The City of Vancouver is having an election this October and below you will find all the information required to get ready to vote. Election Day is Saturday, October 20^th, 2018, and there will be eight days of advance voting on October 10^th to 17^th.

Vote by mail applications open

People who are unable to vote in person due to a disability or illness can vote by mail. Applications are now open at https://vancouver.ca/your-government/vote-by-mail.aspx or call 3-1-1.

Printed voters’ guide available at community centres and libraries

 Starting September 27, a printed voters’ guide will be available for pick up at Vancouver community centres and libraries. The guide contains all key information about the election, including how and when to vote, the random order candidate list, candidate biographies, and the capital plan questions.

For the first time, versions of the Vancouver voters’ guide are available in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Punjabi, French and large print. An audio version of the guide will also be available on vancouver.ca/vote, reading all voter information except the candidate statements.

Voters’ guides can also be mailed to citizens if they call 3-1-1 or fill out a form at vancouver.ca/voters-guide. Please note all information in the voters’ guide is also available at vancouver.ca/vote.

Plan Your Vote tool available

 Starting September 27, the City’s Plan Your Vote tool will be available online, allowing voters to:

• Easily view candidates in alphabetical and random ballot order.
• Pick candidates, a date, and a place to vote.
• Print your plan, or email it to yourself, with candidates displayed in the order that will be shown on the ballot.
• Set a reminder to vote.
• Take your plan to the voting place with you.

The tool has been reviewed and upgraded to increase accessibility for those with visual impairments.

Ballot marking machine available

An accessible ballot marking machine will be available at Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre and Killarney Community Centre during advance voting, allowing those who would normally need help to mark their ballots to vote independently.

The machine features:

• Sip-and-puff-, paddle- or other accessibility devices
• Audio instructions and braille markings on paddles and buttons
• Large print or high colour contrast
• Audio and written ballot marking instructions in Cantonese, Mandarin, and Punjabi

New this election

Names listed in random order on the ballot

Candidates will be listed in random order, NOT alphabetical order, on the ballot this year. Every ballot will have the same random order candidate list.

To prepare for the random order list on the ballot, the City recommends the following steps for citizens:

• Plan your vote in advance. The online Plan Your Vote tool is at ca/plan-your-vote or use the worksheet in the voters’ guide.
• Get to know the random order list, so you can mark your ballot correctly. The random order list can be found at ca/vote and in the voters’ guide.
• Leave plenty of time to vote. Consider voting in advance from October 10 to 17, as wait times will be shorter.

More voting access for citizens with disabilities and other vulnerable residents

The city will be providing mobile voting opportunities in 90 facilities from October 9-19 – an increase from 51 locations in 2014. An April bylaw update allowed expansion of the program beyond hospitals and large care facilities to include shelters, social service drop-in centres, and smaller care facilities.

If you have any questions or would like more information on any of the services in this email, please contact Paul Hendren, Election Outreach Lead.

DABC has received the following information from the Accessibility Secretariat:

What is Disabilities Mentoring Day?

If you haven’t heard of DMD before, it is an event that brings job seekers with disabilities and employers together in a day of job shadowing. The goal in doing this is to help bridge the talent, communication and knowledge gaps between business, employment and community supports when it comes to working with persons with disabilities. In Vancouver, DMD is October 24, 2018.

Mentees in DMD will have an opportunity to:

• Add valuable work experience to their resume
• Access new workplace contacts, environments & HR processes
• Increase confidence and social skills in the workplace
• Dispel employers’ fears about hiring people with disabilities and promote disability confidence
• Gain an understanding of what employers are looking for in order to be successful

For the pilot year in Vancouver, we have 10 mentee opportunities at 7 different employers. These include:

1. Ayogo
2. Travel for All
3. BGIS (Brookfield Global Integrated Solutions)
4. The BC Government
5. AMI (Accessible Media Inc.)
6. Air Canada
7. TD Bank

Mentees can register at: www.disabilitiesmentoringday.ca or by filling out an application online.

Download a poster with more details here.  If you have any questions or want to submit a mentee application, please reach out to Jamie Burton at: jamie@dolphin.ca or Toll free: 1-888-804-1446.

Seeking Youth Participation

Are you interested in using your skills to make a tangible difference in your community? Would you like to add a valuable experience to your resume or gain volunteer hours?

Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is seeking youth participation under the new Youth Innovation Component of the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF).

What is the EAF?

The EAF is a federal government grants and contributions program which provides funding to eligible organizations for projects that increase accessibility for people with disabilities in Canadian community spaces and workplaces. Projects funded by the EAF allow people with disabilities to participate more fully in community activities, programs and services as well as access employment opportunities.

Examples of EAF Projects include but are not limited to:

• Installing an access ramp and/or automated door openers;
• Widening doorways and hallways;
• Procuring accessible beach wheelchairs or adapted Kayaks; and
• Installing accessible technology such as computer screen readers, voice recognition software and braille printers.

How youth can participate?

The EAF Youth Innovation Component provides an opportunity for youth to have a direct impact in the lives of people with disabilities by addressing accessibility barriers in public spaces and/or workplaces across Canada.

Interested youth (age 15-30) will:

• Register their interest online to the EAF by September 21, 2018;
• Receive a tool kit / info package from the EAF;
• Identify accessibility barriers in workplaces or community spaces;
• Approach eligible organization(s) and let them know about the accessibility barriers in their community space or workplace;
• Encourage the organization(s) to apply for up to $10,000 in EAF funding under the Youth Innovation Component (deadline for organizations to apply for funding is November 16, 2018);
• Answer the question in the organization’s project funding proposal related to the project’s objective; and
• Fill out the final questionnaire to help improve the program.

Volunteer youth interested in participating in this initiative, are asked to inform the Enabling Accessibility Fund (EAF) team of their interest by September 21, 2018 using the following link: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/funding/enabling-accessibility-fund-youth-innovation.html.

Together let’s build a more accessible Canada!

Enabling Accessibility Fund Team
Employment and Social Development Canada