Archive for the “News” Category
Intermarché Boyer’s fundraiser a great success, bringing new life to RAPLIQ!
RAPLIQ would like to thank Mr. Franck Hénot and the entire team of Intermarché Boyer, located in Montreal’s Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood, for so beautifully orchestrating a fundraising campaign that raised $4,650. 465 people gave $10 each to RAPLIQ in exchange for a bottle of olive oil. We would like to extend our thanks to all of these people!
The funds will allow RAPLIQ to cover the costs of their upcoming fundraiser supper next May 5th, as well as to kick start a campaign to eliminate architectural barriers in Québec.
Thanks to Mr. Hénot and all of your wonderful team for the amazing campaign!
We encourage you to check out Intermarché Boyer’s newsletter for an article about the fundraiser.
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Vote for Linda Gauthier!
Dear members and allies,
Our president, Linda Gauthier, is nominated for a Volunteer of the year award. The winner will be chosen by a public vote. If Linda receives the award, RAPLIQ will receive $20,000.
We are calling out to you because as you know, RAPLIQ currently works without funding. Can you imagine how much work we could do with this financial support! To help us, all you need to do is click on the link below and vote for Linda! Then, share this message in your network.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/television/concours/gens_de_coeur/formulaire.asp
Your participation will help RAPLIQ tremendously. We thank you wholeheartedly.
Skip post info of “Vote for Linda Gauthier!” Posted on Thursday, March 7th, 2013 Categories: News (View all posts in category News) Write a comment for “Vote for Linda Gauthier!”
Happy holidays!
The RAPLIQ team wishes you the happiest of holidays! Over the past year, many of you have contributed to the fight against disability-based discrimination. Thank you!
We hope to fight alongside you, or to have your support in 2013.
We wish you a new year filled with accessibility and inclusion!
We hope to see you soon!
* The picture shows a curb cut that hasn’t been cleared of snow at Université du Québec à Montréal.
Skip post info of “Happy holidays!” Posted on Saturday, February 9th, 2013 Categories: News (View all posts in category News) Write a comment for “Happy holidays!”
Calcedonies: A play and panel on disability
You are invited!
The Disability and the Law Portfolio of the Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) is pleased to present a theatre workshop exploring access to technology for people with disabilities. Excerpts of the play Calcedonies by Jeff Nisker will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Jean-Pierre Ménard (Ménard, Martin avocats); Laurence Parent (RAPLIQ); Sheila Boyd (Actor); and Jeff Nisker (Playwright).
Monday, February 11 at 6:30 pm (Followed by a reception)
Moot Court, McGill University, Faculty of Law (3644 Peel St.)
Free admission. Venue is wheelchair accessible.
Snacks will be served.
We will be accepting donations for RAPLIQ, a local disability rights advocacy group.
*The play is in English. Panel presentations will be in French and in English.
For more information, contact: anne-claire.gayet@mail.mcgill.ca.
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International Day of Persons with Disabilities – RAPLIQ invites the new Premier to take action to end discrimination against people with disabilities
Against a backdrop of budget cuts the rights of people with disabilities are at risk and the impacts of these cuts are being increasingly felt. This in spite of the fact that the Quebec government has stated its intention to respect the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and is simultaneously obliged to not discriminate against people with disabilities under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms since 1978.
On the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, we invite Mrs. Marois to recognize the multiple barriers and various forms of discrimination experienced by people with disabilities. While the law ensures that people with disabilities can exercise their rights, it fails to eliminate these barriers and discrimination. The Quebec Office for People with Disabilities does not represent people with disabilities, and has lost the confidence of those it claims to serve.
Last September 4th, people with disabilities were unable to vote because of the inaccessibility of polling stations. In Montreal, an entertainment district (Quartier des spectacles) was designed in a such a way that it created numerous obstacles endangering people who are blind or who have low vision. In our movie theaters, the Quebec films of which we are so proud are not captioned, making them inaccessible to people who are Deaf or hard of hearing. People with disabilities are forced to live in CHLSDs (residential and long-term care) due to inadequate home services.
As it stands, there are numerous examples of discrimination which clearly demonstrate the need to revisit disability rights in Quebec. In 2005, Ontario adopted the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, a bill aiming to create an accessible province for people with disabilities before 2025. The objective of the bill is to eliminate barriers such that people with disabilities can live freely, without having to continuously raise complaints. The changes are already tangible with regards to public transportation, as well as customer service in various contexts. With each passing day, Quebec lags further and further behind Ontario vis a vis disability rights.
Quebec must make up for time lost over the course of the past two decades and adopt meaningful legislation now, as has been done in Ontario and the United States, to ensure that the rights of people with disabilities will become a reality.
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MONTRÉAL*in/accessible: visualizing discrimination based on disability
You are invited to an informal discussion, screening and public launch of the first phase of Montréal*in/accessible. Many RAPLIQ’s members participate in the Concordia University project. This event will be hosted by Dr. Kim Sawchuk, Communication Studies and Laurence Parent (PhD in Humanities and RAPLIQ vice-president).
The Montréal*in/accessible research team uses cell phones to photograph the barriers they face in the city of Montréal. For the first time the scope and extent of discrimination based on disability appears on a city map.
Montréal *in/accessible is a collaboration between the Mobile Media Lab-Montreal and Catalan artist Antoni Abad.
For more information visit: www.megafone.net/montreal
Contact: megafonemontreal@gmail.com
Date: Thursday, November 15th, 2012
Time : 7pm-9pm
Location: Concordia University, 1515 St.Catherine west, room EV 2.260 (2nd floor)
This project is cosponsored by the Office of the Vice-President Research and Graduate Studies and the Mobile Media Lab-Montreal, Concordia University
Skip post info of “MONTRÉAL*in/accessible: visualizing discrimination based on disability” Posted on Wednesday, November 7th, 2012 Categories: News (View all posts in category News) One comment for “MONTRÉAL*in/accessible: visualizing discrimination based on disability”
Inaccessible voting stations – People with disabilities deprived of their legitimate right to vote require the DGEQ (La Direction Générale des Élections du Québec) to make sure the Charts are respected.
Montreal, August 28, 2012 – During this election week, people with disabilities have faced and will continue to face inaccessible voting stations. Yet the DGEQ (le Directeur général des élections du Québec) prescribes that « All offices of returning officers, revision offices and advance polling stations are accessible to people who have difficulty moving about. » and that « On polling day, polling stations should be easily accessible but it is possible that some of them aren’t. »
However, one such person could not have access to his/her advance polling station in the electoral division of St-Jean in the Montérégie area even if that polling station was clearly identified as being accessible. In at least two other electoral divisions, blind people could not vote in an autonomous and confidential fashion due to lack of a template and another person was refused the reading of a list of candidates when the scrutineer considered that this wasn’t one of his responsibilities. How many more people with disabilities will go through similar situations in this upcoming election? Furthermore, more than sixty voting stations throughout the province of Quebec are identified as being unaccessible to people with disabilities .
The right to vote is one of the most basic rights in a democratic society and it is unnaceptable that many voting stations be inaccessible to people with disabilities and that the required assistance in a polling station be unavailable. Such a situation breaches the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms as well as many international agreements. People with disabilities constitute one of the most discriminated against groups in our society. Their participation to political and civic life is still marginal today. It is imperative that the DGEQ makes sure that all voting stations be accessible and inclusive for all people with disabilities.
« We cannot rejoice that “most” of the voting stations be accessible. Moreover, we know that at least two voting stations are identified as being accessible when they are not. We fear that these are not isolated cases », says Mrs. Laurence Parent, vice-president of RAPLIQ.
Diane Bouthillier, director of RAAMM (Montreal Metro Regrouping of blind and amblyopic people), joins the mobilisation of RAPLIQ. « Once again, blind and amblyopic people cannot exercise their right to vote without discrimination and humiliation. » says she.
In 2010, Dr. Hughes, a disabled Canadian who was not able to vote due to the lack of accessibility to his voting station won his case with the Canadian Human Rights Commission. From now on, all voting stations in a federal election must be accessible. We were able to ascertain the effects of that judgement during the last federal election.
The RAPLIQ organization sent a letter to the DGEQ last Thursday. The RAPLIQ organization wishes to know what measures will be taken, next September fourth, for those who will not be able to exercise their right to vote because of architectural obstacles. The RAPLIQ organization also requires a commitment, from the DGEQ, in terms of a complete accessibility during all future general elections.
« We hope not to have to use legal action to force Quebec to respect its most fundamental values and commitments towards one of the most marginalized group of our society », points out Mrs. Parent.
People with disabilities, with families and friends, will hold a demonstration from 11 a.m. At 3450 Davidson in Montréal in the electoral division of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. This voting station will not be accessible on September fourth.
About RAPLIQ
The RAPLIQ organization aims to eliminate all forms of discrimination done to people with disabilities as well as any obstacle limiting the exercize of their rights and freedoms.
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Source:
Linda Gauthier, president
Phone : (514) 690-8204
Email : info@rapliq.org
Website: http://votedeficientqc2012.wordpress.com/
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Beyond Ramps: Book Launch and Panel with AJ Withers, Anna Malla & Laurence Parent
THURSDAY, MAY 24, 6pm
at the Centre Culturel Georges-Vanier
2450 rue Workman (métro Lionel-Groulx)
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The venue is wheelchair accessible (access audit available on request).
Childcare available on request (phone 514-848-7585 to reserve)
Whisper translation into English & French
If you need ASL interpretation, or have other accessibility needs, please contact us by May 17 so we can accommodate you (info@qpirgconcordia.org or 514-848-7585)
In order to help make this event accessible and safe for people with chemical sensitivities, please refrain from wearing hair and body products with fragrance or clothing washed in detergent with fragrance, including “natural” products and essential oils. For more information visit http://www.peggymunson.com/mcs/fragrancefree.html
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About “Disability Politics and Theory”:
An accessible introduction to disability studies, Disability Politics and Theory provides a concise survey of disability history, exploring the concept of disability as it has been conceived from the late 19th century to the present. Further, A.J. Withers examines when, how and why new categories of disability are created and describes how capitalism benefits from and enforces disabled people’s oppression. Critiquing the model that currently dominates the discipline, the social model of disability, this book offers an alternative: the radical disability model. This model builds on the social model but draws from more recent schools of radical thought, particularly feminism and critical race theory, to emphasize the role of intersecting oppressions in the marginalization of disabled people and the importance of addressing disability both independently and in conjunction with other oppressions. Intertwining theoretical and historical analysis with personal experience this book is a poignant portrayal of disabled people in Canada and the U.S. — and a radical call for social and economic justice.
— (more…)
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Thank you!
We want to sincerely thank all the volunteers, participants and sponsors who have made the second edition of the spaghetti dinner a real success! Since its fondation in 2009, RAPLIQ has survived without any basic government grant, so every dollar raised during this spaghetti dinner is indeed very precious. Over 100 of you were there !!
And we are happy to announce that we have raised $2,625 !
Thanks to your support last night, our team members are further motivated to pursue their fight against disability-based discrimination.
Again, we thank you and hope to see you again soon!
Our sponsors: Intermarché Boyer (Franck Hénot et Dany Therrien), Première Moisson Masson (Raphaël Thevenoux), Bagus, Marché Métro Laurier, Jean Coutu (Valérie Marcouillier), Restaurant Amir (1337, Mont-Royal est), Mylène Messier, Lise Dugas, Françoise David, François Saillant, Archives Ville de Montréal, Manuela Mendoza, Variétés Mont-Royal.
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Terrasses accessibility in the Plateau – A victory for the rights of people with disabilities showing that Quebec must legislate barrier-free access
Montréal, March 6th 2012 – The Regroupement des activistes pour l’inclusion au Québec (RAPLIQ) is delighted that the regulation for terrasses in the Plateau was adopted by the Ferrandez administration last night at the borough council. Following the adoption of this new regulation, terrasses will have to be accessible in order to get a business permit for the 2012 season.
In 2009, many inaccessible terrasses were erected throughout the sidewalk of Mont-Royal Avenue making it impossible for people with disabilities using mobility aids, such as a wheelchair, to move around. These terraces also prevented people with visual limitations to independently use the sidewalks because the paths became filled with obstacles. In 2010, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough imposed a clearance of 1.8m to restore barrier-free access to the sidewalks. However, the borough also authorized the implementation of elevated terrasses without accessible ramps. RAPLIQ contacted the Ferrandez administration to denounce the situation. Plateau Mont-Royal defended its decision. Further, they claimed that the accessibility of many terrasses was difficult for technical reasons and that making them accessible was not a priority. In the spring of 2011, RAPLIQ had noted that some terrasses that were accessible in 2010 had become inaccessible. It was at this point that RAPLIQ decided to file a complaint to the Human Rights Commission in May of 2011.
Two months later, an agreement was signed between RAPLIQ, the Plateau Mont-Royal borough and the Société de développement commerciale de l’avenue du Mont-Royal (SDAMR). The agreement specified that terraces would be made accessible by the summer of 2012. Only three terraces out of 32 (Bar inc., Barraca and Zyng) were exempted from this agreement with RAPLIQ’s consent because of undue hardship. Four terrasses reserved for smokers have also been exempted. According to the architectural firm hired to conduct the accessibility plans, it would not have been possible to make those terrasses accessible.
RAPLIQ’s victory clearly shows that lack of architectural accessibility discriminates against people with disabilities and that all appropriate measures must be taken to eradicate this. The accomplishment made here follows similar victories, for example the recent victory by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities which legislated that Via Rail ensure access to its Renaissance train cars in 2007. (more…)
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