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Tune in Online to the August 22, 2017 Conference on What the Promised National Accessibility Law Should Include

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities https://www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance

August 11, 2017

SUMMARY

What should be included in Canada’s forthcoming national accessibility law that the Federal Government promised to enact? Here is a great way to hear from policy experts on accessibility legislation from Canada and around the world.

On Tuesday, August 22, 2017 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. EDT, plan to settle in at your computer, tablet or smart phone to watch a three-hour online conference on this topic. It will be streamed live over the internet and then archived for anyone to watch in the future.

The conference is being convened by the Alliance for an Inclusive Accessible Canada, a coalition of 12 national disability organizations. The AODA Alliance supports the work of that coalition. We know it may at times be hard to keep all these “alliances” straight!

This August 22 conference will be chaired by AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky. The link to watch the conference is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmP0eTRKr16M2AJ8HRwW18Q

The Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada has announced that ASL and CART services will be provided. Check the website of the Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada for instructions on how to get those services, which is at: http://alliance-canada.org/en/expert-conference/

It is wonderful that attending the conference in person will be the federal cabinet minister who is leading the development of the promised national accessibility law, Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s Minister for People with Disabilities. She will get to hear first-hand from the experts, brought together via the internet from around the world.

Below we set out a news release from the alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada, giving you more details. We also set out an excerpt from the web page that gives more details about the conference, including a list of the speakers.

Please spread the word about this event. Encourage others to login and take part. If you are part of a community organization, please publicize this conference via your organization’s website, email and social media.

This conference will of course be helpful to Members of Parliament, public servants and members of the public, as the Federal Government works towards introducing a bill into Parliament. It aims to also be helpful to any provincial government that is considering enacting or strengthening a provincial accessibility law or its implementation. The conference’s benefits will spread beyond Canada’s borders. Any other country that is considering enacting accessibility legislation can learn from the experts that will come together at this conference.

MORE DETAILS

News Release by the Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada

For immediate release

Alliance for An Inclusive and Accessible Canada convenes world disability experts in first-ever online conference: What should Canada’s promised national accessibility law include?

Toronto, August 10, 2017 The Alliance for An Inclusive and Accessible Canada will convene the first-ever online disability expert conference, What should Canada’s promised national accessibility law Include? Tuesday, August 22, from 10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m., EDT, at OCAD University.

Lawyer, disability rights advocate and community organizer, David Lepofsky, who is also a visiting professor at the Osgoode Hall Law School, will chair the three-hour forum, which will be live-streamed and available as an archived recording.

“This extraordinary conference brings together experts from around the world to share cutting edge ideas on how to design a strong and effective national accessibility law for over four million people with disabilities in Canada, says Lepofsky. I’ll probe the experts with tough questions so we can all learn from what others did right, and how to improve on mistakes learned elsewhere.

We are delighted and honoured that Canada’s first Minister Responsible for People with Disabilities, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, has agreed to attend to hear from the amazing array of experts speaking to us from Canada, the U.S., Israel, and Switzerland, added Lepofsky.

A full list of speakers and how to watch the live stream is available at http://alliance-canada.org/en/expert-conference/

During the 2015 federal election, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals promised to enact a national accessibility law to remove the many accessibility barriers that prevent Canadians living with disabilities from fully benefiting from federal employment opportunities, air travel, telecommunication services, banking and federal government services, and other programs and services. The Liberal promise was in response to grassroots activism of Canada’s disability community.

The media is invited to cover this ground-breaking event and the public is invited to join on August 22 by accessing the live stream at: http://alliance-canada.org/en/expert-conference/ Questions for panel members can be submitted ahead of time by emailing dave@ccdonline.ca

The Alliance for An Inclusive and Accessible Canada is made up of 12 member organizations and four partner organizations from Canadas disability community. For more information about the Alliance, visit: www.alliance-canada.org.

This project is funded by the Government of Canada’s Social Development Partnerships Program Disability Component.

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Media contact:
Dave Carragher
Communications and Project Manager Assistant, Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canada dave@ccdonline.ca
Tel: 343-291-1117

Web Page Announcement of the August 22, 2017 Online Experts Conference

Originally posted at http://alliance-canada.org/en/expert-conference/

What Should Canadas Promised National Accessibility Law Include? Cutting-edge Ideas from Experts from Around the World

The Alliance for an Accessible and Inclusive Canada is proud to be hosting our pioneering conference, called What Should Canadas Promised National Accessibility Law Include? Cutting-edge Ideas from Experts from Around the World.

Hosted by David Lepofsky, the event will be live streamed on August 22nd, 2017 from the Ontario College of Arts and Design in Toronto, ON from 10:00 am-1:00pm ET. Watch the live stream on The Alliance for an Inclusive and Accessible Canadas YouTube channel and see below for the full list of speakers.

The session will bring experts in the field of disability from around the world into one conference to discuss what other countries have learned while going through the process of creating accessibility legislation. This conference lends the opportunity to learn some innovative ideas for creating a strong and effective Canadian accessibility law.

**ASL and CART services will be provided on the live stream.**

OUR SPEAKER PANEL

* Minister Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities (Delta MP)
* Hosted by David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance * Zvia Admon, lawyer and consultant on disability and accessibility legislation
* Charles Beer, led the first legislated independent review of Ontarios Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) * Bila Berg, State of Israel, Minister of Justice
* Dr. Jerome Bickenbach, author on defining disability for public policy purposes
* Dr. Marie Bountrogianni, authored and oversaw the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) * David Capozzi, Executive Director of the U.S. Access Board * Lucy Grecco, Web Accessibility Evangelist, University of California, Berkeley
* Jennifer Howard, former Manitoba Provincial Minster led the enactment of the Accessibility for Manitobans Act * Thea Kurdi, expert in built environment accessibility requirements
* Mayo Moran, Independent Reviewer for the 2013 Review of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
* Valérie Picher, former Chief of Staff to Minister of Community and Social Services during the enactment of the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation
* John Wodatch, created and led the Department of Justices section in charge of enforcing the ADA

On August 22nd at 10:00 am ET, visit The Alliances YouTube Channel to watch the live stream. Click on the logo below to be redirected to The Alliance YouTube channel.

Photo Credit: Yutta Fricke

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More Backround Resources from the AODA Alliance

To read the Federal Government’s report on its public consultation on promised federal accessibility legislation, visit https://www.aodaalliance.org/strong-effective-aoda/05292017-Federal-Accessibility-Legislation.docx To read the Federal Government’s summer 2016 Discussion Guide for this consultation, released last summer, visit http://www.esdc.gc.ca/en/consultations/disability/legislation/index.page

To read the Discussion Paper on what the Canadians with Disabilities Act should include, which AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky made public in August, 2016, visit https://www.aodaalliance.org/strong-effective-aoda/august-19-2016-discussion-paper-on-a-Canadians-with-Disabilities-Act-by-David-Lepofsky.docx We encourage you to forward this Update to your Member of Parliament in Ottawa. Urge them to ensure that the promised Canadians with Disabilities Act will address the issues in this analysis, and not just those conclusions in the Federal Government’s consultation report.

You can always send your feedback to us on any AODA and accessibility issue at aodafeedback@gmail.com

Have you taken part in our Picture Our Barriers campaign? If not, please join in! You can get all the information you need about our Picture Our Barriers campaign by visiting www.aodaalliance.org/2016

To sign up for, or unsubscribe from AODA Alliance e-mail updates, write to: aodafeedback@gmail.com

We encourage you to use the Governments toll-free number for reporting AODA violations. We fought long and hard to get the Government to promise this, and later to deliver on that promise. If you encounter any accessibility problems at any large retail establishments, it will be especially important to report them to the Government via that toll-free number. Call 1-866-515-2025.

Please pass on our email Updates to your family and friends.

Why not subscribe to the AODA Alliances YouTube channel, so you can get immediate alerts when we post new videos on our accessibility campaign. https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance

Please “like” our Facebook page and share our updates: https://www.facebook.com/Accessibility-for-Ontarians-with-Disabilities-Act-Alliance-106232039438820/

Follow us on Twitter. Get others to follow us. And please re-tweet our tweets!! @AODAAlliance

Learn all about our campaign for a fully accessible Ontario by visiting https://www.aodaalliance.org