From curb cuts to bus routes to public space accessibility, decisions made at city hall impact the lives of people living with disabilities daily. Women Transforming Cities (WTC), a grassroots organization working to reshape who cities are built by and for is partnering with Live Educate Transform Society (LET’S), a nonprofit organization active in the disability, neurodivergent and 2SLGBTQIA+ communities to co-deliver a 90-minute interactive workshop on Disability Justice and local government.
To demystify what happens in our local governments, the workshop will cover:
Important terms and key people at City Hall
Ten principles of Disability Justice and discussion of how they apply to civic engagement
How local decisions that affect the disability community are made and ways to influence those decisions
Feedback channels to have your needs heard
Resources available to reduce the barriers to civic engagement
Together, we will explore the issues that matter to you and how to advocate for Disability Justice at City Hall.
Florence Li (she/her) is the Education Coordinator at Women Transforming Cities. She is an educator with a background in grassroots organizing and anti-racist advocacy. From facilitating in college classrooms and community settings to parenting two young children, as Education Coordinator at Women Transforming Cities (WTC), she strives to cultivate safer spaces that allow for curiosity and critical thinking to thrive. Through building civic literacy and knowledge sharing, she hopes to inspire participants to incite systemic change.
Heather McCain (they/them) is Executive Director of Live Educate Transform Society (LET’S), a non-profit they founded in 2005. Heather’s own experiences as an asexual, disabled, neurodivergent, queer, trans person led them to become a well-known and respected advocate, educator, and speaker. Heather is proudest to be called a Crip Doula. This is a community given Disability Justice term for someone who helps disabled people navigate our complex systems, providing resources, support, and building community. This title was gifted by community members who have felt the positive effects of Heather’s work.
This year, CNIB’s annual awareness campaign is focusing on guide dog access in health care settings
Guide dogs 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 guide dog handler would seek medical treatment or advice.
Guide dog 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 guide dogs 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 guide dogs, you can help shift social attitudes towards universal acceptance and appreciation for guide dogs, ensuring the rights of guide dog teams are always respected.
Get involved and show your support for guide dog teams by:
Visiting guidedogchampions.ca – CNIB’s one-stop shop for businesses to become more welcoming to guide dog teams.
Following CNIB on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X to like, comment on, and share our activities throughout the month.
Ordering a free “Guide dogs welcome” decal for your business to show support for guide dog teams in your community. Email advocacy@cnib.ca for more information.
TransLink is now accepting applications for both the Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee and HandyDART Users’ Advisory Committee until Sept. 14.
The Purpose of the Access Transit Users’ Advisory Committee (UAC) is to advise TransLink on improvements to the accessibility of their conventional transit services (Bus, SkyTrain, SeaBus and West Coast Express). The Committee provides accessibility-related advice on TransLink plans, programs and other initiatives and is comprised of persons with disabilities, seniors or their representatives. UAC members are people with disabilities, seniors, or individuals who support people with disabilities and/or seniors.
The purpose of the HandyDART Users’ Advisory Committee (HDUAC) is for HandyDART customers and their representatives and stakeholder groups to provide advice and guidance on HandyDART plans, programs and other initiatives, and to advise TransLink on matters to improve HandyDART service for customers. HDUAC members are individuals who use HandyDART, or people who provide support for people who use HandyDART.
For more information and to apply, please click one of the links for each of the committees.
