Braille Literacy Canada affirms the importance of access to braille during the pandemic
Braille is literacy. Braille signage, elevator buttons, restaurant menus, and other braille materials provide equal access to information and are essential for blind people to have and use. This is especially true during times of pandemic when access to information may be especially vital. Braille must continue to be available to those who need it. Braille users can sanitize and wash their hands before and after touching braille. Surfaces which have braille such as elevator panels, signs, room numbers, can and should be cleaned as other surfaces are, in accordance with public health recommendations.
VISIONS – September newsletter
Fighting Blindness Canada Fall Webinars
View Point: The Importance of Genetic Testing
Thursday, September 10, 2020, 4 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET
Are you living with an inherited retinal disease (IRD)? Do you have questions about genetic testing and if its right for you? View Point returns this fall with an exciting, extended webinar all about genetic testing and its importance in the development of new treatments for blinding eye disease. Joining the webinar will be a genetic counsellor and a person living with an IRD to discuss how the process works, why it’s important, and where to access resources.
Featured speakers will include: Dr. Cynthia Qian, Assistant Professor, Ophthalmology at Université de Montréal & VP of the Canadian Retina Society, Dr. Jill Dolgin, Head of Patient Advocacy, AGTC, Jill Beis, Genetic Counsellor, Maritime Medical Genetics Services and Shari Shaw, Health Information Officer, Fighting Blindness Canada.
A Q&A period will be included. Please email your questions in advance to [email protected]
Young Leaders: Accessibility & Accommodations at School and Work
Thursday, September 17, 2020, 7 p.m. ET
Whether you’re starting a new job or entering post-secondary education, figuring out what accommodations are available can be complicated and confusing. What are your rights and responsibilities? What should your school or employer be providing to you? In this panel discussion, we will talk to Human Resource and accessibility professionals and young leaders to learn what to expect and how you can self-advocate in order to participate fully in school or the workplace.
A Q&A period will be included. Please email questions in advance to [email protected]
View Point: All your questions about AMD answered!
Monday, September 21, 2020, 10 a.m. ET
Are you or someone you know living with age-related macular degeneration (AMD)? Did you know AMD is the leading cause of vision loss in people over the age of 50, affecting approximately 1.4 million Canadians?
In this View Point webinar, retina specialist Dr. Deepa Yoganathan will devote the entire webinar to answering your questions about living with AMD, including how it might affect you, treatment options, and new research.
You will have the opportunity to ask your questions in the session, or you can send them in advance to [email protected]
An update about the COVID-19 Disability financial assistance
Bill C-20, An Act Respecting Further COVID-19 Measures, received Royal Assent today, and also came into force. This Act includes the one-time financial assistance of up to $600 to people with disabilities. It’s a done deal.
As a reminder, to be eligible for the funding you must be a recipient of one of the following programs or benefits:
* A Disability Tax Credit certificate provided by the Canada Revenue
Agency;Canada Pension Plan
* Disability benefit or Quebec Pension Plan disability benefit
* Disability supports provided by Veterans Affairs Canada.
You can read more about this Act at: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=E&billId=10833096
Accessibility of Insulin Devices Survey
CNIB’S advocacy team is conducting research about the accessibility of insulin pumps for people who are living with diabetes and sight loss.
As part of the research, they are launching a survey that will help everyone better understand the accessibility issues people face when administering insulin.
Responses welcome from people living with diabetes and sighte loss, their caregivers, medical professionals, people working int eh insulin device industry and anyone who has a connection to sight loss and diabetes. If you have diabetes and sight loss but currently administer insulin through a method that is not a pump, they would also like to learn more about your experiences throug this survey.
Although CNIB is a Canaian organization, they also welcome responses from people living outside of Canaa o the picture can be as omplete as possible of how this issue is affecting the international community.
Information about the survey and how the information collected will be used to advocate for change is included in the lin to the survery below:
https://www.surveymonkey.ca/r/Y5H5LPT
Thank you in advance for your participation and for joining the international movement to make insulin pumps more accessible for people who are blind or partially sighted.
Le sondage dans la français, ici
Notices of Appointment Opportunities
(Le français suit l’anglais)
The Privy Council Office (PCO) has asked us to share two Notices of Appointment Opportunities for the positions of Member of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC) and Member of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Links to the postings on the Governor in Council (GIC) website are below.
You are kindly asked to circulate these postings amongst your networks and associations. Please note that while candidates are encouraged to apply by the “application review date” of July 20, 2020, this is not a closing date for the process and applications may be considered up until an appointment is made.
While PCO asked us to share these two notices, other opportunities are available at the main GIC page: https://www.canada.ca/en/privy-council/topics/appointments/governor-council.html
Selection processes are open to all Canadians, to provide them with an opportunity to participate in their democratic institutions by serving as GIC appointees. The aim is to attract qualified candidates who will also help to reflect Canada’s diversity in terms of linguistic, regional, and employment equity groups (i.e., women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and members of visible minorities) as well as members of ethnic and cultural groups.
Thank you for your assistance in sharing these opportunities.
Regards,
Jennifer Thomas
Director, Knowledge, Integration and Partnerships Division
Office for Disability Issues
Employment and Social Development Canada
Mobile telephone: 613-808-9430
Member, NSERC:
Member, SSHRC:
Le Bureau du Conseil privé (BCP) nous a demandé de partager deux avis de possibilités de nomination pour les postes de membre du Conseil de recherche en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada (CRSNG) et du Conseil de recherche en sciences humaines (CRSH). Ci-dessous, vous trouverez les liens vers les annonces sur le site Web du gouverneur en conseil.
Nous vous demandons de bien vouloir faire circuler ces annonces au sein de vos réseaux et de vos associations. Veuillez noter que, bien que les candidats soient encouragés à présenter une candidature d’ici « la date d’examen des demandes », soit le 20 juillet 2020, cette date ne représente pas une date limite pour le processus et les candidatures peuvent être examinées jusqu’à ce qu’une nomination soit faite.
Bien que le BCP nous ait demandé de partager ces deux annonces, d’autres possibilités sont également affichées sur la principale page Web du gouvernement en conseil : https://www.canada.ca/fr/conseil-prive/sujets/nominations/gouverneur-conseil.html.
Les processus de sélection sont ouverts à tous les Canadiens afin de leur donner la possibilité de participer à leurs institutions démocratiques à titre de personnes nommées par le gouverneur en conseil. Le but est d’attirer des candidats qualifiés qui contribueront également à refléter la diversité du Canada en ce qui a trait aux langues, aux régions et aux groupes visés par l’équité en matière d’emploi (c.-à-d., les femmes, les Autochtones, les personnes handicapées et les minorités visibles) ainsi que les membres de groupes ethniques et culturels.
Je vous remercie pour votre aide à partager ces possibilités.
Salutations distinguées,
Jennifer Thomas
Directrice, Division de la connaissance, de l’intégration et des partenariats
Bureau de la condition des personnes handicapées
Emploi et Développement social Canada
Téléphone mobile: 613-808-9430
Membre du CRSNG :
A Message from Disability Credit Canada
Hi!
The COVID-19 pandemic, as you may well know, is taking a particularly heavy toll on Canadians with disabilities.
So now, more than ever getting approved for the Disability Tax Credit or CPP Disability makes a huge difference to the lives of disabled Canadians and their families.
We think your team and those you are helping can benefit greatly from the guides and resources on our website so I wanted to bring it to your attention, hoping you can share them with your community:
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, or if you are looking for more information.
P.S. We are offering a $1,000 scholarship to young Canadians with disabilities who are pursuing post-secondary education at an accredited Canadian institution.
Read about last year’s recipient, Katarina V., a young woman from Surrey, BC living with ASD.
Regards,
Norman Richardson
P: 1-844-800-6020 (Toll-Free)
E: [email protected]
W: Disabilitycreditcanada.com
VISIONS – JULY EDITION
CELA is Looking for an Executive Director
Expression of Interest – Candidates
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
CENTRE FOR EQUITABLE LIBRARY ACCESS (CELA/CAEB)
Since October 2019, under the direction of our Executive Director Rina Hadziev, CELA has made significant strides to improve the user experience of the CELA website, develop new partnerships and continue expanding the collection of accessible materials and services CELA offers. As a board we have been very pleased with the progress thus far and look forward to the remainder of her term. We are grateful to the Greater Victoria Public Library for allowing Rina to devote this year to CELA, and it is with mixed emotions that we prepare for her return to her position there in the fall. Rina will be available to serve as a resource for the incoming Executive Director.
In order to ensure a smooth transition for our patrons, partners and staff, a sub-committee of the Board of Directors of the Centre for Equitable Library Access has been tasked with determining the market interest in the soon to be vacated position of Executive Director.
Interested individuals and/or organizations are encouraged to submit an expression as outlined below.
The Board is open to a secondment or non-traditional arrangement. The staff are decentralized and thus there is no requirement to be based in the Greater Toronto area. A successful candidate could be hosted by a public library; and will likely develop some local administrative and accounting support structure.
The job descriptions and operating requirements are below. Please submit or ask questions of the sub-committee through [email protected]
Please download the full job descriptions below, available in either English or French.