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Next steps in campaign to make Ontario
disability accessible.

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What goals?

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What strategies?

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David Lepofsky, Chair.

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Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Alliance.

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Delivered at the Osgoode Hall Law School,
February

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Fourth, 2014, as a Roy McMurtry clinical
fellow.

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Good afternoon everyone, in this the final
lecture in this series of Accessibility

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Advocacy lectures that I'm giving during
my, my, my time at Osgood Hall

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Law School as the Roy McMurtry clinical
fellow, I wanna talk to you about what

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the immediate next challenges are that
Ontario's disability community is facing.

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What our priorities are for action, and
how you can help.

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And the ideas I'm gonna share are tied
right to the events of today February 4th

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2014, but for those who watch this on
video sometime in

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the future, these will be relevant at any
time with some tweaking.

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I've had the privilege for the past 19
years

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of working with a wonderful community of
people with disabilities.

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People without disabilities and community
organizations, with a single goal in mind.

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Our dream is to achieve a province of
Ontario that is barrier free for

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all people with a physical or mentor,

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mental, or sensory, or learning, or
intellectual disability.

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Let me take just a moment to tell you what

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the challenges that we faced and where
we're at right now.

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Other lectures in this series go into
great detail on how we've come

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as far as we have, what we've gained, what
our tactics have been.

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And today I wanna focus on what's next and
to talk

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about rolling up your sleeves to get
active in this campaign.

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But I'm gotta take just a minute to
capture where we

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are and and what the problems are that
we've been facing.

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People with disabilities are a huge group
of folks.

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We're everywhere and we face barriers
everywhere we go.

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The problem is, that even though those
barriers are illegal

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under the under the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms,

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which guarantees equality without
discrimination

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because of disability, and the

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Ontario Human Rights code, which

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protects against discrimination because of
disability.

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Even though they're illegal, too often,
they're still remaining in place.

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And even as we tear down old barriers, new
ones too often, are popping up.

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This led people with disabilities 19 years
ago in Ontario to start first as a small

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group and then to grow into a, a

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large tenacious coalition to fight for a
new law.

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The Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act

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and after a ten year's battle, at the

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grass roots using some of the strategies
I'm

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gonna talk about in just a few minutes.

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We won that legislation and we won it with
all party approval.

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It requires Ontario to become fully
accessible by 2025.

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It requires the Ontario government to lead
us to that goal.

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It requires the government to by, to do

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that by to achieve that by two principal
actions.

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The government has to make accessibility
standards to tell organizations

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what they've got to do to find the
barriers they have.

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To remove them along reasonable time lines
and to prevent the creation of new ones.

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Now once those standards are enacted, it

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requires the government to effectively
enforce them.

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The legislation has all the legal bones in
it we need.

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What's the problem?

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The problem is, nine years have passed
since it was enacted.

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11 years are left till the deadline for
its

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goals to be achieved, and we are behind
schedule.

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In another lecture in this series I go

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through, in detail, why and how we're
behind schedule.

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But from this point, or at this point let
me just tell you we are not on schedule.

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If every organization that has to act
under the AODA, does absolutely everything

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they have to do under the accessibility
standards that have been enacted today.

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In areas like customer service,
employment,

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transportation, the built environment and
information communication.

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If they honor it to the letter, we

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will not achieve a fully accessible
Ontario by 2025.

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Indeed, we don't achieve an accessible
Ontario ever.

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Cuz those standards don't go far enough or
fast enough or cover enough.

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They're helpful.

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We should be proud of what we've won, but
we've got a long way to go, so,

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any community advocacy organization can't
just complain.

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We've got to come forward with an agenda
and we've done that.

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We've come more forward with a series of
priorities for

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action that we are urging all Ontario
political parties to adopt.

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Let me just explain them to you and I'm
gonna spend the rest of out

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time together talking about what you can

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do to help make these priorities a
reality.

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By the way, our aim is to ensure that our
priorities can

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appeal to any party and any politician,
whatever be their political strife.

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Stripe, pardon me, cuz political strife we
have

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enough of, but whatever be their political
stripe.

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Because we are non partisan.

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And we want just as the AODA was passed
unanimously,

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we want whatever government is in power to
implement it effectively.

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So we try to appeal to everyone.

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We also live in the real world where

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the government has a significant debt and
deficit problem.

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So we wanna come forward with an agenda
that is affordable and that the

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government can't simply slough off by
saying,

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great idea, but we don't have the dough.

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Here goes, the first priority, and I'm

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not necessarily listing these in terms of
order

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of what should be done first, but the
first that we put on our list.

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Is it the government has to, finally, keep
its promise, so,

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up till now broken promise, to effectively
enforce the Disabilities Act.

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We have learned through our own efforts.

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Through our own Freedom of Information
request that we had to pursue last year.

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That the Ontario government knows that
there is

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rampant violations of at least one
accessibility standard.

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One that we know of.

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And that there that they are not acting
effectively to enforce.

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Even though they got the power and the
money to do the enforcing.

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What am I talking about?

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First accessibility standard passed in
2007

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is the customer service accessibility
standard.

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It requires organisations of the public
and private

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sector to develop an accessibility policy,
train their staff

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on it and have a feed-back mechanism for
you or I, if we run in a problem.

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They gave the private sector all the way
from 2007,

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till the end of 2012, to take those simple
steps.

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But, the private sector was also, the
public

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sector had to be up to speed by 2010.

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The private sector, if you were an
organization with 20 or

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more employees, you had an obligation also
by the end of 2012.

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It's already, it's over a year ago to file
a self-report electronically

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with the government simply reaffirming
that

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you've done what you're supposed to do.

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What we learned last November through our

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Freedom of Information application is that
fully 70%

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of Ontario private-sector organizations
with 20 or

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more employees, have not even filed that
report.

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Well, if they have done that simple act,
one's

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left wondering what else they haven't done
under this standard.

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Moreover, the government's known about
this.

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In fact, the file, the failure to file
rate was even

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higher at the start of 2012, and the
government knew about that.

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We found out also that even though the
government has the power to undertake

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inspections, conduct audits and to issue
compliance

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orders and indeed to give monetary
penalties.

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They haven't done any of that with the
private sector as of last November.

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None.

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Rampant violations.

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No effective enforcement using those
tools.

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Now were they out of money?

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No we found out that the government branch
that

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was given a budget for implementing the
Disabilities Act including

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enforcement was under budget every year
since 2008 and the

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total under budget, that's money they're
given and don't spend.

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And by the way government departments
aren't

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notorious for getting budget and not
spending them.

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Living under budget for a total sum over

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that period, not per year, but total,
24,000,000 bucks.

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A lot of enforcing could have been going
on.

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So, what have we done?

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We are calling on all political parties to

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commit now to the effective enforcement of
this Act.

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As of now, the minister responsible, the

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enforcer in chief, Dr. Eric Hoskins, Has
on

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the one hand withheld all of this

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information till we kept pushing the
information request.

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We're seeking it since last January,
January 2013.

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He is told the legislature last fall, last

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summer that accessibility is a top
priority for a

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human in this government, and has said
that

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he as of November has a plan for
enforcing.

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But the only thing he's announced was that
they were gonna write

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compliance demand letters to I think it
was 2,500 of the 36,000 non-compliers.

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And that's only dealing with one of the
five standards they've enacted.

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We've also learned when and we've pointed
this out over and over that they, if

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you encounter a barrier and you wanna let

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someone in the government know so the
branch

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responsible for forcing this act and the

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ministry can maybe look at information to
decide

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if they get enough feedback that it's time
for an inspect it's time for an audit.

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There's no phone number for you to call.

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And last Friday or probably last Wednesday
in The

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Globe in ma, or pardon me, The Toronto
Star on

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the front page there was a report about a
barrier

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that a woman faced in using public transit
in Ontario.

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We were quoted saying, I was quoted
saying, that we don't, we need a phone

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number to call not that they're gonna send
an enforcement person out on every call.

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But at least to be able, so they can track
and decide when to enforce.

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And then a spokes person for, for

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Minister Hoskins basically said well we
make standards

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we don't deal with individual complaints,
go to

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the human rights tribunal and file your
own.

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I'm paraphrasing but that's the thrust of
it.

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They forgot why they passed this Act, the
reason

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the Disabilities Act was passed, was so
that you and

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I didn't have to go and fight individual
barrier,

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against individual barriers, one human
rights complaint at a time.

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One organization at a time.

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That's the very reason why the government
said it was passing this law.

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We have to have the recourse to the Human
Rights Tribunal if we need it.

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But we shouldn't have to rely on that as
our main way of enforcing.

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They promised effective enforcement, so
what have we proposed?

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We've proposed there should be a call in
number.

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We've proposed the government should be
loud and clear

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with the public including the public and
private sectors.

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That they're going to enforce, we've

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proposed that they should be actually
acting

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on these cases of non-contravention, or of

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contravention, and using their audit
inspection powers.

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But recognizing that they have limited

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resources, we've offered other practical
suggestions.

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The government has a number of inspectors

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under a number of different laws that
inspect.

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for, for environmental reasons, for
occupational health and safety

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reasons, there's, for health care reasons,
tons of them.

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We've asked the government to deputize
them as Accessibility Act inspectors.

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Give em a checklist when they go into an
organization for any other reason.

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Let 'em check out the organization's
compliance on the DIsabilities Act Two.

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All it requires is training and direction
to go do it.

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Not zillions of new inspectors.

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We've been proposing that for oh, I think
over

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two and a half years, and we're still
waiting.

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But that's our first pri-, the first
priority that I'm

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going to list for you, getting the
Disabilities Act effectively enforced.

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The second area that we wa-, I wanna turn
your attention to, the second area

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for action that is a huge priority for

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us, is that we need new accessibility
standards.

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The government had picked five good ones
to make first back in 2005, 2006 in the

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areas of customer service, employment,
transportation,

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built environment, and and information and
communications.

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But they don't cover the full range of

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barriers, and under the AODA The
government is obliged

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to make all the standards it needs to make
to get us to full accessibility by 2025.

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We, a couple of years ago, identified the
three ones that we want made next.

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I stuck to three last ones, there could be
more after that, but the

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three ones we want made next, deal

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with barriers of education, preschool,
school, post-secondary school.

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No one has looked at our education system
top to bottom to root our barriers.

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There's been some progress, but we won't
have a fully

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accessible education system by 2025 or
ever without something new.

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I'm pleased to inform you that we've got
some allies in this cause.

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Four major organizations on our side.

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Publicly, we've got the Elementary
Teachers' Federation of Ontario.

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That's the union that represents public
school elementary school teachers.

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00:14:32,770 --> 00:14:36,330
The Ontario Secondary School Teachers'
Federation, they represent the.

234
00:14:37,770 --> 00:14:40,550
The public high school teachers.

235
00:14:40,550 --> 00:14:45,170
We've got the Ontario English Catholers,
Catholic Teachers

236
00:14:45,170 --> 00:14:48,270
Association representing elementary and

237
00:14:48,270 --> 00:14:50,300
secondary school English Catholic
teachers.

238
00:14:50,300 --> 00:14:53,100
And we have the Ontario confederation of

239
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:57,250
university faculty association which
speaks the Queen's part.

240
00:14:57,250 --> 00:15:00,380
For university professors around the
province.

241
00:15:00,380 --> 00:15:04,250
So so many of, these organizations who
speak for those

242
00:15:04,250 --> 00:15:08,700
who deliver education on the front lines,
they're not saying,

243
00:15:08,700 --> 00:15:10,180
we're doing a great job we don't need to
do

244
00:15:10,180 --> 00:15:15,030
anymore, students with disabilities they
got it there's no problems.

245
00:15:15,030 --> 00:15:17,570
They're saying, no we need more.

246
00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:23,060
And so education, being pivotal to
everybody,

247
00:15:23,060 --> 00:15:24,730
is one of the three we've called for.

248
00:15:24,730 --> 00:15:28,920
The second accessibility standard we've
called for deals with healthcare.

249
00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:33,240
We all need a, a healthcare system we can
use.

250
00:15:33,240 --> 00:15:37,510
Like our education system, our healthcare
system is publicly funded.

251
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,340
And yet while we're paying the money,
we're not getting an

252
00:15:42,340 --> 00:15:48,250
assurance that people with disabilities
could fully and equally use it.

253
00:15:48,250 --> 00:15:52,076
This is especially a cruel irony in the
case of the health care system

254
00:15:52,076 --> 00:15:54,330
cuz if you look at the statistics,

255
00:15:54,330 --> 00:15:57,650
who dis proportionally uses the health
care system?

256
00:15:57,650 --> 00:15:59,790
When do you use it the most?

257
00:15:59,790 --> 00:16:01,840
Well, on average, it's in the, in

258
00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:06,250
you senior years when your acquiring
disabilities.

259
00:16:07,790 --> 00:16:12,250
So a system that is predominantly, or
disproportionately there

260
00:16:12,250 --> 00:16:16,160
to serve people with disabilities is far
from barrier free.

261
00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:18,070
What could be done?

262
00:16:18,070 --> 00:16:20,270
Again, no one's looked at our healthcare
system, even though

263
00:16:20,270 --> 00:16:22,260
there's been some progress, nobody's
looked at it from top to

264
00:16:22,260 --> 00:16:25,850
bottom and said, where are the barriers,
who's got it right,

265
00:16:25,850 --> 00:16:28,850
where can we replicate good ideas and, and
move things forward?

266
00:16:30,550 --> 00:16:34,100
Can you imagine the government using our
money to buy diagnostic equipment

267
00:16:34,100 --> 00:16:39,670
for a hospital, but not ensuring, not
requiring, that it be accessible?

268
00:16:39,670 --> 00:16:41,076
That's the world we're in right now.

269
00:16:41,076 --> 00:16:48,320
Number three, residential housing.

270
00:16:48,320 --> 00:16:51,320
We all need our health, at some point in
our life,

271
00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:54,750
we all need education, and we all need a
place to live.

272
00:16:55,910 --> 00:16:59,400
There is a housing crisis facing people

273
00:16:59,400 --> 00:17:01,509
with certain, excuse me, kinds of
disabilities.

274
00:17:02,710 --> 00:17:06,030
And we don't have, the government recently
passed

275
00:17:06,030 --> 00:17:09,260
amendments to the building code to deal
with accessibility.

276
00:17:09,260 --> 00:17:12,750
They only deal with new construction and
renovations, and they

277
00:17:12,750 --> 00:17:17,420
don't ensure fully accessible housing
construction even in new builds.

278
00:17:18,830 --> 00:17:23,420
And, what that means is that while we
continue to have a province

279
00:17:23,420 --> 00:17:28,910
full of houses and apartments that have
barriers in far too many cases.

280
00:17:28,910 --> 00:17:30,520
We have no assurance that we're building

281
00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,390
enough new housing stock that will be
accessible.

282
00:17:33,390 --> 00:17:38,210
Now, are we proposing that an individual
homeowner should be forced by

283
00:17:38,210 --> 00:17:41,610
law to renovate there own house even if
they don't need accessibility?

284
00:17:41,610 --> 00:17:42,260
No we're not.

285
00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,950
But what we are suggesting, are a number
of ideas,

286
00:17:46,950 --> 00:17:52,580
in a residential housing accessability
standard could go further beyond these.

287
00:17:52,580 --> 00:17:55,860
These are just to give you a, a hint of
what we could look to.

288
00:17:57,640 --> 00:18:00,650
How about requiring that when a developer
goes

289
00:18:00,650 --> 00:18:03,030
to their municipality, or wherever, to get
approval to

290
00:18:03,030 --> 00:18:06,080
develop a bunch of houses or townhouses,
that a

291
00:18:06,080 --> 00:18:10,180
certain percentage of them be required to
be accessible.

292
00:18:10,180 --> 00:18:12,820
Not all of them, but a certain percentage
of them.

293
00:18:12,820 --> 00:18:15,010
Let's increase our accessible housing
stock.

294
00:18:16,020 --> 00:18:20,720
How about this, if you or I wanna renovate
our house, to

295
00:18:20,720 --> 00:18:24,880
make it accessible and put a ramp at the
front we should be

296
00:18:24,880 --> 00:18:28,170
able to have legal protection that cuts
the red tape that you may

297
00:18:28,170 --> 00:18:32,540
run into with zoning or other restrictions
to enable you to do it.

298
00:18:32,540 --> 00:18:34,630
Let's get the legal barriers out of the
way.

299
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:38,090
How bout this?

300
00:18:38,090 --> 00:18:40,770
If you own a condo, a condominium in a

301
00:18:40,770 --> 00:18:44,490
condominium structure, you shouldn't have
to get the approval of

302
00:18:44,490 --> 00:18:47,240
the board of directors in order to make an

303
00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,590
accessibility change in your own or around
your own unit.

304
00:18:51,780 --> 00:18:54,390
When you work at a workplace, if you have
a disability, you don't have to

305
00:18:54,390 --> 00:18:56,840
have a referendum of all your coworkers
before

306
00:18:56,840 --> 00:19:02,010
your, your boss can give you accessibility
supports.

307
00:19:02,010 --> 00:19:05,660
It should be no different when you live in
a condo.

308
00:19:05,660 --> 00:19:08,860
Let's get rid of some of those legal
barriers.

309
00:19:08,860 --> 00:19:10,680
Those are just some ideas.

310
00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,390
If a municipal housing authority is
renovating,

311
00:19:14,510 --> 00:19:17,300
its own housing stock for public housing.

312
00:19:17,300 --> 00:19:19,330
They should be required to increase their

313
00:19:19,330 --> 00:19:22,549
stock of housing, of public housing that's
accessible.

314
00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:25,520
Those are just a few ideas.

315
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:28,350
We've called for these three standards to
be made.

316
00:19:28,350 --> 00:19:32,030
The government is taking longer to decide
which standards next

317
00:19:32,030 --> 00:19:37,080
to make than they actually take to develop
an entire standard.

318
00:19:37,080 --> 00:19:40,150
A year ago, they set up a new council with
a

319
00:19:40,150 --> 00:19:43,350
mandate, or a revamped council, with a
mandate to make all

320
00:19:43,350 --> 00:19:47,360
new accessibility standards They said they
were gonna decide which standards

321
00:19:47,360 --> 00:19:51,650
to make based on what they've already
gathered in terms of information.

322
00:19:51,650 --> 00:19:53,780
It's a year later.

323
00:19:53,780 --> 00:19:56,930
The clock is ticking, 2025 is approaching.

324
00:19:58,150 --> 00:20:03,570
The third area of priority we were
focusing on is this, the government

325
00:20:03,570 --> 00:20:09,290
has an important power to make change
beyond regulations and enforcement.

326
00:20:09,290 --> 00:20:11,530
They've got a lot of public money and a

327
00:20:11,530 --> 00:20:14,540
lot of people out there who want their
money.

328
00:20:14,540 --> 00:20:20,490
The government spends billions every year
on capital infrastructure,

329
00:20:20,490 --> 00:20:26,050
on buildings and on renova, and in on
structures, capital infrastructures on

330
00:20:26,050 --> 00:20:27,360
the province not just government

331
00:20:27,360 --> 00:20:29,740
buildings, universities come to government
saying

332
00:20:29,740 --> 00:20:32,180
hey, we want a new building, will you pay
for it.

333
00:20:32,180 --> 00:20:37,540
Hospitals, schools, lots of
municipalities.

334
00:20:37,540 --> 00:20:40,520
There's lots of this out there and every
year, we are government's time out there.

335
00:20:40,520 --> 00:20:42,149
There's huge infrastructure budget.

336
00:20:43,260 --> 00:20:47,880
Similarly the government spends billions
every year on buying goods and services.

337
00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,460
We don't wanna alter that budget but we
want the

338
00:20:50,460 --> 00:20:55,230
government to attach one string and the
string would provide this.

339
00:20:55,230 --> 00:20:59,119
If you want our money you've got to commit
that you will not use one dime of it.

340
00:21:00,170 --> 00:21:02,380
To either create a new barrier,

341
00:21:02,380 --> 00:21:06,020
or perpetuate or exacerbate an existing
barrier.

342
00:21:06,020 --> 00:21:09,520
Don't use our money to make things worse.

343
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:11,660
The government said they would do
something like that in

344
00:21:11,660 --> 00:21:15,610
terms of new inf, capital infrastructure
couple of years ago.

345
00:21:15,610 --> 00:21:18,510
But we haven't seen the details or the
teeth.

346
00:21:18,510 --> 00:21:21,470
In procurement, they say they're trying to
ramp it up

347
00:21:21,470 --> 00:21:25,140
and an accesssibility standard addresses
it, but in general, language.

348
00:21:25,140 --> 00:21:26,680
We wanna see real action.

349
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:30,380
We wanna see senior cabinet ministers out
there saying this.

350
00:21:30,380 --> 00:21:31,810
You want our money?

351
00:21:31,810 --> 00:21:35,959
Show us your plans to make sure you don't
use our money to make things worse.

352
00:21:37,860 --> 00:21:40,750
Let me give you an illustration that will
hit home in Toronto.

353
00:21:40,750 --> 00:21:44,580
This is 2014 and the the summer of 2015,
Toronto

354
00:21:44,580 --> 00:21:50,190
will be hosting the 2015 Pan and Parapan
American Games.

355
00:21:51,400 --> 00:21:54,849
The public, including the Government, is
spending a lot of money on these games.

356
00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,050
We've called on the government to insure

357
00:21:58,050 --> 00:22:02,310
that there is a strong accessibility
legacy.

358
00:22:02,310 --> 00:22:04,860
It's not just a question of making sure
that, that

359
00:22:04,860 --> 00:22:08,060
the housing or the athletes will live will
be accessible.

360
00:22:08,060 --> 00:22:12,060
That the stadiums where they will perform
or compete will be

361
00:22:12,060 --> 00:22:16,330
accessible We want a legacy of
accessibility, the government had a press

362
00:22:16,330 --> 00:22:21,620
conference in the, in August of 2013, big
ballyhoo,

363
00:22:21,620 --> 00:22:26,860
all sorts of performing and so on, to
announce the legacy of the games.

364
00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,180
This is why you, the taxpayers should be

365
00:22:30,180 --> 00:22:32,540
happy we're spending millions of your
dollars on this

366
00:22:32,540 --> 00:22:35,100
games, here's whats gonna be benefit for
until

367
00:22:35,100 --> 00:22:37,450
to be left behind when the games are over.

368
00:22:37,450 --> 00:22:39,970
Nothing about disability accessibility.

369
00:22:39,970 --> 00:22:41,110
Zero.

370
00:22:41,110 --> 00:22:45,150
And we, if you follow us on Twitter, at
AODA alliance, you will

371
00:22:45,150 --> 00:22:48,950
find out, that there is, that we've been
raising this time and again.

372
00:22:48,950 --> 00:22:50,970
Now now they're starting to dribble out
little

373
00:22:50,970 --> 00:22:55,470
bits of information but nothing
comprehensive, nothing good enough.

374
00:22:55,470 --> 00:22:56,950
And we've told the government in no

375
00:22:56,950 --> 00:23:00,060
uncertain terms 2015 is halfway between
2005

376
00:23:00,060 --> 00:23:03,160
when the Disabilities Act was passed and

377
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,560
2025 when we have to reach full
accessibility.

378
00:23:07,560 --> 00:23:11,830
At present, TRANA will not be halfway to
full accessibility in 2015.

379
00:23:11,830 --> 00:23:15,540
There are two options before the
government.

380
00:23:15,540 --> 00:23:19,070
Plan for accessibility at the
accessibility legacy now so when the world

381
00:23:19,070 --> 00:23:22,270
comes to Toronto, they see a city that is
well on the way.

382
00:23:22,270 --> 00:23:25,530
It's on schedule or even ahead of
schedule, or have them come to

383
00:23:25,530 --> 00:23:29,700
Toronto and see what we experience now,
too few restaurants that we can get

384
00:23:29,700 --> 00:23:33,510
into if we have a mobility disability, a
TTC where you can't count

385
00:23:33,510 --> 00:23:37,780
on the escalators or the subway or the, or
the elevators to work reliably,

386
00:23:40,470 --> 00:23:42,960
Limited amount of places to stay that are

387
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,980
accessible and lots of other barriers like
that.

388
00:23:46,990 --> 00:23:49,470
We want the government to in, to focus

389
00:23:49,470 --> 00:23:54,590
on infrastructure and on service and
facility accessibility.

390
00:23:54,590 --> 00:23:57,070
And for example, the government should
make it clear that they

391
00:23:57,070 --> 00:24:01,440
will not allow any public events to be
held on any premises

392
00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,500
that is not fully customer service and
built environment accessible, and

393
00:24:05,500 --> 00:24:08,390
tell the, the private sector that now so
they can get ready.

394
00:24:09,620 --> 00:24:11,450
The government should also be telling the

395
00:24:11,450 --> 00:24:14,240
thousands of employees that work and
volunteers

396
00:24:14,240 --> 00:24:15,720
who will be involved with the game,

397
00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,320
encouraging them not to frequent
non-accessible places.

398
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:21,280
Let's let our money talk.

399
00:24:22,400 --> 00:24:24,280
It's good for our economy.

400
00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:29,500
The more restaurants and hotels and other
tourist destinations that make

401
00:24:29,500 --> 00:24:33,710
themselves accessible, the more access to
the tourist dollar they get.

402
00:24:33,710 --> 00:24:36,850
There are a billion people with
disabilities around the world.

403
00:24:36,850 --> 00:24:40,400
Let's make our community a place they
wanna come to.

404
00:24:40,400 --> 00:24:42,390
So, that's our third priority.

405
00:24:44,190 --> 00:24:45,000
That's not all.

406
00:24:46,110 --> 00:24:49,010
Our fourth priority is accessible
elections.

407
00:24:50,370 --> 00:24:53,440
Voters with disabilities face too many
barriers when either trying to

408
00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,480
get into a polling station, in terms of
physical access barriers.

409
00:24:57,480 --> 00:24:59,720
Or being able to mark their ballot
independently

410
00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:03,060
and verify their choice independently and
in private.

411
00:25:03,060 --> 00:25:07,080
As a blind person, I can't go to any
polling station that

412
00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:09,660
I [INAUDIBLE] near and being able to mark
my own ballot alone.

413
00:25:09,660 --> 00:25:11,150
I have to have someone help me.

414
00:25:11,150 --> 00:25:14,410
The government bought fancy, accessible
voting equipment but

415
00:25:14,410 --> 00:25:17,440
it's not available election day only
advance polls.

416
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:19,830
And only in one or two locations

417
00:25:19,830 --> 00:25:22,200
per writing, and some writings are pretty
huge.

418
00:25:23,330 --> 00:25:24,220
We have a solution.

419
00:25:25,220 --> 00:25:30,300
We're proposing that the government make
available telephone and internet voting.

420
00:25:30,300 --> 00:25:33,490
Won't be the solution for everybody, but
it will help lots of people.

421
00:25:33,490 --> 00:25:37,560
We also don't think it should be limited
The voters with disabilities.

422
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:39,880
We think it would be something that
everybody would like.

423
00:25:39,880 --> 00:25:47,630
44 Ontario municipalities already use web
or phone voting or both.

424
00:25:47,630 --> 00:25:50,660
City of Toronto right now is considering
it as well.

425
00:25:50,660 --> 00:25:53,790
Ontario lagging way behind.

426
00:25:53,790 --> 00:25:57,280
We fought for amendments to our elections
act, in 2010, we

427
00:25:57,280 --> 00:26:01,960
got weak Amendments that lead elections
Ontario study and test pilot it.

428
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:04,770
Elections Ontarians took a leisurely 3
years

429
00:26:04,770 --> 00:26:08,080
to study at and recommended get this.

430
00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:08,710
More study,

431
00:26:11,130 --> 00:26:13,520
more over elections Ontario said the power

432
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:16,710
test piloted in a bi-elections for two
years

433
00:26:16,710 --> 00:26:18,790
and they've refused to do so even though

434
00:26:18,790 --> 00:26:21,690
we've had several by-elections including
one coming up.

435
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:26,110
We want the legislature to intervene, if
it's good enough for

436
00:26:26,110 --> 00:26:30,660
44 municipalities around Ontario, it's
good enough for all provincial votes.

437
00:26:30,660 --> 00:26:33,630
We want it to be safe and secure but right
now

438
00:26:33,630 --> 00:26:38,800
elections Ontario and the legislature will
tolerate us having mail in ballots.

439
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:41,730
Which have the wonderful security of
Canada post.

440
00:26:43,390 --> 00:26:45,900
Or the security of your counter at home.

441
00:26:45,900 --> 00:26:49,220
If a mail in ballot happens to be sitting
there, and someone decides

442
00:26:49,220 --> 00:26:53,310
to grab it, mark it and mail it in, before
you notice it's missing.

443
00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,720
So don't apply a double standard to us on
security.

444
00:26:59,830 --> 00:27:02,560
when, when mail in ballots have been
considered

445
00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:07,810
tolerable for a number of, of years now.

446
00:27:07,810 --> 00:27:10,200
So, is that all?

447
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:11,940
There are other priorities.

448
00:27:11,940 --> 00:27:16,460
I'm just gonna mention one more, though
we've got several on our website.

449
00:27:16,460 --> 00:27:20,330
But there's one more that should be just
so easy.

450
00:27:20,330 --> 00:27:23,160
You've often heard that we need to raise
awareness.

451
00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:25,500
I'm not big into that as a solution.

452
00:27:25,500 --> 00:27:30,250
We need laws that'll solve our problems,
but there are a few areas where targeted,

453
00:27:30,250 --> 00:27:32,360
and I, and, listen, public education on
accessibility

454
00:27:32,360 --> 00:27:35,210
is always great, and it can always help.

455
00:27:35,210 --> 00:27:38,620
But we wanna target two particular
audiences.

456
00:27:38,620 --> 00:27:42,900
And the current Ontario government the
conservatives promised they would at

457
00:27:42,900 --> 00:27:45,470
least that they would try to make progress
on this in 2007.

458
00:27:45,470 --> 00:27:49,870
Its been seven years and we're still
waiting.

459
00:27:49,870 --> 00:27:52,520
Number one school kids.

460
00:27:52,520 --> 00:27:55,890
We'd like to have a mandatory curriculum
in school on accessibility.

461
00:27:55,890 --> 00:27:57,610
Lets get them while they're young.

462
00:27:57,610 --> 00:28:00,900
Get them on our side to understand the
importance of this, so when the

463
00:28:00,900 --> 00:28:02,700
next generation grows up, they don't make

464
00:28:02,700 --> 00:28:04,900
the same mistake that all previous
generations have.

465
00:28:07,090 --> 00:28:10,150
And the other important audience are key
professionals.

466
00:28:10,150 --> 00:28:13,810
We think that before you can get a license
to be an architect, you should

467
00:28:13,810 --> 00:28:18,480
at least be required to learn how to
design a building that everyone can use.

468
00:28:20,020 --> 00:28:21,050
Same for lawyers.

469
00:28:21,050 --> 00:28:24,630
In terms of knowing about accessible
services, same for

470
00:28:24,630 --> 00:28:28,530
doctors, social workers, and a wide range
of other professionals.

471
00:28:28,530 --> 00:28:33,070
The government doesn't set their education
standards, but can advocate, excuse me,

472
00:28:33,070 --> 00:28:37,860
to organization, self governing
professional bodies,

473
00:28:37,860 --> 00:28:40,340
that they include this in their
curriculum.

474
00:28:40,340 --> 00:28:42,990
The government said they would in 2007.

475
00:28:42,990 --> 00:28:45,430
We are still waiting.

476
00:28:45,430 --> 00:28:47,690
2025 is getting closer and closer.

477
00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,760
And we've, we're run, we've run out of
time to get this going.

478
00:28:52,760 --> 00:28:54,480
It's time for action now.

479
00:28:55,750 --> 00:28:57,280
Now, if you look at everything I've just
talked

480
00:28:57,280 --> 00:29:00,680
about, enforcement, they've got more
budget than they spend.

481
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:04,340
New standards, that's part of the role of
the government.

482
00:29:04,340 --> 00:29:06,710
And they've set up a body to create them.

483
00:29:06,710 --> 00:29:10,550
Moreover a healthcare and an education
standard we say should be designed,

484
00:29:10,550 --> 00:29:12,900
we acknowledge will be designed based

485
00:29:12,900 --> 00:29:15,240
on the existing healthcare and education
budgets.

486
00:29:15,240 --> 00:29:16,750
We just want them spent smarter.

487
00:29:18,930 --> 00:29:23,510
Getting people teaching this in schools,
well folks think about it.

488
00:29:23,510 --> 00:29:25,950
We already have the schools.

489
00:29:25,950 --> 00:29:28,360
Let's get the curriculum tweaked.

490
00:29:28,360 --> 00:29:31,990
We think that students and teachers will
like it.

491
00:29:31,990 --> 00:29:35,020
Architects learning how to design a
building that's accessible.

492
00:29:35,020 --> 00:29:36,730
Any architect student doesn't like the

493
00:29:36,730 --> 00:29:40,365
idea maybe they should find another
profession.

494
00:29:40,365 --> 00:29:40,970
>> [LAUGH]

495
00:29:40,970 --> 00:29:43,800
>> But in any event, I don't know that
any of them won't like it.

496
00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:44,710
I think they would.

497
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:50,510
Having delivered training on accessibility
to law students,

498
00:29:50,510 --> 00:29:54,270
lawyers, and judges, I find the audiences
receptive.

499
00:29:54,270 --> 00:29:57,730
We just have to mandate it so we make sure
we get it to everyone.

500
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:05,000
Well then, so we've got a pretty tough
agenda of things to do.

501
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,630
Tough not in the sense that they're tough
things to do but

502
00:30:07,630 --> 00:30:12,720
they're important things that aren't being
done What do we do about it?

503
00:30:12,720 --> 00:30:15,630
Let's spend the rest of our time talking
about that.

504
00:30:15,630 --> 00:30:21,160
The most important message I can offer you
is this, our success

505
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,330
on this depends, oh, does this sound like
a guilt trip, on you.

506
00:30:27,340 --> 00:30:28,690
How do I know that?

507
00:30:28,690 --> 00:30:32,420
Because our coalition and it's predecessor
have been

508
00:30:32,420 --> 00:30:35,719
waging in the accessibility campaign for
19 years.

509
00:30:36,800 --> 00:30:41,820
From 1994 to 2005, the, our predecessor,
the Ontarions With Disabilities Act

510
00:30:41,820 --> 00:30:44,170
Committee, fought across the province at

511
00:30:44,170 --> 00:30:47,610
the grassroots to get this legislation
passed.

512
00:30:47,610 --> 00:30:50,870
Its successor coalition, the AODA
Alliance, which

513
00:30:50,870 --> 00:30:53,730
I also chair, the ODA committee having

514
00:30:53,730 --> 00:30:57,020
wound up It's been waging a nine

515
00:30:57,020 --> 00:30:59,880
year campaign to get the law effectively
implemented.

516
00:30:59,880 --> 00:31:04,560
We've made enormous progress, getting the
law passed and unanimously is

517
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:08,800
in retrospect, something of which we
should all be very proud.

518
00:31:08,800 --> 00:31:13,090
And while we're behind schedule for
implementation, we've got more

519
00:31:13,090 --> 00:31:16,800
attention on an action on accessibility in
Ontario right now.

520
00:31:16,800 --> 00:31:19,880
Then we would have had without it and that
we've ever had before.

521
00:31:21,510 --> 00:31:24,518
But the key to it has been folks just like
you.

522
00:31:24,518 --> 00:31:32,950
Individuals, young, old, really young,
really old and all point in between.

523
00:31:32,950 --> 00:31:36,290
People who don't know anything about
community organizing.

524
00:31:36,290 --> 00:31:38,680
People who don't know anything about law.

525
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:43,430
People who've never gotten on a telev on a
TV or radio program before.

526
00:31:43,430 --> 00:31:46,830
People who may never have written a
newspaper column before.

527
00:31:46,830 --> 00:31:48,670
People who've never possibly talked to a

528
00:31:48,670 --> 00:31:53,640
politician before, but who decided to get
active.

529
00:31:53,640 --> 00:31:58,800
Our biggest barrier to success are people
who think there's

530
00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:02,120
nothing I can do and there's no point in
trying.

531
00:32:04,490 --> 00:32:08,940
I'm proud that the coalition that I served
and it's predecessor has spent a

532
00:32:08,940 --> 00:32:12,380
lot of time, a lot of effort and had a lot
of suc, success.

533
00:32:12,380 --> 00:32:17,050
In disabusing people of that sense, of
that feeling.

534
00:32:17,050 --> 00:32:19,910
You might initially think that you need a
law degree, and all

535
00:32:19,910 --> 00:32:24,160
these years of training, and speaking, and
public advocacy and, and, and,

536
00:32:24,160 --> 00:32:27,820
and all these to, to be able to do this,
but frankly,

537
00:32:27,820 --> 00:32:33,860
frankly, the most effective people who get
the message across are John Q.

538
00:32:33,860 --> 00:32:34,990
Public or Joan Q.

539
00:32:34,990 --> 00:32:37,090
Public with or without a disability.

540
00:32:37,090 --> 00:32:40,320
If you got a disability, you're talking
about your own experience,

541
00:32:40,320 --> 00:32:43,820
if you don't have a disability, you're
gonna get one later.

542
00:32:43,820 --> 00:32:45,240
It happens to all of us.

543
00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:49,360
So you have the same interest we do in
winning this battle.

544
00:32:51,180 --> 00:32:56,000
I've been, the legislature seat a number
of bills go through the legislature.

545
00:32:56,000 --> 00:32:57,730
And sometimes they hold what are called
public

546
00:32:57,730 --> 00:33:00,640
hearings where they invite members of the
public to

547
00:33:00,640 --> 00:33:03,840
come in and make formal speeches,
presentations, what's good

548
00:33:03,840 --> 00:33:06,110
or bad about the bill, what should be
changed.

549
00:33:06,110 --> 00:33:08,690
Now you might think that politicians give

550
00:33:08,690 --> 00:33:11,090
a preference to hearing and are most
interested

551
00:33:11,090 --> 00:33:14,040
in hearing from well oiled organizations
with

552
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:19,080
glossy briefs who have slick and detailed
presentations.

553
00:33:19,080 --> 00:33:21,040
The reality is the reverse.

554
00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:25,850
If you ever wanna watch politicians really
sit forward and listen watch what

555
00:33:25,850 --> 00:33:30,290
happens when it's a mom or a dad or a
grandma or a

556
00:33:30,290 --> 00:33:34,620
grandpa of a kid with a disability who
just comes in and says,

557
00:33:34,620 --> 00:33:38,170
let me tell you about the barriers facing
my child or my grandchild.

558
00:33:38,170 --> 00:33:42,000
When it's a woman with a disability who
talks about

559
00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:46,280
getting parking tickets when she parks in
an accessible spot.

560
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:48,600
Trying to fight against parking tickets
she

561
00:33:48,600 --> 00:33:51,830
got, when she parked in accessible spots.

562
00:33:51,830 --> 00:33:55,130
And she has a disability permit on her
vehicle.

563
00:33:55,130 --> 00:33:57,380
I gotta tell you, that's what they
remember.

564
00:33:57,380 --> 00:34:00,750
The real life, real human experiences.

565
00:34:00,750 --> 00:34:02,310
So what do you do?

566
00:34:02,310 --> 00:34:04,100
You have several avenues.

567
00:34:04,100 --> 00:34:08,520
Let me tell you the avenues and offer some
specific suggestions.

568
00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:14,410
The avenues that we have right now are,
number one, elections.

569
00:34:14,410 --> 00:34:18,660
As I'm speaking, there is a bi-elec, two
bi-elections in Ontario in

570
00:34:18,660 --> 00:34:24,300
the Thorn Hill and Niagara Falls writing
taking place on February 13th, 2014.

571
00:34:24,300 --> 00:34:28,910
Even if you don't live in those writings,
their one tweet, one phone

572
00:34:28,910 --> 00:34:34,580
call, one fax, or one drive away for many
people to get involved.

573
00:34:34,580 --> 00:34:36,470
More about what to do in a minute.

574
00:34:36,470 --> 00:34:40,650
We're expecting there's a real possibility
though it's certainly not a certainty

575
00:34:40,650 --> 00:34:44,510
is Spring election and if there isn't
they'll be one sometime after that.

576
00:34:45,510 --> 00:34:47,090
Using the tips that I'm gonna talk about

577
00:34:47,090 --> 00:34:50,440
in the bi-election equally apply in full
elections.

578
00:34:51,690 --> 00:34:54,930
Between elections, and whether or not
there's an election, you've

579
00:34:54,930 --> 00:34:58,790
always got access to your member of the
Ontario legislature.

580
00:35:00,110 --> 00:35:04,130
And that is an avenue that we have used
across the province, regardless of party.

581
00:35:04,130 --> 00:35:05,380
We are nonpartisan.

582
00:35:05,380 --> 00:35:07,710
We don't try to elect or defeat anyone.

583
00:35:07,710 --> 00:35:09,600
You vote however you want, it's not our
business.

584
00:35:09,600 --> 00:35:13,770
But it's worth visiting Politicians and
candidates, whatever be their party.

585
00:35:15,290 --> 00:35:17,740
There are two other avenues for input this
spring.

586
00:35:18,980 --> 00:35:22,560
Under the Disabilities Act, the government
is required

587
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,580
every few years to appoint an independent
person

588
00:35:25,580 --> 00:35:27,780
to see how we're doing under the act,

589
00:35:28,910 --> 00:35:32,390
whether we're on schedule, and what needs
to change.

590
00:35:32,390 --> 00:35:35,880
The most recent independent review was
appointed last summer, about

591
00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:39,410
102 days after they were legally obliged
to be appointed.

592
00:35:39,410 --> 00:35:41,240
The reviewer appointed is a fabulous

593
00:35:41,240 --> 00:35:46,830
choice, Dean Mayo Moran, M-A-Y-O, Moran,
M-O-R-A-N.

594
00:35:46,830 --> 00:35:50,020
She's the Dean of Law at the University of
Toronto, Faculty of Law.

595
00:35:50,020 --> 00:35:54,630
She's inviting public input, she's gonna
hold public consultations.

596
00:35:54,630 --> 00:35:56,490
Let her know what you think.

597
00:35:56,490 --> 00:36:00,500
And you don't have to be with an
organization, you can be an individual.

598
00:36:00,500 --> 00:36:03,060
The final avenue for input is this.

599
00:36:03,060 --> 00:36:07,020
Right now even though the government isn't
developing any new standards, they

600
00:36:07,020 --> 00:36:08,910
have, they are required to have

601
00:36:10,290 --> 00:36:14,260
the 2007, customer service standard,
accessibility standard,

602
00:36:14,260 --> 00:36:19,770
reviewed the body that is reviewing it is
called the Accessibility Standards

603
00:36:19,770 --> 00:36:26,860
Advisory Council, ASAC, and it will be
inviting public input later this spring.

604
00:36:28,320 --> 00:36:32,080
So, those are the avenues, by election,
upcoming

605
00:36:32,080 --> 00:36:35,980
general election, reaching out to members
of the legislature.

606
00:36:35,980 --> 00:36:38,980
Whether or not there's an election, the
Mayo

607
00:36:38,980 --> 00:36:43,740
Moran Independent Review, the Customer
Service Standard Review.

608
00:36:44,770 --> 00:36:46,392
So what do you do?

609
00:36:46,392 --> 00:36:48,950
Let me give you some, now we turn to the,
what you

610
00:36:48,950 --> 00:36:53,140
personally can do using, to travel in one
or more of those avenues.

611
00:36:53,140 --> 00:36:55,790
Anything you can do from this list helps.

612
00:36:55,790 --> 00:37:00,870
First things first, we strongly invite
you, encourage

613
00:37:00,870 --> 00:37:05,500
you to sign up for AODA Alliance email
updates.

614
00:37:05,500 --> 00:37:08,620
For anybody watching on video, you send a
request.

615
00:37:08,620 --> 00:37:10,460
All you have to say in the subject line
is, sign

616
00:37:10,460 --> 00:37:17,772
me up, and you email it to this email
address aodafeedback@gmail.com.

617
00:37:17,772 --> 00:37:22,140
aodafeedback@gmail.com.

618
00:37:22,140 --> 00:37:25,440
We send emails once, sometimes twice,
maybe on

619
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:27,850
occasions three times a week, sometimes
not at all

620
00:37:27,850 --> 00:37:29,900
during the week to let you know what we're

621
00:37:29,900 --> 00:37:34,140
upto, what are the new issues, seeking
your feedback.

622
00:37:34,140 --> 00:37:37,830
Inviting your input, never seeking your
money by the way.

623
00:37:37,830 --> 00:37:40,890
And also offering you action tips.

624
00:37:42,440 --> 00:37:43,230
More about that in a minute.

625
00:37:44,310 --> 00:37:48,200
So follow, get our, sign up for our email
updates.

626
00:37:48,200 --> 00:37:51,530
We have people following us from all over
the world.

627
00:37:51,530 --> 00:37:54,440
And share them with your friends, forward
them to your friends.

628
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:56,510
Post them on your Facebook page.

629
00:37:56,510 --> 00:37:59,570
Cut and paste from them, use them as you
wish, spread the word.

630
00:38:00,840 --> 00:38:03,710
That's how we won the Disabilities Act,
was through that kind of activity.

631
00:38:04,950 --> 00:38:10,240
Next, follow us on twitter, two twitter
handles, for the

632
00:38:10,240 --> 00:38:15,812
alliance, it's @aodaalliance, for me
personally

633
00:38:15,812 --> 00:38:22,760
@davidlepofsky, L-E-P-O-F-S-K-Y.

634
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,350
We also, our tweets go out on our Facebook
page,

635
00:38:25,350 --> 00:38:29,000
would you please, we invite you to like
our Facebook page

636
00:38:29,000 --> 00:38:34,900
and share our posts with as many people as
you can, there's a long name,

637
00:38:34,900 --> 00:38:42,360
Accessibility for Ontarians with
Disabilities Act Alliance.

638
00:38:42,360 --> 00:38:43,240
Need a shorter name.

639
00:38:44,560 --> 00:38:47,870
But just by signing up, retweeting,
sharing

640
00:38:47,870 --> 00:38:50,460
our posts, forwarding our email updates to

641
00:38:50,460 --> 00:38:55,360
friends, organizations you're involved in,
family, politicians,

642
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,499
and the media, that alone really helps.

643
00:39:00,560 --> 00:39:04,660
What can you do specifically in the
bi-election or in an upcoming election?

644
00:39:04,660 --> 00:39:09,320
We distribute on our email and on our
website, by the way all our posts end up

645
00:39:09,320 --> 00:39:18,960
on our website it's www.aodaalliance.org,
aodaalliance.org.

646
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:21,900
What we do when major events like a
bi-election

647
00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:24,860
or an election comes, we put up an action
kit.

648
00:39:24,860 --> 00:39:27,950
And in a few pages, it tells you
everything you need to know.

649
00:39:27,950 --> 00:39:31,900
What are the issues, what actions do we
propose you to take.

650
00:39:31,900 --> 00:39:34,200
Now, of course, you're welcome to take
whatever issues you

651
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:38,340
want public, We don't cover' em, go add to
them.

652
00:39:39,530 --> 00:39:42,560
That's the joy of democracy in community
organizing.

653
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:44,650
Let's us know what you're up to in case
something

654
00:39:44,650 --> 00:39:47,260
we didn't think of that might really be
cool to add.

655
00:39:49,350 --> 00:39:54,230
For example, we have an election action
kit out for the byelection.

656
00:39:54,230 --> 00:39:57,640
We identify five questions to ask
politicians.

657
00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:01,880
Drawn from that list of priorities I
reviewed, it is easy to

658
00:40:01,880 --> 00:40:06,100
cut and paste them into an email and send
them to the candidates.

659
00:40:06,100 --> 00:40:07,240
We encourage you to do that.

660
00:40:08,380 --> 00:40:12,440
It's also easy to phone a candidate's
office, ask for a

661
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:16,870
campaign worker they will perhaps not know
anything about this issue.

662
00:40:16,870 --> 00:40:20,960
And ask them the questions, they may say I
gotta get back to you on it, but offer

663
00:40:20,960 --> 00:40:24,610
to send them the action kit, and connect
them

664
00:40:24,610 --> 00:40:27,450
up with our website cuz there are more
resources available.

665
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,290
We've had people do this, they've gone to

666
00:40:30,290 --> 00:40:34,080
candidate after candidate, to campaign
office after campaign office.

667
00:40:34,080 --> 00:40:35,770
If you can go to more than one, that's
great.

668
00:40:35,770 --> 00:40:38,710
If you can only go to one, that's way
better than going to nine.

669
00:40:40,620 --> 00:40:42,350
Use social media to spread the word.

670
00:40:42,350 --> 00:40:44,610
I've talked about it but I really wanna
amplify it.

671
00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:51,960
Social media is a free and effective way
to reach more and more people.

672
00:40:51,960 --> 00:40:54,070
Grab our posts or our tweets and share

673
00:40:54,070 --> 00:40:57,090
them around, add your own comments, send
your own.

674
00:40:58,250 --> 00:41:02,360
The more activity on in this area, the
better.

675
00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:03,870
The hash tags, if you're a twitter

676
00:41:03,870 --> 00:41:11,830
junkie in this area or /=/accessibility or
/=/aldawork.

677
00:41:11,830 --> 00:41:13,970
So then, what else can you do?

678
00:41:15,020 --> 00:41:21,850
Well, we need the media, we need media
coverage, you might think I

679
00:41:21,850 --> 00:41:24,810
can't go get media coverage, I don't, you
know, I'm just an individual.

680
00:41:25,910 --> 00:41:29,230
Well, there is a lot you can do, see the
media, as I've said

681
00:41:29,230 --> 00:41:31,930
often during these elections, these, these
lectures,

682
00:41:31,930 --> 00:41:35,980
the media doesn't cover issues, they cover
events.

683
00:41:35,980 --> 00:41:38,950
If you call up a good news organization
say, breaking

684
00:41:38,950 --> 00:41:44,430
news, people with disabilities face
barriers in Ontario, you'll lose them.

685
00:41:45,790 --> 00:41:50,890
But on the other hand, when some parents
of kids

686
00:41:50,890 --> 00:41:54,370
with autism, who have a problem with their
school board,

687
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:58,930
raise it with the media, it became a big

688
00:41:58,930 --> 00:42:03,530
story, a couple days ago in the Toronto
Star.

689
00:42:03,530 --> 00:42:06,980
Their children with autism benefit
substantially

690
00:42:06,980 --> 00:42:09,860
from a service dog that helps calm

691
00:42:09,860 --> 00:42:13,820
and focus them so that they can take part
in activities like schooling.

692
00:42:13,820 --> 00:42:17,890
They wanted to take their dogs to school,
their, their service dog to school.

693
00:42:17,890 --> 00:42:23,370
School boards had to wrestle with how to
accommodate and the Toronto star article

694
00:42:23,370 --> 00:42:28,490
reported that some got a welcoming
reception

695
00:42:28,490 --> 00:42:31,360
and they worked it out, others had took a
year and

696
00:42:31,360 --> 00:42:35,920
a lot of hoops to go through without an
effective resolution.

697
00:42:35,920 --> 00:42:39,220
And the Toronto star article provided a
platform for us, so

698
00:42:39,220 --> 00:42:44,040
then we didn't take the story, the story
came from these individuals.

699
00:42:44,040 --> 00:42:46,060
But then it let us, when we were
approached to

700
00:42:46,060 --> 00:42:49,520
say, this shows why we need an education
accessibility standard.

701
00:42:49,520 --> 00:42:52,430
Each school board shouldn't be reinventing
this wheel.

702
00:42:52,430 --> 00:42:54,740
Each parent shouldn't have to fight this
battle alone.

703
00:42:57,110 --> 00:43:01,930
Now, to get those stories in the press, we
need you.

704
00:43:01,930 --> 00:43:05,180
We need individuals who face barriers,
individuals of friends

705
00:43:05,180 --> 00:43:08,360
facing barriers, individuals of witness
bearers, even if they don't

706
00:43:08,360 --> 00:43:09,980
hurt them but they think it's wrong for
them

707
00:43:09,980 --> 00:43:13,220
to be there, to take those stories to the
press.

708
00:43:13,220 --> 00:43:16,710
The media focuses on individual incidents
and that

709
00:43:16,710 --> 00:43:19,150
becomes a platform to address the broader
issue.

710
00:43:21,010 --> 00:43:22,720
It's great during an election to bring
these up

711
00:43:22,720 --> 00:43:25,270
at all candidates debates, but it's great
to just

712
00:43:25,270 --> 00:43:27,760
call up the assignment desk at a radio or

713
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:33,030
TV or news station, or a newspaper, to
raise these.

714
00:43:33,030 --> 00:43:36,340
Well you might find out that the media
sometimes doesn't pick up your story.

715
00:43:37,970 --> 00:43:39,560
That's not the end of it.

716
00:43:39,560 --> 00:43:42,690
Cause the beauty of the world we now live
in, is that there

717
00:43:42,690 --> 00:43:47,300
are avenues for you to get to the public
through various forms of media.

718
00:43:48,620 --> 00:43:50,660
Without having to, without being able to

719
00:43:50,660 --> 00:43:54,090
bypass the assignment desk in some news
organization.

720
00:43:54,090 --> 00:43:55,500
How do you do that?

721
00:43:55,500 --> 00:43:57,750
One great way is call in radio, call into

722
00:43:57,750 --> 00:44:01,189
radio stations, talk radio, that's all
people do is talk.

723
00:44:02,230 --> 00:44:06,430
They call in so phone in and tell them
about a barrier you face.

724
00:44:07,670 --> 00:44:12,630
And even encourage them to do a, a show or
a half an hour on that topic.

725
00:44:15,220 --> 00:44:18,869
That's easy, it's free and it's readily
available.

726
00:44:20,280 --> 00:44:23,770
Another opportunity, if it's a newspaper
that hasn't been covering your

727
00:44:23,770 --> 00:44:27,630
story that you wanna take them to, letters
to the editor.

728
00:44:27,630 --> 00:44:30,590
Or, call up and ask about writing a guest
column.

729
00:44:30,590 --> 00:44:32,040
We've had our supporters around the

730
00:44:32,040 --> 00:44:33,950
province write guest columns over the
year.

731
00:44:33,950 --> 00:44:38,180
And I'm not talking about people who
graduated with degrees in, in journalism.

732
00:44:38,180 --> 00:44:40,040
I'm talking about people who've got no
training in this

733
00:44:40,040 --> 00:44:44,580
at all, just tell your story, talk about
what's wrong.

734
00:44:44,580 --> 00:44:48,230
Borrow liberally from AODA Alliance
materials and we don't need

735
00:44:48,230 --> 00:44:52,150
any credit, we will never complain that
people used our stuff.

736
00:44:52,150 --> 00:44:55,130
We will be delighted, I'm happiest when
we're not attributed.

737
00:44:56,300 --> 00:45:00,630
If we say it well and you like to use it,
don't worry, we're delighted.

738
00:45:00,630 --> 00:45:04,400
Hey if you wanna change the wording
around, that's good too but we're,

739
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:09,480
we encourage you to use our material on
our website or our email updates.

740
00:45:10,500 --> 00:45:13,690
These are all ways that you can spread the
word.

741
00:45:16,560 --> 00:45:19,870
Let me conclude with a couple of thoughts.

742
00:45:19,870 --> 00:45:22,600
There are, are more and more strategies on

743
00:45:22,600 --> 00:45:25,360
our website, but these are just a few
examples.

744
00:45:25,360 --> 00:45:29,320
If you're going to a politician, tell 'em
individual stories about

745
00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:32,090
barriers and then present them with the
issues that we've got.

746
00:45:32,090 --> 00:45:34,120
If you're going in the media, tell them
about the

747
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:37,530
barriers that you face or that you know
someone faces.

748
00:45:38,540 --> 00:45:42,180
And then, talk about the broader issue
about no

749
00:45:42,180 --> 00:45:46,120
enforcement of the EDODA or about meeting
new accessibility standards.

750
00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:47,660
Don't make it all bad news of course.

751
00:45:47,660 --> 00:45:52,060
If there's good news about a barrier you
managed to overcome at one University

752
00:45:52,060 --> 00:45:54,620
bring it to the media in order or put it
out on twitter on

753
00:45:54,620 --> 00:45:58,640
a blog so you can say hey folks here's a
solution that works if

754
00:45:58,640 --> 00:46:00,880
only we had an education accessibility
standard,

755
00:46:00,880 --> 00:46:02,489
we could use this across the province.

756
00:46:03,760 --> 00:46:11,040
Turn your successes into an advocacy
effort, not just not just the bad news.

757
00:46:11,040 --> 00:46:14,420
The important bad news but the bad news of
more and more barriers.

758
00:46:15,530 --> 00:46:19,070
So, let me conclude, let me conclude this
way,

759
00:46:21,120 --> 00:46:25,551
this to the average individual seems
uh,can often

760
00:46:25,551 --> 00:46:27,600
seem way more then they're ready to deal
with.

761
00:46:27,600 --> 00:46:30,030
They're busy, they're tired, they face too
much.

762
00:46:30,030 --> 00:46:32,520
They're busy in school or at work or with

763
00:46:32,520 --> 00:46:36,610
family, and they got a million things to
do.

764
00:46:36,610 --> 00:46:39,390
Another thing to do is just one more, and
it can't be done.

765
00:46:40,390 --> 00:46:45,358
And, as I said earlier, a sense that, what
difference can I make?

766
00:46:45,358 --> 00:46:48,540
Well I wanna tell you that when we started
in as

767
00:46:48,540 --> 00:46:52,380
20 people meeting in a room at Queen's
park in 1994.

768
00:46:52,380 --> 00:46:56,040
When we started the, the grass roots
movement that grew

769
00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:01,160
into the, the Disability Act Advocacy
Initiative that we are today.

770
00:47:03,020 --> 00:47:05,560
None of us had any expectation we'd
succeed.

771
00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:08,770
And, anybody looking on would say, there's
just no hope.

772
00:47:08,770 --> 00:47:10,900
You'll never unite the disability
community,

773
00:47:10,900 --> 00:47:13,120
you'll never get anyone to listen.

774
00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:17,050
And, somebody looking that cynically at
us, frankly, would be right.

775
00:47:18,130 --> 00:47:21,690
It was totally impractical if not
impossible.

776
00:47:21,690 --> 00:47:23,420
Once we formed.

777
00:47:23,420 --> 00:47:24,970
And when we got to the spring of 1995,

778
00:47:24,970 --> 00:47:29,520
as a tiny little coalition, it would be
reasonable.

779
00:47:29,520 --> 00:47:31,660
And some thought we could never get a

780
00:47:31,660 --> 00:47:34,790
commitment from a political party on our
agenda.

781
00:47:34,790 --> 00:47:38,830
We got commitments from two of the parties
in 95, well in the 95 election.

782
00:47:38,830 --> 00:47:41,170
And every election since, at least two

783
00:47:41,170 --> 00:47:43,520
parties have made commitments to us,
sometimes three.

784
00:47:45,410 --> 00:47:50,800
After the election in 1995 Mike Harris the
conservative pre, premiere was elected.

785
00:47:50,800 --> 00:47:54,760
He promised the Disability Act but at a
dis, an anti regulation agenda

786
00:47:54,760 --> 00:47:57,760
and people thought there's no way you'll
ever get a law out of him.

787
00:47:57,760 --> 00:48:01,288
It took years, the law he passed was
inadequate,

788
00:48:01,288 --> 00:48:07,490
but in 2001 the Ontarians with
Disabilities Act 2001was passed.

789
00:48:07,490 --> 00:48:12,750
When it was passed, it being way less than
we needed, some people

790
00:48:12,750 --> 00:48:17,690
looking on would've said or did say, the
disability community is gonna give up.

791
00:48:17,690 --> 00:48:21,340
They held together for, for six years,
they got a

792
00:48:21,340 --> 00:48:23,929
very weak law, they're gonna move on to
other things.

793
00:48:25,220 --> 00:48:28,590
Anyone who thought that turned out to be
wrong our community stayed together.

794
00:48:28,590 --> 00:48:33,470
We got commitments in 2003 election for a
stronger Disability Act.

795
00:48:33,470 --> 00:48:37,330
Some people thought after the 2003
election maybe [INAUDIBLE]

796
00:48:37,330 --> 00:48:40,980
promise good act but they won't deliver
good act.

797
00:48:40,980 --> 00:48:43,910
And after the years with the prior
government and people being

798
00:48:43,910 --> 00:48:47,100
cynical about politicians, they could
understand why they'd feel that way.

799
00:48:47,100 --> 00:48:48,300
But guess what?

800
00:48:48,300 --> 00:48:49,850
We kept it up.

801
00:48:49,850 --> 00:48:52,090
Grassroots advocates kept it up.

802
00:48:52,090 --> 00:48:56,170
Individuals, moms and dads and kids, kept
it up.

803
00:48:56,170 --> 00:49:00,440
And in 2005, we got all Parties' support
for a law that

804
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:04,130
included the key or, key ingredients, I
should say, that we wanted.

805
00:49:05,240 --> 00:49:06,430
So, where are we now?

806
00:49:07,720 --> 00:49:10,715
On the one hand we've got a series of
standards that help but

807
00:49:10,715 --> 00:49:15,410
rampant non-compliance under one standard
and we don't know, we heard about the

808
00:49:15,410 --> 00:49:19,340
others but what is left to worry inatyard
wait a little on the

809
00:49:19,340 --> 00:49:22,920
enforcement [INAUDIBLE] and delay by
government in

810
00:49:22,920 --> 00:49:24,790
coming up with the next accessibility
standard.

811
00:49:24,790 --> 00:49:30,700
So there is every reason to be as
pessimistic, as the people were in 94, or

812
00:49:30,700 --> 00:49:37,320
I should say as some people were in 94 or
95 or all the way up to 2001 or in 2003.

813
00:49:37,320 --> 00:49:40,200
But guess what?

814
00:49:40,200 --> 00:49:44,600
Those of us who were optimists, those of
us who ignored all the good

815
00:49:44,600 --> 00:49:50,140
reasons to be pessimists and he picked up
that phone to call a politician,

816
00:49:50,140 --> 00:49:54,150
or went to visit a campaign office, or
wrote a column for a newspaper,

817
00:49:54,150 --> 00:49:59,380
or tweeted, or posted on Facebook, or
whatever, those people just kept it up.

818
00:50:00,890 --> 00:50:03,540
And they won each of those rounds and I
believe

819
00:50:03,540 --> 00:50:06,630
if we keep it up we will won, win this
round.

820
00:50:06,630 --> 00:50:12,380
Let me conclude with an entire an analogy
that all my environmentalist friends hate.

821
00:50:14,220 --> 00:50:18,200
We had a big huge tree beside us here, a
big huge

822
00:50:18,200 --> 00:50:22,400
strapping tall tree, and I told you, you
know, knock that tree down.

823
00:50:23,450 --> 00:50:26,910
You'd walk over, and you'd put your hands
and push, and you go it's impossible.

824
00:50:26,910 --> 00:50:30,000
If I handed you an ax and said okay now
chop it

825
00:50:30,000 --> 00:50:34,420
down if you took one big, huge swing,
you'd make a little dent.

826
00:50:35,870 --> 00:50:41,263
But we all know that a person can cut a
tree down, if you swing that axe

827
00:50:41,263 --> 00:50:47,550
enough times, hard enough, properly aimed,
you could chop that tree down.

828
00:50:47,550 --> 00:50:50,900
If we get two people and two axes, they

829
00:50:50,900 --> 00:50:53,950
swing it the wrong way, they're gonna hurt
each other.

830
00:50:53,950 --> 00:50:55,900
But if they swing it the right way and
work

831
00:50:55,900 --> 00:50:59,330
together, they'll cut down the tree in
half the time.

832
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:04,645
Every one of you, every one of you who

833
00:51:04,645 --> 00:51:08,260
retweets a tweet, that's a swing of the
axe.

834
00:51:08,260 --> 00:51:12,250
Every one of you who decides to post
something on Facebook to

835
00:51:12,250 --> 00:51:17,700
your friends about issues regarding
accessibility, that's a swing of the axe.

836
00:51:17,700 --> 00:51:21,890
Every one of you that signs up for our
email updates and then forwards them to

837
00:51:21,890 --> 00:51:25,450
your family and friends and maybe some
politicians

838
00:51:25,450 --> 00:51:28,830
or journalists, that's the swing of the
axe.

839
00:51:28,830 --> 00:51:32,100
Every one of you who calls a call-in radio
station,

840
00:51:32,100 --> 00:51:35,200
that counts as about five or six swings of
the axe.

841
00:51:35,200 --> 00:51:36,910
Every one of you who goes to an all
candidates

842
00:51:36,910 --> 00:51:41,510
debate, and gets up and raises this from
the floor.

843
00:51:41,510 --> 00:51:43,950
These issues, from our action kinda or
your

844
00:51:43,950 --> 00:51:47,160
own issues, yet more swings of the axe.

845
00:51:47,160 --> 00:51:52,090
And we know, just as you can be as
confident as can be, that the impossible

846
00:51:52,090 --> 00:51:54,690
task of knocking down that tree, is
possible

847
00:51:54,690 --> 00:51:57,780
by enough well coordinated swings of the
axe.

848
00:51:57,780 --> 00:52:00,500
We know that by these efforts, we can get
this law

849
00:52:00,500 --> 00:52:04,450
effectively enforced and we can get to our
goal of full accessibility.

850
00:52:04,450 --> 00:52:07,500
Thank you very much for coming and I
appreciate you taking

851
00:52:07,500 --> 00:52:11,196
the time to, to think about taking action
on this important agenda.

852
00:52:11,196 --> 00:52:11,439
[SOUND]