DABC has received the following information on the 2016 Census from the City of Vancouver:

Dear Community Partners:

As you are aware, the 2016 Census is officially underway!

In an effort to encourage all Vancouver residents to participate in this year’s Census, we ask you to share the following information with your colleagues and clients.  Among other things, people may not be aware that, in addition to English and French, the questions are available in 11 ethnic languages and 11 aboriginal languages, as well as in braille, audio and sign language (video). It is important to note that the questions are translated for reference purposes only. The census questionnaire must be completed online or on paper, in either English or French. The census paper questionnaire can be obtained in large print format by calling the Census Help Line at 1-855-700-2016.

Statistics Canada staff will also go out into the community and give presentations on request: please contact Peter Liang at Peter.Liang@canada.ca or 604.366.7597.

Census Questions

• Short form (given to 100% of households): http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/ref/questionnaires/questions-eng.cfm
• Long form (given to 25% sample of households): http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2016/ref/questionnaires/questions-eng.cfm

Data Collection

• Mailout of letters to all households in Statistics Canada database about has already taken place (May 2nd).
• Any household not receiving a letter should call the Census help line at : 1-855-700-2016 or TTY 1-866-753-7083.

o   In particular in Vancouver, many secondary suites may not be known to Statistics Canada, and we’d really like their information to be collected.

• In-person enumeration and follow up will take place over the next few months.

Making the Census Accessible

• Census help line: The Census Help Line operates Monday to Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., starting May 2, 2016.The census help line will answer questions in non-official languages as able.
• Anyone can request a printed copy of the questionnaire if they are unable to complete it online.
• Accommodation for people with sensory disabilities: http://www.census.gc.ca/ccr16h/ccr16h_001-eng.html
• Multilingual fact sheets and translations of the questionnaire: http://www.census.gc.ca/ccr16f/ccr16f_000-eng.html

Content of the Questions

• Completing the census is mandatory.
• No personal information is published (until 2108, if people give permission to future researchers) and it’s not used for anything but statistical purposes.
• The census isn’t perfect, and some questions may not include everyone:

o   In particular, persons not identifying as either male or female should leave the sex question blank but must add an explanatory note in the comments section: http://www.census.gc.ca/ccr16c/ccr16c_010-eng.html#a73.

• There are city resources that can help with some of the long-form questions:

o   In particular, people can use Vanmap to look up the year their dwelling was built and what its assessed value is.

Census Jobs

• Statistics Canada is still hiring field staff to collect data. People may apply if they are 18 years of age or older and are eligible to work in Canada as a citizen, permanent resident or temporary resident with a work permit.
• More information about the hiring process is available online: http://www.census.gc.ca/ccr16d/ccr16d_000-eng.html.

TRANSLINK FARE GATE ACCESSIBILITY CONSULTATION

Call for Participants

TransLink is committed to providing a universally accessible transit system, and we are working to ensure that the closure of fare gates at SkyTrain stations and SeaBus terminals does not alter our customers’ ability to access transit independently.

If you live in Metro Vancouver and are someone who currently takes SkyTrain and/or SeaBus independently, and cannot physically tap a Compass Card to enter or exit a station or terminal, we would like to speak with you regarding your specific situation.

We recognize that everyone has vastly differing accessibility needs, and it is through direct communications with impacted customers that we can come to the best solution for fare gate accessibility.

If you would like to be part of this solution, please contact the Access Transit department to participate in our questionnaire or simply share your thoughts. We are hoping to hear back from customers as soon as possible, and you can reach us in either of the following ways:

Email: access.transit@translink.ca
Phone: (778) 375-6864

Community Update
April 2016

DABC is thrilled to announce funding from Emergency Management BC (EMBC) to work with local authorities over the next two years in order to meet the emergency preparedness goal of the provincial government’s Accessibility 2024 initiative. The government of British Columbia has made a commitment to becoming the most inclusive province in Canada for people with disabilities by 2024. Emergency Preparedness is one of Accessibility 2024’s twelve building blocks. The Province’s laudable goal is for every BC community to have accommodated the needs of persons with disabilities in its emergency planning by 2024. The Province will measure the success of this goal by the number of community emergency response plans that comply with a Functional Needs Framework (FNF).

DABC is a leader in emergency preparedness and people with disabilities and is excited to be working with local authorities in different regions of BC to increase local level capacity to respond to the needs of community members with disabilities in emergencies and disasters.

DABC will work with local authorities to:

• Review local community response plans
• Provide recommendations to local authorities on how to integrate the Functional Needs Framework and identify people’s needs during an emergency
• Provide training to local authorities that supports the Emergency Preparedness building block of Accessibility 2024

For more information, contact Karen Martin, karen@disabilityalliancebc.therightfitbc.org