex matters, such as proposed legislation, are discussed the chairperson could summarize each element before discussion starts. An overview of comments could be given, by offering concluding remarks on each point before moving on. This helps all participants follow the discussion and keep their place in documents.

Recognize that people who take notes need extra time. Repeat contact information several times, speak slowly and use numbers to replace bullets when there’s a list of items. Provide descriptive verbal imaging of pictures used in presentations.

Verbalization can enhance and strengthen the power and effectiveness of any presentation. It is not costly or difficult. Just pretend part of your audience is listening on the radio or telephone.

LUNCHES AND RECEPTIONS
Self-service meals also present obstacles. Announcing the menu before meal breaks allows everyone to know the choices offered. Some people who are blind may prefer to go through the buffet line-up while others may prefer to be served at a table. Available options should be announced.

Many people who are blind feel uncomfortable when colleagues have to provide assistance rather than enjoying their own break. Having well-trained, catering service staff available to discretely assist, greatly increases the integration of participants who are blind.

At receptions, the microphone could be used for more than fancy speeches by dignitaries. Announcements about what’s offered help everyone to enjoy a social event. For instance, “This evening we have three buffets and two bars. With your back to the entrance door, there is a bar with an attendant to the right of the door where cocktails are available. Using the same reference point, you will find, in the far left-hand back corner, a self-service table for wine. At the island in the centre of the room, are warm items including pizza, potato skins, chicken wings…”

It is frustrating to be asked what you’d like to eat when you have no idea of the choices available. Preferences aside, food and other environmental allergies make this situation particularly hazardous. The vulnerability of people who are blind is substantially increased when it becomes necessary to rely on strangers, without official status, for help, directions or selecting food. It is also helpful to advise catering staff to announce the food they have available as they approach different groups of people at the reception, such as a tray of hors d’oeuvres, and what the selection is.

EXHIBITS AND DISPLAYS
While maps and diagrams can be helpful at exhibitions, some people who are blind find it difficult to conceptualize this information. Braille and really large print maps are heavy to carry and difficult to use when standing. Written orientation material, sent before the meeting, allows advanced planning. During the event, directions can be given over the microphone.

Most exhibits are in large open halls with many booths. Having straight aisles with 90-degree turns and, if possible, different textured carpet in the aisles and booths can be helpful. So can hand-level Braille and eye-level large print signs on a cane detectable pedestal at each end of every booth. Some people who are blind will start at one end of an exhibit hall and work their way across the hall from booth to booth, asking the name of each booth and what is being displayed. Handouts enable the person to take away as much information as possible to review with a reader or scanner. However, having alternate formats at the booth is always appreciated. A verbal description of the display pictures or a loop tape that provides descriptive narration of the content of the booth can be helpful.

Although vendors tend to avoid the clustering concept, it is helpful if all booths of a particular type are grouped into theme areas such as kitchen appliances, gardening supplies and so on, like a department store. So, if people have a particular interest, they can visit one area rather than hunting for the booths of interest scattered among other exhibits.

Sometimes, organizations or schools will provide volunteers to assist at an exhibition. These volunteers could be used to guide people who are blind around the exhibit hall.
Although this article focuses on low-cost or no-cost access measures, a reference to infrared talking signs is warranted. It is possible to install a system that will indicate the name of a booth and other information when a small hand-held device is pointed in the general direction of the booth.

ADJOURNMENT
By trying to incorporate as many of these suggestions as possible at your next event, you can make people with visual disabilities feel welcome.

(Marie Laporte-Stark is an advocate and freelance writer living in Ottawa, Ontario.)

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Fence Jumping By Chris Stark

On Canada Day, it is appropriate to reflect on life in this country as a citizen who is blind. Much has changed in my lifetime. Much has not. The opportunities, experiences and exclusions are descriptive of the diverse nature of Canadian society.

School was in a residential institution. Sent from home at age five for ten months of each year in order to learn was my childhood reality. It was an artificial world inside a fence to keep the world out. I remember the taunts of kids going to the public school down the road. Other vivid memories were having to pay older boys a penny in order to be allowed to go to the bathroom, sitting on a knotty wooden floor for ten hours as punishment for not conforming/obeying, and labelled “the village idiot” by the teaching staff.

However, I was fortunate, as school was a crucible of independence and self-reliance. I learned to think for myself, judge what was good for me and fight viciously for opportunity. Career counselling consisted of demanding I decide between working in a canteen, or receiving a pension for the blind.

Surviving school gave me the drive to go to university, when all said I could not do it, and graduate with high honours. I found my first job at age 16 moving wet soggy pea vines around, because no one else wanted a job for seventy cents an hour that covered you with green vegetable dye after each 12 hour night shift. I graduated to sorting soiled laundry in a hospital, and eventually became a manager in a big office serving the public.

Even before I finished school, I started paying taxes and have done so each year since. I have raised a family, and now our two children are living independently, paying taxes and making their own contributions to Canada.

These accomplishments represent lots of fence jumping. Fighting for a sidewalk in order to be able to bring our children to dance lessons safely, arguing for the opportunity to vote secretly in municipal elections, and ability to obtain money from an accessible automated banking machine that verbalizes the prompts, are representative of the thorny barriers to full participation surmounted.

It is tempting to lie back and stay safely behind the fences of exclusion. New technology has resulted in the physical fences being surpassed by higher virtual barriers that are just as virulent in their denial of opportunity and enhanced quality of life. Today we seek appliances with controls that can be operated with touch and with audible cues, cell phones that have audio output of screen prompts, on-screen information for television that is verbalized by digital set top boxes that are accessible and usable by blind people, as well as manuals and assembly instructions for new equipment, and public health information that can be read without sight.

Yes, I have run out of many fenced-in constraints, but each escape seems to lead to a new stockade. When will Canada embrace all, including persons who are blind, in the marketplace of life’s opportunities. Quality of benefit is still the dream. .

As the senior years approach, it is painfully evident that the disability supports are few and far between. Participation is resisted, such as when we were told not to join a walking group in our community because it was unsafe. Health information and prescription directions are not offered in usable formats. Information on home modifications for people who are blind is practically non-existent from CMHC.

Fence busting can make a big difference. As a taxpayer, I look to public bodies to create the positive environment that leads to smoothing out the steeple chase of life. As a Canadian who is blind, it is discouraging to be repeatedly told that the only option to denial of service is to file a complaint.

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DO YOU HAVE A RESERVATION?

The hospitality industry is striving to keep its market share and to keep its rooms occupied. Competition is stiff. Customer service and satisfaction are key elements in strategies to keep and expand market share. Does this strategy extend to guests who are blind?

The experiences of frequent travellers Marie and Chris Stark in Canadian hotels suggest that the needs of the potential market of travellers who are blind are not understood or met by this country’s hotels. This is surprising given that meeting the needs of people who are blind costs very little in comparison to the costs of installing physical accessibility features such as ramps and automatic door openers.

Simple “low cost/no cost” measures would substantially improve the comfort and independence of guests who, like Marie and Chris Stark, are blind. The repeat business that would be generated by the growing number of travellers like the Starks would more than pay for the cost of the measures suggested here:

– Is there a sidewalk from the entrance of the hotel to the street?

– Are there tactile markings and colour-coding on the curbs, stairs and entrance doors?

– Have all sandwich signs, protruding objects or other obstructions been removed from the entrance area?

– Are doors, particularly glass doors, easy to perceive and open?

– Is there a designated patch of earth with a garbage can close by on the hotel property and near the hotel entrance for the use of guide dogs?

– Is the check-in desk near the door?

– Are there way-finding cues for persons who are blind to find the right wicket or to line up?

A negative answer to any of these questions can mean an obstacle to persons who are blind.

Perhaps planners and designers never conceived of the possibility that Marie and Chris Stark would want to travel independently. The drive for independence, together with the availability of mobility aids such as guide dogs, have liberated persons who are blind from being dependent on others for everyday activities. The Starks are independently mobile, on the move and they expect equal service. Lack of accommodation is a source of frustration and humiliation for them. More and more professional and business travellers who are blind find that the lack of accessibility measures constitutes a career impediment. Persons who are blind can be forced into a dependent relationship with work colleagues, business partners or competitors. Such a relationship can make a person who is blind appear less capable than a sighted person. For example, sighted persons can read things like direction signs and room numbers for themselves. Persons who are blind must be able to do these things, too.

Chris Stark imagines receiving a hotel orientation and familiarization package in braille, large print or audio-recorded form. It would tell him about the hotel’s amenities, its location and hours of operation, just like the small ink-print books that most guests find in their rooms and take for granted. In addition, this alternative media orientation kit would explain how the air-conditioning and heating thermostats in the room are operated, the layout of the remote control for the television, the workings of the in-room clock radio and whether one must dial “8” or “9” to get an outside line to make a local phone call. It would even indicate how to determine the contents of those little bottles in the bathroom.

If there is an electronic locking system on the room doors, a tactile marking on the card to indicate the correct side up and the right end in to open the door would be helpful. It can be as cheap and simple as a piece of scotch tape on the door card that would otherwise be a smooth surface with no message that is discernible to Chris Stark. It would also help if the locking mechanism made a “click” sound when the connection is made, in addition to the open door light.

Another essential feature of accessibility at hotels for people who are blind are raised, brightly coloured numbers on the room doors. Tactile markings and voice announcement systems on elevators would also help persons who are blind feel more relaxed and comfortable at a hotel.

Not surprisingly, however, a well-trained professional staff who understand the varied needs of people with disabilities can be the key to a successful visit. Such staff understand that people who are blind require information in verbal form. Neither Chris or Marie Stark will see at a glance what is available in the way of services and amenities. Responses to their questions and requests for directions must be in direct and explicit language. When giving directions, people can also use sound and sensory cues like “The elevators are past the water fountain, next to the flower stand”.

One real difficulty Marie and Chris Stark have encountered as hotel guests is being assigned a room designed for the accessibility needs of people who use wheelchairs. Chris has had to kneel down to hang up his coat and then bumped his head on the shelf when standing back up, while Marie has struggled with toilet levers and flush chains in unfamiliar locations. Few things are more frustrating than feeling along a wall or floor behind a toilet, looking for the flush.

Some hoteliers really care and try to accommodate all people with disabilities. Many, however, do not understand the accommodation needs of people who are blind. In turn, there are no accurate rating systems to help Marie and Chris Stark make good accommodation selections. Most tourism departments publish directories of accommodations, but when Marie asks about the needs of people who are blind, the ensuing silence is telling. Little or no attention has been given to these needs.

When Marie and Chris Stark travel, they look for hotels with service-oriented staff and user-friendly physical layouts and locations. They look for a hotel with doorpersons to provide orientation and directions. It is time for an accessibility rating and a directory of hotels that really accommodate people who are blind.

If the “payback” period for a relatively small investment is short, why have most hotels not already made accommodations for their guests who are blind? The answer lies in the general lack of understanding by Canadian society of blindness, its nature and effects. This lack of awareness results in facilities being certified and promoted as accessible that are not designed to meet the needs of all persons with disabilities.

Both the hospitality industry and government need to recognize that the approach to accessibility to date is seriously flawed. Action needs to be taken to make accessibility a universal concept.

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A VISION OF CULTURE

A VISION OF CULTURE BY: CHRISTOPHER STARK
Blind persons are expressing a need for a sense of identity. This search for identity has resulted in a fresh examination of the traditional perceptions of blindness. This quest for a more meaningful self-concept has resulted in a re-examination of the traditional impressions of blindness. Blind persons are in the early stages of this quest. Current thinking in this formative stage of development has resulted in new questions being asked, New problems are emerging. New theories are evolving.

Early on in the process of seeking a new understanding of blindness, it becomes apparent that the traditional views are inadequate. No longer are the terms disabled or handicapped adequate to describe the nature of blindness. The goal of integration is being replaced with the desire to discover the cultural identity of blindness. This is virgin territory of thought: crying out for exploration and understanding. The importance or significance of this new philosophy is yet to be accepted and appreciated by the academic community or for that matter, the general public.

Can blindness be equated with the concept of culture? Perhaps one way of tackling this question would be to consider blindness in terms of the criteria listed in the Webster’s Dictionary for a culture. The dictionary lists six criteria relating to the concept of culture:

1)The act of developing the intellectual and moral
facilities, especially by education.

2)Expert care and training.

3) Enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training.

4)Acquaintance with and taste in fine arts, humanities, and
broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational
and technical skills

5)The integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action, and artifacts and depends upon
man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to
succeeding generations.

6)The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of
a racial, religious, or social group.

Part of the tradition of blindness is the accomplishments and contributions made by outstanding blind persons such as Helen Keller and Louis Braille. A number of blind persons such as Tom Sullivan, who wrote, “If You Can See What I Hear” have written extensively of their experiences and impressions of society. Such writings demonstrate the unique intellectual and moral development of blind persons. No longer do blind persons find it necessary to apologize for their blindness. It is more appropriate to take pride in their accomplishments and achievements of fellow blind persons. To derive strength from the accomplishments ” of “others. To admire excellence! Creating an awareness among blind persons and for that matter, the general public of their rich and vivid heritage is all part of the education process. In human terms it is difficult to deny the uniqueness of blindness.

Considerable time is spent by professionals who help individuals obtain the necessary skills to cope with the effects of blindness. The traditional approach to this training has been to emphasize the technical aspects of skills development such as: braille reading and writing, touch typing, orientation and mobility. Gradually, this approach is being modified to include an exposure to the emotional, ethnic, spiritual and historical aspects of blindness. Greater efforts are now being made by many blind persons to take expert care and training of the image of blindness and the impression created by the term. Blind persons have acquired an acquaintance and a taste in fine arts, humanities, and a broad aspect of science such as distinguished from vocational and technical skills. The-love of fine music and the skill of many blind persons in this field is well known. Blind persons appreciation and perception of fine art is also different than that of sighted persons. A blind persons impressions of art such as a sculpture or a painting differs from that of a sighted person. However, who is to say that a blind persons impressions are not as profound or significant as those derived by a person who has spent many hours gazing at an artistic wonder. Appreciation of art takes many forms. The expression of this appreciation by artists who are blind is worthy of exhibit. A blind persons capacity in the humanities and sciences has a uniqueness of it’s own. The fact that the emotional and aesthetic development of a blind person takes place with out the influence in part or in whole of the visual sense in itself indicates that there will be a difference in perception.

Blind persons have demonstrated an integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thought, speech, action and the artifacts of a culture, which depends upon man’s capacity to learn to transmit knowledge to successive generations. It soon becomes apparent to any one who associates with blind persons that they enjoy the company of one another. This common bond has too often been dismissed as trivia. This natural affinity has often been exploited. The concept of the herd of poor unfortunate blind persons attending a musical concert is a concept that society can easily relate to, The question of integration has clouded the issue and diverted attention from the question of cultural identity. Integrating a person in to a society for example, implies that person before he or she is integrated is somewhere else (the 5th Dimension perhaps?). This is an indefensible philosophical concept. Even if a person is not integrated, as we have come to understand the term, he is still a member of the community and has some effect on the overall social patterns of that society. Unfortunately, the concept of integration has evolved into a status symbol associated with program successor value judgements. Since the values used to make these judgements are not the values of a blind person, then it can be argued that the entire concept is inappropriate. Many blind persons have embraced these false values, “I am integrated! I married a sighted person. I work with a sighted person. All my friends are sighted-People.” Perhaps blind people prefer to associate on occasion with one another because of a common bond which transcends the notion of blindness as only a physical being. Is not this common being a result of a natural cultural affinity?

The application of values of others have often resulted in blind persons denying their heritage. Cultural assault on blindness has resulted in many blind persons feeling ashamed of their-roots.

Blind persons have yet to develop cultural defense mechanisms strong enough to protect blindness from this constant cultural raping. A poster put out by an Industrial Eye Safety Organization in Canada depicted a pure white cane and guide dog on a midnight black background with the bold message at the top, “AVOID THE CHOICE”! Although their motives were admirable, the affect is unfortunate. What impression of blindness is being conveyed by this image? Negative statements about blindness are often made with out realizing their deep significance. For example, the song that states, “There are none so blind as those who will not see” or the advertisement by an International Relief Agency raising funds which stated, “Illiteracy is Like Being Blind”, which was accompanied by a picture of a silhouette of a human form with bulbus pure white blank eyes, staring vacantly into nothingness signifying a lack of a cultural appreciation of blindness. Similar examples occur ‘every day.

The unique thoughts and actions of blind persons need to be examined in the light of a cultural prospective. The artifacts are numerous, The evolution of the white cane, braille writer and the many other aids and appliances used by blind persons have a profound influence on the culture of the blind. The many specialized skills used by blind persons to compensate for the non-¬availability of the visual sense (in part or in whole) are passed on from generation to generation. Each new generation of blind persons inherits this knowledge and adapts it and improves upon the accomplishments of previous generations. These are the cultural traits of a social group. The customs, beliefs, and social forms of this social group have long been denied. They need to be respected. and appreciated for the well being of society. The Canadian fabric can be enriched by the culture of blindness in the same way that it has been enriched through the growing awareness of it’s language, ethnic and religious component cultures.

Recently a totally blind person stated, “if you are totally blind your perception of your identity and the identity of those around you is different. Blind persons make judgements on a different plane than sighted people. I appreciate sound not color. Attitude not appearance. Sincerity can be masked through changes in expression but rarely do people think to disguise the feelings expressed through the sound of their voice. A blind person may use different criteria to judge friendship”.

Through the concept of blindness as a culture an understanding of the aesthetic beauty of blindness emerges. An acceptance of blindness as a force for good, not a force for evil and an acceptance of the heritage of the blind as a valued aspect of the development of the fabric of the country. There is a need to discover and appreciate the contributions of blind persons in Canada in all fields ranging from the arts to the humanities. There is a need to foster an understanding of the role that blind persons have played in the heritage of Canada. To develop an official recognition of the characteristics and manners of cultural expressions of blind persons. To perceive and support the artistic traditions of the blind as they themselves perceive them. To catalogue and record the growth and ability of blind persons in working towards a mutual acceptance and awareness of the culture of the blind. To catalogue and record the contributions of blind persons in such fields as: the arts, the humanities, the evolution of communication (language, education, recorded forms, etc … skills development, opportunities, history, writings, social Patterns, recreation, sports, perception, and attitude. The undertakings of such projects can be a moving and rewarding experience for all Canadians.

Proposed Research Topics on Blindness

1. Blind Persons as Pedestrians

2. History of Blindness in Canada

3. Biographies of Individual Blind Persons

4. Blind Persons as Consumers

5. The Financial Implications of Blindness The Cost of Blindness

6. Socialization Without Sight

7. An Analysis of the Interaction Between Blind Persons and Volunteers

8. Blind Persons as Parents

9. The Effects of Blindness On Sighted Children of Blind Parents

10. The Heredity Factor and Blindness – An Emotional Evaluation

11. An Analysis of the Effects of the Isolation Tendency on Blind Persons and Deaf-Blind Persons

12. Blindness as Portrayed By the Media

13. The Tin Cup Syndrome

14, The Differences in Verbalization Between Blind Persons and Sighted Persons

15, Blind Persons and the Natural Environment

16, An Analysis of the Unique Aspirations and Goals of Blind Persons in the Recreation Field

17. The Fear of Vastness, ie., Water, Heights, etc.

18. The Role of Humor in Accommodating One’s Blindness

19. Blindness and Human Rights – The Consumer’s Perspective

20. Systemic Obstacles to the Advancement of Blind Persons

21. Reactions to Blindness by Blind Persons

22. Blind Persons Vision of Sightedness

23. Braille Art – Fact or Fancy

24. Institutional Cultural Denial – The Whys and Wherefores

25. Little Bo-Blind – The Effect of Paternalism on Human Development

26. The Institute for the Sighted

27. Blindness and Perception of Images

28. Aids and alliances negative impact on the Self Concept of the Sociological Effects of Blindness

29. Coping with Disabilities – Humanism Through Gadgetry

30. Conscious Streaming and Blindness

31. The Making of Misconceptions About Blind Persons

32. Blindness and the Struggle Between Good and Evil

33. The Evolution of Communication Skills

34. Attitudes of Blind Persons to Other Disabled Groups

35. Blindness – Dignity or Disgrace

36. Live Theater and the Blind

37. The Academics of Blindness

38. The Portrait of Blindness in Literature

39. The Portrait of Blindness in the Holy Bible

40. The Portrait of Blindness in Poetry and Art

41. Fantasies of Blind Persons

42. Illiteracy and Blind Persons – The Effects of Using Recorded Material In Place of Reading and Writing

43. The Faking of a Blind Man

44. Orientation and Visual Disabilities

45. Visually Impaired Persons Verses Totally Blind Persons – The Great Land Rush for Identity

46. Accessibility for the Blind – Sensitivity Verses Technology

47. Sociological Effects of Blindness on the Aging Process

48. The Psychological Impact of Blindness on the Work Place

49. Evolution of Attitudes Towards Blindness In Canada

50. Programming Self-Determination for Blind Persons

51. The Helping Motivation

52. Blind Persons and the Medical Profession

53. The Medical Perception of Blindness

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THE PRICE OF SOME BALLOTS to vote in elections

Voting in elections for people who are blind continues to be a process of indignity and a violation of our privacy and democratic right to cast a secret ballot with confidence. That we are making the choice on the ballot we intend
Only minor changes in federal, provincial and municipal elections have been made in the last 15 years. The barriers remain. .

THE CCD HORROR GAZETTE: THE PRICE OF SOME BALLOTS

edition -, July, 1999

Well-known activist Chris Stark of Ottawa claims he has discovered
something more painful than a visit to the dentist, more traumatic
even than a root canal. All you need to do to get your share of
this misery is want to vote, be visually impaired, and live in
Ontario–or does this apply to just Ontario? If you know more than
we do about that, let us know.

Our story begins a few days after Premier Mike Harris called the
1999 provincial election. An item of mail arrived at the Stark’s
home that they managed to determine–neither Chris nor his wife,
Marie, is able to read print–was an information sheet from
Elections Ontario. On enquiring, they were told that a tape
version had been ordered from the canadian National Institute for
the Blind, but that the delivery date wasn’t known; “call back in
a few weeks.” Eventually, Elections Ontario agreed to send this
material over the internet. They further requested some documentary
information indicating what provisions had been made to accommodate
blind voters. They were told that someone from Elections Ontario
would call back but it never happened, even after several reminder
phone calls.

Chapter two in this saga begins with the arrival of the enumeration
card, once again, in print only. “It would have been nice,
comments Chris in a May 24 posting, widely circulated on the
internet, “to have had some tactile marking or even a braille card
name on all cards, so that when people who are blind received them,
it would be possible to separate these cards from the junk mail.”

But the scope of Election Ontario’s poor attitude to access issues
became apparent only after the Starks realized they would not be
in their constituency on election day. “Because we could not vote
on election day, we called for information about the advance poll.
We called the Returning Office for our area for information about
advanced polls and the provisions to facilitate the casting of
secret ballots by voters who are blind. We were told that the
locations were published in the newspapers. … We were further
brusquely notified that [the official] was concerned with the needs
of “the broader masses”. The advance poll locations had not been
selected with accessibility in mind and adequate, frequent public
transportation service was not a consideration for selection.”

On advance polling eve, they managed to get through to the
province’s chief elections officer, though that encounter turned
out to be more revealing than it was confidence-building. “The
conversation,” Chris recalls, “commenced with him delivering a
lengthy lecture on why we should not use a template. He did not
recommend them. He said that thousands of templates had been
printed and circulated through the province. Very few would be
used. It was a waste of money. It was further stated that the
notched ballots were tested with eight persons who were blind.
However, he was unable to tell us how to use them to vote with
confidence.” Now the question arises, which do you require more
of to be a blind voter in Ontario–patience, or a warped sense of
humour?

These days, as far as the broadest social policy discussions go,
disability–as an issue of governmental concern–is more and more
connected with the word citizenship. That’s not simply the result
of the natural, ongoing evolutionary process of integration,
although that certainly explains part of it. Mostly, this linkage
has come about because for years, disabled advocates have insisted
that “citizenship is us,” every time they get anywhere near an
elected official or a senior civil servant.

When we represent ourselves as equal citizens, it means we’re no
longer “the less fortunate,” “the deserving poor” or “the
chronically unemployed;” it means we now must be related to non-
traditionally, with no preconceptions as to limitations, and in
accordance with the most current of sensibilities and regard. Best
of all, governments have had lots of experience relating to this
handy mental construct of the citizen. Unlike “the disabled” of
old, citizens pay taxes, always demand their full due, are
unexceptional, and can never be safely disregarded.

In consequence, features attributable to citizenship matters have
grown in importance over time for organizations like CCD. With our
agitation (and a significant assist from Canada’s Charter of
Rights), laws no longer exclude blind jurors, accommodations mean
that we are no longer second-class citizens when we provide
testimony … and then, there’s voting in Canada’s elections.
That’s probably as good a segue as any to return to the Starks to
see how they fared when it came time to cast their ballots.

Needless to say, “… it was with trepidation and uncertainty that
we faced the challenge of voting in the advance poll.” Yet they
persevered. Following an official’s instructions that featured the
confident phrase “you’ll see the signs”–they had self-identified
several times–, they surmounted the obstacle-strewn side-walk and
somehow got themselves from the bus stop to the polling station.
“While there,” says Chris, “several sighted voters came in and
voiced concern about the difficulty they experienced finding the
location.”

Since the attendant couldn’t describe how ballots should be folded,
one of the two had its voting surface exposed; so much for privacy.
Both found the circle for marking much smaller than it should have
been, smaller by far than it is for federal election ballots. But
at least the business had finally been transacted; two and a-half
hours round trip, all tolled.

Valery Anderson’s experience during the same election was also not
impressive. An official read her the candidates names, but only
which party they belonged to after she pointed out that sighted
voters had access to that information when they voted. A friend
was present who was willing to assist but, unaccountably, he was
not allowed to.

VAlery is a member of the London regional Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Committee, which made a point of connecting the
issue around that legislation with the treatment of voters with
disabilities during the recent election. The way their message
came across is something like, “if you want to know how serious
the Harris government is about the ODA, then get a load of the off-
hand way we’re being treated as voters in this election.”
Obviously, this government’s version of an ODA has little to do
with moving disabled Ontarians any closer to being a part of “the
broader masses.”

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EQUAL TREATMENT School board agrees to provide information to blind parents

Editors Note: This article was written in 1992 but 20 years later our son is having to cope with the same issues. When will educators learn to respect the human rights of people who are blind?

EQUAL TREATMENT School board agrees to provide information to blind parents
One principal told us: It’s your responsibility to read what we give you.
By Angela Manglacasale
Citizen writer
Chris and Marie Stark wanted to be involved in their children’s education. But it took a complaint to the Ontario Human rights Commission to force a local school board to make it possible.
The Starks are blind. Their children are sighted.
For years, the children had to read aloud to their parents any notices, report cards and other school materials they brought home. The Starks asked teachers, principals and school officials to provide some of the material in a form they could understand without having to rely on their children.
“They didn’t understand what it’s like for a 10- or 12-year-old child to try to read a report card that they themselves are nervous about,” said Marie, a federal civil servant. “It was very a traumatic and distressing situation for all of us.
“One principal told us: ‘It’s your responsibility to read what we give you.’ That’s like saying ‘Flip a switch and see,’ ” said Chris, also a federal civil servant.
Now, as part of a human rights settlement, the Carleton Board of Education has agreed to provide information to visually impaired people in the form of audio tape, braille or large print.
The board has promised to provide
material, including report cards, notices
and newsletters, to the Starks at the same time it is sent to other parents. Also, the board will notify them every three months about school administrative issues, new publications and adult education matters. The board has promised to provide copies of these materials within 10 days of their request.
“This is a significant agreement on the part of a major school board,” said Fran Endicott, chief commissioner with the Ontario Human Rights Commission. “It is a clear recognition of the fact that persons with disabilities are entitled to the same treatment as the rest of the population and that such accommodation must be provided in a waythat respects their dignity.”
The Starks praised the board for coming to an amicable settlement, although it comes a little late for Daniel Stark, 18, who will graduate from Gloucester High School this year. His sister, Chantal, 14, will start high school next year.
The Starks, who live in Orleans, said they reluctantly pressed their case as far as the human rights commission so other families would not have to fight the same battle. As guide-dog users, they were conscious that others had fought so they could have the right to bring their dogs into public places.
The cost of providing this kind of material is about $1,200 to $1,500 per child, said board superintendent John Beatty.
The Carleton Board of Education believes in the importance of effective two-way communication within its system, with parents and the general public. Effective communication with parents/guardians with respect to the program and progress of individual students is considered essential.
1 The Board will make every effort to ensure that parents’ communication needs regarding their child’s educational programs are met in an effective and timely manner.
2. While most communication with parents will be in English through print material, interviews, etc., other methods of comniunication such as braille, signage for the deaf, large print, audio tapes, and translation/interpretation of other languages will be made available upon request.
3. Every effort will be made to ensure that parents who request communication in an alternate format are provided with information regarding their child’s education at the same time as other parents receive this information.
4. Parents with disabilities will be provided with access to other Board publications upon request, in a
format suitable to their needs.
5. The Board will maintain a communications strategy to inform and encourage people with disabilities to
use these alternate forms of communication.
6. The Director of Education will ensure that every reasonable effort is made to access community resources,
either voluntary or profesnional, to ensure effective communication with parents.
7. The Director of Education is authorizzd to establish procedures to support this policy.
ISSUED: 1989 REVISED: 1993
AUTHORITY: Board Minute: 469-89; 37-93
POLICY CO-ORDINATOR Su.?( .interident of School Operations
THE CARLETON BOARD OF EDUCATION

SECTION K: SCHOOL/COMMUNITY/HOME RELATIONS CODE
SUBSECTION KB: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN EDUCATION KBDA
POLICY COMMUNICATION WITH PARENTS USING
ALTERNATIVE FORMATS

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