{"id":8534,"date":"2026-10-27T18:12:24","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T18:12:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/?p=8534"},"modified":"2026-10-27T18:12:26","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T18:12:26","slug":"self-advocacy-in-action-standing-up-for-the-rights-of-guide-dog-handlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/self-advocacy-in-action-standing-up-for-the-rights-of-guide-dog-handlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-Advocacy in Action: Standing Up for the Rights of Guide Dog Handlers","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"8534\" class=\"elementor elementor-8534\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7f56cd0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7f56cd0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0ed4316 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"0ed4316\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<iframe src=\"\/\/www.cbc.ca\/i\/phoenix\/player\/syndicate\/?sourceId=9.7373222\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b14706a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b14706a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a08ab65 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a08ab65\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In September, Louise Gillis, Immediate Past President of the CCB, was repeatedly denied taxi service by City Wide Cabs in Sydney, Nova Scotia, because she was travelling with her trained guide dog. Despite informing both the driver and dispatchers that refusing transportation to a person with a guide dog is against the law, she was told that no driver was willing to transport her. As a result, she was left stranded and nearly missed an important Accessibility Advisory Committee meeting.<\/p><p>With the assistance of a member of the public, Louise was able to reach her meeting. Later, when attempting to return home, she again faced significant delays and refusals before a taxi was finally provided. A municipal staff member witnessed the difficulties and remained with her until transportation arrived.<\/p><p>This incident highlights serious concerns about accessibility, equal access to transportation, and compliance with Nova Scotia laws that protect the rights of people who are blind and use guide dogs. Louise has brought this issue to the media, and called for an investigation to determine whether the taxi company&#8217;s actions violated the Nova Scotia Blind Persons\u2019 Rights Act and other transportation regulations.<\/p><p>Most importantly, this case demonstrates the value of self-advocacy. Louise repeatedly asserted her rights, documented what occurred, informed the appropriate authorities, and sought accountability rather than accepting discriminatory treatment. Her persistence helped bring attention to a broader accessibility issue that could affect other guide dog handlers. The incident shows that knowing and advocating for one&#8217;s rights is often essential to ensuring equal access and preventing barriers from going unchallenged. It also serves as a reminder of the importance of organizations such as the CCB, who engage members on the importance of self-advocacy, and provide peer support for members of the community who have experienced discrimination due to their disability.<\/p><p>The story was featured on CBC, and you can view the video by clicking the video above this article, or by clicking on the following link:<\/p><p><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><a style=\"color: #0000ff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/player\/play\/video\/9.7373222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/player\/play\/video\/9.7373222&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1793197899956000&amp;usg=AOvVaw16CLjn95ojd3mDWjz1FX5q\">https:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/player\/<wbr \/>play\/video\/9.7373222<\/a><\/span><\/p><div class=\"adL\">\u00a0<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In September, Louise Gillis, Immediate Past President of the CCB, was repeatedly denied taxi service by City Wide Cabs in Sydney, Nova Scotia, because she was travelling with her trained guide dog. Despite informing both the driver and dispatchers that refusing transportation to a person with a guide dog is against the law, she was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":4,"featured_media":8539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,53],"tags":[132,127,131,134,129,130,133],"class_list":["post-8534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-publications","tag-advocacy","tag-cbc","tag-guide-dog","tag-guide-dog-handlers","tag-news","tag-publications","tag-rights"],"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8534","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8534"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8534\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8545,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8534\/revisions\/8545"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccbnational.net\/shaggy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}