Yearly Archives: 2020

Cyberpunk Adds Epilepsy Warning After Reviewer Warns of Seizures

Published December 11, 2020

The developer of Cyberpunk 2077 is adding warnings to the game, after reviewers and charities complained it caused epileptic seizures.

It thanked one reviewer who said it had triggered “one major seizure” and left them “close” to another several times.

“Regarding a more permanent solution, [the] dev team is currently exploring that and will be implementing it as soon as possible,” it tweeted.

The game is released on Thursday, after months of repeated delays.

What is the problem?

Video games have long been a potential trigger for those who have epileptic seizures and standard warnings have been written in to licence agreements over the years.

Cyberpunk Adds Epilepsy Warning After Reviewer Warns of Seizures full article

Why Disability Advocates are Worried About Changes to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Bill

Jeff Preston wants to know what governments are doing to help people with disabilities live Rebecca Zandbergen , CBC News
Posted: Dec 08, 2020

If Bill C-7 passes, the federal government will give many more Canadians access to medical assisted dying (MAID), particularly those in the disability community.

The legislation removes a requirement that a patient’s natural death be “reasonably foreseeable,” a change that would satisfy a September 2019 Quebec Superior Court ruling that deemed parts of the federal and provincial laws on assisted dying unconstitutional.

Why Disability Advocates are Worried About Changes to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying Bill full article

Disability Advocates Propose Plan to Fix, Improve Winnipeg Transit

Disability Advocates Propose Plan to Fix, Improve Winnipeg Transit Report identifies 9 steps to ensuring those with disabilities have equal access CBC News, Posted: Dec 03, 2020

Winnipeg Transit is broken for people with disabilities, say advocates who have proposed a nine-step plan to fix it.

A coalition of community groups – which includes the Amalgamated Transit Union and the Independent Living Resource Centre – have a nine-step plan to move forward and improve the city’s bus service.

A report, to be officially handed to city hall administration on Friday, was built on decades of experiences and frustrations faced by those with mobility restrictions and other disabilities “who rely on Winnipeg Transit day-to-day to live their lives like everybody else,” said Patrick Stewart, a consultant for the resource centre.

Disability Advocates Propose Plan to Fix, Improve Winnipeg Transit full article

Advocates Fear AVs Will Leave Disabled Riders Behind

Pete Bigelow

For Carol Tyson, a recent proposal that would advance the commercialization of self-driving vehicles brought familiar pangs of frustration.

Like so many others, Tyson, an advocate for people with disabilities, believes autonomous transportation holds the potential to unlock newfound independence and mobility for millions of Americans. However, blueprints for that future are missing vital components, namely vehicle designs and regulatory frameworks that address considerations for riders with disabilities.

Transportation leaders have a long history of neglecting the needs of people with disabilities, and advocates such as Tyson grew alarmed again in October when the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposal that would have allowed autonomous vehicle operators to charge fares and offer shared trips: At least at the outset, it did not include disability access requirements.

Advocates Fear AVs Will Leave Disabled Riders Behind full article

With the Shift to Online Learning, Students With Disabilities Face New Barriers

They may not have to navigate campus, but online learning has brought new challenges By John Loeppky December 1, 2020

Shae Sackman is a University of Regina student who uses the school’s Centre for Student Accessibility to arrange the accommodations that they require for their studies (Sackman uses the they/them pronouns), including a quiet space for exams and the provision of occasional absences.

The system Sackman navigates has always expected a lot of students with disabilities. For example, to receive accommodations at most Canadian universities, a student has to have a letter from a doctor and go through a lengthy intake process. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to online learning, the availability of disability support-as well as the needs of those with disabilities-has radically changed and, on balance, become even more challenging.

With the Shift to Online Learning, Students With Disabilities Face New Barriers full article

Government of Canada Fighting the Alliance for the Equality of Blind Canadians in Court

OTTAWA, ON (December 2, 2020)

The Government of Canada is fighting a small registered charity and not-for-profit organization in court and refusing to ensure that its websites are accessible to blind, deafblind and partially sighted Canadians.

In 2019, the Alliance for the Equality of Blind Canadians (“AEBC”) brought a human rights complaint against the Government of Canada because its websites are inaccessible to blind, deafblind and partially sighted Canadians. In particular, the complaint alleged that blind, deafblind and partially sighted Canadians were discriminated against in the context of a funding application process created by Employment and Social Development Canada (“ESDC”) specifically for organizations for people with disabilities.

Government of Canada Fighting the Alliance for the Equality of Blind Canadians in Court full article

Mohawk College and Inclusive Media and Design Launch Captioning Tool

Marking the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Mohawk College researchers and Inclusive Media and Design are announcing the availability a new captioning tool for accessible media production.

This year, the United Nations is recognizing this day by challenging the global community to immediately respond to the challenges of the global COVID-19 crisis through the open, inclusive and innovative use of digital solutions, tools and resources.

The new software, CapScribe 2, can help educational institutions rise to the United Nations challenge. The newly developed tool will make it easier to add closed captions to videos, removing a key barrier to online accessibility for the millions of Canadians who need to read instead of listen to content online.

Mohawk College and Inclusive Media and Design Launch Captioning Tool full article

CTA Releases “What We Heard” report on Phase II of its Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations

Canadian Transportation Agency
Nov 26, 2020

The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) today released its “What We Heard” report summarizing the input received during its consultations on Phase II of its Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations (ATPDR).

On June 25, 2020, the CTA’s new ATPDR came into force. They establish modern legally binding requirements for accessible services, technical standards for equipment, communications, training, and security and border screening.

Building on these new regulations, the CTA launched public consultations on a second phase of the ATPDR, relating to requirements for small transportation service providers (TSPs), One Person, One Fare (1P1F) for international travel, emotional support animals (ESAs) and planning and reporting frameworks for TSPs under the Accessible Canada Act (ACA).

CTA Releases “What We Heard” report on Phase II of its Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations full article

Ruling on B.C. Bus Stops Reflects Cities ‘Terrible’ Track Record on Accessibility, Plaintiff Says

‘Floating’ bus stops used by many cities discriminate against blind people, human rights tribunal finds Bethany Lindsay, CBC News
Posted: Nov 21, 2020

A human rights ruling that found Victoria’s so-called “floating” bus stops discriminate against blind people could have implications for other B.C. cities that use similar designs.

Last week, the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal upheld a complaint filed by Oriano Belusic, vice-president of the Canadian Federation of the Blind, about bus stops that require transit riders to cross a protected bike lane to catch their bus.

Belusic argued the stops, located along Pandora Avenue and Wharf Street, are dangerous for blind and vision-impaired bus riders, who often can’t hear the sound of oncoming bicycles over the traffic noise.

Ruling on B.C. Bus Stops Reflects Cities ‘Terrible’ Track Record on Accessibility, Plaintiff Says full article

China Has 8 Million Blind People, but Only 200 Guide Dogs

By Nectar Gan
CNN, November 23, 2020

Blind runner makes history with help from furry friends

At the age of 11, Yang Kang lost his vision due to a rare type of eye cancer. But he considers himself one of the lucky few among China’s millions of blind people — he has a guide dog.

Yang splits his time between living in Beijing with his wife and running a piano studio in his hometown Tangshan, a sprawling industrial city some 100 miles away.

China Has 8 Million Blind People, but Only 200 Guide Dogs full article