The Consortium Led by Real-Time Engineering & Simulation, Inc. is working on a project for Transport Canada to better understand the long distance travel needs of people with mobility impairments in order to improve their accessibility to rail vehicles and the quality of the service provision in Canada.

The removal and prevention of barriers and making access easier to, and move around on board trains and stations is essential to provide accessible rail services and remove discrimination. With this survey, we are asking you to share your needs, views, comments and suggestions on current access to VIA Rail services and on various boarding devices. Your participation in this study is greatly appreciated through responding a survey. http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1834109/Long-Distance-Transportation-Needs-for-People-with-Limited-Mobility

This survey will take approximately 12 minutes to complete. Participation is voluntary and you may exit the survey at any time. Completing the survey indicates consent to participate in this study. All survey responses will remain confidential, stored on a password-protected computer, and participants will not be identified in any publications or reports. Due to the anonymous nature of the survey, once the data has been collected, participants can no longer withdraw from the study. The data may be kept for future related research purposes.

Please feel free to distribute widely among your network.

If you have any question or concerns regarding this survey or if you have any concerns regarding your rights or welfare as a participant in this research study please send an email to ComeOnBoard@rteng.pro.

Thank you for your participation!

DABC has been informed that this year, the City of Vancouver is offering accessibility aids and assistance to enable people with disabilities to vote.

Assistance includes:

• Sip and puff voting device
• Audio systems with headphones to read the ballot
• Magnification device to enlarge the ballot
• Wheelchair accessibility at all voting stations
• Curbside voting for persons unable to leave their vehicle to vote
• Assistance from election staff

Saturday, November 15th is the date of the municipal election. Advance voting begins November 4th.

On June 16th, the provincial government released “Accessibility 2024,” its 10-year plan for making BC the most progressive province in Canada for people with disabilities.

Link: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/disabilitywhitepaper/accessibility-2024/

The BCCPD is pleased that the government has identified accessibility and inclusion as a priority and has articulated clear goals and actions toward making BC the most progressive province in Canada for people with disabilities. We are also encouraged by the level of engagement and input from across BC as well as the building blocks that have been identified as the plan’s key elements.

We are disappointed, however, that the plan only commits to increasing provincial disability benefit rates as BC’s fiscal situation allows. Without making changes to the disability assistance rates, we will continue to see people with disabilities who depend on provincial income supports living in poverty. We were also disappointed that the plan is silent about the needs of people living with mental health disabilities. We will continue to work with our community partners to encourage the province to increase disability benefit rates.