Announcements – Communication Disabilities Access Canada

Questions for Federal Candidates

Our question for federal candidates is: Effective communication is essential when accessing all services. Over half a million Canadians who have speech, language and communication disabilities, report significant barriers because they use ways other than speech to communicate. What will your party do to ensure that they have the communication supports they may require when accessing government services?

For more questions go to http://www.disabilitypolicyalliance.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Questions-to-Ask-Federal-Candidates.pdf

Access to Justice

Are you a Speech Language Pathologist working in Canada who wants to support people communicating in the justice system? Deadline to register for our webinars is Sept 23, 2019 at https://courses.cdacanada.com

BC Accessibility Legislation

The B.C. Government is committed to developing new laws, standards, and policies to better support people with disabilities to live with dignity and to meaningfully participate in their communities. Accessibility legislation would empower government, persons with disabilities, and the broader community to work together to identify, remove, and prevent barriers.

Shane Simpson, Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, would like your feedback in preparation for the development of new laws, standards and policies.

The opportunity to provide feedback will be open from September 16 to November 29, 2019 at 4 pm

Completing the online questionnaire available at https://engage.gov.bc.ca/accessibility;
Sending comments by email to engageaccessibility@gov.bc.ca or leaving comments by telephone at 844 878-0640 (toll free);
Participating in a virtual town hall. Register at https://engage.gov.bc.ca/accessibility;
Community groups, libraries, and other organizations can access resources of up to $2,000 to host their own conversations and provide feedback. More information is available online at http://www.sparc.bc.ca/accessibility-legislation/
Organizations, self-advocates and advocates can make a formal submission on the Framework for Accessibility Legislation. Information about formal submissions and accessible versions of the Framework can be found athttps://engage.gov.bc.ca/accessibility;
Attending an in-person session. Register at https://engage.gov.bc.ca/accessibility to take part in a meeting in one of nine locations around the province.

After the consultation period ends, the B.C. Government will provide a summary of the feedback and input that has been received. Your feedback and input will be used to inform the development of accessibility legislation for B.C.

Royal Assent

The Accessible Canada Act receives Royal Assent today. Watch this historical event at http://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/XRender/en/

What a great day for all Canadians! Thanks to everyone who provided input to this legislation – we amended the draft bill to make communication access a priority area for people who have disabilities that affect communication. Let’s celebrate today and then get to work on making meaningful regulations that include the accessibility needs of people with communication disabilities.

Annual Report

Read about our activities last year in our annual report at https://www.cdacanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/BC-Exec-Directors-Report-June-18-2019_Final.pdf

A Barrier-Free Canada is almost here

Sharing a message we received today from Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility

Good morning,

I am writing to let you know that Bill C-81, An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada, has been placed on the Notice Paper of the House of Commons for consideration and concurrence of amendments made in the Senate. More importantly, I wanted to personally inform you that our government intends to accept all of the amendments made by the Senate.

I look forward to the upcoming House of Commons debate and vote, which will take us one step closer to accomplishing our shared goal of the realization of an Accessible Canada Act. Reaching this stage could not have been made possible without the strong and continuous support of Canadians and the disability community, and your tireless work to ensure we have a strong bill.

I expect the debate in the House of Commons to take place next week coinciding with National AccessAbility Week. If the motion regarding the Senate amendments is adopted by the House, the proposed bill will proceed to Royal Assent. What a wonderful and timely opportunity to highlight how we are creating an Accessible Canada.

You can read the text of the motion at the following link:

https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/house/sitting-418/order-notice/page-13?col=2.

Once this bill becomes law, I look forward to working with you to celebrate and implement this historic legislation.

Yours sincerely,

Carla Qualtrough
Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility

Action required on Bill C81

The following message is from the Federal Accessibility Legislation Alliance (FALA). CDAC is on the leadership team of FALA.

Hello Partners and Members of FALA / Bonjour partenaires et membres d’ALFA:

français à suivre

So, here is an update on how our Bill C-81 is doing. Things are moving super-fast now.

On May 13th, the Senate passed 3rd reading of Bill C-81. Woot. Woot.

To catch you up, the Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI) Senate Standing Committee has recommended the following amendments to strengthen Bill C-81. We have not got all the changes we asked for, but the changes are pretty good.

A timeline was added and 2040 is the deadline for Canada to become accessible
American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language and Indigenous Sign Language are recognized as the primary languages used by Deaf people
Intersectionality was added to the principles section of the bill
Bill C-81, and regulations made under it, will not lessen the human rights of people with disabilities guaranteed by the Canadian Human Rights Act

To find out about all the recommended amendments by the Senate, and to get more detail, you can visit our partner, ARCH Disability Law’s site at: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/update-senate-committee-adopts-amendments-which-strengthen-bill-c-81-accessible-canada-act/

Bill C-81 has now been sent to the House of Commons for another vote by the Members of Parliament (MPs). We’re happy to report that the Government is ok with all of the changes the Senate suggested. They have submitted Bill C-81 to the Notice Paper saying so… Goose bumps.

Figuring out when this will all happen is a bit tricky. Here’s what we know:

Bill C-81 is on the Notice Paper which means the Government has said to the rest of the MPs: “Heads up. We want to debate this bill sometime soon.”
No one can control the parliamentary process, but debate will most likely happen the week of May 27. MPs are not sitting in the House next week.
When it does happen, the process will start with a message from the Speaker, followed by a speech from Minister Qualtrough, followed by debate, followed by a vote.
After the debate and vote, the bill still requires Royal Assent. The Governor General has to get involved. It can be a big deal where the bill is walked over to the Governor General in parade-like fashion, or not a big whoop and just a letter is signed. We love a parade… so fingers crossed. This date is also a moving target so it is anyone’s guess when this will happen but it is usually a few weeks after a bill is passed in the House.

Here’s what you can do to help move our Bill C-81 along:

Send this letter to Members of Parliament asking them to accept the amendments made by the Senate: https://www.include-me.ca/federal-accessibility-legislation-alliance/action/calling-mps-pass-accessible-canada-act-senates
If you represent an organization, you can add your organization’s name to an open letter at: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/open-letter-on-the-need-to-swiftly-pass-all-senate-amendments-to-bill-c-81-accessible-canada-act/

We’re so close. Let’s get it done.

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Alors, voici une mise à jour sur la progression de notre projet de loi C-81. Les choses bougent très vite maintenant.

Le 13 mai, le Sénat a adopté la troisième lecture du projet de loi C-81. Woot. Woot.

Pour vous rattraper, le Comité sénatorial permanent de l’affaires sociales,sciences et technologie a recommandé les amendements suivants pour renforcer le projet de loi C-81. Nous n’avons pas obtenu tous les changements que nous avons demandés, mais les changements sont plutôt bons.

Un calendrier a été ajouté et 2040 est la date limite pour que le Canada devienne accessible.
La langue des signes américaine, la langue des signes québécoise et la langue des signes autochtone sont reconnues comme les principales langues utilisées par les personnes sourdes.
L’intersectionnalité a été ajoutée à la section principes du projet de loi.
Le projet de loi C-81 et les règlements qui en découlent n’entameront pas les droits des personnes handicapées garantis par la Loi canadienne sur les droits de la personne.

Pour connaître toutes les modifications recommandées par le Sénat et obtenir plus de détails, vous pouvez visiter le site de notre partenaire, ARCH Disability Law, à l’adresse suivante: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/update-senate-committee-adopts-amendments-which-strengthen-bill-c-81-accessible-canada-act/

Le projet de loi C-81 a maintenant été envoyé à la Chambre des communes pour un autre vote par les députés. Nous sommes heureux d’annoncer que le gouvernement accepte tous les changements suggérés par le Sénat. Ils ont soumis le projet de loi C-81 au Feuilleton en le disant… Chaire de poule.

Déterminer à quel moment cela se produira est un peu délicat. Voici ce que nous savons:

Le projet de loi C-81 figure au Feuilleton des avis, ce qui signifie que le gouvernement a dit aux autres députés: «Attention! Nous voulons débattre de ce projet de loi très bientôt.
Personne ne peut contrôler le processus parlementaire, mais le débat aura probablement lieu la semaine du 27 mai. Les députés ne siègeront pas à la Chambre la semaine prochaine.
Lorsque cela se produira, le processus commencera par un message du président, suivi d’un discours de la ministre Qualtrough, suivi d’un débat, suivi d’un vote.
Après le débat et le vote, le projet de loi nécessite toujours la sanction royale. La gouverneure générale doit s’impliquer. Ce peut être un problème si le projet de loi est présenté à la gouverneure générale comme un défilé, ou s’il ne s’agit pas d’un gros cauchemar et qu’une simple lettre est signée. Nous adorons les défilés… alors croisons les doigts. Cette date est également une cible mouvante, donc tout le monde devine quand cela se produira, mais c’est généralement quelques semaines après l’adoption du projet de loi à la Chambre.

Voici ce que vous pouvez faire pour faire avancer notre projet de loi C-81:

Envoyez cette lettre aux membres du Parlement en leur demandant d’accepter les amendements du Sénat: https://www.include-me.ca/federal-accessibility-legislation-alliance/action/calling-mps-pass-accessible-canada-act-senates
Si vous représentez une organisation, vous pouvez ajouter le nom de celle-ci à une lettre ouverte à l’adresse suivante: https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/open-letter-on-the-need-to-swiftly-pass-all-senate-amendments-to-bill-c-81-accessible-canada-act/

Nous sommes si proches. Permet de le faire.

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