According to the1991 Census, 4.2 million of us -- one in six Canadians of all ages -- had a disability. In many communities the rate is even higher. For example, approximately 30 per cent of Aboriginal adults report a disability -- double the national rate.

In the year 2000, ensuring that workplaces, public facilities and services are accessible to Canadians with disabilities should be a matter of course. Unfortunately, it is clear that much must be done to make our society barrier-free. Having said that, there are several positive developments to report in the year under review.

Automated Banking Machines

Using automated banking machines (ABMs) has long been commonplace for most Canadians. However, for Canadians with disabilities this modern convenience is often inaccessible. Most ABMs have not been designed for the special needs of people who are blind, visually impaired, have dexterity problems or use wheelchairs. Point of sale devices. which enable consumers to debit purchases directly from their bank accounts, are also inaccessible to many people.

The Commission welcomes all efforts to create barrier free access to ABMs and point of sale devices. To this end, it has worked in cooperation with the Canadian Standards Association, now known as CSA International, to facilitate the development of a new ABM standard. The Commission hopes to examine these issues further in 2001 and see what workable solutions can be devised.

But this is only a first step. Now that the requirements are put down on paper, they have to be implemented on the streets, and in the malls and banks of the country. The Commission plans to consult with the banking industry on its plans and timetables for implementing the accessibility standard so that ABMs are user-friendly for all Canadians as soon as possible. The now ubiquitous point of sale devices, which enable consumers to debit purchases directly from their bank accounts, are also inaccessible to many consumers. The Commission hopes to examine this issue further in 2001 and see what workable solutions can be devised.

Communication Barriers for People who are Deaf and Hearing Impaired

We live in a world where hearing a TV broadcast or being able to participate in a court hearing or meeting may be vital to our social and cultural well being, and not least to our opportunities for employment and education. This reality means that the tens of thousands of people who are deaf or suffer hearing loss face formidable barriers to full participation in Canadian life. The Commission was accordingly pleased with two recent decisions that will help overcome barriers to communication for people who are deaf and hearing-impaired. Both started out as complaints submitted to the Commission.

Following hearings into a complaint from Henry Vlug of Vancouver, the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ordered the CBC's English network and Newsworld to caption all of its television programming. This decision was of particular note because the tribunal applied the accommodation model set out by the Supreme Court of Canada in the 1999 Meiorin and Grismer decisions (discussed in detail in the Commission's 1999 Annual Report).

The tribunal found that the CBC had a legal duty to accommodate the needs of deaf TV viewers by providing full captioning unless it could prove that to do so would impose an undue hardship on the corporation. The CBC provided evidence claiming that full captioning would be unduly costly, but the tribunal was not convinced that this would be so. The tribunal decision reconfirmed that access is a fundamental right guaranteed by law that can only be denied for the most compelling reasons. The CBC has asked the court to review this decision, but the Commission is hopeful that common ground will be found to resolve this issue.

In another important Commission case, the Tax Court of Canada settled a complaint from a deaf person by introducing a new policy of providing sign language interpreters and captioning for deaf, deafened and hard-of-hearing people in all of its courts. Scott Simser filed a complaint with the Commission because, as an articling student with the Department of Justice, he was required to represent the Department before the Tax Court of Canada, where he needed real-time captioning of the proceedings. The Commission has brought this resolution to the attention of other federal agencies, boards and courts, and of provincial and territorial human rights commissions. It encourages them to follow suit and introduce policies like that of the Tax Court so that their proceedings are accessible to all Canadians.

Using Communications Technology

A federal government task force, led by the National Research Council, made commendable progress in identifying strategies that will help the federal government use communications technology to serve both employees and members of the public who have disabilities. The task force's report, Access for All Through Technology, was released in March 2000. The recommendations aim to overcome existing impediments and make the federal public service technology environment accessible to all employees with disabilities. The report seeks to minimize the need to accommodate individuals on a case-by-case basis. The recommendations include adopting government-wide accessibility standards, endorsing a policy of accessible procurement, and promoting greater awareness of accessibility issues among federal employees, with particular emphasis on managers, information technology personnel and persons with disabilities.

The report's recommendations could have a significant effect on the employability and participation rates of employees with disabilities. However, Treasury Board Secretariat delayed responding to the recommendations until November, and then did so in a manner that showed less than the hoped for full commitment to early action. Because it is so important that employees, including those with disabilities, are able to participate in the job market, the Commission will be watching closely for concrete actions on this issue.

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