Accessibility News June 13,2020 Update – Accessibility News, your Online Magazine Devoted to Disability Accessibility.
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The AODA Clock is Ticking
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In this Issue
*COVID-19 and Blindness: Why the New Touchless, Physically-Distant World Sucks for People with Visual Impairment
*Council of Canadians with Disabilities Response to COVID-19 Funding Falling Through Cracks
*Send Us Your Feedback Very Quickly on Our Draft Brief to the Ontario Government on the Urgent Needs of K-12 Students with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Crisis
*Will Ottawa City Council Today Vote to Conduct a Deeply Troubling Experiment on Ottawa Residents and Visitors By Allowing Electric Scooters that Endanger People with Disabilities and Others?
*Covid-19 Work Flexibility Improves Accessibility for People With Disabilities
*Blind Student Files Federal Discrimination Lawsuit Against Duke University
*’The Equal Opportunity I Needed’: U of T Accessibility Services Supports Students During COVID-19.
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COVID-19 and Blindness: Why the New Touchless, Physically-Distant World Sucks for People with Visual Impairment
In this essay, I discuss how an unanticipated consequence of following this tri-part guidance for staying ‘safe’ is the effective demonization of touch, which has led to many unforeseen challenges for more than 12 million people in the U.S. (and over 285 million people worldwide) who are blind or visually impaired (BVI).
Council of Canadians with Disabilities Response to COVID-19 Funding Falling Through Cracks
June 10, 2020 marked a disappointing day for Canadians with disabilities. Finally, government put forward financial relief for Canadians with disabilities only to have the bill fail on the floor.
Send Us Your Feedback Very Quickly on Our Draft Brief to the Ontario Government on the Urgent Needs of K-12 Students with Disabilities During the COVID-19 Crisis
We are rushing to prepare and submit a brief to the Ford Government on what it must do now and as schools eventually re-open to meet the urgent needs of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 crisis. We have assembled a draft brief, which we set out below. We want your feedback and ideas. We need them fast. We want to get this brief submitted to the Government as quickly as we can. We are sorry this is so rushed. Life during COVID-19 feels like an endless blitz for the AODA Alliance!
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/send-us-your-feedback-very-quickly-on-our-draft-brief-to-the-ontario-government-on-the-urgent-needs-of-k-12-students-with-disabilities-during-the-covid-19-crisis/ Will Ottawa City Council Today Vote to Conduct a Deeply Troubling Experiment on Ottawa Residents and Visitors By Allowing Electric Scooters that Endanger People with Disabilities and Others?
On the eve of today’s Ottawa City Council vote on whether to allow electric scooters (e-scooters), in the nation’s capital, the AODA Alliance obtained information from the office of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson that exposes new serious problems with Ottawa’s proposal. Today, Ottawa City Council will decide whether to allow uninsured, untrained, unlicensed, unhelmetted e-scooter riders to rent and ride electric scooters in some public places during a “pilot” that would run until the end of October. Montreal tried just such a pilot but cancelled it last year due to problems that were revealed.
Covid-19 Work Flexibility Improves Accessibility for People With Disabilities
More flexibility with hours and working from home will help people with physical and intellectual challenges to be a part of the workforce, disability advocates say.
Read more at
https://aoda.ca/covid-19-work-flexibility-improves-accessibility-for-people-with-disabilities/
Blind Student Files Federal Discrimination Lawsuit Against Duke University
Before Mary Fernandez enrolled at Duke University, she was assured she would be provided the accommodations for an equal education to her peers who aren’t blind.
Despite that assurance, Fernandez experienced barriers that permeated every aspect of her educational experience at Duke, according to a news release about a new federal lawsuit against the university.
‘The Equal Opportunity I Needed’: U of T Accessibility Services Supports Students During COVID-19.
Anna Dawson, who just finished her first year at U of T Mississauga, says the academic accommodations she received from U of T made it possible for her to excel in her studies.
Past Newsletters
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