The Government of Canada Tables the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

News Release
From Employment and Social Development Canada
November 30, 2017 Ottawa, Ontario Employment and Social Development Canada

The Government of Canada is taking further action to uphold and safeguard the rights of people with disabilities and further enable their inclusion and full participation in Canadian society.

Today, the Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, on behalf of the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Foreign Affairs, is proud to announce that the Government of Canada tabled in the House of Commons the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Optional Protocol). The Optional Protocol would allow individuals in Canada to make a complaint to the United Nations if they believe their rights under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Convention) have been violated.

International Certification of Accessibility Consultants for the Built Environment launched by GAATES

November 27 2017

The Global Alliance on Accessible Technologies and Environments (GAATES), recognized as an international leader in the field of accessibility, is pleased to announce its public launch of the International Certification of Accessibility Consultants Built Environment (ICAC-BE) program.

Significant time and contributions from recognized global industry leaders has resulted in the development of the first ever international-level certification program for built environment accessibility experts.

The lack of a certification program has allowed people with little or no training or expertise to present themselves as accessibility experts. This has led to uneven and sometimes inadequate costly design solutions.

Immigration Minister Vows to Change Law That Bars Immigrants With Disabilities and Illnesses

A parliamentary committee is reviewing the law that refuses applicants who would put “excessive demand” on health or social services. By Nicholas KeungImmigration reporter
Wed., Nov. 22, 2017

Canada’s Immigration Minister says he’s committed to changing the rule that bars many people with disabilities and illnesses from immigrating to Canada.

Rights groups and individuals affected by the so-called “medical inadmissibility” rule say not only is it inhumane, but it also breaches the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, as well as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Section 508 Gets an Update: New Web Accessibility Guidelines for Government Sites Take Effect in January

People with hearing and sight disabilities using screen readers and other assistive tech must be able to access content on government websites, but getting and staying compliant is a challenge. by Zack Quaintance / November 20, 2017

Updates for Section 508 accessibility legislation go into effect in January, creating new specifications for how federal agencies must make websites and other digital information channels navigable for users with disabilities, and experts say these requirements are poised to become the new standard for state and local governments as well.

Uber Canada’s Service-Animal Policy Doesn’t Go Far Enough, Critics Say

By Peter GoffinThe Canadian Press
Mon., Nov. 20, 2017

The company’s policy says any drivers refusing rides to customers because of service animals will be dismissed, but it leaves room for exemptions.

Advocates say exemptions in Uber Canada’s service-animal policy could still lead to discrimination.

Uber Canada has launched a new policy on how its drivers deal with customers who have service animals, but some disability rights advocates say exemptions built into the rules could still lead to discrimination.

The company’s policy says drivers who refuse to give rides to customers with service animals will be dismissed.

Disability Rights Advocates Fight ‘Demeaning’ Immigration Criteria

Michelle McQuigge
The Canadian Press
November 19, 2017

TORONTO – A national advocacy group is pushing for the government to repeal immigration criteria that it calls discriminatory toward people with disabilities.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities is calling for the repeal of a provision that bars disabled immigrants from settling in Canada on grounds that they could place too much demand on the country’s medical system. The group contends the practice is discriminatory and based on outdated, stereotypical ideas around disability.

The council wants the government to drop the requirement from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and to make sure disabled people are included in crafting a new, more inclusive procedure.

Court: Movie Theatres Must Accommodate Deaf-Blind Patrons

The Associated Press,, Financial Post, 10,06, 2017.

Federal disability law requires movie theatres to provide specialized interpreters to patrons who are deaf and blind, an appeals court said Friday.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Cinemark, the nation’s third-largest movie chain, in a case involving a Pennsylvania man
who wanted to see the 2014 movie “Gone Girl” and asked a Cinemark theatre in Pittsburgh to supply a “tactile interpreter.” The theatre denied his request.

The plaintiff, Paul McGann, is a movie enthusiast who reads American Sign Language through touch. He uses a method of tactile interpretation that involves
placing his hands over the hands of an interpreter who uses sign language to describe the movie’s action, dialogue and even the audience response.

B.C. Needs Disability Act: Victoria Council

Council motion asks province to make B.C. barrier free
Lauren Boothby/
Nov. 17, 2017

The City of Victoria wants to make the city and the province barrier free.

Council passed a motion Thursday asking the provincial government to enact a strong and effective British Columbians with Disabilities Act, which was added to the consent agenda at committee of the whole. Other provinces, including Ontario and Manitoba, have provincial accessibility laws, which include such regulations as building and structural guidelines, and allowing service animals.

Coun. Jeremy Loveday, who put the motion forward, said people with disabilities need more legal protections. Currently, the provinces Human Rights Tribunal is the only body used to address accessibility issues, but the province does have a non-binding Accessibility 2024 10-year action plan.

Disability Group TO Call for Repeal of Discriminatory Provision in Canada’s Immigration Act

For Immediate Release November 17, 2017

When: Monday, November 20, 2017
Place: Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration
Room 415, 197 Sparks Street
Time: 6:30 pm

The Council of Canadians With Disabilities (CCD), a national, human rights organization of persons with various disabilities that is working for a more inclusive and accessible Canada, will call for repeal of the “Excessive Demands” provisions in Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act when it appears before the Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration on Monday evening, November 20, 2017.

Airbnb buys ‘Airbnb for Disabled People’ Startup Accomable in Accessibility Upgrade

Posted November 16, 2017
by Ingrid Lunden (@ingridlunden)

Airbnb, the accommodation and travel startup that is now valued at $31 billion, is today announcing an acquisition that points to how it wants to address the travel needs of more kinds of customers. It has bought Accomable, a startup based out of London that focuses on travel listings that are disabled-friendly.

Along with the announcement Airbnb is refreshing its own accessibility features as the first stage in how it hopes to develop them.