The courage to stand up

Greetings! I'm Christian Robicheau, assistant editor at http://www.sterlingcreations.ca.
It is the end of January and I would like to end this month with a very inspiring editorial from our president Donna j. Jodhan.
I hope you can take strength from her editorial.
I wish you a great day.

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The courage to stand up
By Donna J. Jodhan

The courage to stand up for one's rights and beliefs should not be taken too lightly. Some of us can do it more easily than others. There are those who do it because of their strong belief and resolve. Those who do it because they believe that following the leader is the right thing to do and those who do it because they feel that there is nothing else to do.

There are those who do not stand up because they are afraid of the ramifications. Those who would rather have others do it for them and those who are simply too lazy to do it. Whatever the reasons, the courage to stand up is often a very difficult thing to do. You want to stand up but you are afraid even though you know that you need to stand up. You are often afraid of what your friends and family would say if they knew that you were standing up. You want to do it but you are afraid of being identified with it. You want to do it but your courage fails you.

Standing up is something that is a personal preference and no one should be admonished if they fail to do it. The only thing that I ask is that if you believe then you should not be afraid to say so. Stand up because you believe and do it because you feel that you have no choice.


I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca

The right to recreation

The right to recreation
By Donna J. Jodhan

As a resident of the city of Toronto Canada, I feel that I am compelled to write an open letter to our new Mayor; Rob Ford. First Mr. Mayor, congratulations on your recent elections. I know that for the next while, you will be busy putting your Mayoral house in order but before you get down to the business at hand, I thought that I would sneak in on the ground floor so to speak and make you aware of something which would probably become more important to Torontonians as time marches on.

For the last 15 years, I have been valiantly trying to get some answers from the City of Toronto with regard to whether or not they are ready and prepared to accommodate the needs of blind and sight impaired persons when it comes to recreational activities and programs. I have spent hundreds of hours talking to all levels of administration within the structure of this city but sad to say, I have not been able to obtain any satisfactory response.

I started my tedious journey in the mid 90s when I decided to take up ice skating as a leisure sport. I went to the then Scarborough Parks and Recs department and after many conversations, I managed to find an attentive official who decided to help me. I was fortunate enough to have received some great lessons through the kind auspices of the North York division and Mike LaFlamme and for three wonderful years, I enjoyed my ice skating. I also managed to engage the assistance of the good folks at the Ice Palace arena in Scarborough and Jan Haney, head of the Skating Adventures School in Scarborough.

My ice skating fun lasted until 2003 and after that things somehow went off track as I was unable to find anyone within the city's structure who was able to help me. For the next seven years, I ran into insurmountable road blocks from various administrative personnel and the common theme seemed to be as follows: The city did not have any money to initiate programs for those who are blind and sight impaired. Yes, there was some funding, but it would not cover the needs of blind and sight impaired persons.

It is so heartbreaking when you are given reasons like this; especially when it comes to a city such as Toronto, Canada's largest city. It makes one feel as if they are being treated like a second class citizen and I can assure you that several other blind and sight impaired persons have expressed similar types of sentiments to me. To be told that there is no funding for I and other blind and sight impaired persons to be able to take advantage of recreational activities within the city is an absolutely devastating blow to the body.

Mr. Mayor: You must be aware that with a rapidly aging population, your city and indeed Canada and the rest of the world is going to have to find ways to accommodate the needs of a population that will undoubtedly be afflicted with a plethora of afflictions that will definitely include persons with loss of vision. Maybe it is just a matter of you taking some time to ensure that your staff is properly trained and sensitized to the growing needs of a changing clientele or it may be that you may need to take a serious look at initiating programs that will include all persons of your city.

A few weeks ago I hit pay dirt after I went to my counselor's office for assistance to find someone to go ice skating with me. To my utter surprise, Counselor Michael Del Grande's office found me a North York staff member; Matt Hiltz and he has since informed me that he has the resources to help me. Furthermore, he has informed me that these resources have been in place for some time now.

So you may be asking why am I still complaining? I am doing so because of the fact that I have had to spend so much time discovering Matt Hiltz and it took a concerted effort on my part through the office of my counselor Michael Del Grande. Why did I have to pursue such a route in order to obtain positive results? Others have told me that they have had to deploy similar methods in order to obtain positive results. Some of the questions being asked include:
Are city of Toronto staff members fully aware of what the city really offers?
Could it be that most of our city's staff are just too overworked to really care about providing adequate services?
Or is it that they are just a wee bit too lazy to do their homework?

Whatever the reasons, I do believe that something needs to be done in order to ensure that blind and sight impaired persons are included in the city's recreational activities and programs. More funding? A definite yes! Better training for staff? A definite yes! Recreational activities and programs for blind and sight impaired persons should not be considered as a nice to have; it is a right. For as long as it is opened to the mainstream person, it should also be made available and accessible to the blind and sight impaired as well.

It is not mine alone to win but ours not to lose

It is not mine alone to win but ours not to lose
By Donna J. Jodhan

It is not very often that one gets an opportunity to go head to head with the government of their country and it is not something that is for the faint of heart. I have always known this and as I sit here contemplating the latest developments in my charter challenge, I can only tell you that the one thing that keeps me going is this: Belief! I believe in what I have been doing since 2006 and if I had to do it all over again then I surely would. I have never sought any monetary compensation or any personal gain for myself; it is all for our blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled kids of the future and for our community as a whole.

On November 29 2010, Judge Michael Kelyn handed down a landmark decision when he ordered the Federal Government to make all of their websites accessible within 15 months and he retained jurisdiction over the auditing process of his decision. It was a landmark victory for me and my supporters. I was humbled, delighted, and excited and at the same time I did not view this as a defeat for the Canadian Government. Rather, I viewed it as a wake-up call for them to work with blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians to make their websites equally accessible to all.

On January 10 2011, the Canadian Government filed an appeal in response to Judge Kelyn’s landmark decision. The Canadian Government has decided to appeal the Judge's entire decision. This is probably one of the saddest days for blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians. For not only has the government gone against the very laws that it coined in its charter of rights, it has also contradicted the spirit of its signing of the United Nations treaty on the rights of disabled persons which it ratified in March of 2010.
This seems to indicate a complete lack of respect for the law by our esteemed government and in addition; it may also be perceived to be that the government probably views us as nothing more than second class citizens.

In an economy where the government continues to preach restraint, it continues to waste precious financial resources on court cases that should never have come to court in the first place. What is most confusing is that this government does not seem to mind spending your money and my money when it comes to preventing a specific group of Canadians from claiming and protecting their legitimate rights.

I am shocked to see that this is happening! I am saddened that this government would seemingly go out of their way to continue to defy their very own laws and I am deeply troubled that they continue to do this despite the fact that the court has ruled that my rights as a Canadian were violated under the charter of rights.
Words cannot really express my feelings as I sit writing this article with snowflakes silently racing down my window panes. Feelings of great sadness, disappointment, surprise, and a deep sentiment of shock and shame for a government that continues to blatantly ignore the rights of blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians.

As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, and as sure as the snow will always fall in January, I and my supporters will never give up! We are here to stay and we are here to ensure that the future for our community will be protected no matter what. We must not give up! We must fight to ensure that all print disabled kids can look forward to an Internet where accessibility is a reality and not just a nice to have.
From the bottom of my heart; I thank all of you for your support! To the AEBC, the CWDO, and the rest! Thank you!

Explaining it to the sighted world

Greetings! I'm Scott Savoy, managing editor at
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca. Guess what! January is sort of over or
almost so and February is almost here. Just one more week to go!
It's a gorgeous winter's weekend shaping up and today, I am delighted to
present you with a weekly editorial by our president Donna Jodhan.
I wish you a great day.

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Explaining it to the sighted world
By Donna J. Jodhan

It is never a wise assumption when it comes to assuming that the sighted
world will understand when we tell them that we are unable to access
websites because they are inaccessible. We need to be more explicit in
order to get them to understand and that's just fine with me. I'd like to
take a few moments to paint the picture for a sighted person.

When a sighted person visits a website, they can use their eyes to choose
which link they wish to click on in order to get where they are going. In
most instances, these links are represented by images, icons, and pictures.
They use a mouse to click on their desired choice.

When a blind person visits a website, they use a screen reader that enables
them to find the links and content that they are looking for but when the
links and/or content is depicted in the form of images, icons, or pictures,
the screen reader is unable to decipher what it is. A screen reader is
software that speaks what is on a screen; it is unable to speak or describe
something that does not have text to describe it.

In other words, think of it like this:
If you place a picture in front of a blind person, they will not know what
it is unless you tell them what it is. In like manner, if there is no text
to describe what the picture, image, or icon is on a website, then the
screen reader will not be able to tell the blind person what it is and what
it means.

The technology does not exist whereby there is software that can accurately
describe the meaning of images, icons, or pictures. A screen reader will
only speak what it is able to decipher and this does not include images,
icons, and pictures.

It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words; but no two
persons can ever describe a picture in the same way. If textual
descriptions are used to describe icons, images, and pictures, it would make
life so much easier for a magnitude of
persons that include: The Blind and vision impaired, those who are unable
to read print, those with learning disabilities, and those whose first
language is not English.

It is relatively easy and cost effective to provide textual descriptions to
icons, images, and pictures. Blind persons cannot use a mouse to click on
images, icons, and pictures, because they are unable to see where to point
and click. It is a lot cheaper to provide textual descriptions than it is
to carry out time consuming research to find ways to make it possible for a
screen reader to read pictures, images, and icons.

In like manner, it is relatively easy to design a form that can be accessed
by a blind person online. If however the form needs to be downloaded and
printed in order to be completed, then a blind person will have to ask for
sighted assistance to do so. They will not be able to complete and sign a
printed form because they are unable to see to read and sign.

These are just a few explanations that are most common to help the sighted
world understand more clearly.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan wishing you a terrific day and weekend.
To reach me, please send an email to info@sterlingcreations.ca and I would
be delighted to send you an electronic copy of our latest newsletter.

Here is a complete list of where you can view Donna's blogs and editorials.
Donna Jodhan! Advocating accessibility for all
http://www.donnajodhan.blogspot.com
a weekly feature on important answers to consumers concerns
http://www.sterlingcreations.com/businessdesk.htm
Weekly blogs for language professionals and accessibility consultants
http://www.sterlingcreations.ca/blog
A monthly editorial on issues on diversity
http://www.diversityintheworkplace.ca

It is not mine alone to win but ours not to lose

It is not mine alone to win but ours not to lose

It is not very often that one gets an opportunity to go head to head with the government of their country and it is not something that is for the faint of heart. I have always known this and as I sit here contemplating the latest developments in my charter challenge, I can only tell you that the one thing that keeps me going is this: Belief! I believe in what I have been doing since 2006 and if I had to do it all over again then I surely would. I have never sought any monetary compensation or any personal gain for myself; it is all for our blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled kids of the future and for our community as a whole.

On November 29 2010, Judge Michael Kelyn handed down a landmark decision when he ordered the Federal Government to make all of their websites accessible within 15 months and he retained jurisdiction over the auditing process of his decision. It was a landmark victory for me and my supporters. I was humbled, delighted, and excited and at the same time I did not view this as a defeat for the Canadian Government. Rather, I viewed it as a wake-up call for them to work with blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians to make their websites equally accessible to all.

On January 10 2011, the Canadian Government filed an appeal in response to Judge Kelyn's landmark decision. The Canadian Government has decided to appeal the Judge's entire decision. This is probably one of the saddest days for blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians. For not only has the government gone against the very laws that it coined in its charter of rights, it has also contradicted the spirit of its signing of the United Nations treaty on the rights of disabled persons which it ratified in March of 2010.
This seems to indicate a complete lack of respect for the law by our esteemed government and in addition; it may also be perceived to be that the government probably views us as nothing more than second class citizens.

In an economy where the government continues to preach restraint, it continues to waste precious financial resources on court cases that should never have come to court in the first place. What is most confusing is that this government does not seem to mind spending your money and my money when it comes to preventing a specific group of Canadians from claiming and protecting their legitimate rights.

I am shocked to see that this is happening! I am saddened that this government would seemingly go out of their way to continue to defy their very own laws and I am deeply troubled that they continue to do this despite the fact that the court has ruled that my rights as a Canadian were violated under the charter of rights.
Words cannot really express my feelings as I sit writing this article with snowflakes silently racing down my window panes. Feelings of great sadness, disappointment, surprise, and a deep sentiment of shock and shame for a government that continues to blatantly ignore the rights of blind, sight impaired, deaf/blind, and print disabled Canadians.

As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, and as sure as the snow will always fall in January, I and my supporters will never give up! We are here to stay and we are here to ensure that the future for our community will be protected no matter what. We must not give up! We must fight to ensure that all print disabled kids can look forward to an Internet where accessibility is a reality and not just a nice to have.
From the bottom of my heart; I thank all of you for your support! To the AEBC, the CNIB, ARCH, Balance, the CCD, the CWDO, and the rest! Thank you!