Accessibility News April 25,2020 Update – Accessibility News, your Online Magazine Devoted to Disability Accessibility.
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In this Issue
*The AODA Alliance and Ontario Autism Coalition Are Considering Organizing An Online Virtual Town Hall Event on How to Effectively Teach Students with Different Disabilities at Home During the COVID-19 Crisis – We’re Looking for Your Suggestions on Who Would be Good Speakers
*Still More Media Reports Reveal Disproportionate Harm to Ontarians with Disabilities Due to the Ontario Government’s Failure to Effectively Plan for Urgent Disability Needs in its COVID-19 Emergency Efforts
*Provincial government Responds to the CNIB Foundation About Accessibility Issues with Ontario Health Card Renewal Process
*Ontario’s New Democratic Party and the Ontario Human Rights Commission Press the Ford Government to Take Substantially More Action to Address Ontarians with Disabilities’ Urgent Needs During the COVID-19 Crisis
*Disability Community Wins Interim Step Forward
*Toronto Star Runs A Guest Column by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky on the need for the Ontario Government to Come Up with a Plan to Meet the Urgent Needs of 2.6 Million Ontarians with Disabilities During the COVID-19 crisis
*Media Reports Show Yet More Problems Facing People with Disabilities During the COVID-19 crisis – The Need for Urgent Government Action Is Swiftly Ballooning
*Communicating with People with Disabilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
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The AODA Alliance and Ontario Autism Coalition Are Considering Organizing An Online Virtual Town Hall Event on How to Effectively Teach Students with Different Disabilities at Home During the COVID-19 Crisis – We’re Looking for Your Suggestions on Who Would be Good Speakers
Here is a message jointly from two grassroots disability coalitions, the AODA Alliance and the Ontario Autism Coalition:
Teachers and parents all over Ontario are struggling to figure out how to effectively teach students with disabilities at home while schools are closed due to the COVID-19 crisis. They are eager for some practical ideas. The AODA Alliance and the Ontario Autism Coalition are looking into the possibility of holding another online virtual town hall meeting, this time focusing on action tips for teachers and parents of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis.
Still More Media Reports Reveal Disproportionate Harm to Ontarians with Disabilities Due to the Ontario Government’s Failure to Effectively Plan for Urgent Disability Needs in its COVID-19 Emergency Efforts
and – Federal Government Announces Disability COVID-19 Advisory Panel, So We Offer Our Advice
Provincial government Responds to the CNIB Foundation About Accessibility Issues with Ontario Health Card Renewal Process
Over the last few months, the CNIB Foundation has been asking the Ontario government to ensure Ontarians who are blind, partially sighted or Deafblind have equal access to renewing their health card online. As it stands, a person needs a valid Ontario driver’s licence, which is unacceptable because it prevents Ontarians with sight loss from using the same process.
Ontario’s New Democratic Party and the Ontario Human Rights Commission Press the Ford Government to Take Substantially More Action to Address Ontarians with Disabilities’ Urgent Needs During the COVID-19 Crisis
Here are even more calls for the Ford Government to take substantially more action to address the urgent needs of Ontarians with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis. Below we set out four important recent documents showing this crisis. The first three are from the Ontario New Democratic Party, and the fourth is from the Ontario Human Rights Commission:
Disability Community Wins Interim Step Forward
Ford Government Backs Down on Its Controversial Secret Protocol for Rationing Critical Medical Care During the COVID Crisis and Agrees to Consult Human Rights and Community Experts
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/disability-community-wins-interim-step-forward/
Toronto Star Runs A Guest Column by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky on the need for the Ontario Government to Come Up with a Plan to Meet the Urgent Needs of 2.6 Million Ontarians with Disabilities During the COVID-19 crisis
Here is an important guest column that ran in the online version of the Toronto Star on April 20, 2020 by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky. In about 750 words, it summarizes key points we have been revealing in our last ten AODA Alliance Updates since March 20, 2020.
Media Reports Show Yet More Problems Facing People with Disabilities During the COVID-19 crisis – The Need for Urgent Government Action Is Swiftly Ballooning
The fact that people with disabilities are facing additional hardships during the COVID-19 crisis leaps from the pages of media reports in this area. Here is a recent sampling of some of the coverage. This selection of news reports includes:
Communicating with People with Disabilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic
As Ontarians continue physical distancing in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they rely on the media for news of the outside world. Access to information keeps all people safe and knowledgeable. To ensure that all people have the benefit of media access at this time, the government and other creators of media must make their programming and media releases accessible. Communicating with people with disabilities in the COVID-19 pandemic means that everyone has access to crucial information.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/communicating-with-people-with-disabilities-in-the-covid-19-pandemic/
Past Newsletters
View past issues of the Newsletter at http://www.accessibilitynews.ca/category/accessibility-news-weekly-newsletter/
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