[nabs-l] Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man'srighttotravel alone; Burnaby
Jen&Nixon
jenandnixon at gmail.com
Tue Jun 9 01:19:57 UTC 2009
We have AEBC which used to be NFB:AE, but they changed their name, the
NFB:AE is more specifically located in Vancouver, and not other provinces. I
believe I have this information correct *grin* I know the man personally
quoted in the article, and he is a fighter. It is quite a surprise as he has
traveled around the world when he used to be a competitor in Judo and the
paralympcs as well. I've traveled across Canada and US no problem, and I am
deafblind myself, even Air Canada!!!
Jennifer McEachen and "Nixon"
Guide Dogs for the Blind, Inc.
Alumni Association Board of Directors and secretary
jenandnixon at gmail.com / jmceachen at guidedogs.com
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Kevin Wassmer
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 6:05 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man'srighttotravel
alone; Burnaby
We might not be deaf and blind. But it could be only a mater of time before
we become the next victims. We have fight the good fight. I don't know how
The NFB of Canada will handel this one.
horus
Cause its been 18 days
Since I first held you
But to me it feels just like
It feels like a lifetime
I'm trying hard to re-arrange
Some say its the hardest thing to do
But that's another 18 days
Without you..
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sarah Alawami" <marrie12 at gmail.com>
To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
<nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 5:41 PM
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man's righttotravel
alone; Burnaby
>I agree 100 percent . I'm not deaf blind but if that were ever to
>happen I would want to choose if I could do thing sby myself especially
travel.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Serena
> Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 2:39 PM
> To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
> Subject: Re: [nabs-l] Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man's right
> totravel alone; Burnaby
>
> I absolutely agree with you! I have a friend who's deaf-blind. Once
> he gets older and is able to travel independently, I would never want
> him to be denied the right to travel alone if he thinks he's able to
> do so! Many deaf-blind people do use assistants they call "SSPs"
> (support service
> providers) to assist them when necessary and, if hearing, interpret
> for them. If the client in the case feels he doesn't need an SSP, he
> certainly should be allowed to travel without one.
>
> Serena
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Sarah Alawami" <marrie12 at gmail.com>
> To: "'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'"
> <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
> Sent: Monday, June 08, 2009 3:12 PM
> Subject: [nabs-l] Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man's right to
> travel alone; Burnaby
>
>
>> What do you all think of this? I think personally that he has the
>> right to choose weather he can travel unassisted. The article is
>> below. If I already sent this, my apoligies for the duplicate.
>>
>> Air Canada challenges deaf, blind man's right to travel alone;
>> Burnaby athlete says he is capable
>>
>> Janice Tibbetts
>> Vancouver Sun, Apr. 7, 2009
>>
>> In a case that balances passenger safety and the rights of the
>> disabled, Air Canada is challenging a deaf and blind man's
>> contention that he should be allowed to fly without an attendant.
>>
>> The airline will argue in Federal Court that not allowing Burnaby
>> resident Eddy Morten to fly alone is justified discrimination.
>>
>> Morten counters that he has a system for safe air travel with his
>> service dog, he has been self-sufficient all his life, and that he
>> has made many past trips on planes, trains and buses.
>>
>> "I have never needed a babysitter," Morten, a father of two and a
>> Paralympic bronze medallist in judo, wrote in an e-mail.
>>
>> "Air Canada routinely allows people who are blind, people who cannot
>> walk and people who may be very disabled due to aging to travel
> unattended.
>> Why
>> not me?"
>>
>> Air Canada is fighting Morten in court after losing a Canadian Human
>> Rights Tribunal decision in January.
>>
>> The tribunal did not order the airline to allow Morten to travel
>> alone, but said he had the right to be assessed for self-reliance
>> rather than automatically ordered to bring an attendant.
>>
>> The tribunal, ruling that Air Canada had not met its obligation to
>> accommodate Morten to the point of "undue hardship," ordered the
>> airline to pay Morten $10,000 in damages. Air Canada is not
>> contesting the award.
>>
>> "It's the principle we're concerned about," said the airline's
>> spokesman Peter Fitzpatrick. "It comes down to the safety of the
>> disabled passenger and other passengers on the aircraft."
>> Fitzpatrick cited the recent rescue of US Airways passengers in the
>> Hudson River as an example of a successful and quick evacuation.
>>
>> The dispute between Air Canada and Morten began five years ago, when
>> he unsuccessfully tried to book a flight from Vancouver to San
>> Francisco without being accompanied by an assistant.
>>
>> He says he was "disempowered" by the rebuff and that he should not
>> have to shoulder the cost of hiring an attendant. While Air Canada
>> policy has recently changed to permit attendants to travel for free
>> domestically, the concession does not apply to international travel.
>>
>> The vice-president of the Alliance of Equality for Blind Canadians
>> said Monday that financially strapped Air Canada should be spending
>> its limited resources more wisely than on fighting a disabled man
>> who wants to travel independently.
>>
>> "There should be no blanket exclusions," said John Rae, who believes
>> that a person's declaration they are self-reliant should be enough.
>> Barring that, each case should be individually assessed,
>> particularly since there are varying degrees of impairment, he said.
>>
>> Morten, who was born deaf but with good vision, has Usher's
>> Syndrome, a condition that caused him to gradually lose his sight.
>> Now in his late 40s, he is completely blind in his left eye and has
>> severely limited vision in his right eye.
>>
>> Morten testified before the tribunal that he knows airline safety
>> procedures and would be able to find the emergency exits by
>> following the lights along the aisle. He also travels with
>> pre-printed file cards containing such phrases as "I am deaf/blind,
>> to talk to me, please write on my palm in large block letters."
>>
>> He also says that he could see an oxygen mask if it fell in front of
>> him, and knows how to use a life vest if necessary.
>>
>> The airline will also argue in court that the human rights tribunal
>> overstepped its jurisdiction when it ruled on the case.
>>
>> Air Canada said the proper body to decide is the Canadian
>> Transportation Agency, which ruled in 2005 that the airline was
>> justified in discriminating against Morten.
>>
>>
>> Sarah Alawami
>> msn: chellist at hotmail.com
>> website: http://www.marrie.org
>> twitter: http://twitter.com/marrie1
>>
>>
>>
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