Consultation In-Person Feedback Collection
Date: February 25, 2014
Group: Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in-person session (CART transcript of full proceedings available at the end of this document)
Location: Vancouver, BC
Number of Attendees: 95
Note: all the information and feedback gathered at this session will be inputted into the overall collection of data and feedback for consideration
of the development of the Disability White Paper.
Feedback:












Create new legislation that will preserve the rights of Persons with Disabilities to accessibility and accommodations. BC already
has such an act specially for persons with Cognitive disabilities, The BC Community Living Act which could act as a model for new
laws as well as the model that exists in Ontario, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 and the American Law, the Americans
with Disabilities Act, 199), 2001, 2008,2010
Adopt and follow the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Education – visual project (we don’t agree with it) – ambivalence w/self identity – social development – isolation – bullied
Emotional/psychological impacts
Language barriers at local school – 2d not 3d – long term $
Save $ - transportation cuts
Early intervention – limited choices – parents/dr. are not being educated – late ages – Band-Aid model/approach
Late language acquisition – CNI no working now what?
O-s critical language/cognitive developmental – some successful w/CI but what about others
ASL exposures at earliest age should be required
Parents applied for jobs – not neutral enough??
Provincial service for deaf/HoH – provided many services “Band-Aid” – need 1 deaf representative/worker at work w/parent at
Feedback:


























early intervention
Outreach programs – many live in isolated areas w/limited resources
Interpreters often perform intervener/interpreter/teacher because of language delays, curriculum not suitable – teachers have no
idea
Truck drivers – limited opportunities
Employment – employers need to be educated
Sports – funding for interpreters?
Emergencies – building codes, broadcasting
Acoustic standards and design – BC Building Code
Models of good design – Gallaudet and Cape Town, South Africa (hotel)
Centre: to showcase access, arts, services (for all ages) to create bridge
Workplace safety – alert systems, color codes
Need mandatory provincial (not municipal) building codes
Airports – communication access
Hospital – access to information rather than by phone
Call in information systems are a barrier
Invisible disabilities – need to increase awareness and recognize legitimacy
Hearing aids – not affordable for people in BC – creates many barriers – to employment and participation
Youth – the successful transition to adulthood
Technology – the better access to technology the better we are able to contribute – assistive technology is too expensive
Loop system – courts, train stations, public places – model in New York, UK – helpful and works well for announcements – VanCity
example
Medical interpreting – for partners (family member) not just patients
CHHA started hospital kit initiative to improve access for HoH people
Transitioning support or HoH students into post secondary – students must choose between captioning and interpreting – not
both – DA access services at universities are not knowledgeable about D/HoH issues
Hospitals- typewell services available
Education can be double the work for HoH students
Disability tax credits and RDSP – not available if not ‘deaf enough’ – must go to doctor/audiologist – barrier long wait lists
Replacement cochlear implants not covered – advised to remain on disability rather than return to work
Feedback:



























Transit pass support
Hearing aid dispenser consultant position recommended for support and adaptation assistance
TTY expensive and can be hard to read especially for seniors
Manufacturing regulations to increase/promote access on new product designs
Captel - “Cap-tel” - available in US for HoH phone users
Video relay service (VRS) needed for phone access; can be linked to capital services
FM systems are limited in ensuing privacy – infrared systems, loop systems should be available everywhere
Need hearing people to be aware of D/HoH people – reduce stigma, be open minded – use media to increase awareness - high
level government practices – best practices
Fundamental assumption : everyone has a right and a need to have meaningful activity in their lives
Barriers – attitude, economic
Solution: universal equipment and device programs
Need disability legislation to enforce people to change eg. ON Act, models like Community Living Act, UN Convention)
Not charity model – should be a right
Coordination of what services and support are available for eg caregiver tax credit, RDSP, etc.
Universal design
Possible outreach programs for PWDs re: resources – having disability takes extra energy
Ministry of Disabilities – comprehensive
Hearing aid education – WIDHH model vs. audiologists selling plus adequate education on how to use aids/devices
Barriers: general awareness
PWDs don’t always know what they need
Need cultural shift about universal design – it’s helpful to everyone
Attitudal barriers are #1 issues
Anybody can get a disability so attitude is #1 issue
Education about how precious being able bodied is
Funding
PWD have to go extra mile when it is hard to begin with
Often lack of empathy – need to cultivate empathy – patience when it takes an extra 2 min when a person in a wheelchair is
getting off the bus
Feedback:





























If no PWD in your life – how do you educate?
Early education – kids aren’t afraid to ask questions
Heard of hearing is invisible – educate every person you talk to
Educate on ability in classroom
Get rid of disability label
Solution- PWD in decision making to help get laws changed
Sponsor agencies and companies that are making a difference to help make it more normalized
We’re the solution not the “patient”
Stop looking at PWDs as receivers of services see us as problem solvers – eg. EATI has clients has partners
People who live the life every day
Universal design – USA – all has to be captioned by certain date
The technology is there but if income is a smidgeon above they can’t get resource
Worldwide consortium – guideline for all digital assets for universal assets – all sites should have level A by end of 2014
Level A – no way to enforce, it is suggestion
Costs $ but people won’t do it unless enforcement plan
MSO – important to allow people to be independent
Which in the long term saves gov’t $
What about people who were not on PWD
Hearing aid $2-3,000 plus cochlear implant $10,000 plus $200 battery – a lot of cost of PWD that most people don’t know about
Often tension about who decides who gets devices – OT, etc.
A little extra equip. etc. can make the diff – have to do a trust which is tricky – penalized if have assets
Lack of qualified people
Integrate model – people work together on a common goal
Temporary need – education and learning how to use devices
Hearing aids gathering dust – need to learn how to use hearing aid – theatre – not all staff know how to use it properly
Cost – eg. pedals for cars – very expensive to just do normal life
Huge cost to family
A lot are passed down but need access
RDSP – life changing program – your loved one has financial support – should be starting point
Feedback:


























Hidden – not publicised
Should be out there
ICBC’s you get insurance – not marketed well enough – have to do your own digging
$ talks – RDSP
Families and people exhausted as have to do 10X effort to get thru day
RDSP – should be part of entry point – GF strong, OTs, etc.
A lot of families can even get out of the house (sic)
Gov’t should offer more home visits more outreach to families
PWDs can’t get out in snow
Flexible model that revolves around person’s needs
Social workers/OTs have huge caseloads
Give caregiver tax credit, RDSP, etc.
Families can’t work f/t if caring for PWD family member
CSIL – will allow people to be hired to look after them
Only for young and have strong networks
Need people you can trust
Prevents institutions/hospitals increase quality of life and length of life
People coming into hospital – need to have advance care planning- if done in advance and take people’s opinions into account,
will avoid extraordinary measures
More efficient use of resources to do this planning earlier
Make American Sign Language an official language.
American Sign Language is a visual language that can be readily used and accepted by those who rely upon their sights for
communication purposes. English which is mostly an auditory language is not readily visually accessible.
Official adoption of American Sign Language will allow one to master English more quickly.
Make American Sign Language the language of instruction for any deaf children and students at all levels of educational
institution.
Too many deaf children end up leaving schools with“broken English”. They also have a broken American Sign Language, too.
Deprivation of communication accessibility at an early age usually robs deaf children of a chance to master a language.
Mastery of a visual language (ASL) greatly facilitates the mastery of a second language, English, in this case. Deaf children of deaf
parents are usually superior academically to deaf children of hearing parents who do not sign.
Feedback:















Do not allow parents of deaf infants/toddlers/children to consider communication options for their children. Too often wrong
options have been selected. Require the use of American Sign Language during their formative years.
Deaf adults should be employed to work with parents of deaf children to facilitate communication between the parents and their
deaf children, to teach them ASL, to have higher expectations of deaf children’s abilities.
With this enhanced communication, there will be more likely a strong bond of love between the parents and their children when
they become adults. (Too often the relationship between non-signing parents and their adult children leaves out a lot to be
desired as experienced by too many deaf adults.)
In the opinion of many deaf adults, having communication options is politically incorrect. After all, all deaf children are inherently
bilingual. This will allow the acceleration of the mastery of American Sign Language and English.
Place British Columbia Provincial School for the Deaf (BCSD) under the deaf control, e.g., a 51% deaf majority school board, and
removed from the control of the Burnaby School District.
BCSD should be a school district by itself.
This should enhance better accountability.
Higher expectations of deaf children should ensue.
Maryland School for the Deaf of which I was high school principal is under 51% deaf-controlled board of trustees and is one of two
or three best schools for the deaf in the U.S. See www.msd.edu. Deaf students perform statewide examination as well as nondeaf students do in the state.
Current Ministry of Education’s guidelines for special education proclaims that deaf children are too difficult to teach. We do not
agree with this proclamation so feel it would be much more beneficial to deaf children obtain education under the leadership of
the deaf-controlled school board.
BCSD should provide and coordinate all early intervention/preschool education to all deaf children of pre-school age. Also,
parents will be involved in learning and using American Sign Language through a variety of activities such as dining table
communication, reading story books, naming various things in the community, playing games, etc.
Enact British Columbians with Disabilities Act (BCDA)
American with Disabilities Act (ADA) has been very much in the public, thus making it much easier for the disabled citizens to
assert their rights.
Ontarians with Disabilities Act (ODA) is a comprehensive set of laws readily identified with disabled citizens of Ontario.
While we have human rights in B. C., there has been too much ambiguity, so we need BCDA to strengthen our rights under one
set of laws and clearly spells out responsibilities for participants in both the private and public sectors of our economy in terms of
accommodation. Interpreting issues, for example, remain unresolved. Same with public announcements (SkyTrains, B.C. Place)
Feedback:




















which deaf citizens often miss.
Involve deaf citizens in all governmental decision-making processes that affect all aspects of deaf citizens’ lives.
WorkSafeBC has regulations that have been inappropriately adopted, thus hampering the efforts of deaf citizens to engage in
certain positions gainfully, e.g., jack hammering, driving logging trucks.
Employ deaf citizens within the provincial government to ensure fairness in hiring practices throughout the economy.
Assist in the creation of a deaf senior citizens’ residence and elderly care like the one in Columbus Ohio (see
http://osdaa.com/columbuscolony.htm and http://www.columbuscolony.org/)
It is a mixture of independent living, assisted living, and elderly care facility and has a community centre for the deaf.
Newer facilities have expanded architectural modification to accommodate deaf citizens, e.g., wider hallways, wide sidewalks, to
accommodate signing.
It is open to anybody living in the United States. We need one in British Columbia, preferably in the Metro Vancouver area where
most deaf citizens reside.
Most importantly, all staff (nurses, physical therapists, kitchen staff, custodial staff, social workers) use American Sign Language.
This diminishes social isolation experienced by many older deaf citizens.
This needs to be managed by qualified deaf citizens.
Require school districts to have a critical mass of deaf children before offering educational services to them; otherwise, these
children should be sent to a regional school for the deaf or the provincial school for the deaf with a bigger enrollment of deaf
students.
Too few deaf children in a school district increases isolation which is not conducive healthy self-identity and self-esteem.
Without the needed critical mass, qualified educational interpreters become scarce.
Extracurricular and athletic programs for deaf children will be severely limited without the critical mass.
A healthy critical mass of deaf students allows flexibility and diversity of academic and vocational offerings.
In a nutshell, a school district is of no value unless there is a critical mass of deaf students!
School districts must not be allowed to decide whether to send deaf children to British Columbia Provincial School for the Deaf.
BCSD must have the authority to evaluate school districts’ programs for deaf children to ascertain healthy outcomes for
themselves.
BCSD needs to have an open enrollment for any and all deaf children to enter the provincial school for the deaf. It makes no sense
to restrict this enrollment especially when a critical mass is needed to strengthen curricular and extracurricular activities for deaf
children!
Install visual signals for deaf drivers so that they will know that an emergency vehicle is approaching, e.g., a flashing traffic light, or
Feedback:











a built-in strobe light within a standard traffic light.
We suggest changing the role of B.C. Government from that of a tax-cutting machine to a wise tax-dollars spending and caring
facilitator for ALL British Columbians. Saving money and cutting taxes have hurt disabled and deaf citizens, and this has become
costly in terms of unemployment insurance, welfare, and overburdened social services. We need to stop having the attitude of
“It’s their problem, not mine”, and start to cherish and endorse this concept: “We’re all in this together,” just like the African
proverb about having a village to raise a child. There is no reason why our economy and, yes, our society is for the rich, the
privileged, and the fortunate few. There is a fantastic amount of resources the people with disabilities, including deaf people,
have to offer to society. With this change of attitude, the economy and society will improve dramatically for the benefit of all!
A deaf person put it simply: "Hearing People are lost in the Deaf world, just like as deaf people are lost in hearing world" I am
sure you felt the same at our Community Consultation for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deaf Bind Community. We are capable
in everything except hearing.
I did not think I was very deaf myself. When I saw these people (at deaf organization) I knew I belonged to their world. If you put
something black in white paint, you cannot get the black out. Once you are deaf, you are always deaf.
Ensure the provision of Interpretation service for those who wish to attend workshops / training for employment requirements;
Apprenticeship, Red Seal or new software, etc. Subsidy so people can afford to take time off from work or stay in larger cities for
training.
If the cost-cutting occurs, the isolated communities should not receive the first impacts.
Chartered, low-cost bus should be provided for those who wish to attend Well Being Program mental health workshop
sessions/events (similar to bus services for medical / hospital patients who must travel to larger cities or Lower Mainland from
North).
Adequate accommodations should be provided for outsiders who have to come down to LM for consultations, appointments and
other events
Lack of equality in the northern BC areas. Whenever services or supports are set up, the northern BC shouldn’t wait for it to be
implemented…as “last ones to be served.”
Lack of funding for community based organizations like Northern Interior Association of the Deaf, to provide social, educational,
and personal development/skills – as well as being able to work with parents of Deaf/HH/Deaf-blind students in the area.
Ensure the provision of Interpretation service for those who wish to attend workshops / training for employment requirements;
Apprenticeship, Red Seal or new software for employment reasons, etc. Subsidy so people can afford to take time off from work
or stay in larger cities for training.
Implement BC Disability Act to address common issues. Support the opening of Deaf Office at federal level, to be managed as a
Feedback:





















separate entity similar to the office for Aboriginal. Deaf Office to appoint president who are deaf as they the one who truly
understand the needs of the deaf community, from a deaf perspective, and is able to enact the changes across Canada.
safety (i.e. building code, announcement system, etc)
Senior centre to help combat loneliness. Deaf are typically excluded from the hearing community throughout life, which makes us
more prone to loneliness/depression. It is known that depression rate is higher than normal in the deaf community vs. the general
population. Depression negatively affects us in all aspect and can be difficult to get out of.
VRS/VRI
we need better financial security and support to help us build the needed confidence to become an active participant of our
society
Universal equipment and devices programs
Open to everyone
ON would only do one hearing aid – person making decision probably doesn’t know how is it hear w/one
EATI is not a list based program – based on person’s needs
RDSP – direct towards long term care/future
After 10 year is to buy equipment
Should be used for future/retirement
Often used before it should be for equipment needs
Also need medical equipment items to support day to day life
Should be contribution based equipment programs
Hone care – no laundry etc.
You have to pay yourself so often use RDSPs and use up savings to stay at home
Long term care is the alternative
RDSP will be used for cochlear implant replacement
Lead to people gaming systems like EPBC to get cochlear implant
Cochlear implant allows 1; US, Turkey and India only places that do 2 – program amazing
Reducing barriers for Persons with Disabilities is good for everyone, by making our environment accessible for disabled persons
we make it accessible for everyone; curb cuts for elders and mothers with strollers, for those who can't speak English can benefit
from captioning, markings indicating level changes in the floor help everyone not only those with visual impairments, Sign
Language interpreters allow Deaf persons to make meaningful contributions to others in society.
Feedback:















lf everyone is able to participate our communities are richer and stronger. Persons with disabilities can contribute their skills and
talents if we provide ways to reduce barriers. By becoming a leader in innovating in services and solutions for persons with
disabilities, BC has the opportunity to develop innovations that could lead to economic gains for industries wishing to market new
products and services.
And most importantly, we have an obligation to reduce barriers for persons with disabilities as a signatory to the UN Convention
on the rights of Persons with Disabilities
Most deaf do not have to opportunity (sic) or means to save for retirement
For the most part, those at Table 4 were not fully aware of RDSP information…nor of impacts such as RDSP or other investments
& savings could have on their PWD eligibility. The information on So the suggestion is to mandate all Ministries to budget for
providing accessible information.
The only restriction about asset accumulation most were aware of is the limit on bank savings accounts.
One Deaf-Blind man who had moved to BC a few years ago from Saskatchewan and receives a pension from working in past years
was not aware he may be ineligible for PWD. He has asked for help from a community agency to complete application paperwork.
Most Deaf and Deaf-blind individuals on PWD are not aware of other financial exceptions they could have – e.g. disability
discretionary & non-discretion trusts, increased income up to $800 per month with no penalty, etc.
We agreed that such information MUST BE shared in an accessible way – in ASL videos, in plain English – large font texts (size 18
or 20), and in Braille (or in Rich Text Format so that people with computer-Braille reading devices can access information).
Loan forgiveness for Deaf/HH/DB students (important as unemployment and underemployment is a big concern). Also many
people with disabilities take longer to access their education (shouldn’t be penalized).
Students who receive interpreting services at post-secondary institutions should NOT be given T-4A forms – the money spent will
be doubly taxed – as the interpreter(s) who receive the payment for services will also be given T-4 or T-4A forms. This is clearly
discriminating against a person with disability for being unable to hear the services (instruction) provided to all when it is the
institution that should be mandated to provide accommodation.
Law is not understood well enough
When interpretation service is offered through post-secondary it is a taxable benefit –
That’s like telling a wheel-chair bound person that they can have the money to build a ramp and then taxing them for it. This is
highly discriminatory
free MSP coverage for all PWD
PWD to get waitlist priority in general (e.g. hospital, co-op, etc.)
Feedback:















Remove RDSP age limit and to allow withdrawal anytime after certain age (e.g. 50). Not taxable.
PWD to receive disability assistance regardless of income. Being deaf, this cost us everything from social, relationship, health, and
financial security, which is an expensive toll to each of us. The least the government can do is to help provide us the needed
financial stability so we can enjoy life.
ICBC discount to be made available to Deaf as well. ICBC form no: FIN 119
Deaf workers are often frustrated that promotion/salary increase is hard to come by after many years of service. Deaf generally
view Hearing as having an unfair advantage when it comes to financial security and asset. Too often we do not have anything,
much less our own home. Despite all of the life difficulties that deaf people usually go through, we're still being taxed at the same
rate as our hearing counterpart, receive meager amount of cash each year as most of our credit are flushed away as nonrefundable credit, which doesn't make any sense!! We need serious help in this area.
Allow early retirement for deaf, especially parents of deaf children, by five years
Establish a building code based on Universal Design Principles - Visual Fire Alert system already wired in new building - needs to
be an enforceable Province wide building code that incorporates all elements of universal design, including hardwiring visual
alerts for fire/smoke alarms, doorbell etc.
Establish a new SENIOR Centre for deaf and hard of hearing (Residence and Social) to help improve communication and designed
for needs of those with hearing loss
Provide training to all those who work with Seniors about hearing loss; both late acquired and lifelong loss
Provide announcements and Emergency Notices in public transit; BC Ferries , transit and SkyTrain , Airport provide Visual
Emergency or Notice on TV and mobile devices increase access to subsidized built accessible housing units
Need legal interpreting services – like there is medical interpretive services
Push away from group homes in community living is counterproductive for DHH. They want to be grouped according to their
language.
Aging population is becoming isolated and affecting their health
Follow Universal Design principles for all new public and market housing and new builds of / and renovations to public buildings –
beneficiaries would be families with children, the elderly, people with disabilities and Deaf / Deaf-Blind and hard of hearing.
Include the UD principles in home-care facilities / long term residences and hospitals – Deaf-friendly environments.
It makes economic sense to include in original design and construction instead of retrofitting / renovating, but where renovating
is required for adapting housing or for safety / seismic upgrades, budget for access is critical.
Current and future housing developments should reserve a percentage of units for people with disabilities, especially those with
Feedback:













multiple disabilities (e.g. Deaf-Blind, Deaf with mobility disabilities, etc.)
Health authorities should work with the Deaf and Deaf-blind community to establish a site for Deaf and Deaf-blind seniors to be
located in one residence / wing or floor and to have staff trained in sign language and / tactile sign language to give residents a
more inclusive setting.
Promote accessible safety information to home-care residential centres that considers the needs of Deaf and Deaf-Blind
individuals.
Technical adaptations should become standard for all housing (market or public):
Require visible alert systems, not just audible ones. Elderly people with declining hearing and those who are Deaf/hard of hearing
of long standing would benefit. Alert systems should include smoke / fire / CO2 alarms, visible doorbell lights, security cameras on
entry doorbell systems so that residents can see who is ringing for entry. This is a safety and crime-reduction measure.
BC Housing should become more accessible in terms of contacting and applying for housing placements or re-locations, updating
wait lists, and general information – produce plain language documents, ASL videos, and Braille materials if requested. Their
website should be accessible according to Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (see link:
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#guidelines)
Emergency Planning networks should include information and training about people with disabilities, especially Deaf and DeafBlind residents’ needs. BC Coalition for People with Disabilities and other cross-disability groups do not have enough knowledge
of our Deaf community’s needs.
More physical mobility accessible housing
Specific seniors residences for deaf with qualified staff
Assisted living housing for deaf with qualified staff (eg. Signing Deaf)
End of life care with appropriate cultural and linguistic accommodation
Centralize deaf services community centre, rec centre
More options/access to comfortable housing
Update building code to require that all new buildings be equipped with flashing alarm (e.g. fire, CO2, smoke, security, etc.).
Alarms to be wired and can be wireless as long the system works reliability. Include provision for doorbell/buzzer. For old building,
provide coverage to upgrade on case by case basis. Fire code to require that deaf tenant have flashing alarm at their place of
residency. Request that all cost to be covered by the BC government as this will significantly ease the burden on the deaf/HoH to
find funding and to install. The hassle involve in asking landlord/homeowner usually meant that deaf either give up or to
purchase/install the equipments on their own expense.
Feedback:





















senior centre/dorm for Deaf and HoH to live and socialize
Create a BC Deaf/HoH registry list which 911 can use to check if the person they're sending help to require an ASL interpreter.
Ideally, the system will automatically alert all emergency personnel involved after performing a search in database using phone
number, address, etc. Registry to also accept alternate mean of contact (e.g. email, relative, landlord, etc.)
Persons with Disabilities and their Associations would enter into partnerships with government and business to design and fund
innovative programs and services. PWD would contribute their labour and expertise while Gov’t and Business would provide their
expertise, funds and connections to use as leverage.
Adopt the principles and Values of the Participation Model that places the person in the centre of the solution. The Deaf, Deaf
Blind or HoH person becomes a participant and driver of the solution, not the patient receiving it.
BC can be a leader in the development of innovative solutions to barriers by providing resources and investments to business and
non-profits that can pilot innovative solutions such as Video Remote lnterpreting, Personal Support Centres for PWD which would
include links to existing programs as well supporting local initiatives that work for their unique community
VRI – Video Relay Interpreters
Deaf friendly satellite phone
Communication technology to allow access to store sand businesses
One stop interpreting for full access to services and events “Yukon model”
Recognize ASL as an official language
Upgrade the 911 system to allow deaf to text 911. if necessary, use whitelist system to reduce spamming by using the list from BC
Deaf/HoH registry.
Upgrade public announcement system to be deaf-friendly at SkyTrain stations and terminals (bus, ferry, airport, etc.)
VRS/VRI access for Canadians
warning system to alert us of earthquake, severe weather, tsunami, etc via text/email
Remove data cap on mobile plan so deaf can freely use VRS/VRI anywhere/anytime. All VRS/VRI sites to be mobile friendly.
Government/business to accept email/text instead of voice only phone
Need deaf-friendly announcement system when driving on road (e.g. traffic report, fire truck, ambulance, police, etc.)
Disability channel (either via TV station or website)
Parking meter to be deaf friendly. The latest technology allows hearing people to make remote payment while deaf do not have
the ability to make use of this technology.
interpreter to be available with the anchor person on news
free transit pass for PWD regardless of income
Feedback:












One government-issued ID card that is universally recognized by all showing that the person is deaf. At the moment, deaf people
are being inconvenienced by the need to visit their doctor to obtain proof for the application form and paying for the doctor visit
on their own expense (typically $45 each visit).
Update BC law to allow deaf person how they wish to be contact. Too often government, public services, and businesses are
unaware that the client they're trying to phone is deaf, unable to verbally response to the call. Computer record should have
fields identifying the client as being deaf and to contact the person by text or email. This is a common complaint in the deaf
community.
RECOGNIZE ASL (American Sign Language) as an official language.
Centralized resources Centre for D/HH = Deaf staff (or ASL user) run the Centre, rather than go running around or making many calls
to find which office, which ministry or agency provides the information or services they need.
Increase cooperation among Ministries (Inter-Ministry sharing) - one current model that works: Ministry of Children and Family and
its Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services working with Ministry of Education (schools) for K-12 students, parent education,
and transitioning youth and young adults, then to Social Development and Social Innovations for access to support services and if
needed PWD and other options.
Develop a program to train intervenors (Intervenors are professionals who provide Intervention to an individual who is Deaf- Blind =
mediating between the person who is Deaf-Blind and his or her environment to enable him or her to communicate effectively with
and receive non-distorted information from the world around them) - to ensure quality and accountability
 working with community colleges that provide training for sign language professionals (interpreters / community support
workers)
 certify and / or have title protection similar to sign language interpreters now have in the Province of BC
Expand adult education opportunities for Deaf-Blind individuals to:
continue Braille training beyond the introductory level that CNIB provide
learn tactile American Sign Language in structured learning for individuals whose vision will decline to the point they cannot see
visual ASL
include training for families of Deaf-Blind people learning tactile ASL
Fund a needs assessment/feasibility study for D-B adults’ support system
Agencies & institutions that currently or formerly served Deaf-Blind adults should be encouraged and funded to properly cover
services that were cut to this population (e.g. CNIB, Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Vancouver Coastal Health’s
Deaf, hard of hearing, & Deaf-Blind Well Being Program, Vancouver Community College, and the Greater Vancouver Association of
Feedback:


















the Deaf).

Reimburse deaf people in part for the expensive data plans upon which they rely.
While hearing people can make voice calls at a minimal cost, deaf people must utilize expensive data plans to make calls through
Skype, FaceTime, etc., in order to communicate.
Deaf people must use IP relay services from their cell phones, using a data plan, to make calls to hearing people or places of business
such as banks, doctors’ offices, and government offices.
Give ID cards to deaf citizens to identify themselves as deaf persons.
This will help police officers to accept that persons with whom they are communicating are indeed deaf.
Hospitals will know right away to call Medical Interpreting Services to obtain interpreting services.
Banks will know and have in files that their customers with ID cards are indeed deaf and require special accommodation in telephonic
calls instead of refusing to discuss account matters.
This will enable to cut through some bureaucratic red tapes in communicating with employment insurance, Service Canada, etc.
Motels faced with customers with these ID cards will know to put in file the presence of deaf customers so that, if a fire occurs, they
will be alerted quickly.
These ID cards should be as well identified and known as the white and red canes that blind people use.
Too often deaf people have to explain again and again what their needs are. These ID cards should take over, and places of
businesses should be familiar with the expectations required by a law to enhance accommodation.
Ensure that all publicly funded (e.g. municipal & provincial) websites follow the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (see
link: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#guidelines
ALL important directional and safety signage in public places (transportation hubs = SkyTrain stations, BC Ferries, bus, and train
terminals) should be black with large white text (NO RED text on signs)…replaced as needed.
New systems on public transit – make sure that the equipment is EASILY visible for low-vision and have a way for Deaf-blind people
(who cannot hear the audible alert) to know there is a problem with their COMPASS cards or when there are problems on transit.
Electronic signage – consult with visually impaired, blind, and Deaf-Blind as to appropriate colour and size.
Keep visual alert systems current and in central places.
“Smart” card (all-in-one card = Accessible Transit card, Driver license or BC ID card, BC health card). – [Although we recognize this is
delicate – could be misused or be vulnerable to identity-theft.]
Government forms such as the PWD form to fill out income are in very small print and not accessible for people with low vision. Most
forms that need to be filled out are in small print. Solution: offer forms that can be read (Large print) and/or fillable documents that
Feedback:


could be viewed on computer using zoom tab).
Restaurant and food court concessions are not accessible for Deaf-Blind as we are unable to see or read the menus. Need menus in
larger print with pictures and another menu in Braille to make access for everyone.
Items with expiration date or ingredients are very difficult to read. This is important for Deaf-blind people who purchase medication
or who have food allergies. Solution: larger print or assistance from store personnel.


















Lack of access to interpreters
Medical – yes – but legal, chiropractic - no
Gov’t needs to realize it needs to educate public around duty to accommodate
Hard to innovate without money
Captioning for legislative assembly
Non-for-profit programs help but have limited funds
St. Paul’s has a very supportive program
Yukon has free interpretation for everyone
Look at what Ontario is doing – no need to reinvent the wheel
Remote interpretation services may help – but equipment is difficult to maintain and access
iPads for deaf restaurant customers in San Diego
Need province wide strong internet to support streaming
The cost of equipment and devices and personal supports are extremely high, provide subsidies and or government programs to
reduce the cost, provide these programs to all citizens with disabilities, not just those in the workforce
BC would have a universally accessible and funded program for the provision of personal supports. Everyone who has a disability
should be eligible to receive Equipment and Supports
Specialized services are vital as "Everyone's Ears are different" meaning that each person with a hearing loss has distinct
communication needs. lt takes time, education and the ability to partner with persons with disabilities to develop the knowledge
and resources to provide appropriate supports.
These specialized services need to be able to count on at least some sustainable funding, provide "core funding" to specialized
agencies.
Colleges and Universities need to expand/establish interpreter training programs. Government could add interpreters to Critical
Labour shortage category and provide student loan relief to encourage more students to take training
Feedback:








coverage for assistive technology (e.g. hearing aids, phone/tablet, fire system, etc.) and services (e.g. speech therapy, interpreter,
etc)
 Deaf friendly smoke fire alarm
 Building entrance door bell – buzzer have video (intercom)
 Security gate access
 Need more interpreter training programs
 Communication technology/equipment should be free and accessible to all who have disabilities
 NRS set up – IP relay – independently of specific services provider (eg. Telus only)
RECOGNIZE ASL (American Sign Language) as an official language.
Centralized resources Centre for D/HH = Deaf staff run the Centre, rather than go running around or making many calls to find which
office, which ministry or agency provides the information or services they need.
Review/update building codes (municipal and provincial) to include information on accessible technology for people with disabilities
and Deaf/hard of hearing and Deaf-Blind for housing retrofitting and new construction:
 Require visible alert systems, not just audible ones. Elderly people with declining hearing and those who are Deaf/hard of hearing
of long standing would benefit. Alert systems should include smoke / fire / CO2 alarms, visible doorbell lights, security cameras on
entry doorbell systems so that residents can see who is ringing for entry. This is a safety and crime-reduction measure.
 Provide funding for specialized adaptations for Deaf-Blind – using vibrating devices, smart phones, and/or electric fans to alert
occupants and travellers of dangers.
 Public buildings such as government offices, hospitals, clinics, libraries – should NOT rely on information being accessed by
telephones in vacant or closed Information Booths. This is a GREAT barrier to Deaf and Deaf-Blind individuals.
 There are ways to make it easier to find information – alternatives to audible information CAN be implemented. (Smart phone /
text links to get information; ask for patients’ room numbers, etc.)
Mandate standardized cross walk signal all over BC = vibrating signal or better?
Ensuring sight lines for cross walks and intersections are mandated to be clear (hedges, signage, etc. not allowed blocking views).
Increase access to and funding for Medical Interpreting Services (MIS)
 Consider using Video Remote Interpreting, using the internet (Face-time or equivalent program) for medical appointments and
hospital treatment when unable to book a live interpreter to areas outside the Lower Mainland – an actual interpreter in place is
preferred.
Restore full range support for MIS, not limited to patients only but also for the family members. Have frequent consumer evaluation
Feedback:




/ input to MIS quality – done by external, neutral evaluators.
 Expand use of Video Remote Interpreting for Community Interpreting and MIS (as second option to above)
MIS send/fly out interpreters to central, Northern BC & Islands if necessary
UPDATE all health authority services – hospitals, clinics, ambulance services, etc. – so that they are fully aware of MIS and the
absolute NEED for Deaf to have interpreting. Deaf people (especially outside of the Lower Mainland) report that they have been in
hospital and staff members are not aware of MIS.
More support in getting critical technology to make D-B more independent – i-Pads with appropriate applications, ‘smart-phones’ or
i-Pads with Wi-Fi with Braille or large-print attachment capabilities, and discounted wireless rates for Deaf-Blind
Disability tax credit at the provincial level as well as national.


















No coverage for hearing aids
Employment standards are problematic
For DHH to receive support, employer would have to appear discriminatory by saying they would lose their job
No TTY accessibility
No extra-curricular support for DHH
DHH may not know their legal rights
Phone plans in Canada need text only options for DHH
Alberta gives all school aged students hearing aids
Provide opportunities for multi ministerial collaboration
IDHHC provides some training for employers
Island deaf services are educating population on the island
Informing that hearing are people who need interpretation
Need more education around the province
Deaf awareness training
Firemen, police, etc. Required to sign!
Deaf, HoH, children cochlear implants should be required to learn sign
Difficulty in finding information from government sources
Provincial and municipal governments should be required to make their televised and web content fully accessible (follow Web
content guidelines: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 - http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#guidelines)
Feedback:




















Close caption all ads and videos / use ASL interpreters at official press conferences and events. (Everywhere the Premier attends).
Emergency announcements OPEN captioned and interpreted.
Require all Election BC information be closed captioned
Plan for ASL videos sharing election information
Require provincial political parties to close caption and/or use ASL videos for their televised ads and information sharing.
Include communication and sensitivity training for security and public facilities staff at all public sites on how to interact with
Deaf, hard of hearing, and especially Deaf-blind people. Have training materials and process vetted by experienced D/HH/DB
individuals.
Deaf and Deaf people with low vision have noted reluctant and/or rude responses by the general public and public employees at
requests for them to write their responses, instead asking “Do you read lips?” This shows need for public education and sensivity
training
Involve all consumer viewpoints and community-based organizations that represent Deaf, Deaf-Blind and hard of hearing people.
It is these communities and community organizations (CBOs) that make up the social networks for D/DB/HH. They are often the
ones that consumers go to for clarification when navigating government information, paperwork and processes.
Centralized resources Centre for D/HH = Deaf staff run the Centre
Rather than go running around about or making many calls to find which office, which ministry or agency – the Centre provides
the information or services they need.
Provide adequate funding for the Centre to do its work, as it is really more cost-efficient.
One stop shop to get interpreters, intervenors, referrals to appropriate programs and services.
Intervenor training, selection and scheduling done WITH Deaf-blind staff
minimum of 12 hours per week for each Deaf-Blind person requesting such service – depending on situation and needs of client.
Fund a needs assessment/feasibility study for D-B adults’ support system
Develop a program to train intervenors - to ensure quality and accountability
Same as on Innovations page
Agencies & institutions that currently or formerly served Deaf-Blind adults should be funded to properly cover services that were
cut to this population (e.g. CNIB, Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WIDHH), Vancouver Coastal Health’s Deaf,
Hard of Hearing & Deaf-Blind Well Being Program, Vancouver Community College, and the Greater Vancouver Association of the
Deaf).
Expand adult education opportunities for Deaf-Blind individuals:
provide Braille training beyond the introductory level that CNIB offers
Feedback:

Provide tactile American Sign Language in structured learning for individuals whose vision will decline to the point they cannot see
visual ASL. Include training for families of Deaf-Blind people learning visual or tactile ASL








No social supports
Family/community support is lacking
Mental health support is lacking unless you are diagnosed
IDHHC is providing some social support – but this is not recognized – yet it prevents potential issues
Hard to find social classes – such as cooking or …
There seems to be a human rights issue – we need ramps – but we can’t support deaf people
Tax incentive for dentists and other service providers to be able to provide interpreting services
Parents have difficulty finding babysitter who knows sign language to readily communicate with deaf children. Babysitters in
general are scared of taking the job as they do not know how to communicate with deaf kid.
Specialized daycare hours taking care of deaf children are too limit which made it difficult for parents to work standard 8-hours
during daycare hour. Single parent often need to juggle their schedule to unfavourable condition (e.g. work graveyard shift)
Interpreter to be readily available on site at all government/business hosted events regardless if deaf shows up or not. e.g. voting
interpreter to be ready onsite at senior centre for emergency
registered deaf and HoH for the announcement system to be received by text
Train all fire/police/emergency personnel to know basic signing. they also need to know how to get an interpreter and/or setup
connection to VRI
Need handbook that will clearly explain what service and support are available to the Deaf/HoH in BC. Only doctors are
authorized to distribute the book and are required to do so.
Need to improve access to movies, venues, sports, workshop/seminars/conference, etc.
improve accessibility to after-school activities, which deaf children can participate











BC would have a universally accessible and funded program for the provision of Personal Supports. Everyone who has a disability
should be eligible to receive Equipment and Supports
lnvest/expand specialized services to both assist Deaf, D/B and HoH persons enter the labour market as an additional resource to
existing Employment Centres. Need to rethink current funding model for Service Providers providing employment services to
D/DIB/HoH persons as fee for service model is not sustainable for service organizations.
Provide incentives to employers that are "disability friendly" or "Disability Confident"
Feedback:



















Ensure that polices covering PWD benefits are flexible to allow for retention of some benefits if earned income is below
reasonable level
lmprove basic educational outcomes for Deaf and D/B and HoH students by offering a wide variety of educational options in ASL,
orally and at the level required to ensure success
Encourage WorkSafeBC to research and or provide public campaign to establish the safety of workers with hearing loss
Gov’t can play a leadership role by actively recruiting and hiring D/D-B and HOH persons and recruiting and promoting employers
who hire
Encourage all work places to job carve, think about how work can be done in a different way to accommodate and take advantage
of the skills of all persons with disabilities
Providing training for skills but also add support to set up deaf businesses/companies
Interpreters access for interviews and paid by gov’t
Deaf run businesses open to hearing market
Gov’t and businesses share costs associated with hiring deaf workers
RECOGNIZE ASL (American Sign Language) as an official language.
Centralized resources Centre for D/HH = Deaf staff (or ASL user) run the Centre, rather than go running around or making many
calls to find which office, which ministry or agency provides the information or services they need.
Increase cooperation among Ministries (Inter-Ministry sharing) - one current model that works: Ministry of Children and Family
and its Provincial Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services working with Ministry of Education (schools) for K-12 students, parent
education, and transitioning youth and young adults, then to Social Development and Social Innovations for access to support
services and if needed PWD and other options.
Rates of PWD benefits – not keep up with cost of living – housing, food, transportation.
Special technology that would benefit Deaf and Deaf-Blind people is unaffordable at these rates.
Allowable income for PWD benefits recipients may have increased, BUT Deaf-Blind individuals find it almost impossible to find
employment – even if they have adequate skills (many do not).
Employers are reluctant to hire, train or promote Deaf and Deaf-Blind individuals
Employers see only the ‘negatives’ = difficulty to communicate, expense of interpreters, etc. Making assumptions and not give the
potential employee a chance to prove him- or herself.
WorkBC agencies do not have the specialized knowledge of how to serve Deaf, hard of hearing and Deaf-Blind clients. They are
unaware of the abilities and potential of this population.
D/HH/DB individuals feel discriminated against in job search and training opportunities. Many consumers who are working report
Feedback:
being underemployed, not utilizing their skills and abilities.













Unemployment and underemployment of Deaf individuals has been recorded as approximately 80 percent. Deaf-Blind people
report greater un- / under-employment, largely because they have no opportunity to gain new knowledge or update current
skills. (The Canadian Association of the Deaf conducted a survey and data collection project in 1998 on the employment and
employability of Deaf Canadians, finding that only 20.6% of Deaf Canadians are fully employed; 41.9% are under-employed; and
37.5% are unemployed. By comparison, 60.9% of all Canadians are employed, and only 8.1% are unemployed. Statistics have been
largely unchanged in the past 15 years.)
Deaf-Blind people who recall their experience in the Opportunities Rehabilitation Workshop (ORW) felt they really were given
attention and opportunity to gain skills and would like something similar, but more updated and earning minimum wage or
more….(even though other PWD regard “sheltered workshops” negatively).
Include Deaf, hard of hearing, and Deaf-Blind consumers (not just ‘experts’) in designing public education and training for key
service providers.
An excellent model is the Job Readiness Program in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Department at Vancouver Community College.
Establish diversity quotas and/or provide employers with tax incentives to hire and KEEP people with disabilities – especially Deaf
and Deaf-Blind workers.
Have government agencies, ministries, and contracted businesses to set the bar for access and inclusion = hire more people with
disabilities.
Disability tax credit at the provincial level as well as national.
Require the job market to reflect the general population, percentage-wise and salary-wise.
If 10% of the population is disabled, then 10% of jobs should be taken over by the disabled. Also, if 10% of the population earns
over $150,000 annually, then 10% of the disabled should earn that much.
This will allow deaf college graduates to return to British Columbia to live and work. Too often deaf college graduates find
employment outside B.C., and especially in the United States.
All levels of government in B.C. should actively recruit persons with disabilities, including deaf citizens, to enter public service and
also advance them to key positions in all ministries.
All places of employment involving deaf citizens should provide video remote interpreting (VRI) devices and videophones
(expected year of availability: mid to late 2015) and any other assistive devices or services.
This will allow deaf employees to be office receptionists, to man the front offices in police departments, to work in Canadian Air
Transport Security Authority (CATSA), function as a terminal manager for B.C. Ferries, etc.
Feedback:















Employers should be afforded tax incentives for hiring disabled and deaf workers.
emergency announcement to be received by text (and pager?). Law should be made to require that company are responsible for
the safety of their deaf employee. Acceptable means of communication include texting, email, etc.
recover accessibility-related cost for small business (separated from personal)
Add more agency offices throughout BC so it's possible to provide better service to Deaf/HoH community at remote locations. Get
more colleges to provide interpreter training program so that we can increase the number of interpreters. Right now, interpreters
are in short supply with limit number of new graduates each year.
Need grant program to encourage deaf to contribute to the business community. The existing program called the Opportunity
Fund are too restrictive and is typically awarded to someone with a different kind of disability. Grant needs to be large enough to
cover accessibility-related expenses and training.
We need a program to help improve English writing and speech skill so deaf can be more involve in doing business with the
hearing community. Deaf generally finds sign language more comfortable to use but this put us at a disadvantage as the majority
of population (aka hearing) do not use it. The grammar and limit wordings are rather different which made it difficult for deaf to
develop good English skill in all area - read, write, and verbally. Business community require good English skill and do not use sign
language, which is one of the reason why deaf have difficulty finding employment.
Need financial support to hire interpreters for any reason (e.g. personal, seminar, workshop, etc.) without requiring us to pay
upfront. it doesn't make sense for a deaf person to pay for both the workshop/seminar AND the interpreter. Too often we are
unsuccessful in our effort to get the company hosting the event to cover the interpreting cost. This difficulty usually means that
Deaf people are automatically excluded from active participation. See recent story here to get an idea how long it can take to win
a battle.
Interpreters for interviews
Employment program in BC needs to be overhauled
No consideration for special needs
Disaster
Even worse for the DHH
Lump all disabilities together
Employment services can’t offer services to students until 30 days prior to graduation
Not enough tax benefit to employer to employ DHH – especially when there are accommodation issues
Schools around the province have difficulty preparing students for work.
Feedback:




PSDHH is doing some good work with kids 5-23 – but what happens after that? Can it be expanded beyond? Needs to be
expanded – needs to be articulation between school programs and post-secondary programs.
MoE – White Paper speaks to this and should be heard regarding transitions
VCC career fair on April 16th
DHH take longer to complete post-secondary and are less likely to be employed – so there needs to be some debt forgiveness
Solution Wall Posts:

















Building code for visual fire light for safety
Employment all about the money – two candidates for $25/hour job:
Candidate #1 - $25 + $5 (employer EI and CPP contribution) = $30/hour
Candidate #2 - $25 + $5(employer EI and CPP contribution) + $50 (interpretive services) = $80/hour
Whether the employer pays directly or through his taxes is irrelevant – to the employer
Who gets hired?
Deaf awareness training for potential employers/ongoing support for employers and staff
If you cannot hear, how can you follow instructions, answer questions or ask the right person for help?
If you cannot hear, what does it matter the language spoken?
Recognize and acknowledge ASL and LSQ as preferred language of deaf people
Set up formal training for interveners (deaf and hearing) to be certified – deaf/blind people identified this as #1
Deaf/blind services and program restored to CNIB, WIDHH, and included or added to WBP and GVAD, BC Deaf Sports/Blind Sports
Install high speed internet in Northern BC for Skype, Facetime, Videophone
Need funds for home modifications? Veronika Sertic, HAFI Program Officer, Homeowner Protection Office/Branch of BC Housing,
650 – 4789 Kingsway, Burnaby BC V5H 0A3 T: 604 646-7089 F: 604 646-7054
Yes deaf and hard of hearing modification and devices qualify for both ownership and rental accommodations
BC Building Code changes to include Acoustical Design Standards – to minimize noise, reverb, echo, etc. esp. in public places –
make accessible design mandatory not optional
Visual emergency alarms, strobe, etc. need to be in public places not just residences/multi-residences
























Incentives for employers hiring deaf and HoH
Universal design for all new buildings (home and business, etc.)
Competition of HA dispensers (sic)
BC Disability Act
BC Gov’t recognize ASL/LSQ as an official language
Hearing aids need to be subsidized so people can get best hearing aid – we do not give visually impaired people 20/40 lens for
glasses, why should we give HoH lesser aids when top notch is best
Abraham Lincoln enabled Gallaudet “so these people would have a fair chance in the race of life”. When did it become a separate
race here in BC?
Universal design for 100% access in all buildings (public) and retrofit housing where deaf, HoH, and deaf/blind live
Visual aids and hearing loops need to be in place a reception counters, grocery story checkouts, etc. – see VanCity Bank for
example of this
Enforce hiring adaptations in public venues – visual and auditory signals – TTY – visual alarms – printed signs – like on same buses
that display stops
Children who have CI or HoH are encouraged to learn ASL to safeguard the language acquisition at their critical point
New access for deaf/blind to travel safely on public transit – air travel not limited for D/B
Educate employers about abilities and benefits to hire PWD – especially deaf/deaf-blind
BC People with Disabilities Act – same as Americans with Disabilities Act
“Deaf Village” all run by deaf, own deaf space centre for all kinds, own theatre, organizations/office, coffee shop,
training/courses, recreation
No place for D/B to get training/practice skills – want something like ORW (opportunities rehab workshop) – jobs or volunteer
work
Need new Act
Public announcements (have data base deaf community gets same message via text, video, or deaf website)
Way of life – community support – how? Spread them (sic), many lost, mainstreaming – not best option
Legislate ASL as a recognized sign language in BC
Deaf senior centre with signing staff
Serious gaps in service for adult population including seniors/needs more funding
VRI service one stop interpreter and interveners services for any communication required ie. sports, work, theatre, etc. – costs
covered by gov’t
As a disabled person receiving CPP disability, I cannot access a disability transit pass – this law needs to be rewritten


















Computer, equipment to be more affordable – communication aid equipment to type in and translate into voice or text – privacy
issue – gov’t office should allow use email to communicate deaf/HoH, for example Yukon interpreting services model/even own
personal interpreter – open not closed services (Telus, Shaw)
Educating deaf children bilingually – Sweden and Denmark
Building codes visual and emergency warning systems – apt, college dorms, hotels and motels, theatres, art galleries, libraries,
museums, public places
Sign language interp. Announcing emergencies – walls, reverberation cut down noise in various places
Building modules – look into other areas that have acoustic sound rooms, ie. South Africa hotel being designed accessibility to
deaf
In hospital, person who could provide information on listing over the phone for information helpful but not always so (sic)
Financial assistance aids and other assistive devices – cochlear implants, replacement of cochlear – not just the basic HA – AHA
that provides more listening options
Public accessibility – loop system at airports or train stations to hear announcements museums and spaces
Loop system at tellers, bank, better support system transition into universities – type well in hospitals (sic)
68% of the deaf and HoH community are considered to be functionally illiterate – 18% of Canadians freely admit to discriminate
against the deaf and HoH – 3rd leading cause of disability among our seniors – 1st cause of frustration among caregivers and
service providers – the numbers are stunning and the implications are breathtaking
To know only the language of your immediate community, is to be locked in there – our country needs the creativity,
inventiveness and successfulness of the disability community because as our communities age, the prevalence of disability will
skyrocket.
We need a complete revamp of deaf and HoH education in BC
Text enabled 911 will be coming soon – what can a person with a hearing loss do to make sure that this accurate fast conversation
continues? The best minds on the subject believe “it takes two to tango” – but it is not a big secret, not everyone like to dance
BC courts (supreme and local) not accessible for deaf and HoH jurors – why? We have CART court reporters already there! Juror
refusal makes me feel like a second class citizen.
Our country is changing its attitude towards PWD in a positive direction – from paternalism to productivity – will you be ready?
Establish a senior citizen deaf home
BC gov’t – hire a deaf ombudsperson!
The Canadian Deaf/Blind Association believes that db (deaf/blind) individual have a unique disability and therefore must have
deaf/blind intervener services in order to participate to their full potential within their environment, using a total communication
approach. A deaf/blind intervener acts as eyes and ears for db individuals and supports them in gathering information from their
environment and helping them express themselves as they are not able to do so independently due to their dual-sensory

























impairment.
Make ASL/LSQ an official language
Educating deaf children bilingually – Sweden and Denmark model
Implement deaf office on federal level before having a rep per province
More access for everyone to fun and community engagement; better role modeling and mentoring for adults children and
families alike including family ASL learning
Gov’t consultant w/organization for support and resources
Reserved numbers and new condo buildings for DA ppl
Centralized resources centre for db/HOH/ deaf
ASL lessons for parents; need more! Different formats not just group – remote locations – video lessons for students, parents and
community workers
BC Disability Act
Yukon, Scandinavia model of interpreter provisions per deaf person for any needs they have or require – bank, pottery class, buy
a ring
Reinstate deaf institutes across Canada
Deaf people will not be expensive if the government provides subsidies to support job growth – bottom line if deaf people have
jobs then the public can pay back the subsidy programs through income taxes
BC gov’t needs to provide bus pass to PWD w/low income even they (sic) are not receiving PWD – EI a deaf individual earns $1800
per month, she or he should be eligible for a bus pass based on low income
Mandate ASL policy
Enforce the new era
Audiologist and speech therapists are not deaf – culturally sensitive – not at all!
ASL recognized an official language in BC (and Canada)
Community van for deaf seniors, db, deaf – plus to attend events, ie. social not otherwise able to attend – isolation
Transition for youth needs greater service and cooperation – into adulthood/education/employment, etc.
Empower the provincial outreach programs w/accountability power
Supporting students – need note takers, captioning
Practicums, etc. students must get their own interpreters, telephone for deaf, etc.
People who can’t afford forced to use pen and paper therefore not as accessible
People with exceptional needs – med appt, sick time
Employers not always accommodating

























Can increase depression/anxiety
Workable solutions

Market toe employer how to hire/retain PWDS

No reinforcement to encourage private sector

Most people don’t realize that accommodations are simple

Need champions in private sector and in schools

Need to work w/people

Have to have a sense of humour
Be a mentor to others
Have to be 2 steps ahead of the game to stay in the game
Should be a standard
Occupation – having a reason to get out of bed regardless of culture, ability, etc. – need meaning to have a life
Have to do a tonne of education and takes effort to listen, strain (sic)
At lunch needs to clear brain to less socializing
No access to technology in social situations – when noisy have to have certain limitations and have to make extra effort to get out
there
Many invisible disabilities in workforce - 36% deaf and HoH not working
PALS – chronic pain is most common
Hearing loss – students often have Gr. 3 literacy
Going thru school system w/out being identified so hit the workforce at a disadvantage
Employers don’t know how to accommodate – falls on PWD to do the education
Per support groups can share the burden – doesn’t’ work in fee for service model
Network of specialized services cut – now EPBC is all fee for services so groups providing support are going under
Need gov’t agency to help share the knowledge – coordinated education about services and supports – not just word of mouth
Need centralized list of services so everyone doesn’t have to learn on their own
Self-advocacy
What is responsibility of the employer? Not sure employers even know
Need to share responsibility
Flip from employee to employer
Job market getting more competitive
But be careful as hiring on disability not ability
Need incentives to hire PWDs as it’s the reality of the job market, eg. tax credit































Complex to find resources
Invisible disability – change word “disability” to “exceptionality”
Reduce stigma, be open minded
Can be done through best practices through high level government
Increase awareness
People hope to connect and make meaningful relationships
Technology and expenses – hearing aids not affordable – creates barriers to employment and participation
Infrared listening system in all public spaces
Personal assistive listening technology is too expensive
Video rely service/cap-tel services
Cochlear implants are not covered always
Community access – emergency preparedness
Building codes do not include visual alerting systems in most public spaces
Building design for D/HoH – models to look at Gallaudet, and Cape Town, SA
Centre to showcase access for D/HoH for arts, services – a bridge to community
Airports need visual (text) communication access for announcements
Hospital – access to information for partners (interpreting) and hearing supports for patients
Hospital kit to educate doctor’s/nurses
Young adults – transition to adulthood – supports needed
Transition to post-secondary – must have access to services captioning and interpreting
Disability tax credits – not available if not ‘deaf enough’ but would help improve quality of life
Access equipment
Computers/webcams at First Nations reservations/communities
Fire alarm system – all should have one including hotels, apts, buildings, etc.
Fed/prov guidelines booking terps (sic)
BC offices for PWD/office – Burnaby (or NW) know how to deaf/HoH (sic) stability – all same not variety
WIDHH – PDHHSQ/DHHSO/all services/orgs
All in one building – one centralized like Toronto/BRCD (Bob Rumball)
Example of an area – Burnaby Metrotown/Edmonds – transportation accessible
Centralized education info
Hotline to BC social service Phone # no TTy # or access – talk to a worker – not easy – emailing should be accessible for D/HoH
clients






























Recognize ASL as language in BC
Seniors centre w/ wings for deaf
Centred place to service all age from birth to death
Social worker for immigrants
Parental consultant who is deaf that all drs/hospital refer to – provide information on all options of communication
More workshops needed!
Fire alarm policies for rentals/landlords (similar to Ontario) including lighting
Senior’s place (deaf/HoH) can be at one place, ie. one wing so that way at one (sic) centralized for disabled instead of few each at
different locations – one place/building for all
BC Housing priority should go to disabled persons
Transportation issues for WIDHH needs central (sic)
Create a website about working with D/HoH employees (raise awareness) – link to website
Tax write-offs
Tax breaks for employers to hire PWDs 0- or pay for interpreters
WCB – awareness about D/HoH people/how to work with them (advocate themselves)
Reduce barriers all Canadian citizens
Equality
WFD – 3 principles – rights human (sic), language, education
Accessibility – interpreters 24/7
Specialist for interpreting
Training programs ie. education
Increase # of interpreters – high demand
ASL “free” for accessing community interpreters provided
Public awareness about booking]using interpreters
Deaf awareness
Signing community service workers ie. cops, nurses
Increased accountability from WAVLI for quality of interpreters – rescreening for skills, professional development, quality of
interpreters must be higher
VRS – remove phone only access
Problem with IP relay won’ accept 3rd party for services ie. bank – any gov’t service
Public transportation , ferry airport….all public buildings – captioning available for info/announcements
DERCD – deaf committee – deaf admin
































Deaf institute – not a last resort education placement (sic)
Different criteria – accept all who would benefit from social/lang. experience with t/hh
Stop genocide
Hearing people have no right to make decision because it is not their experience
Deaf representation in public services
Monitor hiring process
Accept deaf in work places
No barriers
With a deaf school people become more social and employees in greater community
Mental health needs
Social opportunities
Free ASL classes for hearing community, parents, work population, same as ESL
Immigrants to Canada have more access and rights than d/hh
Deaf representation within EHP – deaf ASL users
Funding support for hearing aids, FM, assistive technology throughout life
To increase employment, opportunities, income etc. comes from education!!
Deaf school
MOE needs new policy to represent new era of deaf students and community – ICED document
Need action – enforce!
Improved ‘deaf access office’ but not under gov’t – place to go to advocate for support, funding, make complaints, etc.
Language policy for CI process – must be learning ASL to be eligible
UN Rights of the Child, Sweden’s policy
Subsidies for d/hh students graduating from high school to study trades
Communication system in apt/condo for communicating about emergencies
Building code/housing regulations must include visual alerting systems
Building inspection specialist for accessibility
Skytrains – have screen for ‘next stop’ – should have emergency messages
Stations – TVs used for advertising but use for emergency or service disruption announcements played over PA
Airplanes – remove restrictions about deaf can’t be in exit rows
Deaf culture training for audiologist and SLP – ASL courses required
Deaf education program at UBC taught in ASL
ASL videos on all gov’t and public service websites to describe services or programs






























Deaf TV channel – can partner with schools and community programs/organizations for content MOE for $
Including deaf shows, TV, news
Captioning on everything –make it a law
Interpreting services provided for sports teams when a deaf person joins community team
For recreation services/programs provided in community should have a button d/hh can push that automatically tells organizers
d/hh person planning to attend and gov’t responsible to make arrangements for accessibility ie. button like “link to Facebook”,
“link to Pinterest”
PDHHs to broaden service accessibility, not just 5 – 23 years old
ASL classes for the community
Movies – all captions
RDSP – remove “criteria” for qualifying for RDSP
Parents denied for disability tax credit because child ‘not deaf enough’
Not fair, not equal
Equipment services and accommodations are necessary and can be expensive and take a toll on child and family
More information = clear communication about program
No limit on investment
Understanding/teaching about economic, awareness in high school curriculum
Remove stigma
Communication law
Accessibility for interpreters in gov’t office and services
]captioning in public places
Skytrain/stations, ferries, hospitals
ASL policy for parents with deaf child – cant’ neglect/abuse language development, ex. Sweden Law
Enforce ICED New Era document
Speech will develop but visual language most acceptable in early years critical period for language/learning
Deaf school – no criteria, no application process, deaf run
If B.Ed and d/hh no master’s program!
Mandate L1 (ASL) instruction in teacher training programs
Educational terp training
Establish BC People with Disabilities Act
Decrease discrimination, increase accessibility
Education on all levels
























Open up opportunity to access community events, classes, services without having to fight for access
Empower the community
BC government is role model – show innovation and motivation in learning and accommodating D/HH/DB
Ombudsman – deaf – money for use!
Use technology, ie. SkyTrain, facetime, VRL, push CRTC to push the VRS/VRI service for Canada
Fire alarms for homes/comm. centres/general buildings
Create accessible events in all communities at government supported locations so the inclusion of seeing sign language becomes
the norm not the exception, example. Theatres, community centres, (physical activity) , annual events
Key points – educational resources need to be developed
Barriers – machine of some kind to translate spoken language to ASL – this exists for hearing people (Siri) spoken to text but not
equivalent for deaf – need some kind of translate to ASL – to all languages – should be instituted right away
VRI within apps most phone using ASL interpreters – freedom to use mobile phone- not attached to your home video relay
interpreting
Add to curriculum of cultural resources about deaf, d/hh, aboriginal – different disability so every BCian (sic) knows how to
interact with PWDs
Importance of seeing disability while in elementary and secondary school – the Minister of Education should provide
Services provided by BC Government should already have tools so not have to rely on pen and paper to get the point across – eg.
in lineups for services – often have to do this and get annoying
This can be provided through technology for example iPads used by BC government employees
Education – need this taught
Should have consistent information in BC government – to avoid ongoing education of workers in BC (sic) for example
WorkSafeBC providing wrong information about deaf issues – this is due to turnover – be more open minded – deaf can do
Resources are available but it is not clear where – can consume time to get the services available (again due to staff turnover) –
now email cannot be used becomes a problem
Should have ASL interpreter or speed dial (sic)
Opportunity to teach about services eg. VRI needing to use – to avoid referring agency to agency – takes up time
Often need to get interpreter to go to agency and often find out money is somewhere else – agencies often don’t’ know where
the resources are – equipment can be wrongly put together due to lack of expertise – for example eye doctor to fix eyes issues
Legal aid people are not willing to pay for interpreters to provide services for access
Only if existing funding is there, if no funding people still resistance providing access (sic)
Participation in all activities is important – deaf cannot do
Examples – workshop on parents
























Book reading, no interpreter, have to fight for this (due to money)
Professional development – at theatres – need planning so interpreters can fully participate in (sic)
Community events – deaf is often overlooked
People do not see deaf as the same so they will do odd things like “can you read lips?” based on their cultural sense of hearing
communities
When hearing is majority can feel drowned – mindset should be changed, for example to be able to communicate – use sign
language instead of relying on their hearing values
Government needs to guide this so to reach the hearing community how to show respect to deaf (sic)
Provide interpreters – one stop centre
Environment needs accessible using technology to improve communication
More education in source (sic) to teach hearing – ignorance – to remove that experience
Variety of different things to help situations
Hearing people do not understand so they need to be educated; new programming
Often problems come up – for example immigrants who cannot read English so they wouldn’t be able to service us (as they can’t
write so it can be an awkward situation due to embarrassment over language barrier)
Need of educating hearing people
Solution: call agency and a neutral person to educate and overcome the barrier – the deaf persons should not be responsible for
this – should be given to other person with expertise
Solution: employer needs to take responsibility – use a small group to employer communication so here (sic) different disabilities
for a company – to teach proper values and what is improper and what can be done
This often happens but is not continuous because of staff turnover
Example – BC government website is not accessible – could be improved on
One instance is to submit resumes and interviews is often on the phone – they don’t want to meet with interviewees – not face to
face
Solution: government needs to be our role model – hire deaf employees to educate hearing people
This is due to deaf being unable to communicate – this is not recognized enough – ie. ASL as a language is not recognized enough
Buy a house – put subject on house – need to put a fire alarm that flashes and doorbell – this is for a new house development –
the developer did this but only deaf person had to be aggressive to do it
Why not all deaf people do this – as every house must have fire and CO2 alarms that flashes – but this is often overlooked, even by
developers of new homes
Government needs to mandate and ensure that people have the right attitude instead of being lazy and avoid this
Example, to rent a place – asked for a fire alarm flash – landlord is responsible but avoids it due to the expense























What is the solution – disability tax reduction – do some kind of grant associated with your tax return but it should be made clear
Renting problem – ie. Craigslist hearing people but deaf to call the landlord to rent and its used up – cannot refuse to text deaf
person (sic)
Example – Skytrain announcements – this is spoken no text messaging this lead to stressful and confusing situations when cannot
figure out why the Skytrain broke down
Solution – purchase software to put announcements on the LCD or LED screens
Solution – every screen should have ASL expressed by a person that works for Skytrain and this is done through software
In the North of BC – need to install high speed internet to enable mobile phones so they can use the same services as in the Lower
Mainland
Similar situation in airports – applicable solutions as that for Skytrain
Malls – private; Skytrain – public; airport – public; library – public; theatres – public (private); community centres – public
There is no access for deaf people to take the programming available at the community centres to learn activies and sports – need
funding for interpreter
Help figure out the systems within government – should hire people with expertise and authority to find solutions to barriers
Create an advocate or ombudsman a person with authority to provide a one stop service for deaf people but must come with
authority
This needs to be legislated in a BC with Disabilities Act – similar to Ontarians with Disabilities Act or Americans with Disabilities
Act
Deaf centre focuses way of building – there are ways that deaf act in daily activities (sic) – designed for deaf – can utilize this
approach and can improve everyone’s lives eg. dark – more natural lighting, more accessible – on resource is at Gallaudet
University
Already part of a community – deaf but cannot participate at community events
Many deaf seniors are isolated – there is a daily event for those seniors but not routine events – need to have some kind of
agency fully funded eg. BC Cultural Society of the Deaf
Ie. pottery classes – need education
ASL as official language
Language plan – committee, status, campus, attitude, acquisition – ASL 5 year plan
All buildings safety devices ready – elevator, announcement
Deaf centre building
Siren –signals – traffic lights
Linguistic human right
Deaf gatherings
































Seabus ferry – transportation – airport – poor communication – lack of information, no visual warnings
Deaf access card – disability card
No information centre at hospitals – require phone ie. ask patients for room numbers, etc.
Legal documents – must provide interpreters, ie. law, real estate
Provide internet in any services and jobs
Amend the income tax with billing interpreting
Deaf blind – ire alarm vibration ie. beds, portable alert
Captioning at venues ie. BC Place
Interpreting booths/offices at any events
Emergency room hospital – 24 hour interpreting office
Interpreting services for employment
Affirmative action – hire deaf with first language ASL
Teach ASL and deaf culture at work
Public and gov’t
Look at deaf as expensive
Money issue not barrier
Contact deaf organizations and agencies
Neglect deaf organizations
Oral, HH, DB, deaf equal grants contribution
Nursing home
Living assistants – independent
Senior ie. wing, building
Deaf economy
Manitoba Deaf centre – Portland Seniors
Abolish AERCD (sic)
Let parents decide
Advices by deaf (sic) ie. Finland
Deaf school – change admin curriculum
Inspect Maunskrum (sic)
Florida council, 700 deaf at one deaf school
VRS throughout Canada
Better delivery of work for deaf people






























VRI immediately
Funding for small business by deaf people
Centralized access
Interpreting services and less hassles for booking interpreters
Providing interpreting services for all educational setting – birth to post secondary education
Public and private
Support services specifically for deaf people
Museums – information provided both audio and visual eg. caption
Real time caption for live streaming online
Captions for all TV programs
Gov’t announcement ad eg. tax credit on TV/internet
No income tax for student loan
Employment opportunities - increase awareness – decrease/reduce ‘fear’ in hiring/dealing with deaf people
Like the cutting edge
‘sidewalk’ was designed, formed up to meet the wheelchair accessibility but it benefits others, such as baby stroller, shopping
carts, etc.
Building codes – add law to install fire strobes (visible)
Centralized resource centre run by the deaf
TTY services such as banks, credit card centres, government service still in services? (sic) – come in – be honest
We need to face the change and be improved 
Need stable jobs – not just temporary contracts – more deaf are frustrated in not finding a permanent job with benefits
Need guideline for companies to keep deaf and HoH employees
More support for employment opportunity
Employment crash courses and training
Funding for deaf and HoH organizations
Break glass ceiling – climb ladder for employment
Increase the portion of PWD related to match the rental market
Safety issues need to be increased such as fire alarm flash light – housing code law
Improve devices w/high technology according to the general devices w/low cost
Partnership w/companies from other countries – vs or Europe (sic) that have accessible devices for deaf/HoH – portable and wifi
devices
Access to update news ie. texting (radio) news – video installed in the car
































Emergency news – need interpreters, caption on news, red alert
Resource center needed for deaf/HoH
Westner (sic) alert on the public transport
Internet provide to alert everyone
Reserve units for housing options
Deaf friendly access to local, gov’t and fed program
Internet provider to distribute emergency news
Unavailable technology (CART, etc.)
Access to interpreters, extracurricular
Community interpreting (family events, etc.)
HA funding not enough
Interpreting for public events
Gov’t captioning! PSA, awareness
Literacy – large percent of deaf comm. illiterate
Autonomy, independence as adults in comm.
Tech is available, but funding is not
The Act in BC w/c supports disability only pertains to dev. Disabilities
Revision, new acts made – models available for this
Broad range of needs for all disabilities
VRS!!! Example of innovation
Video remote interpreting
Deaf/blind services (congenital)
Trained intervener – 5 prong approach – eyes, ears, gather info, expressive
Services decrease into adulthood
d/b considered unique disability - need interveners full time
SLP, HAs, CIs – lack of funding
Disabled people to participate in community
Access to literacy, access to hearing
Funding for maintenance of devices – lifetime use
Access to info in visual ways – technology innovation ssp. For deaf
Importance of early intervention
An act needed that included a broader spectrum of disabilities











A “go-to” person for individuals with difficulty in social settings in school and employment settings
Ministry, college, workplace – “job coach” – a lot of disabilities sometimes come w/behavioural difficulties – this doesn’t mean
that they should immed. be shunned, rather an indiv. w/a “go-to” job description should be available
They are learners and capable
Framework for education for PWDs
Provide incentive to employers become disability friendly
See the value in individuals who are qualified for employment despite the disability
RDSP needs to stay
A general deficiency of funding
RDSP – is not beneficial for families who have needs NOW
Need for fixed secure stable funding in the present time from birth to 25 years
Extend age of RDSP – matching contributions to 60 – follow the CPP model
Cutting Red Tape: (none submitted)
CART transcription of event proceedings:
1
White Paper Consultation - Feb 25/14 (excerpted) 2
..............................................
3
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Could I have your attention, we're going
4
to start in about a minute.
5
minute.
6
We'll be starting in a
We've got one minute.
[Pause].
We're just waiting for the video to be ready,
7
and once that's going, we'll start.
8
could have everybody's attention.
All right.
If I
Hello, everyone.
9
I'm thrilled to see you all here, quite a crowd,
10
obviously you're moat separated, interested to be here
11
to have this discussion about white paper, it's truly
12
inspiring, it shows that you're interested and that's
13
great.
14
provincial deaf and hard of hearing services, PDHHS,
15
which is under MCFD, ministry of children and family
16
development, and I'm honoured that I've been asked to
17
facilitate today, it's like an airport cuer, the guy
18
that starts own there, and brings in the plane, or the
19
flag guy, stop, go, slow down, that kind of thing,
20
that's what my job is going to be, and it's great.
21
My name is Patrick Tarchuk, and I work at the
First of all, I'd like to thank two special
22
guests, we have Sam Sullivan, who is our local MLA, so
23
it's fabulous to have him here.
24
FROM THE GROUP:
25
PATRICK TARCHUK:
[Applause].
As well, Dr. Joe McLaughlin, they too,
1
will have something to say, and I'll turn it over to
2
them, so right now I am going to turn it over to Mr.
3
Sam Sullivan.
4
FROM THE GROUP:
5
SAM SULLIVAN:
[Applause].
Thank you, everyone for being here, what an
6
impressive crowd!
I wish someone would make a sign
7
language for quadriplegics.
8
to just speak.
9
province right now.
Sorry, I'm going to have
We have an amazing situation in our
We have three people with
10
physical disabilities who are sitting in the
11
legislature, all members of the government.
12
have staff people who are incredibly innovative and
13
willing to do things differently.
14
are aligned, and we have an opportunity, and most of
15
all, we have you.
And we
So this, the stars
Look at how many.
We weren't even
16
going to have this event for especially for
17
hard-of-hearing and deaf people.
18
so great, that the minister has decided we must have a
19
special meeting, and I left him a few hours ago in the
20
legislature, and because he's a minister, he can't
21
leave, and because this is my riding, I asked if I
22
could go in his place.
So he brings you greetings,
23
his warmest greetings.
He has been to almost half of
24
all the meetings around the province, Prince George,
25
Vernon, Surrey, and many, many other places, and so he
But the demand was
1
2
is very committed to this program, Mr. Don McRae.
So I just feel that there's so much opportunity,
3
and we need to hear from you to hear the aspirations
4
that you have to be fully members of the society, to
5
be contributing citizens, and I just want to give you
6
a little insight into what happened to me when I was
7
mayor of Vancouver.
8
disabilities came to my office, and they were amazed
9
at how accessible Vancouver was.
Somebody, a group of people with
They were from all
10
over the world.
And they said, "Ah, this makes sense,
11
Vancouver is so accessible because it has a disabled
12
mayor?"
13
Vancouver has a disabled mayor because it is so
14
accessible."
15
citizens advocating, speaking up, making sure their
And I said, "Actually it's the opposite,
And it was decades of hard working
16
voice is heard, that made things possible for people
17
like me, many, many years later, to fulfill my dreams
18
and become mayor.
19
future, people, deaf, hard-of-hearing, we hope we can
20
make changes and improve society, so that the future
21
will be better for all of us.
22
contribute, the more people are part of society, the
23
better all of us are.
24
25
So what you're doing is helping the
And the more people
So thank you for contributing your time to be
here tonight, and we look forward to your
1
conversations and your ideas.
2
FROM THE GROUP:
3
PATRICK TARCHUK:
4
Thank you.
[Applause].
The deputy chair of ministry of council
of employment and accessibility, Dr. Joe McLaughlin.
5
FROM THE GROUP:
[Applause].
6
JOE McLAUGHLIN:
Thank you, Emily, Sam Sullivan, and thank
7
you for joining us.
The Minister asked me to share
8
their welcome for having you come this evening to
9
present your ideas and your thoughts regarding
10
decreasing barriers and increasing accessibility for
11
the deaf and hard of hearing and deaf-blind
12
constituents.
13
don't need to repeat his words, but I would like to
14
ask Susan Mader, who is the executive director of the
15
White Paper, to explain the process that we're going
Now, as Sam mentioned earlier on, I
16
17
to have this evening.
SUSAN MADER:
Susan?
Thank you, Joe.
So I want to first of all
18
thank you for being here, I recognize a few of the
19
faces from some of our other consultation sessions, I
20
wanted to really say a special thank you to Patrick
21
and Joe to help get the session organized today and
22
others in the room who have been helpful and provided
23
me with guidance and advice on how to make this
24
consultation more accessible for people who are deaf
25
or hard of hearing or deaf-blind, so thank you.
1
So what brought us here today is government's
2
commitment to make this the most accessible province
3
in Canada for people with disabilities to live.
4
part of that, and in keeping with the philosophy of
5
the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Persons With
6
Disabilities, we're going to speak to the community,
7
because we know nothing about us without us is an
8
important approach to make sure that we talk to the
9
people who live with disabilities and understanding
So as
10
from them what it actually means to increase
11
accessibility and decrease barriers.
12
the consultation on December 3rd.
13
23,000 visitors to our web site.
14
submissions through a number of different ways, ASL
15
videos -- and you'll notice we've got a John Warren in
So we launched
So far we've had
We are accepting
16
the corner there that is going to be capturing
17
comments on ASL video, and Patrick will explain more
18
of that.
19
tool kit, and there's 23 of these consultations.
20
We've got three left.
21
in Victoria.
22
valuable feedback from everyone who is contributing
23
about what we can make this the most progressive and
24
increase accessibility in British Columbia.
25
really want to encourage everyone.
We accept e-mail, by mail, a conversation
A third session for March 7th
We're getting a lot of important and
But I
There's a lot of
1
people in this room today, a lot of great
2
conversations, but I also know that while we're going
3
to get great information back, there's not necessarily
4
going to be the opportunity for everyone here to say
5
everything they want to say, so I really encourage you
6
to take advantage of some of the other ways of
7
participating.
8
an ASL value.
9
everyone's had a chance to contribute as much as want
Come on line, send us a note, send us
We want to make sure that we've --
10
by the 11th of March which is when the consultation
11
closes.
12
Paper, which will be a reflection of the voice of
13
British Columbians, really speak to what we found out
14
through the different consultations and conversations
15
and submissions that we're receiving.
At that point we'll be drafting up the White
That will be
16
made public by the end of May on the web site where
17
you registered for the session here tonight, and then
18
there will be a submit in June, where we'll come
19
together to look at what the White Paper -- what the
20
recommendations are in the White Paper and figuring
21
out an action plan to move forward with short-,
22
medium-, and long-term actions to be delivered on
23
those recommendations.
24
25
So thank you very much for being here.
I will
hand it over back to Patrick, but I'm around tonight.
1
If anyone has any questions or comments specific to
2
the White Paper that they would like to share with me,
3
just please make sure that there's an interpreter
4
nearby.
5
FROM THE GROUP:
6
PATRICK TARCHUK:
So I'll hand it back to Patrick.
[Applause].
So thank you, Susan, for letting us have
7
our very own ASL chairing meeting with all the deaf
8
people and everything.
9
know, there have been a couple of us just there
In the other meetings, you
10
perhaps, but now it's everyone pretty well signing
11
here, we wanted to make sure everybody's feeling
12
comfortable, so that's fabulous, and thank you very
13
much.
14
15
As I said, thank you, Susan.
Before I proceed with our agenda as to what our
evening will look like, time is important, and we want
16
to share our ideas and our thoughts and perhaps
17
solutions, that's important, but first off, the
18
washrooms are out the door and around the corner, so
19
use them any time, don't feel you have to sit there,
20
just help yourself to the wash-room, any time
21
throughout the night.
22
So the agenda of what we're going to do is the
23
firsts hour you're all going to be at your tables, at
24
your groups, and having your discussions, and there
25
are six themes that you'll be talking about.
There
1
2
are questions on the...in regards to the themes.
Each table has a community champion, and what
3
that person is pretty well the table facilitator who
4
will lead the group to make sure that you're on track
5
and would you all please stand up at this part, the
6
champions, if you wouldn't mind?
7
table has a champion, that's fabulous.
8
9
Oh, great.
So every
So some of the community champions have been to
other meetings for the White Paper in Surrey and
10
Richmond, wherever they were able to attend, so they
11
were aware and they have a sense of how these meetings
12
go, so they're able to help us move along if need be.
13
Some may just move along without their help, that will
14
be fine, but what is important is each table makes
15
notes, and why that's important, because you're going
16
to have an hour to have this discussion.
17
done, after we've had a 15-minute break, each table,
18
one person from each table is going to have the
19
opportunity to come up front and speak to their table
20
discussion, five minutes each table.
21
have the opportunity to report back.
22
Once that's
So we'll all
So we'll have the hour at our tables, a
23
15-minute break, and then the last hour will be about
24
each of us sharing our information that we gathered at
25
our tables.
And we'll take about five minutes each to
1
do that.
2
Sam and Joe.
3
And then there will be closing comments from
So there are six themes on the paper that you
4
have -- the package that you have on your tables,
5
there are six different themes.
6
personal supports, work contribution, housing and
7
accessibility, social networks, and asset
8
accumulation.
9
There's innovation,
I know that you're going to have your
10
discussion, and you're going to come up and speak to
11
what your points were in five minutes, but -- and you
12
may not have enough time to share everything that you
13
wanted to share, but there's all kinds of information
14
that you can write on the wall, that's in the back,
15
solutions on sticky papers, and stick them to the wall
16
17
that's at the back there.
Or you can go to the corner and produce it in
18
ASL, and John will take any time during your group
19
discussions, you can go up there and share a piece,
20
and that will be until 9:30, and that's when we're
21
going to stop the clock.
22
certainly continue to go up and see be videod or have
23
chats with each other, or write notes and put them on
24
the wall, but at ten o'clock the lights go out and
25
we're all out of here.
From 9:30 to 10:00, you can
1
Any time you want, there's water on the table,
2
there's things to munch on.
3
for a break, go ahead and help yourself at any time.
4
You don't need to wait
You know that we're on live stream -- where did
5
he go -- where did he go?
6
technical difficulties are happening; I'm not sure.
7
But your comments and everything will all be recorded,
8
and stacks and stacks of them.
9
it the White Paper, paper after paper after paper, and
10
the white-wall solutions will add to them, and the ASL
11
clips will also -- and then we'll give them all to
12
Susan and carry them home, all the Deaf history and
13
these points; right?
14
15
Okay.
Oh, well, I guess maybe
That's why they call
Yeah.
So I think we can actually start.
So you
can start with your group meetings and good luck.
So
16
the clock's ticking, on you go.
17
discussion - excised]...
18
..............................................
19
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Okay, we're ready to start, if everybody
20
could get back to their seats.
21
your seats.
22
[Small-group
All right.
Everybody get back to
Hands in the air, people?
Want to
23
make sure I've got all your attention, hands in the
24
air, people?
25
ready for the second moving truck, the big cargo truck
Great, perfect.
Okay.
So I think we're
1
that all the White Paper can go in it, we've got it
2
all ready.
3
start going one -- up to 14, I'm going to ask you to
4
start at the other end, start with 14 and move down to
5
the end, to No. 1, so could I have the representative
6
from table 14, please, hello?
7
rep from table 14.
8
and remember that, so I'm going to cut you off and
9
give you one-minute warning, and let me know, so right
10
11
So we're going to start with -- should I
Table 14, hello?
The
We've only got five minutes each,
there for the camera, good for you.
SPEAKER:
All right, thank you to Susan for giving us this
12
opportunity to share our thoughts.
My name
13
is...principal of...secondary school.
14
resource program for deaf and hard of hearing.
15
why I'm here.
We have a
That's
And I was at the English-speaking table
16
at the back.
So I feel awkward, to be honest with
17
you, being the first one to speak, because I feel
18
awkward being the first one to speak.
19
certainly there's experience in the room that I have
20
no idea about.
21
talking; move back.
22
we're all good.
23
with and the deaf population, so I'm glad to be here
24
today.
25
the table, I feel there's human rights issues that
The --
That being said, I have a -- stop
You stay there; I'll stay here;
Okay -- the students I've had to work
My biggest concern after having sat down at
1
keep cropping up with the conversations that we have.
2
None the least of which was the last conversation we
3
had, which was around the fact that in some cases,
4
when interpretations services are offered or money is
5
offered for a deaf people to have interpretation
6
services, in a that could be taxable benefit.
7
shocked, I was shocked.
8
telling a person in a wheelchair, I'm going to give
9
you money to make a ramp, and that's a taxable
To me that would be like
10
benefit.
11
really quite surprised by that.
12
I was
That should not be the case, and I was
There was obviously quite a bit of talk about
13
lack of interpretation opportunities for -- and lack
14
of incentive for people to provide interpretation
15
services, so for employers to provide interpretation
16
services, and how, you know, for schools even or
17
whatever, and how is it that given the fact that
18
that's the way that we communicate, how does that
19
going to be provided?
20
Also, again, I'm learning a lot of things today.
21
That there's not coverage for hearing-aids, which
22
seems amazing to me, that we have problems with
23
employment standards because an employee has to say
24
that he would not hire you in order for you to receive
25
services and that would be discriminatory if they said
1
that, so they doesn't say that, it's just weird you
2
can't get the job.
3
deal with.
4
I'm so sorry.
It's weird stuff to
We did see some opportunities in terms of some
5
of the things we saw happening in other jurisdictions.
6
Person's interpretation services...available in
7
Alberta that are not available here.
8
seeing some good interministerial work happening right
9
now between Ministry of Children and Families and
We're also
10
Education and stuff at the K-to-12 level.
11
working really well together, but we're not sure
12
that's happening beyond in a, and that's something
13
that could be improved.
14
15
Tell me -- am I almost out of time?
Thank you.
And we're
One minute?
16
We had a member of IDHHC at our table.
That's
17
from the island there.
18
non-profits, there's a limit to the amount of support
19
that is offered there, and we need more opportunity
20
for funding to maintain that.
21
When you're dealing with
We also had somebody from legal background at
22
our table, which felt like the law is not understood
23
well enough what could be accessed for deaf and hard
24
of hearing, and there needs to be education all
25
around, around that.
There was more, but I'm sure
1
we'll hear more from other people, thank you.
2
FROM THE GROUP:
3
PATRICK TARCHUK:
5
SPEAKER:
[Applause].
Table 13, can we have someone from table 4
I'm nervous.
All right.
Hi, good evening.
6
name is Joy and I'm from table 13.
7
somebody that we had --
8
FROM THE GROUP:
9
SPEAKER:
My
It's nice because
Can't hear you.
-- parents of younger children or just parents,
10
a lot of us at that table.
Anyways, so under
11
renovation, we came up with basically available
12
technology such as CART, it's not easily accessible to
13
deaf individuals.
14
interpreters, whether it's for extra curricular
15
activities for children or community interpreting,
16
even during family events, for the children who have
There's a lack of access to
13?
17
hearing-aids, the funding for those aids is not
18
enough.
19
awareness needs to be brought to a deaf and hard of
20
hearing, and what services are available, and what our
21
needs are, government captioning needs to be available
22
for this as well.
23
to literacy for children.
24
that a large per cent of deaf individuals do grow up
25
to be considered illiterate.
Public service announcements, maybe public
Literacy, there needs to be access
The statistic was given
Autonomy and
1
independence as adults in community is lacking.
2
an interesting point was that technology is available
3
but the funding to make this accessible to the public
4
is not.
5
only act in BC which supports disability only pertains
6
to developmental disabilities, so there needs to be a
7
revision of this or perhaps a new act made in order to
8
include a broader spectrum of disabilities and
9
benefits to all of that.
10
So there is also no act in BC or rather the
VRS needs to happen up here as well as video
remote interpreting.
13
FROM THE GROUP:
14
SPEAKER:
15
And there are models
available for this as well.
11
12
Now
[Applause].
As far as personal supports, aids and devices,
we also discussed deaf-blind services, trained
16
intervenors need to be available.
17
are the eyes and ears for deaf-blind individuals, they
18
gather information as well as low the deaf-blind
19
individual to express themselves.
20
decrease into adulthood, and being deaf-blind is not
21
actually considered a unique disability.
22
deaf-blind individuals need intervenors full-time and
23
this is not available to them.
24
25
Trained intervenors
These services
However,
Also access to SLPs, hearing-aids and cochlear
implants is not enough, there is a lack of funding for
1
this.
2
people to participate in the community.
3
And these are needed and in order for disabled
Access to information and visual ways, there
4
needs to be technology innovation specifically for the
5
deaf and, again, we need funding for this.
6
7
8
And the importance of early intervention for
children as well.
Working contribution.
Again, an act is needed
9
to support a broader spectrum of disabilities.
There
10
needs to be a go-to person for individuals with
11
difficulty in social settings in school and employment
12
settings.
13
although sometimes disabilities come with behavioural
14
difficulties, it doesn't mean that they should be
15
shunned, and there needs to be a go-to person to
Something like a job coach perhaps, because
16
17
support this.
Also provide incentives to employers to become
18
disability-friendly, and seeing the value in
19
individuals who are qualified for employment despite
20
the disability.
21
that RDSP does need to stay, however, having said that
22
there is a general deficiency of funding.
23
beneficial for families who have needs now, and there
24
is a need for fixed, secure, and stable funding in the
25
present time.
For asset accumulation we discussed
RDSP is not
Extend the age for RDSP and match and
1
2
follow the CPP model.
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Thank you.
Table 12.
Oh, once you're done your
3
presentation, actually, can you give us the paper,
4
because we need to be stacking them up here.
5
note paper; right?
6
could give me your notes, table 14 and 13, if you
7
wournt mind giving me your notes.
8
laptop, can he e-mail it to you?
9
your laptop and.
10
FROM THE GROUP:
11
PATRICK TARCHUK:
12
SPEAKER:
Susan.
So your
So table 14 and 13, if you
Oh, you used the
Okay.
I'll take
[Laughter].
Okay.
So we are table 12.
I was one of the champions
13
at this session, but I was asked to come forward.
14
name is Vincent.
15
and maybe it's not worth repeating those common
My
We seem to have some similar themes,
16
themes.
17
interpreting seems to come up again, VRI, video remote
18
interpreting, that's clearly important, we don't want
19
to wait, we want to have it as soon as possible.
20
We've chosen the top 10.
VRI, video remote
We would like to also have centralized access
21
where a deaf person for resources where a deaf person
22
can go to get information to do let's say with --
23
within the government.
24
person would say, "Well, you need to approach this
25
department or call this number," rather than having to
So that centralized access
1
2
figure it out yourself and delaying the whole process.
As was mentioned earlier, income tax.
I don't
3
think that should affect student loans.
So I disagree
4
with the point that was raised earlier -- sorry, I do
5
agree with that, and just looking at my notes.
6
Maybe we need to create some sensitivity
7
training for employers, employers who hire a deaf
8
person and don't quite know what to do, perhaps some
9
kind of extra supports, system whereby a hearing
10
employer could get some sensitivity training, and some
11
extra supports.
12
I think we also need to look at enhancing
13
building codes such as visual alarms.
So when you ng
14
ring the doorbell as a deaf person, you have an option
15
of having one visual alerting system over another, so
16
I think enhancing building codes that would make use
17
of those visual systems would be what we're looking
18
at.
19
Persons with disabilities, or PWD, we know it's
20
been 20 years that we have not seen any increase in
21
that monthly income.
22
income that we get from persons with disabilities does
23
not keep pace with the increase in rates, and I know
24
that people are having to move further afield because
25
they cannot afford to stay in Vancouver.
The rents are going up, the
So I think
1
the PWD amount should increase as the costs of rents
2
increase.
3
Internet providers, so Shaw, Telus, should have
4
some sort of mechanism whereby we can get emergency
5
announcements such as natural disasters like floods
6
and earthquakes, I think we should have something like
7
that that's available.
8
9
Hearing people can get that information over the
radio, but we do not have that similar access.
And we
10
need some sort of alerting system.
We also have so
11
many new condos, and I believe that within that
12
development, there should be a portion of those
13
buildings or rooms that are reserved for persons with
14
disabilities.
15
investment purposes but putting aside 10 or 20% of
I know that developers do this for
16
those units for those people would be the way to go.
17
I know I ran through this, I think I have more time,
18
oh, another two minutes or more, I'm sorry, I think
19
I've done my best.
Thank you, Patrick.
20
PATRICK TARCHUK:
All right, table 11, you're up.
21
SPEAKER:
I'm Brian, some of you I'm going to be
Hello.
22
repeating the same things, but we want a central
23
branch where people can have contact service 24/7.
24
The branch itself would provide every service to deaf
25
blind, deaf people would be providing this service,
1
and what this branch would do is the different
2
ministries would fund it and all the money would come
3
into one central place and that would be, say, the
4
school, work places or other issues come up, then the
5
branch could be contacted, and the branch would
6
provide expert services, expert opinions and provide
7
what people need, and it would be a 24/7 interpreting
8
services from the branch.
9
any place else, we could contact this branch and get
10
We wouldn't have to contact
emergency services interpreting.
11
The branch -- another cool thing would be to
12
advocate to deaf people to speak to what people can do
13
instead of the media.
14
that.
15
would -- say, for example, the branch, if the
The branch would do all of
They would take care of the media, they
16
government said, "Oh, we need deaf workers, the branch
17
would be able to say deaf people can do anything, deaf
18
people aren't people with all these things that they
19
can't do.
20
service to all the deaf people.
That would...branch would provide every
21
And the second point is work-related and
22
education -- not education, but educating employers.
23
If you've got a deaf employee, how do you work with
24
that?
25
to hire deaf people or disabled people because they're
That's the way people aren't easily persuaded
1
just not doing it.
They just focus on the hearing,
2
and it's great for -- it should be a tax write-off or
3
something for the employers.
4
incentive.
That would be a great
5
We should teach businesses how to use the
6
technology, because that helps -- because deaf people
7
rely so heavily on technology, we -- and so the
8
hearing people, but we shouldn't be going two
9
different directions, we should both be using e-mail,
10
because everybody can use an e-mail.
Every business
11
should have e-mail or text capabilities, not just
12
telephone and TTY system.
13
people in the hearing world, in my experience, this is
14
my experience, working in the hearing world alone, I
15
have met so many diverse customers, and I explain that
What's cool in hiring deaf
16
I'm deaf and clients didn't realize that, and that has
17
the ripple effect, if you encourage companies, then
18
they hire the deaf people.
19
out.
20
lake.
21
The effect just ripples
It's not just one raindrop, it's a complete
I'm going all over the map here.
The third piece is the media.
I think we need
22
to encourage them, oh, you're deaf, and it looks like
23
they're a deer caught in the headlights.
24
even want to talk to us, we have to talk to the
25
hearing media about how -- to have conversations with
They do not
1
us, how to promote things on TV, what deaf people can
2
do.
3
that deaf girl, but four years since nothing's
4
happened or changed.
5
shown on the media, like BC wants people to come, but
6
they're not showing the diversity.
7
With the Olympics, the 2010 Olympics, they added
So variety of people need to be
Okay.
They're not showing the diversity and the deaf
8
people and the deaf-plus and the PWD, why aren't they
9
doing that in commercials and things?
10
And the fourth thing is the building code.
This
11
is my opinion -- but the building code priority
12
is...for private areas, people don't know if, you
13
know, you can't tell who it is that's trying to buzz
14
in, and you can't see the face; there's no cameras,
15
whatever, so somebody buzzes you in.
It would be nice
16
to have some sort of visual thing, of course fire
17
alarms, and special vibrating devices or whatever.
18
And the fifth piece is senior citizens.
I know
19
senior citizens -- well, I'm young now, but I'm hoping
20
one day technologywise I would be able to as a deaf
21
person -- but if -- an old person may not be familiar
22
with technology, but I think the centre is an
23
important thing -- sorry, can I add one more thing?
24
Just one more minute?
25
I'm just going to quickly add two things.
What, yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
So
The centre,
1
the branch would be for all -- for interpreting for
2
all, not just for emergencies, if you wanted to go to
3
a movie, you could have an interpreter at a movie, for
4
any reason whatsoever, hearing friends, could you ask
5
the branch to send an interpreter along.
6
the media, I wanted to lobby that, not just to focus
7
on the audiological piece and the...piece and all
8
that, there's different types of life-style, ASL, and
9
ASL is a fabulous language, and there's different
And about
10
ways -- different treatments people can be involved in
11
and different options and everything.
12
FROM THE GROUP:
13
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Thank you.
[Applause].
Wow.
Maybe I think maybe a third moving
14
truck needs to come in.
15
really quickly, wow.
The interpreter had to speak
Good job.
16
17
Okay, table 10?
DAN:
Hi, I'm Dan.
We had a stack of ideas, we chose our
18
top five.
We want to have a BC Disability Act, rather
19
than having to go to the courts every time something
20
happens to us, I think it would really cut down on
21
costs and supports, and if we had an Act, that would
22
be applicable to all, that would be great.
23
The other thing is a building code, safe,
24
visual, any new buildings from this time onward they
25
have to be wired, whether they be wireless, all of
1
that has to be equipped.
2
preventing break-ins, all of that needs to be in
3
place, when you move in all you have to do is plug in
4
your lights.
5
Security systems, access,
So I would say our new buildings with the old
6
buildings, I think they all should be accessible and
7
that should be a requirement, that they be upgraded.
8
Also public announcements, whether it be earthquakes,
9
floods, you name it.
Our television, pager systems,
10
they should be warning us that something is going on,
11
rather than having to ask our neighbours, would you
12
call to see if there's an emergency going on?
13
So third on our list...?
Yeah, third on our
14
list, are seniors, we need a seniors centre.
A place
15
where they can live and socialize, where there are no
16
barriers.
17
groups have community centres of their own.
18
need to have our own deaf and hard-of-hearing centre,
19
so we can keep ourselves alert and keep ourselves
20
socially and psychologically well.
21
through communication.
22
Communications, I mean other cultural
But we
And this would be
Next on our list, we would like to have an
23
interpreting program, not just at one college, but in
24
another college, in the province.
25
that will increase the pool of interpreters,
Because I believe
1
especially when we come to the place where we have
2
video relay services or video remote interpreting, we
3
need to have a pool of interpreters and to do that
4
they need another college that offers the same thing.
5
So I would say at provincial or federal levels,
6
there needs to be vlogs, whether this be news
7
announcements, federal, provincial or municipal level.
8
You know if it's your MLA or MP, I know in the states
9
they have an interpreter who is on standby and ready,
10
11
we need to have the same thing here.
Come elections time, we need to have
12
accessibility around interpreters.
Do you know we all
13
have to vote, we all have the right to vote, you can
14
choose who you want to represent you, so we shubl able
15
to ask the questions.
It should be not just
16
17
provincial but municipal and federal.
The next point is about employment.
You know,
18
someone that's been working for the same number of
19
years and they have the same qualification, that
20
individual who is hearing has -- takes home greater
21
money than the person who is deaf or hard of hearing.
22
And the disability benefits then complement that
23
person's wage disparity.
24
two people, one person who can hear, another person
25
who uses sign language, they should be earning the
So in other words, I think
1
same, we have more issues on our lap top and we'll
2
send those along.
3
FROM THE GROUP:
4
PATRICK TARCHUK:
[Applause].
So while people have finished
5
presenting, you can go to the ASL and be videod or
6
paper solutions up on the wall.
7
stay seated, you can certainly come up or go to the
8
table.
9
it's you, is it?
10
SPEAKER:
You do not need to
Now table 9, is that your table.
Oh, here
Okay.
Economy, the deaf economy; more job
11
opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing and
12
deaf-blind individuals.
13
organizations that need to come together in one
14
centre.
15
home.
There are many different
In that centre would be the senior citizens's
Everything one place covers all, and that would
16
17
improve the deaf economy.
Nursing homes for senior citizens, assistance in
18
living independently.
19
Education.
That's definitely a high need.
The...committee needs to be changed,
20
police the policies.
21
The School For the Deaf, South Slope and Burnaby South
22
needs to change the curriculums, and change the
23
administration.
24
25
Let parents make the decision.
Restructure somehow.
And finally, the mainstreaming.
All over the
province needs to be audited somehow in their meeting
1
2
criteria that the children need.
I covered it all?
Once ASL is an official language, that would
3
impact everything.
I would suggest a Language
4
Planning Committee, perhaps, something to do with ASL.
5
There should be some sort of a system attached to
6
possibly our traffic lights that say the word
7
"siren"...Willingdon and Hastings, there's something
8
that people are aware that there's a siren.
9
"fire truck" or "police car" or "ambulance in the
Either a
10
vicinity," and that should be widespread, not just in
11
one place.
12
Sorry.
Marco spoke of coffee clutches, not
13
wanting to go to just hearing events like the
14
Well-Being Program has coffee meetings every Wednesday
15
and people are feeling lonely and basically feel there
16
should be some more type of events.
17
Other people at our table talked about
18
transportation communication.
For example, ferries
19
cancelled or closed, or the Skytrain or bus.
20
other transportation, there should be some sort of
21
literal, visual warning, or as Vincent was suggesting,
22
some sort of alerts that come to our phone through
23
text.
24
Hospitals want to -- if you want to know where the
25
patient's room is, there used to be an information
Any
Hester and my whole table agreed with this.
1
system.
2
to pick up the phone, and so, yeah, you can see the
3
difficulty there, please.
4
Now you can ask an individual, now you have
Driver's licence stamped with "disability," so
5
we don't have to continually fill out the form that
6
proves I'm deaf, that you've got a permanent form that
7
says that you're disabled.
8
9
Of course the interpreting, you know, 24/7, as
everybody else said, needs to be provided.
For
10
example, events like at GM Place, Rogers Arena and BC
11
Place, need to be ready with interpreting booth
12
possibly for, like, the Home and Garden Show.
13
want to come in, if they make announcements.
14
you cook this?
15
I'm trying to sell this.
If you
How do
How do you -- do you want to see me,
There should be interpreters
16
that come along with you anywhere you want to go,
17
interpreting 24/7.
18
PATRICK TARCHUK:
19
SPEAKER:
Okay.
One minute, please.
There used to be affirmative action back
20
in the '80s.
21
have 20% hired in the certain different groups.
22
we should make one hire a deaf person whose first
23
language is ASL to make part of that 20%.
24
This is my last point, Patrick.
25
The federal government said you had to
And
10 seconds.
Government tends to neglect deaf organizations,
1
GVAD, BC Deaf Sports and the rest.
2
hearing and the deaf-blind seem to be more progressive
3
in that, so there should be equality in that.
4
5
The hard of
There's more, but I'll let other tables speak.
Okay.
Do I give this to Joe, then, do I?
6
PATRICK TARCHUK:
7
SPEAKER:
Okay, table No. 8.
My mother calls me Wayne, so I'm Wayne.
Most of
8
the folks at my table were seniors.
I think I was --
9
sorry to offend -- but I was probably the youngest
10
senior of the lot.
So I'm a high school principal --
11
used to be at the Vernon School For the Deaf, and I've
12
taught at the Arizona School For the Deaf, and I've
13
worked in a variety of different deaf groups across
14
the States.
15
art of deafness.
So I think I'm pretty well-versed in the
16
I'm sorry to say, but the society believes that
17
deaf people are expensive.
The social expectation is
18
that we have to support and fund deaf people to get
19
employment, to get education, and you name it.
20
it's not one way.
21
I'll have you know.
22
explaining and re-explaining to them the art of
23
deafness.
But
We find hearing people expensive,
We have to spend a lot of time
So they're expensive, too.
24
Maybe it's a surprise to some of you, but
25
English is a hearing language, it's not our language.
1
It's a very auditory language, and it's very difficult
2
for many of us to grasp, to become proficient.
3
our table we talked about the feelings of all deaf
4
people, of intervening with babies and teaching them
5
sign language --
6
FROM THE GROUP:
7
SPEAKER:
So at
[Applause].
-- because it is our visual language, and it's
8
not that we are disrespecting English or speech or
9
anything of that kind.
Don't get me wrong.
It is a
10
visual language.
We don't have any choice but to see
11
this language, so for us, our language is ASL.
12
through ASL that you can develop and acquire English,
13
and I have seen that time and time again at the
14
school...and they are one of the best of the three
15
schools in the country in the USA.
It is
So clearly ASL is
16
the way to acquire English.
17
government should adopt ASL as an official language.
18
FROM THE GROUP:
19
SPEAKER:
[Cheering].
Because English is an official language for
20
hearing people.
21
language.
22
English; not at all.
23
support you.
24
25
I believe that the BC
So we need to have our own official
It doesn't mean that we're discarding
Support us and we in turn will
ASL should be the language of instruction for
all deaf children, so that they can acquire an
1
education.
So in other words, it may come as a shock
2
to parents that a deaf child -- parents might feel
3
that it's a shock, it might come as a shock, but I
4
don't believe that parents should have the choice.
5
The baby should be taught sign language.
6
government should select deaf individuals and parents
7
with deaf babies to help the hearing parents with
8
their deaf babies and speed up the grieving process,
9
and in turn those children will gain in the long run,
So our BC
10
and there will be more love between the parents and
11
the children.
12
FROM THE GROUP:
13
SPEAKER:
[Applause].
I would strongly advise that you look at the
14
Swedish model.
In Sweden they give the parents, I
15
believe six months' leave from their employment in
16
17
order to learn Swedish sign language, SSL.
What?
One minute left?
My gosh.
The BC School
18
For the Deaf should be under Deaf control, which will
19
enhance accountability of the education for them, and
20
it will also help the school districts to improve the
21
services to their own deaf children in and around the
22
Province of BC.
23
Again, I say that we should have a BC Disability
24
Act, and I know that this point has been mentioned
25
already.
I think deaf citizens should be involved in
1
all government decisions, in all processes that affect
2
the deaf person's life.
3
they do not allow the deaf person to do simple tasks
4
like operating a jackhammer.
5
person to drive a truck, logging trucks, and things
6
like that.
7
the WorkSafeBC site to help them to help make better
8
decisions that affect deaf employees.
9
So, for example, WorkSafeBC,
They don't allow a deaf
So we need deaf citizens involved there at
Am I out of time?
30 seconds.
We need a senior
10
citizen's centre.
Look at Columbus, Ohio, wow, it's
11
awesome.
12
Columbus.
13
announcement accessibility and so on, and, yes, I will
14
e-mail this to I'm not sure who, Patrick -- to Sue.
15
Hi, Sue.
We can adopt a similar model as they have in
Some of you said you need more public
16
That's it.
17
FROM THE GROUP:
18
PATRICK TARCHUK:
19
SPEAKER:
[Applause].
Table 7?
Hello, I'm speaking for table 7.
All right.
20
Our priority, No. 1, our concern is we feel BC
21
government should set up people with Disability Act,
22
BC Disabilities Act, once that's been established, it
23
will have a huge ripple effect for sure.
24
25
The next thing, our second point was education.
We felt that is important, on all sorts of different
1
levels, the municipal, the provincial, the federal,
2
all levels of government, education need to be focused
3
on.
4
community, opening up opportunities for community
5
events, access for any type of events, classes, that
6
type of thing without arguing barriers.
7
down those barriers, and that's what education will do
8
for us.
9
Educating hearing people about the Deaf
Let's break
Work on solutions and a centre, like a
10
one-stop-shop, 24/7.
11
Deaf centre and hearing and deaf alike would be able
12
to congregate there to get resources, education, ASL
13
classes, everything, one-stop-shop at this centre.
14
15
People would know that this is a
We talked at our table that the BC government
should be a role model for innovation, motivation, to
16
be involved and to learn and accommodate.
I mean, the
17
duty to accommodate is certainly very important.
18
work sites there is a duty to accommodate.
19
there with interpreting and all the technology that
20
assists in emergency services.
21
is a big issue.
22
technology.
At
It must be
And, again, technology
I mean, we rely heavily on
23
Skytrain needs to be visual, that type of thing.
24
And the video remote interpreting needs to be
25
established as well.
That technology needs to be
1
used.
2
3
VRI.
And we need to lobby the CRTC for both VRS and
4
5
Fire alarms, not only just fire alarms, but the
CO2 alarms as well. You might have heard on the news,
6
people have been dying from the CO2 suffocation, so
7
sometimes people in new homes, you have to have
8
systems set up, wired, that if there's -- you can just
9
change the system easily, the deaf person was going to
10
be there, that you would change it to be visual rather
11
than auditory.
12
13
And my last point is about access.
about accessing events.
For example, have
And it's
14
interpreters ready and available so we can enjoy
15
ourselves as well, so we don't have to stay at home,
16
we can go to the theatre possibly, and there will be
17
an interpreter there, just so people can enjoy their
18
lives and have it available to them.
19
And the last thing that would be really nice
20
that would break down the barrier, and increase
21
accessibility would be for the ombudsman.
22
individual be Deaf and hire individuals around
23
interpretation, education, all that, and the BC
24
government would then fund that solution, project,
25
person to -- who would work towards better access for
That
1
the people of BC.
2
I think that's it.
3
FROM THE GROUP:
4
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Thank you.
[Applause].
Want to give that to Joe, please.
5
No. 6, the speaker from table No. 6?
6
go.
7
SPEAKER:
Table
Six tables to
Thank you very much for coming, and I really
8
enjoyed listening to everybody's ideas, and Wayne
9
touched on some very good sensitive topics, and I
10
think a lot of people at our table were talking about
11
education there, involved in the education.
12
So first on our list is to remove the stigma,
13
you know, about having to accommodate, accommodate,
14
accommodate.
15
communication is the law, where interpreters are there
We want a Deaf school where
16
when we want to speak with someone within the
17
government office, so we can get the work done rather
18
than having to arrange this and that and the next
19
thing.
20
It just delays the whole thing.
Closed captioning.
Make it accessible.
Make it
21
available in all public spaces, so if I'm on the
22
Skytrain, I need to know that there's something going
23
on at the Waterfront station.
24
important to have it for a database for emergency
25
situation where let's say my hand-held device starts
You know, I mean, it's
1
vibrating.
People have the same version on the radio;
2
why can't I have that, the same communication but on
3
my hand-held?
4
public, but also on ferries and hospitals.
And I don't mean just Skytrain and
5
And I think there should be an ASL policy
6
whereby parents who have deaf children, they shouldn't
7
be ignored.
8
"How do I communicate with my kid?"
9
place where they feel it's great, it's comfortable,
10
and the information and the way they learn language
11
happens really smoothly, and these children grow up to
12
feel, like -- and their parents are sharing their
13
language with the kids and they grow up to feel
14
they're part of the family.
15
important too, to look at the other laws
So that parent is trying to figure out,
There should be a
And I also think it's
16
internationally, the Swedish model.
17
Devices and cochlear implants surgeries, they want to
18
approach it differently in Sweden.
19
language and different opportunities and add the
20
technology piece later.
21
their model is language exposure, and I think we
22
should learn from that model.
23
They have it.
Exposed to
So first important step in
And I'm not antispeech learning.
24
that can happen later.
25
happen together.
I think that
But I also think they can
I don't think one approach fits all.
1
I think multiple approaches are the best way to go.
2
I think we need to have an interpreter
3
conference where we had the one called ICED back in
4
the 1880s.
5
congress, but we need to have a congress where we stop
6
using the terms like "hearing-impaired."
7
need to have something like that.
8
We need proof of that.
9
being rely on, a document.
10
I know we had this very important
I think we
That's substantial.
We need something that can
And I also think that Deaf schools, the criteria
11
seems to be -- needs to be reworked.
I think if
12
the -- to expose the child to sign language, let's do
13
it.
14
should be able to go to the school for the Deaf, and
15
there should be no criteria, there should be a parent
We have children whose parents are Deaf, so they
16
decision, so hearing kids with Deaf parents want to
17
attend, they should be able to go.
18
There are so many hoops as it is now where that
19
person has to go through all the hoops.
If they want
20
to be an educator of the Deaf, you know, they have to
21
get this degree and that credential.
22
able to stay in BC.
23
they should be able to stay in that province, get the
24
education that they need, and become an educator of
25
the Deaf, and if they want to receive more money, let
I'd like to be
If someone wants that educator,
1
2
them go to university and get their graduate degrees.
I think the first mandate is exposure to ASL, so
3
learn the language.
4
language and they speak through the interpreter, they
5
should be speaking directly to that student.
6
they're not making a connection with that child
7
otherwise, so I think we need to be able to use that
8
first language, sign language, in order for that child
9
to do well in school.
10
The teachers who use spoken
But
Our last point was the point about interpreting.
11
There seems to be an ongoing screening.
I think it
12
should be in place so that the interpreter who takes a
13
training program, graduates, that's all well and good,
14
but how do we know whether or not they are maintaining
15
their skills?
Perhaps we need to implement some sort
16
of screening where every two, three years, they have
17
to pass another screening test, just to make sure that
18
the standards that we see in the workplace, in the
19
school system, are up to par, and I think that's the
20
responsibility that I think we should establish.
21
PATRICK TARCHUK:
22
23
Give that to Joe, would you?
No. 5, table No. 5?
SPEAKER:
Hello, my name is Colleen, and I'm from table
24
No. 5.
We have discussed on some issues that seemed
25
similar to other tables, and what I'd like to add was
1
about innovation.
2
really wanted was a central place where everybody to
3
congregate to get services, the PWD government
4
offices, deaf and hard of hearing services, the
5
Well-Being Program, WIDHH, all one-central place
6
instead of being all over the place.
7
able to share resources, share office space, reduce
8
some of the costs, there would be some savings there.
9
What we really would want, what we
They would be
And social workers for immigration, for example.
10
It would be able to provide parent consultations,
11
people who just had found out they had a deaf baby,
12
they could come into the one central place rather than
13
all over the map to find out services.
14
be a hot line for social services, which deaf -- hot
15
lines generally are TTYs, and many deaf people can't
There should
16
access those, so they should be through e-mail
17
possibly.
18
gather, socialize, and hopefully there could be a
19
hospital wing at some point that would be reserved for
20
Deaf people only in the future.
It would be a place for senior citizens to
21
Accessible equipment, web cams in northern BC
22
for Aboriginal access, because sometimes the towers
23
just aren't providing enough umph for the system to
24
work.
25
would be required in any new building, in the hotels,
There needs to be emergency alarm systems, they
1
2
buildings, condos, all of them.
And also around access, we should have federal
3
and provincial line about applying interpreting.
4
There shouldn't be diversity around there.
5
Employers down the road, when they hire a deaf
6
person, there should be maybe a tax benefit, and also
7
if they're hiring interpreters, that could be a tax
8
write-off that would help employers be more willing to
9
hire deaf employees.
10
The assets, the RDSP, many people are unaware,
11
so there should be workshops around that, expanding
12
information about that, I don't think it's clear, more
13
information needs to be provided.
14
Around housing and accessibility broadly, again,
15
we need the senior citizen home, and BC Housing should
16
be a priority.
More houses should be reserved for the
17
deaf.
18
WIDHH and other offices, for example, that are too far
19
to Skytrain and bus.
20
and employers who hire deaf individuals, there should
21
be a web site that helps employers understand how they
22
can work with their employee, interpreting services
23
and all that, and so there should be a web site linked
24
type of thing, and employers are willing to hire deaf
25
people.
Employer contribution around transportation for
They should be closer, together,
1
We should have -- yeah, anyway, I've run out of
2
time.
3
wish list.
4
There's lots of information.
So that's our
As I said, our No. 1 priority was the central
5
services, all-in-one-stop shop, one building, one
6
site.
7
information in one place instead of having so many
8
different areas to go to do that.
9
confusing.
You could have all the resources and all the
10
FROM THE GROUP:
11
PATRICK TARCHUK:
12
Leanor.
13
SPEAKER:
So that's our No. 1.
It gets very
Thank you.
[Applause].
Okay, table No. 4.
This is table 4,
First of all, we came up with five points.
So
14
we chose five, and we had a long list, and we weren't
15
done with what we wanted to say, but we did choose our
16
top five.
17
it.
18
SPEAKER:
Eddy and I will take turns talking about
Eddy and I focused on -- and go ahead, Eddy.
Hello.
What you need to know what an intervenor
19
means.
For example, I'm fully blind and deaf and I
20
cannot see, so -- and I can't hear -- sorry, hearing
21
and deaf.
22
can.
23
happening, and deaf people can see what's happening,
24
but I am completely left in the dark, and that's why I
25
need an intervenor to let me know what's going on
You can see what's happening, deaf people
Hearing people can hear and see what's
1
around me.
That's the importance of an intervenor?
2
They need to be trained, and the needs for deaf-blind,
3
and then they are skilled and able to accompany
4
people.
5
on the Skytrain and I wanted to go to Kingsway,
6
there's two different routes.
7
or the other route.
8
for help, and people walk away.
9
because they're afraid.
For example, on the Skytrain, if I was to get
You can go to Sapperton
And I can't see, and I ask people
They do not help me
If I had an intervenor, I
10
wouldn't have problems because they could direct me.
11
So I think it's important for the deaf-blind for
12
shopping, for recreational uses.
13
important.
14
OTHER SPEAKER:
15
I think that's
In the spring of last year we had a
townhall with the deaf-blind, and we talked about
16
intervenors, and the point that came back is we need
17
quality intervenors, we need training, certified
18
intervenors.
19
working as intervenors, but they need to go back and
20
be re-trained.
21
linked with the interpreting program with something at
22
VCC.
23
credential.
24
would -- let's say the people who could take the
25
training could be hearing or deaf, and that deaf
And there are those who are already
So there needs to be a program maybe
But they need something where they can get a
And that the people would be interested,
1
person could choose who they like to have as an
2
intervenor, either hearing or deaf person, that was
3
emphasized over and over again.
4
back to intervenor training.
5
Most of the talk came
We also talked at our table about PWD and that
6
money is clearly not enough.
It's expensive to be
7
deaf, but it's also more expensive to be deaf-blind.
8
It's actually double the expense.
9
who is not here this evening, but she felt that
There's one woman
10
persons with disabilities, for a person who is deaf
11
and blind should receive double the amount because a
12
person who is deaf-blind spends just as much.
13
you are a low-vision person, you can't have a room
14
that has low lighting, you have to have your lights on
15
all the time at highest wattage, which means your
When
16
electricity bill is very expensive at the end of the
17
month.
18
Hers was $400, and that was every month.
And also that allowance needs to be greater so
19
you can afford various pieces of technology and
20
devices, including transportation and intervenors.
21
you have to pay for that, that piece is still being
22
negotiated right now with the government as to who
23
covers the cost for intervening.
24
25
And also access ties into technology.
If
For the
most part, web sites are not accessible or friendly to
1
a deaf-blind person.
2
White Paper, the web site was not deaf-blind friendly.
3
The materials that were handed out tonight were not
4
deaf-friendly either.
5
about access and what it truly means.
6
such as, you know, PDF, that is not an accessible way
7
of getting print information for deaf-blind person.
8
9
10
11
For example, here, for this
So you need to be thinking
A simple matter
I think Eddy had some points about training and
education?
And I think you wanted to talk about
tactile in Braille.
OTHER SPEAKER:
Yes, yes, okay.
I wanted to talk about
12
education for people who are losing their vision or
13
deafened.
14
somebody can be an independent liver, just as a person
15
who loses their sight and they've got CNIB and all
There's Braille, hand-over-hand, so that
16
that, people need to be trained around all those
17
aspects.
18
SPEAKER:
Have we run out of time, Pat?
Our time is up,
19
but I think the most important piece for deaf-blind
20
people is we are small in number, but the needs are
21
high, and they should not be ignored.
22
think --
23
FROM THE GROUP:
24
SPEAKER:
25
I don't
[Applause].
Wow, an amazing amount of speakers we've had so
far, and I know we're almost overtime.
I'm going to
1
be very brief.
We're table No. 3, and the first thing
2
we want to talk about was this...hard of hearing and
3
deafness.
4
and we call it an invisible disability.
5
actually change that.
6
exceptionality; something that's special about us.
7
It's important to let the government know that we can
8
do things, we're not unable to do things, we're able
9
to do things, but we do them differently.
It's right now classified as a disability,
But I want to
It's not a disability, it's
So as
10
previously discussed reducing the stigma of what it is
11
to be hard-of-hearing or deaf.
12
to bring the awareness, increase it, and also be able
13
to connect with each other.
14
connect and make meaningful relationships, that's what
15
this is all about, this is life-changing, and life
So we want to be able
People who hope to
16
goes on, but it's hard to go on.
17
can go with others who know and understand it, it
18
makes it easier for us.
19
it's invisible exceptionality.
20
And sometimes if we
So I wanted to clarify that
And we talked about technology and how
21
affordable it should be, and it should be.
Why is the
22
entertainment technology more affordable than life
23
technology?
Life technology should be more
24
affordable.
So all the hearing-aids and all the
25
technologies, all the devices for us to help us get
1
through public spaces like airports and hospitals,
2
everything we do on a daily basis, need to be
3
accessible.
4
So I want to make sure talk about that.
Community access, we've already gone over a lot
5
of that.
And I want to also bring attention to young
6
adults.
7
in this room right now.
8
the people who are much older, but I want to make sure
9
that we look at young adults and the transition from
Right now there's not too many young adults
I'm not taking it away from
10
the childhood.
Myself, I lost my hearing in my right
11
ear when I was a kid, from cancer, and so for my life,
12
I've had to deal with my hearing loss, and only
13
recently I...for a hearing-aid, but there was nothing
14
to help me from transition to adulthood.
15
to...systematic...sure we get adulthood -- transition
I want
16
supports and education system, supports within the
17
universities, colleges, and even supports through the
18
jobs; right?
19
university and we're not able to use the same tools
20
along with us in the career.
21
awareness to the employers that we talked about.
22
And the last thing we talked about was tax
Because it's not as though we leave
23
credits.
24
paying taxes.
25
your taxes are paying for.
It's about education
If you're working within the system, you're
Why can't you get the services that
So I wanted to make sure
1
that we brought that to your attention as well.
2
That's it.
3
FROM THE GROUP:
4
PATRICK TARCHUK:
5
CHRISTINE:
[Applause].
No. 2.
I don't know sign language.
Okay, I'm going
6
to try, try to keep it brief.
Attitude and economic,
7
it is expensive to have a physical or a sensory
8
challenge.
9
need opportunities to learn how to use the equipment,
We need a lot of extra equipment.
You
10
and a lot of times people with physical and sensory
11
disabilities or challenges do not have those resources
12
available.
13
And we were talking about universal equipment
14
and device programs.
BC is one of the only provinces
15
that actually does not have such a program available.
16
A lot of them are income-based, and if people are just
17
over the edge of the cut-off, they cannot access
18
resources for them.
19
We feel we need legislation to...people to
20
change, and not a charity model.
It should be...for
21
people to actually have access to employment and
22
education and entertainment opportunities.
23
We discussed coordination of what services and
24
supports are available, so there are things like the
25
caregiver tax credit and the Registered Disability
1
Savings Plan.
2
of mouth.
3
disabilities, they themselves have significant
4
disabilities, getting out to workshops is really
5
challenging, so is there a way to get information more
6
accessible and easier to access for people?
7
A lot of people hear about this by word
If you've got people with children who have
Universal design.
Patrick Simpson from the
8
Building Association went and said that you can save
9
thousands of dollars by implementing universal design
10
when things are being built.
11
back and spending tens of thousands of dollars, why
12
not put it in at the start?
13
So rather than going
One of my personal...I work with a lot of
14
seniors and hearing-aid education, because there are
15
thousands of hearing-aids sitting in people's drawers,
16
but people do not know how to use the technology,
17
don't have the education, and in BC, I was really
18
shocked to find out that the audiologist selling the
19
hearing-aids are the people that are doing the
20
assessment.
21
Western Institute For the Deaf, you aren't necessarily
22
getting the best advice.
23
So unless you go through some place like
So I'm going to stop there.
24
FROM THE GROUP:
25
PATRICK TARCHUK:
[Applause].
Okay, the final table, table 1.
1
SPEAKER:
2
OTHER SPEAKER:
3
4
Well, okay, I'm Brent.
And I'm Sarah Ann from table 1 as well.
We're the last table so we can wrap it all up.
SPEAKER:
So I want to thank Wayne.
5
making ASL an official language.
6
And not only that, but LSQ.
7
OTHER SPEAKER:
I totally agree about
ASL, absolutely.
As official languages, they should be
8
included on web sites, government web sites should
9
have ASL information on there as well.
If there's any
10
things that the government is trying to share, it
11
should be done in ASL as well.
12
the English, and I have difficulties myself.
13
just watch the ASL version, and that would make it
14
clearly understood, comfortable for me to use my own
15
language.
We can't understand
I can
16
Communication aids and technology, like flashing
17
lights, should be included, as everybody else has
18
said, in the building code.
19
SPEAKER:
VRI, this is not new.
20
already.
21
device where it includes everything, from A to Z.
22
one-stop-shop.
23
one-stop-shop which would include interpreting.
24
25
OTHER SPEAKER:
Absolutely.
We've talked about this
I'd like to be able to have one
So
So that's what I would like,
For the VRI; the VRS concept; maybe
building -- if I needed to go to the bank or I needed
1
to do this or make arrangements to book an
2
interpreter, I could have this call centre.
3
call it and use the interpreting services right there,
4
and then through my phone, and that would stop -- and
5
we would make it accessible interpreting for
6
intervenors, and for deaf-blind and interpreters for
7
deaf people.
8
remote helps that.
9
to intervenors and interpreting.
10
stalling or time being an issue.
11
I could
That one place provides all, and video
So, again, we need to have access
They shouldn't be
And if somebody was to lose their vision, and at
12
a later age, they wouldn't get any services at all.
13
So those need to be established.
14
15
SPEAKER:
If I were to have a conversation with a police
officer, and I had that device, that VRI device in
16
hand, I could talk right away.
17
language away.
18
what I mean, a device that includes everything.
19
OTHER SPEAKER:
20
Yes.
21
SPEAKER:
I could use sign
It would be instantaneous.
That's
And did we speak about the deaf centre?
Yeah, it would be a deaf centre where.
I don't
22
know, like, it would including counselling services,
23
you name it.
24
as others have mentioned already.
25
centralized.
It would be all in one location, so just
So it would be
It would include, you know, coffee shop,
1
and it wouldn't -- we would be teaching people to use
2
sign language, hiring deaf people.
3
to provide full services, restaurants, you know, even
4
tax counselling advice.
5
you know, needs to speak to the police, you would have
6
access that way.
7
centre.
8
have one centre.
9
sign language to communicate, CODA, people who use it
10
11
We would be able
The deaf person comes in and,
Seniors as well.
In this one
So this is what we think would be great to
And we would hire people who use
fluently, that's what we mean by Deaf Centre.
OTHER SPEAKER:
Increase opportunity for deaf people.
12
People would own their own businesses and training
13
their own people as well, encourage to develop, giving
14
back to the community.
15
identified as deaf, small "d," big "D" Deaf, doesn't
As well, too, when someone is
16
matter, cochlear implants, it's fine.
17
We can't intervene right now.
18
cochlear implants.
19
affect, but they need to be getting ASL at the same
20
time to safeguard their language acquisition.
21
is such a vital age for the age of a child, and if you
22
don't get them language at that age, it affects their
23
whole life.
24
25
Life happens.
Babies are -- have
That's not something we can
0 to 3
So expose them to language, use ASL.
Give parents time off to take sign language
classes.
And expanded the PDHHS sign language program
1
so they can teach parents to sign.
2
involved.
3
SPEAKER:
Get parents
So, yeah, in terms of all the cochlear implants
4
and hearing-aid devices, I mean to say that that child
5
can't learn sign language is criminal.
6
able to learn it and be taught it no matter what,
7
whether they want to learn speak at some point, but
8
they must have exposure to ASL.
9
to be old enough, they can decide, "I don't want to
They should be
And when they grow up
10
wear that device anymore."
11
that device, they're lost if they don't have sign
12
language.
13
OTHER SPEAKER:
And if they don't wear
So it's really crucial.
If I could add one last thing, AG Brown
14
has a difficult time communicating, and sometimes she
15
uses devices that help her communicate, and they're
16
very expensive, so we need to support those types of
17
individuals as well.
18
It's a real gap for them, and that's all, thank you.
19
FROM THE GROUP:
20
PATRICK TARCHUK:
21
OTHER SPEAKER:
22
PATRICK TARCHUK:
We have to concentrate on them.
[Applause].
Could you give that to Joe?
Thank you.
I can put those on the solution wall.
Wow.
Wow.
We could go on and on, but
23
that's the Deaf standard time, that's our DST.
I
24
think it was worth taking the time to listen to all
25
what you had to say.
It was such a rich possibility
1
for all of us.
2
official -- ASL being recognized as an official
3
language.
4
totally agree.
5
6
7
8
9
10
One thing I did see was the
I thought that was pretty cool, and I
I notice many people spoke about education and
the schools.
Interpreting was also another prominent
conversation piece.
And intervenors.
We're done, I'm now going to turn it over to Sam
11
Sullivan and Dr. Joe McLaughlin to give us closing
12
remarks.
13
SAM SULLIVAN:
So, thank you.
I just wanted to thank all of you for being
14
here, and there's a lot of power in this room, so I
15
think that you have really done a tremendous service
16
to the province and to all people with disabilities by
17
what you've done tonight.
18
returning tomorrow to Victoria to the minister and
19
tell him of the wonderful things that have gone on
20
here.
21
making this such a successful evening.
So I look forward to
I learned so much, and I want to thank you for
Good luck.
22
FROM THE GROUP:
[Applause].
23
JOE McLAUGHLIN:
I also would like to share a few thank
24
yous, and I'd ask you to hold your applause.
First of
25
all, thank Vincent and Sarah Ann and the vlogs (?),
1
Tarchuk and the 14 champions who gave of their
2
valuable time volunteering this evening.
3
thank our interpreters, ASL, intervenors, and thank
4
them for their time this evening, and our CART as
5
well, thank you.
6
And also
And finally I would like to thank the White
7
Paper Consultation Team for agreeing to set up this
8
forum for our Deaf/hard-of-hearing communities.
9
you so much.
Thank
10
FROM THE GROUP:
[Applause].
11
JOE McLAUGHLIN:
And we have one final announcement from
12
13
Pat before we close.
PATRICK TARCHUK:
Make sure you do the ASL clips, would
14
you, and write things and put them up on the solution
15
wall.
16
we need a fifth moving truck.
17
you all so much for being here.
The more the better.
We want the moving truck,
So, yes, please.
Thank
Yeah, the Deaf -- the
18
trucks will be driven by Deaf drivers for sure.
19
thank you all. 20
21
[ADJOURNED 10:03 P.M.] 22
23
C.R. Siegler, RPR, CRR, CCP (principal)
24
Accurate Realtime Reporting Inc. (604) 685-6050
25
Uncertified (Draft) Verbatim Transcript
Okay,