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Accessible News #8 — February 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:
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Treasury Board Announces A "Web Site Accessibility Testing Service" For GOC Web Designers
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Wellsizing the Workplace...Widening Workplace Capabilities for People with Disabilities
Calling All Companies
Here's an opportunity for you to get the word out about your products and services to a wider customer base. The Canadian Companies Capabilities (CCC) Database is a listing of companies, including their product listings, that you can access through the World Wide Web. This service is widely used in procurement and sourcing activities. ADIO can link you to a dynamically generated list of assistive device companies, which you can search either alphabetically (the whole list) or by type of disability addressed (Alternative and Augmentative Communications, Blind and Low Vision, Deaf and Hard of Hearing or Mobility).
You can register your company, free of charge, on CCC by visiting our Web site (strategis.ic.gc.ca/adio) and clicking on "Register, update or view Assistive Device companies". Take a look at the CCC listing. Chances are, you'll find a lot of your competitors have already taken advantage of the service. It's just one more way Industry Canada is working to promote your business.
By the way, if you are already on CCC, take a look at your listing and make sure it's up to date!
Canadian R&D Groups and Referral Centres List On-Line
New on the ADIO Web site (strategis.ic.gc.ca/adio) is the Revised List of Canadian Research and Development Groups and Referral Centres. This list contains information supplied by the organizations themselves and is by no means exhaustive. If your assistive technology group or referral centre does not appear on the list, please contact our office. You will find all our contact information at the end of this Newsletter.
CANADIA Update
The Assistive Devices Industry Association of Canada (or CanADIA) is kicking off an exciting year with a booth at the 15th annual California State University, Northridge, Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities (better known as CSUN). As usual, CanADIA will have the bright red and white booth across from the Microsoft Accessibility booth in the Marriott Hotel. CanADIA will share the booth with Industry Canada's Assistive Devices Industry Office.
The CanADIA head office in Ottawa, Ontario is hiring a part-time contractor to assist with its information dissemination and administration functions. This will mean a sharp increase in the visibility of the association. The association expects to hold its annual general meeting before the summer.
CanADIA is also investigating the possibility of conducting one or more international trade missions in the coming year. One of them may be lead by Industry Minister John Manley, who has continually expressed his strong interest in the health of the Canadian assistive technology sector.
For more information, contact the CanADIA office:
CanADIA
140 Lincoln Heights Road, Ste. 100
Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8A6
Phone: 613-820-2272
e-mail: canadia@starlingweb.com
Treasury Board Announces A "Web Site Accessibility Testing Service" For Web Designers
The Government of Canada, in its continuing effort to make its electronic information and on-line services accessible to all Canadians, has begun a pilot project operating a "Web site Accessibility Testing Service". The service is sponsored by the Chief Information Officer's Branch of the Treasury Board Secretariat, and hosted by the Enabling Resource Centre of the Public Service Commission.
GoC Webmasters or design teams can make an appointment to watch as persons using enabling technologies experience their designs under real-world conditions. Also on hand will be an expert in accessible Web site design to advise the client on how to make their designs conform to the Treasury Board's and W3C's guidelines for universal accessibility.
Provisions will be made for the evaluation team to be mobile should a client's design reside on a department's Intranet server or in an otherwise secure environment.
The service, located in downtown Ottawa, will only be available to local GoC organizations during the pilot phase. However, since the Enabling Resource Centre is fully equipped as a teleconference site, this service has the potential to be rolled out across the country.
Contact Chuck Letourneau, tel: 613-820-2272, e-mail: cpl@starlingweb.com or Deirdre Bagot, tel: 613-952-3358, e-mail: bagot.deirdre@tbs-sct.gc.ca for more details.
The Canadian Seniors Policies and Programs Database
This is a new on-line database presented by Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Seniors. You can:
- Browse seniors policies and programs by jurisdiction or by subject;
- Directly access federal, provincial or territorial Web sites related to a specific policy or program, including, where available, on-line applications;
- Discover how seniors programs and policies across Canada and across jurisdictions are linked to one another;
- Create customized reports in other software packages; and
- Learn more about the National Framework on Aging.
The Web address of the Canadian Seniors Policies and Programs Database is www.sppd.gc.ca .
Community Based Employment Resources Now Available
One Voice, the Canadian Seniors Network, has published a resource guide to help promote the employability of workers with disabilities aged 45 and older. OPPORTUNITIES 45+ — Community Based Employment Resources is available both as a booklet and on the Web at www.opportunities45.org .
The resource guide was developed as part of the OPPORTUNITIES 45+ Project, which was managed by One Voice and funded by Human Resources Development Canada. The Project ran from July 1998 to the end of December 1999. Information regarding the location and services provided by community-based agencies that provide employment assistance to workers with disabilities and the general population of older workers was collected during the Project and forms the content of the resource guide. All the information provided was current, as of November 30, 1999.
The booklet can be purchased from One Voice for $10.00. To order it, contact One Voice, the Canadian Seniors Network at 1005-350 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7S8, call them at 613-238-7624, fax them at 613-235-4497 or e-mail them at onevoice.lavoix@sympatico.ca .
Wellsizing the Workplace...Widening Workplace Capabilities for People with Disabilities
An accessible workplace calls for wider halls and an open mind. That's the message organizers of the Wellsizing the Workplace conference hope participants will come away with this April 12-14 in the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.
Initiated by the Royal Bank Financial Group, this conference will afford corporate Canada a unique opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to an inclusive environment for employees with disabilities, while working side by side to develop a shared vision of workplace accessibility. An international group of distinguished speakers is being assembled for this conference, to take part in panels and workshops on marketplace and workplace opportunities. On Wednesday evening, April 12, Pamela Wallin will moderate a panel discussion entitled "Is there a business case for hiring people with disabilities or is it a social responsibility?" The next morning begins with a keynote address on "Facing the Future", by Richard Worzel and the conference winds up on Friday the 14th with an address by Mike Lipkin, a movtivational speaker from South Africa.
Delegates to the conference will include a broad spectrum of professionals from a wide range of industry. Medium to large multinational corporations will be represented by employees working directly in human resource, marketing and sales of products, information systems, community relations and public affairs. Also anticipated are leaders in education, as well as individuals from all levels of government, recruiting agencies and not-for-profit organizations.
For more information about the Wellsizing the Workplace Conference, check out the Web site at wellsizing.com .
This conference is just one of the many you will find listed in CanADIA's Calendar of Events, which you will find at www.starlingweb.com/adp .
News Bits
In October, ALSTOM Transport welcomed TELECITE Inc. into its organization. Telecite is the Montreal-based company that develops, markets and manufactures real-time passenger information and communication systems for railcars, train stations and airports. Development of Telecite's Visual Communication Network (VCN) was partly supported by Industry Canada and is recognized as the world- wide reference in its market segment.
Also in October, Madentec, a private firm that designs and manufactures sophisticated but easy to use products to assist people with disabilities in operating computers and exercising some control over their immediate environment (controlling lighting, thermostats, small appliances, etc.) was resurrected from Madenta Inc.
Mary Frances Laughton of the ADIO has just been appointed Co-Chair of the International Steering Committee of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). Her co-chair is George Kerscher of RFB&D and the DAISY Consortium. The WAI is committed to making the Web accessible to all. It released Web Content Access Guidelines last year and will shortly be releasing Web Authoring Tool Guidelines. Information on the WAI can be found at: www.w3.org/wai
Work is underway in Industry Canada to implement an alternate format policy. This will build on the work done in the past year by HRDC. When the policy is released, we will let you know.
Urban CAP was announced December 15. For more information, see cap.ic.gc.ca/ue.html .
Industry Canada is sponsoring Century Signals, a job finding service for students with disabilities. For more information, see http://www.campusworklink.com/ .
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: 2000-02-10
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