By Nicole Thompson The Canadian Press
Posted December 26, 2022

Bell Communications Inc. is facing a human rights complaint over allegations that it’s failing to provide full service to its blind customers.

The company’s set-top boxes don’t include the screen-reading technology that enables blind people to navigate through menus, use applications or discern what channel they’re on, Toronto lawyer David Lepofsky alleges in submissions to the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

In the initial submission filed in mid-2021, Lepofsky, who is blind, said he’s not able to access the television services he pays for on his TV without the help of a sighted person.

Bell Faces Human Rights Complaint Over Allegations of Inaccessibility for Blind Customers full article

Experts say weak accessibility regulations and lack of government enforcement are contributing to the digital divide, and the solutions are often simple Author of the article:Jessica Mundie
Published Dec 31, 2022

Being connected to the internet is more important now than it ever has been. Canadians need a reliable, high-speed connection for school, work and just about everything to do with their daily lives. But, as Canadians come to enjoy ever faster upload and download speeds, many still don’t have access to even the most basic internet service. From rural and Indigenous Canadians suffering from a lack of infrastructure and low-income people struggling to afford high prices, to digital illiteracy and people with disabilities unable to navigate an inaccessible internet, Jessica Mundie reports on the Canadians who have been Left Behind.

The Internet Doesn’t Have to Be Impossible to Navigate for Canadians With Disabilities full article

Originally Updated: Sep 29, 2022
Written by:
Alex Bass

Today’s hearing aids are more discreet and technologically advanced than ever, especially considering the original hearing aid was the ear trumpet, a horn held to the ear for people to speak into.

Despite these advancements in style and function, people needing hearing aids may still be reluctant to get them.

Untreated hearing loss can lead to communication problems that cause older adults to socially withdraw and be perceived as confused. Lack of social engagement is thought to increase older adults’ risk of dementia and hasten physical decline. Hearing aids not only compensate for hearing loss but also keep older adults connected to their families and communities for healthier aging.

2022 Hearing Aid Survey – Aging In Place.org full article

December 1, 2022
LAUREN WEBER

A Missouri man who is deaf and blind said a medical bill he didn’t know existed was sent to debt collections, triggering an 11% rise in his home insurance premiums.

In a different case, from California, an insurer has suspended a blind woman’s coverage every year since 2010 after mailing printed “verification of benefits” forms to her home that she cannot read, she said. The problems continued even after she got a lawyer involved.

And still another insurer kept sending a visually impaired Indiana woman bills she said she could not read, even after her complaint to the Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights led to corrective actions.

Medical Bills Remain Inaccessible for Many Visually Impaired Americans full article

Bigger text, zoom features, voice typing, and screen readers for Android phones and iPhones can make life easier, even if you don’t have serious visual impairments By Melanie Pinola
November 12, 2022

“I’ve never looked through normal eyes,” says John-Ross Rizzo, MD, who was born with a retinal dystrophy, a progressive eye disease that currently has no cure, and is legally blind.

As an associate professor at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, Rizzo works on tech initiatives to improve the lives of people with blindness and low vision. His projects include everything from wearable technology to help people navigate cities during a commute, to an app repository (or app store) for the visually impaired.

If You Have Vision Problems, These Phone Accessibility Settings Can Help full article

By Sean O’Shea Global News
Posted November 10, 2022

Rogers Communications is apologizing to a legally-blind Richmond Hill woman after she was left without phone service for nine days in October.

“They really throw you to the wolves, don’t they?” said Joan Connolly, who says she’s been a Rogers customer for about 45 years.

The 81-year-old had no access to 911 service for more than a week during which time she could not place or receive any calls because her phone line was shifted to another carrier, without her consent.

Connolly received a phone call from a Rogers customer representative on October 21 asking her to confirm a request to move her phone service to another carrier, a process known as porting.

Rogers Gives Away Blind Woman’s Phone Service for 9 Days full article