disabilities

Auditor General Karen Hogan holds a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. The Auditor General says two thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, and is highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Two-thirds of Canadians with disabilities found barriers on planes, trains: audit

Auditor general: Via Rail, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority still show serious gaps

 

Crofton Elementary School students learned about a wide variety of invisible disabilities through a school project and shared the findings with the public. (Photo by Don Bodger)

Uncovering the facts about invisible disabilities

Teacher’s own children the impetus for school project

 

A BC Transit handyDART bus. (Contributed photo)

‘It’s not fair’: Long road ahead for B.C. transit improvements

Province unlikely to fund more accessible transit this year: BC Transit

 

The signal says walk, but piles of icy snow say otherwise at the corner of Blanshard and Broughton in Victoria after a December 2022 snowfall. (Black Press Media file photo)

‘No access’: B.C. residents with disabilities keep cautious eye on snowy forecasts

Snow and ice severely limit those with mobility, sight or hearing disabilities

The signal says walk, but piles of icy snow say otherwise at the corner of Blanshard and Broughton in Victoria after a December 2022 snowfall. (Black Press Media file photo)
Sam the autism service dog is the first service dog to attend a School District 27 school. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photos - Williams Lake Tribune)

Autism service dog a game changer for family and 1st for B.C. school district

Dog attends class at Chilcotin Road Elementary to support a young student

Sam the autism service dog is the first service dog to attend a School District 27 school. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photos - Williams Lake Tribune)
Brayden Methot in the drivers position of his specially-adapted van, which he can drive from his power chair using hand controls, despite a C4 spinal cord injury. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo)

Williams Lake man driving first-of-its-kind adaptive van in Canada

Brayden Methot excited to enter back into the work force as he paves history

Brayden Methot in the drivers position of his specially-adapted van, which he can drive from his power chair using hand controls, despite a C4 spinal cord injury. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo)
Salmon Arm resident Tim Kubash said a lack of staffing contributed to him being prevented from boarding his WestJet flight home from Victoria on Dec. 3, 2022. (Tim Kubash/Facebook)

Salmon Arm man kept from boarding WestJet flight due to battery in wheelchair

Incident took place on International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Salmon Arm resident Tim Kubash said a lack of staffing contributed to him being prevented from boarding his WestJet flight home from Victoria on Dec. 3, 2022. (Tim Kubash/Facebook)
Jason Boberg, a member of the disability caucus and a founder of the disability climate action network SustainedAbility, speaks at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Boberg told The Associated Press in an interview days before he departed for COP27 that he’s seen pro-disability rights language in draft text of negotiations at previous conferences, including language about funding disability rights organizations to do climate action work. But that language has been cut from final agreements at the negotiations. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

VIDEO: People with disabilities raise voices at international climate talks

COP27 runs until Nov. 18

Jason Boberg, a member of the disability caucus and a founder of the disability climate action network SustainedAbility, speaks at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Boberg told The Associated Press in an interview days before he departed for COP27 that he’s seen pro-disability rights language in draft text of negotiations at previous conferences, including language about funding disability rights organizations to do climate action work. But that language has been cut from final agreements at the negotiations. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Michelle Asgarali, shown in a handout photo, is the producer of the new show “Breaking Character,” which follows a cast of disabled actors trying to make it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/-HO-AMI

‘Breaking Character’ is breaking boundaries in the world of disability representation

Docu-series tells the stories of 6 performers with disabilities

Michelle Asgarali, shown in a handout photo, is the producer of the new show “Breaking Character,” which follows a cast of disabled actors trying to make it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/-HO-AMI
Emerson and Amelia Nelson are seen in a handout photo. Their mother hopes the siblings and other children with ADHD get support through B.C.’s new service “hubs” for neurodiverse children. But Jaymie Nelson is concerned about possible wait lists and staffing issues in the new system, set to be launched next year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Rochelle Hepworth

B.C. to launch ‘circle of care’ for neurodiverse kids but parents have many questions

40 family connections centres, or hubs, are slated to be opened across the province

Emerson and Amelia Nelson are seen in a handout photo. Their mother hopes the siblings and other children with ADHD get support through B.C.’s new service “hubs” for neurodiverse children. But Jaymie Nelson is concerned about possible wait lists and staffing issues in the new system, set to be launched next year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Rochelle Hepworth
Tracey Werry fears her sons Myles, 7, and Elliott, 9, will lose their autism support in the province’s new needs-based model. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)

B.C. parents fear new autism funding model will leave their children behind

Children’s ability to mask their autism traits often places them low on support list, mother says

Tracey Werry fears her sons Myles, 7, and Elliott, 9, will lose their autism support in the province’s new needs-based model. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)
Tanelle Bolt is raising concerns over snow clearing on sidewalks in Langford after a recent dump of snow left her struggling to navigate city sidewalks, such as this one along Jacklin Road on the evening of Jan. 7. (Photo courtesy of Tanelle Bolt)

VIDEO: Island wheelchair user has accessibility concerns over sidewalk snow clearing

Langford woman said she has been unable to get around in aftermath of recent snowstorms

Tanelle Bolt is raising concerns over snow clearing on sidewalks in Langford after a recent dump of snow left her struggling to navigate city sidewalks, such as this one along Jacklin Road on the evening of Jan. 7. (Photo courtesy of Tanelle Bolt)
Carla Willock is clinical director of the Victoria Speech and Language Centre, which provides support for 200 children with autism. (Courtesy Carla Willock)

Vancouver Island autism support providers blindsided by provincial funding changes

B.C. plans to cut individual funding for children with autism, switch to hub model by 2025

Carla Willock is clinical director of the Victoria Speech and Language Centre, which provides support for 200 children with autism. (Courtesy Carla Willock)
Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix look on as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks about the COVID-19 vaccine card set to arrive in mid-September as they discuss details about the process during a press conference at provincial legislature in Victoria, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Premier John Horgan shows his vaccination card after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the pharmacy in James Bay Thrifty’s Foods in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, April 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

No medical exemptions for B.C. vaccine card ‘blatant discrimination’, disabled activist says

Some British Columbians cannot be vaccinated due to allergies to vaccine components

Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix look on as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks about the COVID-19 vaccine card set to arrive in mid-September as they discuss details about the process during a press conference at provincial legislature in Victoria, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Premier John Horgan shows his vaccination card after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the pharmacy in James Bay Thrifty’s Foods in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, April 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
A fleet of supercars filled a quiet Langley City street to visit Langley City teen Alyssa Anderson on Sunday, July 25, as part of the Drive Project. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)

VIDEO: Cool cars provide some automotive magic for B.C. teen

Driven Project brought fleet of supercars to quiet street

A fleet of supercars filled a quiet Langley City street to visit Langley City teen Alyssa Anderson on Sunday, July 25, as part of the Drive Project. (Dan Ferguson/Langley Advance Times)
Riley Oldford, 16, suffers from cerebral palsy. He was the first youth in the Northwest Territories to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Here he receives the needle from nurse practitioner Janie Neudorf in Yellowknife on Thursday May 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden

People with disabilities even more alone during pandemic: cerebral palsy spokeswoman

Many people with disabilities are at higher risk, but not always prioritized for vaccines

Riley Oldford, 16, suffers from cerebral palsy. He was the first youth in the Northwest Territories to get a COVID-19 vaccine. Here he receives the needle from nurse practitioner Janie Neudorf in Yellowknife on Thursday May 6, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Bill Braden
Parliament Hill is shown in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The Trudeau government has agreed with the Senate that Canadians suffering solely from grievous and irremediable mental illnesses should be entitled to receive medical assistance in dying — but not for another two years. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick photo)

Self-advocates ‘sad, scared, angry’ over revisions to assisted-death legislation

Bill C-7 was expanded to include access to medically assisted death for non-terminal conditions

Parliament Hill is shown in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 11, 2020. The Trudeau government has agreed with the Senate that Canadians suffering solely from grievous and irremediable mental illnesses should be entitled to receive medical assistance in dying — but not for another two years. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick photo)
Direct-support staff who support individuals with developmental disabilities – including many involved with Semiahmoo House Society in South Surrey – should be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine, says the head of UNITI. (File photo)

Support workers for those with disabilities left behind in B.C. vaccine-rollout ‘oversight’

UNITI CEO Doug Tennant says misunderstanding is putting vulnerable people at greater risk

Direct-support staff who support individuals with developmental disabilities – including many involved with Semiahmoo House Society in South Surrey – should be prioritized for the COVID-19 vaccine, says the head of UNITI. (File photo)
Health Minister Adrian Dix shared details of an amended essential-visitors policy Tuesday (May 19). The changes were sparked by the death last month of South Surrey’s Ariis Knight.(Contributed photo/Tracy Holmes photo)

Policy change sparked by death of disabled B.C. woman ‘will save lives’

‘Ariis’s Law’ expands definition of essential visitors in hospital

Health Minister Adrian Dix shared details of an amended essential-visitors policy Tuesday (May 19). The changes were sparked by the death last month of South Surrey’s Ariis Knight.(Contributed photo/Tracy Holmes photo)
Aaron, 16, and his parents in this undated photo. His mom, Sue Robins, has voiced concerns after an email from the Ministry of Child and Family Development included outdated terminology for those with disabilities. (Submitted by Sue Robins to Black Press Media)

B.C. mom’s complaint about ‘R word’ in children’s ministry email sparks review

In 2020, the ‘R’ word shouldn’t be used, Sue Robins says

Aaron, 16, and his parents in this undated photo. His mom, Sue Robins, has voiced concerns after an email from the Ministry of Child and Family Development included outdated terminology for those with disabilities. (Submitted by Sue Robins to Black Press Media)