Disability White Paper PO Box 9936, Stn Prov Gov Victoria, BC V8W 9R2

March 11th, 2014

March 11th, 2014

Disability White Paper
PO Box 9936, Stn Prov Gov
Victoria, BC V8W 9R2

SENT VIA E-MAIL

Dear Sir/Madam:

RE: Access for Sight Impaired Consumers contribution to BC’s Whitepaper Consultation

Access for Sight Impaired Consumers (ASIC) is an independent, consumer-driven advocacy coalition that addresses issues which affect legally blind, sight-impaired and deafblind consumers residing in British Columbia. Many of our member organizations are affiliated with widely recognized provincial or national bodies that serve an even greater number than the 134,000 consumers who are legally blind or have significant vision loss residing in this province.

Summary

Following extensive consultation with our members and community partners, we are pleased to submit their collective thoughts and ideas that we have honed down to 15 recommendations, including accompanying details, for consideration within this process. While we have numbered our recommendations in each of seven categories, the order of these recommendations does not convey an order of priority as each recommendation carries equal weight.

In 2005, Ontario enacted the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act with the goal to achieve full accessibility by 2025. In 2013, Manitoba followed with their Accessibility for Manitobans Act. And now, given that Saskatchewan is also undertaking a consultation process to become the best place in Canada for persons with disabilities to live, the Government of British Columbia must adopt a leadership role for this Disability White Paper process to succeed. We appreciate the opportunity to contribute toward helping to make British Columbia the most progressive place in Canada for people living with disabilities. Thank you for seeking our input, for your consideration of the following recommendations, and we look forward to attending the White Paper Summit scheduled for June 2014.

Innovation in disability services and more accessibility for persons living with disabilities

Recommendation 1 - Accessing vision rehabilitation under the health agenda

In 1918, thousands of Canadian soldiers were returning home blind from World War I, having lost their vision in combat. This significant number of blind veterans, coupled with the devastating effects of the Halifax explosion of 1917, created a dire need for support for people who were blind in Canada.

Necessity is the mother of invention, and a national charity was established to support an unprecedented level of need at a time when an adequate social safety net was decades away from inception. It has now been 96 years since that national charity was founded, and they continue to serve veterans, children, working-age adults and seniors who are primarily dependent on this charitable organization that relies on public donations to provide the services they do.

Along the way, of course, Canada has changed too. Our country now has a robust health care and social services system that supports people with a variety of physical conditions that require care and rehabilitation. That system serves as a model for success the world over. Yet still, after almost a century, the issues related to blindness and vision loss have never been absorbed within the national continuum of care. Remarkably, they remain almost exclusively the domain of a national charity.

If a British Columbian has a serious health problem that affects their ability to be independent and mobile – a heart attack, broken hip, spinal cord injury or stroke – our health care system provides them with the services they need to recover, rebuild and begin to restore the quality of their lives. Whether it’s through a hospital, rehabilitation facility or home care service, they receive the help they need. But when a British Columbian loses their vision, things are different. The essential rehabilitation services they need to overcome the challenges of sight loss are provided mostly by a charitable organization funded in large part by public donations. Therefore, please consider the following points when assessing access to vision rehabilitation under the health agenda:

Support high quality vision rehabilitation services into the continuum of care so that every British Columbian has universal coverage of high quality, essential service in a timely manner.

-  CNIB BC-Yukon Division currently receives only 8.44% of its funding from the BC government – the lowest level of support from all provincial governments.

-  Rehabilitation services for those with vision loss enable confidence and independence and increase the likelihood of employment.

-  People with vision loss have a right to receive high quality, timely rehabilitation services funded by the Ministry of Health.

-  Government has the responsibility to ensure that people who are blind or partially sighted have access to high quality rehabilitation services.

It is ASIC’s recommendation that high quality vision rehabilitation services be integrated into the continuum of care under the health agenda.

Recommendation 2 - Introduce a new BC Guide & Assistance Dog Act

The current legislation fails to provide adequate access rights for guide and assistance dog users and for certified guide or assistance dog trainers. It fails to include appropriate penalties for violation of the Act, clear rules on certification and any provisions covering the injury of working dogs. Therefore, please consider the following points when assessing the introduction of a new BC Guide & Assistance Dog Act:

-  The current BC Guide Animal Act is a weak piece of legislation and fails to address many of the issues relevant to guide dog handlers and/or training facilities in BC.

-  The current Act does not provide any mechanisms for enforcement by a peace officer.

-  Violations under the current Act can only be remedied via a complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal which is an ineffective remedy at the point when a guide dog users is being denied access to a service normally available to the general public.

-  Ministry staff have no direction under the current Act as to which dogs are certifiable and therefore are obligated to issue ministry identification to any person with a bonafide disability who applies regardless of what degree of training their dog has received.

-  The current Act fails to provide any protection as a result of third party injury or death of a guide or assistance dog.

It is ASIC’s recommendation that the Government of BC introduce a new BC Guide & Assistance Dog Act.

Recommendation 3 - Implement an internet/telephone beta test to ensure the right to vote independently and privately for future provincial and municipal elections

A crucial aspect of participation in the democratic process for any citizen is the ability to cast a ballot in an election. Citizens who are blind, deafblind, or partially sighted often face unnecessary barriers when they attempt to participate in this part of the democratic process.
The rights of Canadians to vote in elections are set out in federal, provincial and territorial legislation. In addition to the right to vote, Section 164 of the Canada Elections Act requires that votes be secret. Simply having these rights, however, has not always meant that people with disabilities have been able to exercise their right to vote and to do so in secrecy. Where polling stations are not accessible, where officials lack awareness of how to accommodate voters with disabilities, and where voters who are blind, deafblind, or partially sighted must rely on third parties or the use of a tactile template to mark their ballot, the right of persons with disabilities to vote in complete secrecy has been undermined.
Election Acts at all levels provide for registered voters to appoint a designate or Election Official to assist in the marking of a ballot based on the voter’s instruction. However, the approach of having someone else mark the ballot for a person with vision loss does not respect the right to a secret ballot. Voters who are blind or partially sighted must tell someone else – possibly a total stranger – for whom they wish to vote. The voters must trust that person to mark the ballot in accordance with their wishes, to not intentionally or accidentally spoil the ballot, and to keep forever secret the voters’ choice of the candidate for whom they wished to vote. No other voters must systemically endure such significant violations of their rights.

Some jurisdictions – including British Columbia – require that a template be provided to electors who are blind, deafblind or partially sighted to assist them in marking their ballot. Unfortunately, the template does not provide a full and effective accommodation for such electors. Voters with vision loss cannot check to be sure their choice was correctly recorded on the ballot or that they did not accidentally spoil their ballot – not without showing the ballot to another person. If voters with vision loss show the ballot to another person, they have lost their right to a secret ballot.

Allowing individuals with vision loss to vote over the Internet or by telephone may constitute the best long-term solution to the above noted challenges presented by the traditional paper ballot. All voters could potentially benefit from the introduction of Internet/telephone voting. However, recognizing that any system would need to be properly tested and phased in over time, a beta test that extends Internet/telephone voting privileges only to those with accessibility challenges may be appropriate in the short term.

In the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), that the Canadian Government (with the support of all provinces and territories) ratified in March 2010, Article 29 states, in part, that parties will undertake to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and be elected. This is to be accomplished by, amongst other things, ensuring that voting procedures, facilities and materials are appropriate, accessible and easy to understand and use, and by protecting the right of persons with disabilities to vote by secret ballot in elections and public referendums without intimidation.
In its final report to the Legislature, the Independent Panel on Internet Voting stated, “All voters could potentially benefit from the introduction of Internet voting. However, recognizing that any system would need to be properly tested and phased in over time, a pilot project that extends Internet voting privileges only to those with accessibility challenges may be appropriate in the short term.” It further states that “the panel believes that Internet voting has the potential to be an additional voting channel for voters with specific accessibility challenges in future local or provincial government elections.”

It is ASIC’s recommendation that the Legislature instructs Elections BC to implement an internet/telephone beta test to ensure the right to vote independently and privately is afforded all British Columbians for future provincial and municipal elections.

Recommendation 4 - Supporting accessible library services

British Columbians with print disabilities have very limited access to alternate format materials (i.e. audio, large print or braille) through their public libraries. Yet, we contribute to the cost of operating these libraries through our property tax with little, if any, return. Forced to purchase a book in an audio format or having to rely on a charity to provide the same book in an alternate format is grossly unjust to those with print disabilities. Therefore please consider the following points when assessing Support for accessible library services:

-  Nearly 10% of British Columbians have a print disability.

-  Approximately a mere 7% of printed materials are available in an accessible format for people with print disabilities.

-  In comparison, sighted British Columbians have full access to publicly-funded libraries.

-  The BC government is encouraged to work with the broader library community, specifically CELA (Centre for Equitable Library Access), to ensure that accessible library services are funded by government and fully accessible, just as they are for sighted British Columbians.

-  Ensure public libraries stock an adequate supply of DAISY players for patrons with print disabilities to borrow along with their audio books.

It is ASIC’s recommendation that the Government of BC supports accessible library services through the Canadian Equitable Library Access initiative.

Recommendation 5 - Introduce regulations under the Health Professions Act requiring pharmacists to provide prescription information in alternate formats for patients with print disabilities

The proper identification and administration of prescription medications is very difficult for people with print disabilities and virtually impossible for people who are blind or partially sighted. The onus on pharmacists to provide proper patient counseling is included in the College of Pharmacists “Framework of Professional Practice” document that outlines the roles each Pharmacist must fulfill as a regulated health care provider who is a member of the College of Pharmacists of BC. The framework requires the pharmacist to verbally instruct the patient regarding the medication that is being dispensed and to provide written instructions to accompany the medication. Given the printed instructions are inaccessible to people with print disabilities, please consider the following points when assessing the Introduction of mandatory regulations under the Health Professions Act:

-  Mismanagement of prescription medication leads to a large percentage of avoidable emergency room visits.

-  Such ER visits places an additional strain on the health care budget.

-  Technology currently exists that will make prescription medication instructions accessible in audio and large print formats.

-  Converting these instructions to braille format to accommodate those who are deafblind could be coordinated through community partners.

It is ASIC’s recommendation that the Government of BC amends the Health Professions Act to include regulations that require pharmacists to provide prescription information in alternate formats for patients with print disabilities.

Recommendation 6 – Remove transportation barriers for people with vision loss

While it is understood that people with vision loss are unable to operate a motor vehicle, their primary modes of transportation are HandyDART, public transit or vehicles for hire. Given the number of denied HandyDART bookings is increasing every year (39,000 in Metro Vancouver for 2012 and 43,000 in 2013), the accessible and affordable transportation options for people with vision loss is diminishing. When a request for a HandyDART booking is denied, the alternatives are often reduced to either public transit or taxi service – the latter is often the only choice when public transit is not time efficient or a spontaneous trip is required. However, taxis present a significant barrier for people with vision loss in that they cannot independently identify a driver, the taxi fleet identification number or the fare displayed on the meter. The lack of meters with audio output and inaccessible payment systems have all been identified as barriers that make people with vision loss vulnerable when taking taxis. Failure to regulate such requirements is seen as discriminatory in that regulations exist to ensure there are accessible taxis for people using mobility devices such as wheelchairs and scooters. Please consider the following points when assessing the need to remove transportation barriers for people with vision loss: