Yearly Archives: 2012

European Commission Wants Single Set Of Website Accessibility Rules To Apply To Government Sites By 2015

Natasha Lomas View Staff Page
December 3, 2012

The European Commission has proposed new rules to improve public-sector website accessibility for disabled people, describing the current situation as “dire” — with only one-third of Europe’s 761,000 public-sector and government websites described as fully accessible.

The proposed Directive on the accessibility of public-sector bodies’ websites would introduce “mandatory EU standardised accessibility features” from the end of 2015 — covering 12 types of websites (see list below) but with governments encouraged to apply the features to all their digital services.

European Commission Wants Single Set Of Website Accessibility Rules To Apply To Government Sites By 2015 full article

Recognizing Technology Accessibility on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

3 Dec 2012
Posted by Frank McCosker
General Manager, International Organizations (IO), Microsoft Worldwide Public Sector

Persons with disabilities make up 1 billion of the world’s population, yet they face challenges in equal opportunity and access to society in critical areas like education, employment, healthcare, transportation, information communications technology and justice. Every year on Dec. 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we recognize the importance of providing this underserved community with equal access opportunities and livelihoods. This year’s theme is “removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all” – an area in which technology plays an important role.

Recognizing Technology Accessibility on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities full article

Web Accessibility: The Australian National Transition Strategy

Posted on 27/11/2012
by bgpublishers

‘The Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy sets a course for improved web services, paving the way for a more accessible and usable web environment that will more fully engage with, and allow participation from, all people within our society.’ Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy,

Web Accessibility: The Australian National Transition Strategy full article

Government of Canada Helps People With Disabilities in the Brantford Area Develop Job Skills

At the same time People with Disabilities Lose Jobs in County of Brant .

Posted November 27, 2012

Brantford, Ontario—The Government of Canada will help people with disabilities in the Brantford area develop the skills they need to find jobs, today announced Phil McColeman, Member of Parliament for Brant, on behalf of the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development.

“Our government’s top priorities are job creation and economic growth. To support Canada’s long-term prosperity, we must ensure that everyone who wants to work has the opportunity,” said Mr. McColeman. “People with disabilities face particular challenges entering the job market and that’s why partnerships with organizations like L. Tara Hooper and Associates Inc. are so important.”

Government of Canada Helps People With Disabilities in the Brantford Area Develop Job Skills full article

The Canadian Transportation Agency Launches New Resource Tools for Accessible Transportation Complaints

OTTAWA — November 22, 2012

The Canadian Transportation Agency launched today two new resource tools for travellers with disabilities and for transportation service providers to improve their access to and understanding of the Agency’s process for resolving disputes within the federal transportation network.

These new client-centred resource tools explain the Agency’s approaches in resolving accessible transportation complaints between persons with disabilities and service providers of the federal transportation network. More specifically, the tools:

The Canadian Transportation Agency Launches New Resource Tools for Accessible Transportation Complaints full article

  • provide information on how to file a complaint regarding an “undue obstacle” experienced by a person with a disability;

National Disabilities Bill to be Tabled in Parliament Soon

Wednesday, 21 November 2012 15:50
Written by Andrea Braham

Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier, says the Government has begun the process of formulating legislation for Persons with Disabilities and will be pushing for the National Disabilities Bill,to be tabled in Parliament very soon.

“This legislation will seek to promote, protect and facilitate full and equal fundamental rights and freedoms for persons with disabilities, in the areas of education and training, employment, political office and public life, health care, housing and public transportation,” the Minister said.

National Disabilities Bill to be Tabled in Parliament Soon full article

Overcoming Barriers: Dating, Sex Can Be Daunting for Youth With Disabilities

By Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press November 20, 2012

If navigating the intricacies of dating and sexuality can be a pitfall-strewn path for adults with disabilities, it’s a veritable minefield for young people with physical challenges just setting out on the journey.

Whether in a wheelchair after a spinal cord injury or living since birth with a condition like muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy, teens with disabilities face a double whammy — dealing with new sexual feelings while grappling with physical limitations that define how others may view them.

“Sexuality is fraught with all kinds of dangers and great things and insecurities for anybody — and for any teenager especially,” says Dr. Miriam Kaufman, head of adolescent medicine at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

Overcoming Barriers: Dating, Sex Can Be Daunting for Youth With Disabilities full article

Governments of Canada and Ontario Celebrate New Affordable Housing in Dunnville

DUNNVILLE, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Nov. 16, 2012)

The official opening of 21 new affordable rental housing units for low-income seniors and persons with disabilities was held today in Dunnville. The project received more than $2.5 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments.

The construction of this project created up to 53 jobs in the Dunnville area.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister Responsible for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Member of Parliament for Haldimand-Norfolk; Mario Sergio, Parliamentary Assistant to Bob Chiarelli, Ontario’s Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; and Ken Hewitt, Mayor of Haldimand County, made the announcement.

Governments of Canada and Ontario Celebrate New Affordable Housing in Dunnville full article

Bat-Inspired Tech Lets Blind Man Ride Mountain Bike

John Roach , NBC News
November 14, 2012
University of Bristol

Dan Smith, who is blind, stands next to a mountain bike he rode.

A blind college student has successfully ridden a mountain bike down a trail with the help of bat-inspired technology that provides advanced warning of obstacles in the path so the rider can steer around them.

Dan Smith lost his sight a year ago due to Leber’s Optic Neuropathy, a rare condition that leads to loss of vision when cells in the optic nerve die, causing it to stop relaying information from the eyes to brain.

Bat-Inspired Tech Lets Blind Man Ride Mountain Bike full article

Advocates for the Blind Argue for More Accommodation at Airport Check-In Kiosks

November 12, 2012

Advocates for the blind went toe-to-toe with United Airlines in the San Francisco 9th Circuit Court about what the airline could do to accommodate passengers unable to use check-in kiosks.

Advocates for the Blind Argue for More Accommodation at Airport Check-In Kiosks full article