l’azile

It is funny (not in a ha ha sense but in an ironic sense) that after I got home tonight, this article from Wired.com was waiting for me in my RSS feeds. Originally titled “Why We Freak Out at Freaks” (and, after several complaints in the comments section to the post, changed to “Why We Stare, Even When We Don’t Want To”), the article explains why staring when one sees someone who looks different “actually makes sense, at least in an evolutionary sense”.

I found it funny because while I was out walking around looking for a decent restaurant with a nice atmosphere to have supper in my neighbourhood that would actually be open on a Monday night (I eventually gave up and ordered in Chinese, which ended up being pretty good), I was stopped by a young man on a street corner who asked me what was wrong with me. Needless to say I was thoroughly annoyed but I will get to that in a minute.

Continue reading… de-evolution

Comme d’habitude, je suis en retard pour le party puisque je n’ai appris la nouvelle qu’hier : la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ) oblige, depuis juillet 2008, les fabricants de fauteuils roulants motorisés à limiter la vitesse des « véhicules » à 10 km/h. Sans doute le fait que je n’utilise plus de fauteuil roulant motorisé depuis quelques années maintenant, sans compter que mon ignorance des actualités locales est légendaire, y est pour quelque chose. Mais bon, maintenant que je le sais, je dois dénoncer haut et fort cette mesure scandaleuse.

Déjà qu’on qualifie un fauteuil roulant de « véhicule » pose problème. Un moyen de locomotion, certes, mais pas du tout dans la même veine que des autos, motos, vélos, etc. Certains compareront un fauteuil roulant à des jambes ce qui se rapproche un peu plus de la réalité mais encore là, je trouve que l’analogie est pauvre. Simplement, cela représente un moyen pour certaines personnes handicapées de se déplacer, de bénéficier de plus d’autonomie et il n’y a vraiment rien qui puisse s’y comparer.

Certains groupes de personnes handicapées ont dénoncé cette mesure; il paraît qu’il y en a qui seraient même prêts à interpeller la Commission des droits de la personne s’il le faut et je leur souhaite merde. Mais la réalité est que la communauté est partagée. Sans doute le fait que la plupart des gens qui travaille dans le milieu et qui représente les intérêts des personnes handicapées n’est pas handicapé y est pour quelque chose…

Je ne me lancerai pas dans des longs argumentaires parce que, de toute manière, les chialeurs à l’origine de cette mesure discriminatoire s’en foutent et j’ai d’autre chose à faire que de perdre mon temps à essayer de convaincre des gens qui ne pigent pas. Mais je me permettrai de dire « tassez-vous calice au lieu de rester plantés là à nous dévisager ou à vous imaginer que vous êtes tout seul sur la planète ». Déjà ça, ça règlerait bien des problèmes.

Mais bon, si on se permet de limiter la vitesse à laquelle on peut se déplacer en fauteuil roulant, eh bien moi j’exige qu’on oblige les fabricants de vélos, skates, patin à roulettes et compagnie de limiter leur vitesse à 10 km/h. Car après tout, tout compte fait, ces « véhicules » sont beaucoup plus nuisibles à la santé de tous ces pauvres bipèdes.

Comme on dit en anglais, « fair is fair ».

PS. traduction googlienne de « tassez-vous calice »  : « pack your chalice ». Trop mourant.

PS2. Un article sur la question sur le blogue de Parole Citoyenne signé par Pierrot Péladeau qui explique infiniment mieux que moi la sournoise gravité de ce geste.

Here follows the second instalment of my report on Rehabilitation International’s 21st World Congress held in Québec City from August 25th to 28th 2008. The first part is available here.

Again, please keep in mind that this information is not to be taken as the proceedings’ minutes or an official report of any sort. This is just an overview of the conferences I heard and the workshops I attended, what I found interesting (or, sometimes, not), what I got out of it or whatever, in some cases, I was able to understand. Also, any opinions expressed herein are totally my own and do not engage my employer in any way.

Continue reading… RI Québec 2008 - report # 2

Ok, so as promised, here is the first instalment of my report on Rehabilitation International’s 21st World Congress that was held in Québec City from the 25th to the 28th of August 2008. I will publish individual posts for each day because one post for the whole event would be monstrous.

I wish I could have posted all this earlier but there had not been much time before my vacation and then afterwards, I wanted to rest a bit and have fun because that is what vacations are supposed to be: restful and/or fun.

Anyway, enough about me. But of course, what follows will be coloured by my perceptions and experiences as well as my opinions. And whatever I write about what was said by various speakers or what was presented in the workshops I attended is what I found interesting (or, in some cases, not), what I got out of it or whatever, in some cases, I was able to understand. So bear that in mind; this is not a play-by-play account. And I guess I should also point out that any opinions expressed herein are totally my own and do not engage my employer in any way.

Oh, and by the way, mostly mediocre photos have been posted to flickr.

Continue reading… RI Québec 2008 - report # 1

As y’all may have noticed, I have not kept my promise to report regularly on the Rehabilitation International 21st World Congress going on this week in la Capitale Nationale (i.e. Québec City). In my defense, I have this to say:

• The days are long and full. After the first day, I had started laboriously writing up a report on the laptop I borrowed from work and at 12h30, I realised that, not even a third of the way through, I just had to give up as I had to get up less than five hours later and get through another day;
• The convention centre is humongous and all this walking around is killing me;
• The convention centre, amazingly enough, does not have any real Internet access to speak of. The only place you can have access to Internet is in this tiny “cybercafé“, which is really just five computer terminals thrown together against sun-drenched, ceiling-high windows (hello?) in a corner near the escalators (and no café, incidently). At roughly 800 delegates, you do the math. Come on, Québec! It is your 400th birthday. Buy yourself a nice present and get some real wifi;
• So basically, the only time I have access to a computer (no way I can lug around a laptop all day) and Internet is when I get back to my hotel at night and I am just too exhausted to do much more than wash my face and crash into bed.

I have however been taking a ton of notes (those who know me understand how incredible this is) and so I will definitely post a report about this past week after I get home. I do not know yet what form all this will take because, quite honestly, there is just so much stuff I could write about but I will figure something out.

This week, I am Québec City attending Rehabilitation International’s 21st World Congress. I will try to blog about my week here but do not expect detailed minutes and accounts à la Joe Clark.

I am pretty excited about being here and hope to meet up with some people I have not seen in a while and meet some new people too. The Convention on the rights of people with disabilities figures prominently in the programming so I am very much looking forward to that and to seeing what is going on in other countries as well. Many involved in the organising of this event are from the rehabilitation field and so that has obviously given a “clinical” savor to the programming but thankfully, there is a lot of stuff on rights and social participation. One thing that I find a bit lacking is content on technology and I find that a bit surprising but there are a few interesting talks I will be attending.

I took the train this afternoon to get here, it was ok although I had some young excited spanish guys sitting near me so it was hard to relax and try to plan my week. Also, my hotel seems nice. I did notice a big bus load of spanish people having descended onto the hotel shortly after I arrived so that should prove euh, busy, to say the least.

Anyway, more tomorrow, if I am not too tired.

Update: I had to have my room changed because the air conditioning did not work. I am a 41 year-old woman; I need my air conditioning. My new room is near the elevators but I am hoping it will not be too noisy at night. I am a 41 year-old woman; I need my sleep.

As was recently announced in Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin, the federal government has published partial data from its latest Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS 2006). According to this latest survey, an estimated 4.4 million Canadians, one out of seven people in Canada, reported having a disability in 2006, an increase of over three-quarters of a million people in five years. The article from the bulletin indicates:

Data showed that the number of people who reported a disability increased 21.2% from 3.6 million in 2001, the last time the survey was conducted.

In 2001, 12.4% of the population reported a disability. By 2006, this rate had increased to 14.3%.

Statistical reports are somewhat useful though not terribly interesting in themselves, at least not to me. And besides, as I often say, math makes me nervous. But there are a few things I would like to comment on.

Continue reading… show me the data

I know I have already written about the STM’s crappy service when it comes to Paratransit and I might be tempted to apologise to my handful of readers because really, this is not what I want this blog to be about. But yesterday was an all time record in corporate stupidity and utter lack of consideration for those of us who rely on this service to get around the city.

So, yesterday morning, I wait and wait for the gawd-damn taxi or minibus or whatever it was supposed to be to show up. After a half hour (which is the requisite time I am expected to wait before contacting them to ask “where is the transport?”), I call. After waiting on the line for about 10 minutes, I am told unceremoniously that my reservation has been cancelled. Just. Like. That.

Needless to say that I was quite pissed off. I mean, wtf?! But I did not have time to debate it with the woman on the phone nor to ask the reason for this decision as I was going to be late for a meeting. So I did the only thing I could do and called a taxi and high-tailed it to the office, arriving 10 minutes late for my meeting, pissed off and stressed out. Thankfully, the guy I was meeting with was really nice and understanding, not to mention hilarious, and we had a really fun and productive meeting so at least that was something.

Continue reading… foiled by the STM’s Paratransit service yet again

Today, when I called the STM Paratransit Service to make my reservations for the next three days, I was told unequivocally that I would not get any service tomorrow because Montréal is expecting a “big” snow storm and all transports have been cancelled (except for dialysis patients and long-standing medical appointments).

Indeed, unbeknownst to me (because I am usually pretty oblivious to small talk such as in “some weather we are having, eh?”), it seems that the southwest region of the province is expecting anywhere between 15 to 30 centimetres of snow by tomorrow (although, as of 21h50, I have yet to see my first snowflake). So today, as a preventive measure (for whom, I wonder), Paratransit refused all new reservations and has unceremoniously cancelled everyone, even people who are travelling to go to work or school. Just. Like. That.

Continue reading… white-out

A friend sent me the link to what I must admit are some of the cutest ads (Flash required) I have seen about disability. Produced by Leonard Chesire Disabilty, a voluntary sector organisation in the UK that provides services in support of people with disabilities, these ads are not only visually beautiful but, I am sure, will do wonders to give people a warm fuzzy feeling about disability.

But you know, being me, I can not help but wonder about some things. I mean, all that is really nice when you are in the comfort of your own living room, watching the late evening news, your feet all warm and cozy in your favourite phentex slippers and a nice cup o’tea by your side when an ad flashes briefly across the telly screen. “Ah, look at that, dearie”, you will say to the wife sitting next to you, knitting you some phentex mittens, “such a sweet doggie!” (a sweet doggie just about to go bungee jumping, by the way). But would you feel the same if you encountered a 52 year-old man drooling on his shirt who can not use the loo without a bit of help, let alone skydive? (And please, do not get all PC on me, I am just saying, and I know what I am talking about, disability is not always cute, and sometimes, for all sorts of reasons, it can actually be quite, euh, discomforting.)

Continue reading… “watch me”