It is with deep admiration and heartfelt remembrance that we announce the establishment of the Pamela Horton Trailblazer Fund, created to honour the life, leadership, and legacy of our longstanding board member, Pam, who passed away on May 13, 2025.
Pamela Horton served on DABC’s board of directors for close to thirty years. Pam was also DABC’s first ever Executive Director, and remained an active monthly donor to DABC until her passing. We will remember Pam well for her principled determination in advancing disability rights in our province.
A staunch champion of disability rights on numerous boards throughout her career, Pam’s work has left a lasting legacy. She was posthumously awarded BC’s Medal of Good Citizenship for her work as a disability rights advocate over five decades at the municipal, provincial and federal level. Her positive impact will continue to especially be felt not just by the disability community, but also by seniors, transit riders, survivors of domestic and sexual violence, and everyone in her home community of North Vancouver.
Throughout Pam’s life and career with DABC, there remains a common thread; her passion for planning and designing each edition of the Transition Magazine. Published 3 times a year, Transition Magazine explores a timely theme with articles contributed by the disability community. Like Pam, Transition Magazine has been around since the beginning of our organization; standing as a lasting record of the challenges faced and progress made within the disability rights movement.
Please consider supporting Transition Magazine by donating in honour of Pamela Horton. Your donations will help pay honoraria to contributors, operational costs, and costs to improve accessibility and outreach of the magazine. Your donations to this fund are a great way to support dialogue and advocacy for people with disabilities, in honour of a true lifelong champion of our community whose leadership will continue to inspire our work for years to come.
This year, CNIB’s annual awareness campaign is focusing on guidedog access in health care settings.
Guidedogs and their handlers have the right to access to any premises that the public would normally have access to. This applies to medical clinics, doctors’ offices, dentists’ offices, hospitals, and anywhere a guidedog handler would seek medical treatment or advice.
Guidedog handlers also have the right to visit family members in any area of a health care setting or medical facility where other visitors are allowed.
While guidedogs may not be permitted in specific environments like operating rooms or areas with radiation exposure, a reasonable accommodation must still be provided for their handlers in such instances.
By learning more about guidedogs, you can help shift social attitudes towards universal acceptance and appreciation for guidedogs, ensuring the rights of guidedog teams are always respected.
Get involved and show your support for guidedog teams by:
Visiting guidedogchampions.ca – CNIB’s one-stop shop for businesses to become more welcoming to guidedog teams.
Following CNIB on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X to like, comment on, and share our activities throughout the month.
Ordering a free “Guidedogs welcome” decal for your business to show support for guidedog teams in your community. Email advocacy@cnib.ca for more information.
Momentum, along with partners at Plan Institute, SEED Winnipeg, and the Disability Policy Research Program, are advocating for an alternative pathway which grants automatic DTC
