As a blind pedestrian, I take it for granted that I can rely on the flow of of traffic—the sounds of cars driving by—to line up for my street crossings and determine when it’s safe to go. Yet this used to be a hot topic. Electric cars are noiseless and car owners and manufactures didn’t want them to have to make artificial sound. While it was a bit before my time, I understand that it took much lobbying on the part of impacted groups to keep these important audible indicators present on every car today.

That issue may be behind us, but our modern cities are facing many other watershed moments as they grow more and more complex. While our cities are often vehicle- and pedestrian-centric, with streets and narrow strips of sidewalk, they’re now supporting a diverse group of travellers with diverse abilities, using diverse modes of transit. We have scooters, wheelchairs, white cane and guide dog users, cyclists, buses, strollers, and more—all vying to travel quickly, safely and efficiently.

This is where the idea of our latest Vancouver documentary, Road to Inclusion, came from. Considering ongoing issues like inaccessible bike lanes and conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians, we’ll take a deep dive into something near and dear to my heart: city life. More importantly, city travel. We speak with members from the disability community about their navigational challenges and hopes for their cities in the future. We chat with the Rick Hansen Foundation and Universal Access Design to find out what professionals in the accessibility community are thinking. And we speak with steak holders in city transportation, urban planning and architecture to find out about the latest goals and challenges related to accessibility.

This was the second special I’ve co-produced alongside Amit Tandon, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. What struck me was the openness and honesty of our cast of characters as well as the realization of how relevant accessibility and universal access are for everyone, not just people in the disability community. If you have accessible transit or a safe sidewalk on which to walk, that’s relevant not only for a blind pedestrian. It’s also relevant whether you’re in a wheelchair, you’re accompanied by a stroller, or you have a temporary injury. Ultimately, by making the world more accessible and inclusive for people in the disability community, we can improve access for everyone.

I hope you’ll tune in to Road to Inclusion on Friday, March 26 at 8 p.m. Eastern, or find it on AMI.ca or in the AMI-tv App. Safe travels!
 

By Alex Smyth

When we were exploring a topic to cover for our latest AMI original documentary, Evening the Odds, the Toronto Bureau team—myself included—all felt that we could tell an important story while still working remotely due to the pandemic. 

Once the idea came up about doing a documentary around gender equity in sport, specifically para-sport in Canada, we all quickly agreed it was the story we wanted to do. There were a few discussions surrounding the focus of the documentary and the logistics of telling the story the way we felt it needed to be told, but the topic was never in doubt. 

As we continued to research and dig into the topic more, we discovered just how deep—and how big—of a problem it is in Canada and around the world. Make no mistake, there is a huge problem with gender equity in our country in general, and the problems get larger when you dive into intersectionality and disability. So, it was no surprise that sport was in a similar position. 

Our biggest challenge when putting the plan together on Evening the Odds was to figure out what areas we would focus on within the overarching story of gender inequity in sport. With only 44 minutes, decisions had to be made to highlight some but not all areas of this topic. 

We focused as much as we could on the disability community as it is our focus as a channel, but also because it allows us to get specific within the topic. We knew we wanted to highlight the state of para sports with regards to gender equity, but which ones should we choose? Over the course of researching the topic, we learned there are different models that para sport organizations have used to address gender equity, and each was done for their own reason. 

Identifying sports with different models made sense to us, as it gave the audience more insight into how the Canadian para sport system was set up. Wheelchair basketball, para ice hockey and wheelchair curling were chosen as our case studies to examine, and each sport has achieved a different level of gender equity within the sport, based on their model. 

For wheelchair basketball, the organization founded two separate programs, one for the men’s team, and one for the women’s team, but ensured that the resources and supports were equal for both systems. The sport has done a lot to push for gender equity in the sport, but both athletes and organizational leaders pointed to key areas in which the sport can do better; namely when it comes to female representation in coaching as well as improving involvement for women and girls at the grassroots level. So, overall, the sport had done some good things, but still has areas to address.

Next, examining women’s para ice hockey, we learned this sport was in a completely different state when it came to gender equity. Instead of having two separate systems, the sport has one at the Paralympic level. While women can compete on the national team, not a single woman has ever rostered for Team Canada. That’s clearly not how you achieve gender equity. As a result, the Canadian Women’s Para Hockey team is trying to grow and develop the game for women so there is a greater opportunity to play, but it remains a long and difficult road to get there. When it comes to gender equity, this sport has a LOT of work to do. 

Finally, we come to wheelchair curling, the last para sport case study of Evening the Odds. Where wheelchair curling differentiates from the other two sports is that gender representation is built into the rules of the game. The sport is co-ed and there must always be a woman and a man on the sheet for a team at all times. You may be thinking, "Well this is clearly gender equity, both men and women are required to be on the ice so they are equal, and as a result, the teams must reflect an equal representation," right? Well, that’s only partially right. In talking with Team Canada’s Ina Forrest, we learned that while teams are made up of five athletes, four players and a reserve, many countries only have one woman on the team. So even when the sport requires the teams to have equal representation on the ice, teams still do the bare minimum when it comes to gender equity. Learning that was disappointing. 

In examining these three sports, we gained a fairly clear picture as to why this is a problem, and the experts we spoke to reiterated what we had learned. But the problems don’t stop there, as coaching is another big area where there is a stark lack of gender equity. The worst part? It wasn’t always like that and back in the 70s and 80s, typically women’s teams had female coaches. However, as time went on, and the sports grew, men took over the coaching ranks, and women found themselves less and less in positions of leadership. 

So, we have sports that are struggling to achieve gender equity within their systems, we have women in few positions of leadership, surely that’s the extent of the problems, right? Not even close. We haven’t even talked about the media when it comes to women’s sport and how it rarely gets broadcast, let alone women’s para sport. There’s also the issue that athletes face when they finish high school, but aren’t at a Paralympic level, where can they play and complete? What about the role men play in helping women achieve gender equity? What about those who don’t identify in the traditional binary system? The list goes on and on. 

These were all factors that before working on this project, I had never considered; but now that I have finished this project, it seems to be all that I can think about. And the rest of the Toronto Bureau feel the same way. 

I hope you take the time to watch the documentary, Evening the Odds, airing Friday, March 12, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv. If more people talk about this issue and become aware of the extent of the problem, then real change can begin to happen. 
 

By Chris Vallée

It’s been nearly one year since the lives of all Canadians drastically shifted. The COVID-19 pandemic has presented uncertainty and fear. 

As a member of the disability community, I know how important it is for my happiness to stay connected to my social group—even while at home. 

That’s exactly why several not-for-profit and arts and culture spaces in Ottawa have introduced virtual programming. 

I had the chance to speak to a variety of artists from three organizations in Ottawa. Each and every one of them were so inspiring, their smiles were contagious. They expressed that the happiness they feel when participating in virtual classes is unmatched. 

Learn more about these resilient members by tuning in to the original AMI documentary Staying Home and Staying Connected on Friday, February 26, at 8 p.m. Eastern on AMI-tv. Stream it and other AMI documentaries on AMI.ca and the AMI-tv App.
 

By Beth Deer

Aspergirl, what an interesting name, or should I say Instagram handle.

I was scrolling on Instagram one day and stumbled across a young lady who’s real name is Bibi. She’s recently gained a huge following and shares comedic videos about the fact that adult women can be on the Autism Spectrum too.

I got the chance to interview Bibi a few weeks after finding her on Instagram, and she has such an amazing story. Bibi wasn’t even diagnosed until she was 26 ... how wild is that?

Learn more by tuning in to Monday's episode of AMI This Week, at 8 p.m. Eastern, on AMI-tv.

Want to read more from Beth? Search her name!
 

I would honestly say this is one of my favourite segments we’ve ever filmed for AMI This Week.

Maricar Marquez is a deafblind runner from New York and let me tell you, she’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever spoken to. Maricar was born deaf and slowly lost her sight later on in life; I have so much admiration for her and what she has accomplished.

As Maricar is unable to talk, she has a translator who would sign to her in a tactile form and then tell me what Maricar was signing in response. Not only was this really intriguing to me, but it also turned out to be kind of difficult. As I was interviewing Maricar, there would be a pause between her signing and the translator talking which at times ended up being very confusing for this blind girl because I could never tell when she was done talking.

Regardless of that little hiccup, I had a fabulous conversation with her and I’m really excited for you all to learn about her running partner. Join Maricar and myself on AMI This Week at 8 p.m. ET on AMI-tv. 

Want to read more from Beth? Search her name.