Crying in the dark
I just do not know how else to describe this present situation. In August of 2021 we began our campaign to grab the attention of the CBSA and the PHAC (Canadian Border Security Agency and Public Health Agency of Canada) to let them know that their much touted Arrive Can app was not accessible to users who were blind and vision impaired.
Over the course of the following months several virtual meetings were held between these two parties and various reps of organizations for and of blind and vision impaired consumers but alas! Our pleas continue to fall on deaf ears and these two parties continue to show total disrespect and a lack of courtesy towards blind and vision impaired travelers.
Several blind and vision impaired advocates have even gone as far as lodging complaints at the Canadian Human Rights Commission but these actions have had little effect thus far.
So here is the picture at the present time! The CBSA and the PHAC continue to promote their inaccessible app with little or no regard for the needs and concerns of blind and vision impaired Canadian travelers. The CHRC is bogged down in systemic rhetoric and an inability to deal with our complaints in a timely manner and we the affected ones continue to cry in the dark!
Something needs to be done but what? This is Canada after all; a so-called develop country whose government continues to tell the rest of the world that it is a leader when it comes to accessibility! I’ll let you judge for yourself!
My parting words? Come on Canada! Time for you to start walking your talk! Time to administer heavy penalties to those departments such as the CBSA and the PHAC for their recklessness and willful behavior!
Just my two cents for today!
Image = ArriveCAN App promotional display.
To learn more about me as an award winning sight loss coach and advocate visit: www.donnajodhan.com.
