Reports
Activities Report
October 2006
AEBC SEEKS NATIONAL EQUALITY DIRECTOR
The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians (AEBC) invites applications from qualified individuals for a full-time, term employee position of National
Equality Director.The AEBC is a national, non-profit organization, promoting the equality of blind, partially sighted and deaf-blind persons via public education and advocacy
initiatives.Responsibilities:
Public Awareness and Community Relations (30%)
* Identify, assess, and inform the Board of Directors of internal and external issues that affect the organization.
* Promote the objectives, philosophy and policies of the AEBC under the direction of the President and Board of Directors.
Social Policy Development & Advocacy (10%)
* Assist in the development and dissemination of policies on a broad range of blindness related issues.
* Broaden access to politicians from all political parties as well as senior government officials at various federal and provincial levels.
Program Planning and Management (20%)
* Ensure that the programs offered by the organization contribute to the organization's mission and reflect the priorities of the membership.
* Accelerate the growth and stability of AEBC by providing strong, innovative leadership and information to chapter presidents/executives and national committee
chairs.Financial Planning and Management (30%)
* Seek and obtain adequate funding to effectively support the operations of AEBC as well as provide opportunities for new initiatives.
Operational Planning and Management (Admin 10%)
* Support all activities of the Board of Directors in providing effective leadership and decision-making for AEBC.
Human Resources Planning and Management
* Assist the Human Resource Committee to recruit and retain staff members.
* In collaboration with the membership committee and board, develop a strategy to increase membership and assist with leadership development.
Requirements:
- Must be a blind or partially sighted person
- Can demonstrate organizational and administrative experience as a Senior Manager
- Can demonstrate experience in strategic and financial planning
- Must have excellent organizational and communications skills
- Must be a successful team builder/member and motivated self-starter
- Must have an ability to travel
- Can demonstrate the required level of skills in utilizing adaptive technology
We are offering a salary of $55,000 plus benefits for a 35 hour work week.
The successful candidate can reside anywhere in Canada.
The full job description is available upon request.
Applications must be received no later than November 24, 2006; the position to start on or around January 1, 2007.
Resumes, together with a letter of application, must be sent electronically to the Hiring Committee at the following email address:
equality@blindcanadians.ca .AEBC'S BRIEF ON ONTARIO HUMAN RIGHTS BILL
The Ontario Legislature's Standing Committee on Justice Policy held three days of public hearings in August in London, Ottawa and Thunder Bay, and Toronto
hearings are expected shortly. The AEBC has prepared an extensive brief, which discusses the initial achievement of human rights for persons with disabilities
in Ontario, and examines such issues as how legal assistance might be delivered, what a revamped Tribunal might look like, the need for an infusion of
additional funding into the human rights system, and much more.To read the AEBC's Brief, visit:
http://www.blindcanadians.ca/press_releases/index.php?BriefID=36 (opens in a new window)ANOTHER BRIEF TO THE CRTC
In its Brief, responding to CRTC Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2006-5, review of certain aspects of the regulatory framework for over-the-air
television, the AEBC commented on how the marketplace had not done enough to support access to regular programming and products that do not require special
adaptation, emphasized the importance of building universal design into all products and CRTC decisions, and called upon the CRTC to use its regulatory
authority to enhance our access to programming and products under its authority.To read the Brief, visit:
http://www.blindcanadians.ca/press_releases/index.php?BriefID=37 (opens in a new window)AEBC TO PRESENT AT 2007 INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORTATION CONFERENCE
Two proposals involving the AEBC have been accepted for presentation at next June's International TRANSED Conference in Montreal. They will cover the emerging
dangers of the hybrid quiet car, and a panel will discuss the Canadian National Transportation Network from the point of view of travelers with disabilities
and the facet of accessibility for all people.BLIND PHONES LIST
The Blind Phones List is a discussion list concerning the accessibility of cell phone features and applications, but not geared to any particular product.
To subscribe, send a blank email to:blindphones- subscribe@mosenexplosion.com
SYMPOSIUM ON DIABETES: November 8, 2006:
Helping Hands for the Blind and The Accessible World Symposiums have formed a partnership whose main goal is to produce the first "On-line" Symposium on
Diabetes around the world scheduled for Wednesday, November 8, 2006 from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M. PST. Speakers will include: Gretchen Becker, author of "Living
with Type 2 Diabetes," Dr. Bernard Mahaver who will discuss the various drugs in use to control Diabetes, and Dr. Anne Williams, a noted Diabetic Educator
who will discuss Research and Trends in Diabetic care. The program will be followed by a discussion period with the Audience having an opportunity to ask
questions of the guests and committee members.To participate in this interactive online event, you will need a computer running Windows, an Internet connection, speakers, a microphone and a sound card.
Anyone who has Diabetes or knows someone who does can join this symposium. To access the online conference room, go to:
http://67.19.231.218/v4/login.asp?r=4a9d4d5b&p=0 (opens in a new window)AEBC SUPPORTS REINSTATEMENT OF COURT CHALLENGES PROGRAM
On Tuesday, September 26, 2006, a variety of Canadian programs and organizations learned they would no longer receive federal funding. The list included
the Court Challenges Program - $5.6 million.The Court Challenges Program of Canada provided funding to ordinary Canadians to undertake constitutional challenges against federal laws or programs. By
saying no to the Court Challenges Program, the Canadian Government is saying yes to continued discrimination against persons with disabilities. Immediately
following the Government’s announcement, the equality seeking community and the language community came together to provide the Canadian public and the
Prime Minister information about the value of the Program to the community. The letter, which was signed by close to 200 groups, including the AEBC, is
as follows:October 4, 2006
Rt. Hon. Stephen Harper
Prime Minister of Canada
80 Wellington Street,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Dear Prime Minister,
We write today to ask you to reinstate the Court Challenges Program. Only by reinstating the Program can you demonstrate that your government intends to
respect the human rights of Canada’s people.The Canadian Constitution establishes important constitutional rights, including the rights of official language minority groups to education and government
services in their primary language and the rights of everyone to equality before and under the law and to equal protection and equal benefit of the law
without discrimination. However, these rights are empty unless the individuals and groups they are designed to protect can exercise and enforce them.Since the Charter was adopted 25 years ago, successive federal governments have recognized that they have a responsibility to ensure that disadvantaged
minorities have funding to take Charter cases forward.The Court Challenges Program, by providing modest contributions to the cost of important test cases dealing with language and equality rights, has made
these constitutional rights accessible to Canadians. Without the Court Challenges Program, Canada’s constitutional rights are real only for the wealthy.
This is unfair. And it does not comply with the rule of law, which is a fundamental principle of our Constitution.The Honourable John Baird has been quoted in the press as saying that it does not make sense “for the government to subsidize lawyers to challenge the government’s
own laws in court.” This statement implies that: 1) lawyers are the prime beneficiaries of the Program and 2) the government should not support challenges
to its own laws. On both counts, deeper analysis is needed.First, the beneficiaries of the CCP are individuals and groups who believe that laws and policies discriminate against them or deny them their language
rights. They cannot go forward without lawyers to represent them, since constitutional challenges are legally complex. Secondly, when a country like Canada
enacts constitutional rights it takes for granted that residents, when they believe the government is violating their rights, can and will challenge the
offending law or policy. If residents cannot use their rights because of financial barriers, then Canada’s constitutional democracy is hollow. Governments
must care that the rights they embrace are not meaningless, and the CCP has provided a simple and modest way of ensuring that they are not. We should emphasize
that what the CCP provides is far from universal access to the exercise of constitutional equality and language rights. The CCP provides only limited funds
for selected test cases.Critics of the CCP dislike some of the cases that it has supported: cases related to same sex marriage, voting rights for federal prisoners, criminal law
provisions regarding hitting children. The fact that some individuals or groups do not agree with some of the test cases funded by the Program is not
a reason to cancel it. No one among us is likely to agree with every single test case that appears. The point of a constitutional human rights regime is
to ensure that diverse claims, perspectives and life experiences are respected and taken into account in the design of laws and policies. The equality
guarantee and the language rights in the Constitution were designed to help minorities, whose views and needs may not be reflected by governments, to be
heard on issues that affect them closely. Cancelling the Court Challenges Program mutes their voices further, and makes Canada a meaner, less tolerant
society.The Minister of Justice, the Honourable Vic Toews, has questioned the accountability of the Court Challenges Program. This is not a sustainable objection.
The Court Challenges Program has an established track record as an effective and accountable institution that promotes access to justice. It provides quarterly
reports on its activities to the government and publishes an annual report with statistics on the number and types of cases that it has funded. The annual
reports are public documents and are available on the CCP’s website:
www.ccppcj.ca (opens in a new window)
. It has been evaluated on three separate occasions by independent evaluators, most recently in 2003-2004, and received an extremely positive report each
time.The CCP is subject to some legal restrictions on disclosing information about cases that are before the courts. This information is protected by solicitor-client
privilege and cannot be released by CCP, in the same way that legal aid organizations cannot divulge information about their clients. The CCP’s responsibility
to protect this information was affirmed by a Federal Court ruling in 2000 (L’Hirondelle v. The Queen).In short, Prime Minister, criticisms of the Court Challenges Program are feeble, and the need for the Program is strong. It is disturbing that your Government,
in a budget-cutting exercise, would take the step of cancelling this Program that is considered by many Canadians a cornerstone of our justice system.
Commitment to the protection of the Charter Rights of disadvantaged individuals and groups is one of Canada’s core values. Prime Minister, you recognized
this commitment in the last election campaign, when you stated that if elected, a Conservative government would “articulate Canada’s core values on the
world stage,” including “the rule of law”, “human rights” and “compassion for the less fortunate.”In May, 2006, your Government appeared before a UN Committee in Geneva to defend its commitment to human rights in Canada, and described the Court Challenges
Program as evidence of this commitment. Your Government wrote to the UN Committee: The Court Challenges Program (CCP) provides funding for test cases
of national significance in order to clarify the understanding of the rights of official language minority communities and the equality rights of disadvantaged
groups. …It is not possible for the government to support all court challenges, but this uniquely Canadian program has been successful in supporting a number of
important court cases that have had direct impacts on the implementation of linguistic and equality rights in Canada. A recent evaluation found that there
remain dimensions of the constitutional provisions currently covered by the CCP that still require clarification and the current program was extended to
March 2009.The cancellation of the Program stands in contradiction to the position that you and your Government have taken publicly on the Charter and human rights.
Finally, cancelling the Program shows profound disrespect for the francophones who live in provinces outside of Quebec, the anglophones in Quebec, and for
all Canadian residents who may need the protection of equality rights, including women, Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, members of racialized
minorities, immigrants, refugees, lesbians and gay men, children and seniors.The laws of Canada are never perfect. Those who need to point out the imperfections in our laws, in order that they may live on an equal footing with others,
deserve to be heard. By cancelling the Court Challenges Program, your Government has indicated that they will not be and do not deserve to be.Please reverse this decision and give us back a Canada that supports human rights.
NEW FORUM FOR DISABLED PARENTS
A new forum has been set up as a resource to parents with a disability. If you are a disabled parent or a parent of a child with disabilities then feel
free to ask advice here or to share any helpful tips.The forum has been set up at
http://disabledparents.proboards81.com (opens in a new window)REMINDERS
- AEBC's new Membership Contest, as mentioned in the June Activities Report, will run from October 1st to December 15, 2006. For further details, visit
the June Activities Report on the AEBC website,
www.blindcanadians.ca (opens in a new window)
, or contact Devon Wilkins at:
wilkins@blindcanadians.ca .- The End Exclusion initiative is still seeking YOUR STORIES to help build an Inclusive and Accessible Canada. End Exclusion is a joint initiative of the
Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL). For further details, please visit the website,
www.endexclusion.ca (opens in a new window) .- The following AEBC national Committees and Working Groups could still benefit from some additional members - services, elections, conference, employment,
and fund development. Please forward names to John Rae at:
rae@blindcanadians.ca .- The AEBC's Informal Mentoring Program is still looking for more individuals who would be interested in meeting one-on-one, in a group or online to offer
support to new or existing members who are isolated or struggling with challenges due to their vision loss. Please contact our national office at 1-800-561-4774
or email:
info@blindcanadians.ca
to get involved.- AEBC's plan to show "BLIND PEOPLE IN ACTION" is still seeking more photos of individuals participating at work, at school, in their homes, or in their
communities. Please send photos of yourself, preferably scanned and by e-mail to:
lois@blindcanadians.ca- The Canadian Blind Monitor (CBM) can now be obtained in larger font size, in addition to regular print, Braille, audio cassette, and CD-ROM. Just contact
Lois Benko at
lois@blindcanadians.ca
, and specify the font size or format you prefer to receive.- The 2007 AEBC Conference and AGM will be held at the Harbour Towers Hotel, Victoria, during the Victoria Day long weekend, Thursday-Sunday, May 17-20,
2007.UPCOMING MEETINGS
Oct. 19-21, Outlook Okanagan 2006 Conference, Kelowna
Oct. 26-27, HARD-WIRING INCLUSION a Conference about Building an Accessible ICT World, Winnipeg
Oct. 27, Presentation to the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, re Employment, Toronto
Nov. 2, End Exclusion event, Ottawa
Nov. 3-4, CCD National Council meeting, Ottawa
Nov. 4, Quiet Car Conference, Baltimore
Nov. 10-12, NEADS National Conference, Ottawa
Nov. 15, NE-AER conference, Montreal
Nov. 28-30, Court Challenges Conference, Winnipeg
June 18-21, 2007, 11th International Conference on Mobility and Transport for Elderly and Disabled Persons (TRANSED), Montréal
