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Accessible News #10 — December 2000
Should you be using these old newsletters, please bear in mind that the web addresses were correct when the newsletter was created but that they may not be accurate now. We do not plan to change the back issues of the newsletters.
Contents:
- Check Out Strategis' New
Look
- Task Force Says Canada Must Do More to
Support Alternate Format Production
- Trade Team Canada ICT
Newsletter
- What Standard Are You
Using?
- New Handbook Teaches Life Skills to
Youth With Disabilities
- News Bits
- Our Web Site
- Communications from
ADIO
- Where to Find Us
Check Out Strategis' New Look
Roll-out of Strategis 2001, Industry Canada's business and consumer site, began on Friday, December 1. The site continues to provide a wealth of information and useful contacts and now it conforms with the Government of Canada's Common Look and Feel policy. Take a look at Strategis and you will find it easier to use.
While you are visiting the site, we recommend that you take a look at the Canadian Company Capabilities (CCC) database, which you will find under the section on "Company Directories". If you are one of the many companies already registered on CCC, check to see if your listing needs any updating; if your company is not on CCC, take a look at your competitors and see why using this free marketing tool makes so much sense. Companies registering themselves on CCC for the first time: please let us know, so that we can make sure you are included in ADIO's list of AD companies in the CCC database.
The URL for Strategis remains the same, http://strategis.ic.gc.ca . Only the look and ease of use has been changed — for the better!
Task Force Says Canada Must Do More to Support Alternate Format Production
Canada must join its OECD colleagues in supporting the production of information in formats accessible to persons with print disabilities: large print, braille and audio. That's the unequivocal message contained in a report received October 31 by the National Librarian of Canada, Roch Carrier, and Euclid Herie, President and CEO of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
The report is "Fulfilling the Promise: the Report of the Task Force on Access to Information for Print-Disabled Canadians". The Task Force was sponsored by the National Librarian and the President of CNIB and chaired by the Honourable Justice James K. Hugessen. Over the summer, the Task Force heard testimony from more than 100 citizens from 10 provinces and one territory. ADIO provided secretariat support to the Task Force and worked with National Library personnel to prepare the report.
The Task Force recommendations are aimed at addressing the needs of the more than three million Canadians who have a print disability that makes it impossible for them to use regular print materials like the daily newspaper, a menu or a Grade 12 biology text. This is a population that is currently underserved in Canada, the only G7 country whose federal government does not provide any funding to support the production of alternate format materials.
As Baby Boomers age, the need for and interest in large print materials has begun to grow. So too has the demand for audio books, a demand that is rapidly moving beyond the print-disabled population to gain popularity among groups such as motorists who use the drive to and from work to listen to the latest best-seller. There is a tremendous market potential for the production of alternate format information and to date, this is a market that has been largely untapped in Canada. Some of the recommendations in the Task Force report are aimed at making alternate format production more affordable, efficient and attractive to Canadian publishers.
"Working with the National Librarian, I am optimistic that finally we will bridge the information gap faced daily by blind and other print disabled persons", Mr. Herie said. Mr. Carrier echoed this sentiment, saying, "I will look forward to reading the report and to working together with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and all of our partners to ensure equitable access to information for all Canadians."
The Task Force report is available in alternate formats and in both official languages. It is also posted to the Task Force Web site at http://www.nlc-bnc.ca/accessinfo.
Trade Team Canada ICT Newsletter
Trade Team Canada Information and Communications Technologies is pleased to provide you this newsletter, updating you on the activities and key market intelligence now available to you. The International Activities database serves two purposes. It is used within Industry Canada to identify both international and domestic activities related to "Business Development", "Investment", "Market Access Standards", "Market Access Policy", and "conference attendance" that either involve Senior Management or should be flagged for senior management's attention. Now it has evolved to allow us to promote these activities and recruit and register firms for these events on?line. While the system lists all countries, currently only the Industry Canada/DFAIT activities related to the ICT Trade Team Canada "priority countries" have been entered. These activities tend to be the largest ICT event (general) within these priority countries.
URL: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/cgi?bin/sc_mangb/evnt/program/viewEvents.pl?lang=0"Marketing and Financing Promotion Opportunities" as well as "Market Intelligence" can be accessed for the Canadian Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Sector at the Trade Team Canada Information and Communications Technologies website: http://www.ttcinfotech.com.
What Standard Are You Using?
A comprehensive comparative study of best practices in universal design has just been published in Canada. The report was commissioned by Agriculture Canada, in preparation for the construction of a new headquarters building in Ottawa.
The report examined accessibility codes and standards in Japan, Norway, China, Australia, New Zealand, the U. S. and Canada. After careful analysis of the technical specifications, a "Best Practice" was identified.
Technical specifications varied considerably. The clear width requirements for a doorway varied from 800 mm (National Building Code of Canada)- 810 mm (CSA-CAN B651) — 815mm (ADA) — 850 mm (Fiji) and individual washroom dimensions varied from 1700 x 1700 mm (CSA) to 1600 x 2000 mm (Australia). The report also includes photographs and drawings of best practices. The report is available in alternate formats.
The report which was prepared by Betty Dion Enterprises Ltd in partnership with the Canadian Institute on Barrier-Free Design is available for the cost of printing and mailing. The Public Service Commission is distributing the report within the federal government. This report will be of interest to building owners, consumer advocates and various levels of governments.
For more information about the best practices report, contact Betty Dion at:
Betty Dion Enterprises Ltd.
104-119 Ross Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario
K1Y 0N6
(613) 725-0566 (Voice, TDD)
(613) 725-5195 (Fax)
e-mail: bettydion@intranet.ca
New Handbook Teaches Life Skills to Youth with Disabilities
The Canadian Abilities Foundation (CAF) has just published "On My Own: A Resource Guide for Living Independently", a handbook to help young people with disabilities make the transition to living on their own.
The handbook is divided into ten chapters, covering such topics as how to determine if you are ready to go it alone, things to do to plan the move, looking after yourself and your new home, getting along with others, dealing with social occasions and looking for a job. Along the way, there's plenty of sound advice provided by people with disabilities who have already gone through the experience of making an independent life for themselves.
Gillian Lynne-Davies, the Manager for Project Development at the CAF said the development of the handbook was a labour of love that came together over the course of a couple of years. Research for the book was funded largely by a donation from Laidlaw, with the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Culture and Recreation picking up the tab for printing.
The CAF is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide information, inspiration and opportunity to people with disabilities. The Foundation publishes many different disability-related publications, including " Abilities — Canada's Lifestyle Magazine for People with Disabilities " (www.abilities.ca).
"On My Own" is available for $15 from the Canadian Abilities Foundation, 489 College St., Suite 501 Toronto, Ontario M6G 1A5.
News Bits
The Treasury Board announced the public launch of the Common Look and Feel standard on June 29. You will find the standard at www.cio-dpi.gc.ca/clf-upe/a_e.asp . As we reported in our last newsletter, the standard is comprised of three major sections relating to federal identity policy, official languages policy and universal accessibility requirements. The access requirements state that Government of Canada Web sites shall address all Priority One and Two checkpoints contained in the World Wide Web Consortium's Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (www.w3.org/wai).
Control Advancements Inc. changed its name to Betacom Corporation this summer. As Control Advancement's businesses have matured and been divested, the company's focus has been re-directed to investment in the established business operations of Betacom, the acquisition of which was completed in December 1999. Since 1981, Betacom has specialized in the development, distribution, marketing and sale of products, services and technologies for people with disabilities, especially those who or blind or partially sighted. As a result of the name change, the Canadian Dealing Network has approved quotation of Betacom's common shares under the symbol "EYEE".
CSA International will soon release its "Design for Aging Guidelines" for public comment. ADIO staff have been involved in the CSA Technical Committee preparing these guidelines as well as serving on the Standards Council of Canada's Advisory Group to ISO/COPOLCO which has prepared draft "Guidelines for standardization to address the needs of older persons and people with disabilities". For more information on these guidelines, contact Ian Brodie at CSA International at ian.brodie@csa-international.org .
CSA International members have approved the draft standard B651.1, "Barrier-Free Design for Automated Banking Machines", which can now be published as a national standard.
The Senate of Canada hosted the First Annual Canadian Celebration of Persons with Disabilities with a number of events in October and November. An information fair, showcasing the various programs and services offered by the private and public sectors designed to raise awareness, increase knowledge and integrate the talents of the disability community was held on Parliament Hill, October 26 and 27. Industry Canada's Information Highway Applications Branch (IHAB) demonstrated its innovative Web-4-All system at this venue. A Partnership Day where Senators and employees were partnered with a person with a disability to share mutual experiences took place on November 1. Last but not least, a dinner was held on the evening of November 14 to recognize the accomplishments of individuals and private and public sector organizations that are "Making a Difference" in the lives of people with disabilities.
On November 24, Kay Stanley, Treasury Board Secretariat Assistant Secretary for Employment Equity and Jill Velenosi, Deputy CIO, released the action plan resulting from the recommendations of the Access for All Through Technology Task Force tabled by chair Jacques Lyrette on March 31, 2000. For more information on the action plan, you can contact Yves Séguin at TBS at seguin.yves@tbs-sct.gc.ca or 613-952-2864.
ADIO staff are working with the Treasury Board Federated Architecture Team on the development of accessibility standards as the government moves towards its goal of Government on Line. Accessibility was selected to be one of the top level domains for this work.
Gerry Turcotte, President of Industry Canada's Communications Research Centre, has been named Disability Champion for the department. He represents Industry Canada on the ADM Steering Committee of the Federal Disability Agenda, the Interdepartmental Employment Equity ADM Champion Committee and is the advisor to the Industry Canada Disability Employee Committee.
Gary Birch, Chair of the Minister's Advisory Committee on Assistive Devices (ACAD), has been invited to participate as an ex-officio member of a committee established to assess the information technology needs of the voluntary sector. This committee has been set up as part of the larger IM/IT Joint Table that was instituted under the government's "Partnering with the Voluntary Sector for the Benefit of Canadians" initiative. The IT needs committee is chaired by Lisanne Lacroix, IHAB's Deputy Directory General.
ADIO has launched its Accessible Procurement Toolkits site to assist employees with disabilities and managers buy accessible goods and services. To check out the toolkits, visit the ADIO Web site at strategis.ic.gc.ca/adio .
Remember that you can find a list of disability or aging conferences (past and upcoming) with contact information and websites (where available) from the ADIO home page. We welcome any additions to the list.
Our Web Site
Our Web site can be found at strategis.ic.gc.ca/adio . At this site are all our old newsletters as well as different listings and links to other sites of interest. Should you be using these old newsletters, please bear in mind that the web addresses were correct when the newsletter was created but that they may not be accurate now. We do not plan to change the back issues of the newsletters.
Communications from ADIO
If you would prefer to receive our newsletter on disk or by e-mail, please contact us at the address below.
Where to Find Us
For more information, to discuss a project idea or to get on our mailing list, please contact:
Mary Frances Laughton or Deb Finn
Assistive Devices Industry Office
Industry Canada
P.O. Box 11490 Station H
Ottawa, Ontario
K2H 8S2
Phone: 613-990-4316 or 613-990-4297
Fax: 613-998-5923
Internet-mail: laughton@crc.ca or finn.deb@ic.gc.ca
Date last modified: January 2001
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