On September 25, 2019, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and Reena ran an Education Update and Candidate Roundtable highlighting the unanimous passage of Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act (ACA).
Left to right
Ian Prittie - Peoples Party Candidate – Don Valley West
Gary Gladstone - Liberal Party Candidate – Thornhill
Stewart Wong – Holland Bloorview – VP Communications
David Leopofsky – AODA Alliance - Volunteer Chair
Meenu Sikand – Holland Bloorview – Executive Lead – Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Rabia Kehdr – Canadian Association of Muslims with Disabilities - Founder
Gavy – Holland Bloorview – Children’s Ambassador
Sarah Climenhaga – Green Party Candidate – Toronto St. Pauls
Fred Winegust – Reena - Stakeholder Relations
Laurel MacDowell – NDP Candidate – Don Valley West
Absent – John Barlow – Conservative MP and Candidate - Foothills
The session educated the attendees on the importance of the ACA, its potential outcomes and provided an opportunity to hear directly from candidates on their parties’ implementation strategies if elected to government.
Prior to the evening Reena and Holland Bloorview conducted a survey among attendees, trying to understand the current knowledge and perceptions with regards to the implementation of the ACA.
Reena and Holland Bloorview have partnered with Accessible Media Inc (AMI) to take the survey to a national level, between October 2, 2019 and October 16, 2019.
Together, we are using this survey to determine if more education on the ACA is needed nationally.
AMI is a not-for-profit media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians who are blind or partially sighted. Operating three broadcast services, AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French, AMI’s vision is to establish and support a voice for Canadians with disabilities, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media, reflection and portrayal.
We would also like to provide all parties running in the October 21, 2019 Federal Election with a public perspective on how to improve the Accessible Canada Act.
Please take the time to complete this 5 to 7 minute survey by October 16, 2019.
