Denied: Disability and Life-Saving Treatment in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic is a scary time for all. When you have a disability, it’s downright terrifying to know that your life is a risk, not just from the virus, but also from the very real potential of being excluded from lifesaving measures. The devaluation of our lives that used to be covered with a…
Changing the National Building Code for an Inclusive Canada
I have never visited my sister’s home. I have never been to my partner’s home. If my friends are having a party, I can’t go. My partner and I can’t live together. Housing in Canada is usually not accessible to people who use wheelchairs. It contributes to isolation — you might even call it segregation…
What It’s like Being Institutionalized As a Child Away from Your Parents
When I was 11 years old, I was sent to a rehab hospital on the coast, far away from home. At the time, there were no treatments for juvenile arthritis. Instead, they treated you with physiotherapy, aqua therapy, and occupational therapy. This was the only option in Denmark at the time. My parents had no…
How You Can Help Create Accessible Housing in Ontario
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead Do you live in Ontario? Then we need your help! A few months ago, I became involved in the Older Women’s Network’s “Living in Place” campaign. It’s calling for the…
Opposing Prayer in Public School is Not Racist
How’s that for a click-bait title? As I was having my breakfast this morning, I read an article in the Toronto Star called Moving from Religious Accommodation to Religious Acceptance. The topic itself is something that interests me, and I thought there might also be some good points that I could use for a post…
Mayoral Debate on Disability Issues
Earlier this week, I attended a mayoral debate on disability issues. For those not familiar with the Toronto political scene, we have a municipal election coming up in about a month and the candidates have been debating up a storm. The main contenders for mayor are John Tory, Olivia Chow, and Doug Ford (taking the…
Sugar Beach: an Oasis in the City
God save us from small minded people. Lately, there has been some debate from certain City Councillors, as well as in the newspapers and online, about the merits of Sugar Beach. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know about Sugar Beach and how I feel about it, but in case you’re…
In Defense of Gene Jones
The City of Toronto ombudsman Fiona Crean has released two reports in two months that are highly critical of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC — the second-largest social housing provider in North America after New York) and especially critical of the President and CEO, Gene Jones. Jones is an American, known as the social…
Opioids: Friend, Foe or… Neither?
Crack-down on kitchen knives! New law limits number of kitchen knives per household: Measures protect Americans, save lives! Need a new knife? Show ID! Hardware stores reduce number of kitchen knives to 15 per month, refuse to sell all in stock to any one individual. “What would happen to others who needed a knife to…
Presumption
Every now and again the universe conspires and lets me know without prevarication that I’m supposed to write about something. It started when I (somewhat belatedly) read Dave’s post about World Down Syndrome Day, which had a lively and at times disturbing conversation in the comment section. A discussion which included responses to a comment…
Talking About the Money
“You assume that it’s all covered.” It was at the tail end of my interview with the CBC – no, not shameless name dropping, actually relevant to this post. (shameless self-promotional links to two of last week’s interviews at the end of this post). I was chatting with the reporter and cameraman as the equipment…
Anger and Shame
As you’ve no doubt noticed, I’ve been pretty angry lately. It happens when I’m very tuned into political issues. And it happens a lot when I’m tuned into political issues that relate to vulnerable populations (usually double levels of injustice). Lately, I’ve been blogging a lot about disability issues and well… This is one of…