Accessibility Advocate

04/03/2025

I've seen it mentioned that this generosity is per *person* not per household. It certainly won't hurt you to ask, if you need the help and there are more than one of you. The worst they can say is no.

If you're in east city and are without power but need a place to charge devices or get warm for a bit message me. It seem I'm best enjoyed if you enjoy the fun of an ND mind. YMMV. 🙃

I don't have much and my capacity is limited but if I have it to spare I have it to share.

Id:
White text on a black background reads

"Lost Food & Generator Gas Funding

Good Afternoon,

The social assistance office has implemented a 75$/person reimbursement to help local individuals in Peterborough City and County recover from lost food and increased gas costs to run generators during the power outage. This funding is available to individuals who are on Ontario Works and the Ontario Disability Support Program as well as individuals who are NOT on social assistance. If you are on El or simply low-income but do not receive social assistance you CAN call to ask for this funding. All individuals are directed to call the Peterborough Social Assistance office at (705) 748-8830 and ask to speak to intake."

01/04/2025

Happy 2025! Isn't it great that we are now living in an accessible Ontario!? I celebrated this milestone with this thank you note to the gov. Lol

Toothless
Sioux Lily Dickson
January 1st, 2025

Happy New Year! 2025 will be my year despite the AODA.

Will the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) make a difference for those of us demanding equity, or will governments continue to push us under when they want to reduce budgets?

Legislation without penalty is mere suggestion. Asking nicely didn’t reduce drinking and driving—persistent enforcement did.

That the AODA is fully realized on January 1st, 2025, is laughable: “Become accessible if it is convenient.” Governments want you to see them making a fuss about accessibility while doing things to the contrary, like imprisoning the disabled with poverty. What’s the point of an accessible Ontario if the only place those living in disability-related poverty can go is the food bank?

Ask anyone who is disabled, and we’ll tell you the notion of full accessibility in 2025 is absurd. Ask an able-bodied person, and they think it’s already accessible.

We need you to demand dignity for disabled people by ensuring they have enough resources to at least be near the poverty line. We can’t afford food, housing, medicine, or care. Our crime of being disabled is punished with poverty as designed by policy. That a death option exists but a living with dignity option doesn’t offends my sensibilities. MAiD saves the government money, but disabled people want the choice to live with dignity before having no choice but to seek dignity through MAiD in death. The people who love us see us as more than numbers on a balance sheet. We’re priceless.

Learn more: aoda.ca/what-is-the-aoda
Find your MPP: ola.org/members
Find your MP: ourcommons.ca/Members

Image Description:
A green Toronto skyline boasts various shades of green. The water reflects the skyline discordantly, like conversations on accessibility. In the water, wheelchair icons with an artist’s palette for a wheel succumb to the conditions. In the foreground, a shark has a mouth full of sugar-coated gumdrops for teeth. It bobs in the water, stuck in a life preserver that reads “Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, AODA.”

Text reads: “The AODA is not accessibility.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/DERT8FMJrQy/?igsh=MXh2encxajJqZWQx

09/25/2024

Do you have an interest in trying to make the world a better place? Why not start with your own community! Peterborough is forming a "Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System for the City’s Strategic Growth Areas, as identified in the City’s New Official Plan"

If you think voices like yours are underrepresented in our current City Hall, here is an opportunity to amplify your voice, speaking on behalf of your neighbours, friends, and maybe even visitors to our beloved community.

Nothing will change unless we show why the status quo is flawed. Now is our chance! Using the link in the comments you can do more than merely vote to affect community change! You can use your passion and expertise to help craft a more thoughtful The City of Peterborough.

ID: A screenshot of the link landing page reads:

"Planning for the Future of our Strategic Growth Areas

The City of Peterborough is developing a Secondary Plan and Community Planning Permit System for the City's Strategic Growth Areas, as identified in the City's New Official Plan as shown in Figure 1. The City of Peterborough has identified seven (7) key Strategic Growth Areas that will be the focus of the Secondary Plan, which are:

1. Downtown Central Area

2. Water Street North Corridor

3. Chemong Road Corridor

4. Clonsilla Avenue & Charlotte Street Corridor

5. Lansdowne Street (West) Corridor

6. Armour Road Corridor

7. Lansdowne Street (East) Corridor

The Strategic Growth Areas (as shown with a red outline in the figure below) were selected for this planning exercise as they are the focus for intensification over the coming years. These are the areas where the City is investing in supporting more housing supply and will need to provide the infrastructure and community facilities to support more people living, working and playing in these neighbourhoods."

A drone photo shows us Peterborough's downtown core and Little Lake.

06/29/2024

The maximum rent increase permitted for Ontario in 2025 is 2.5%

My mantra for the last few years has been "I guess it could be worse". I'm not happy about that level of self-gaslighting. At least they didn't shove the knife in further, I guess? 🤷‍♂️

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Image description: a screenshot from the link reads

"Table of Contents

1. Content

2. Quick Facts

3. Additional Resources

4. Related Topics

5. Media Contacts

TORONTO - Ontario is holding the annual rent increase guideline for 2025 at 2.5 per cent. This is currently the lowest rate in the country and below the average inflation rate of 3.1 per cent. The rent increase guideline is the maximum amount a landlord can increase rent during the year for most tenants without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The guideline is based on Ontario's Consumer Price Index, a measure of inflation calculated by Statistics Canada using data that reflects economic conditions over the past year. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, the guideline is capped at 2.5 per cent to help protect tenants from rising interest rates that would result in higher rent. Without the cap, the recent rate of inflation would have resulted in an increase of 3.1 per cent in 2025.

Rent increases are not automatic or mandatory. Landlords may raise rent only if they give tenants at least 90 days' written notice using the correct form. At least 12 months must have passed since the first day of the tenancy or the last rent increase. If a tenant believes they have received an improper rent increase, they can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board to request a correction.

Over the last three years, Ontario has seen the highest housing starts and rental housing starts in over three decades.

Quick Facts

• The rent increase guideline applies to the vast majority of rental households approximately 1.4 million covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. It does not apply to rental units occupied for the first time after November 15, 2018, vacant residential

units, community housing, long-term care homes or commercial properties.

In most cases, the rent increase cannot be more than the rent increase guideline. Landlords can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for above-guideline rent increases, under certain circumstances, such as after eligible capital work has been paid for and finished.

Tenants who may need help to pay their rent are encouraged to contact their local service manager to see what housing supports are available in their community.

Ontario has the highest maximum fines in Canada for residential tenancy offences."

https://news.ontario.ca/en/bulletin/1004771/ontario-capping-rent-increases-at-the-lowest-rate-in-canada

06/29/2024

I received an email today informing me that people with disabilities are now eligible for the dental benefit as are those who are 65 or older.

"Dental Coverage for Persons with Disabilities

Oral Health care is an essential part of overall healthcare. As of June 27th, persons with disabilities and children under the age of 18 are now eligible to apply for the Canadian Dental Care Plan. The plan has already connected over 2 million Canadians with coverage and, as a result, hundreds of thousands of Canadians have been able to see the dentist. The portal to apply can be found here. https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/dental/dental-care-plan/apply.html"

Image description: a screenshot from the website reads "Do you qualify

Eligibility requirements

To qualify for the CDCP, you must meet all 4 of these requirements:

You don't have access to dental insurance

► What does this mean?

Your adjusted family net income is less than $90,000

► What is adjusted family net income?

You're a Canadian resident for tax purposes

You filed your tax return for the previous year

You need to meet all the eligibility criteria to qualify for the CDCP.

+ If you have dental coverage through government social programs

If you have dental coverage through a provincial, territorial or federal government social program, you can still qualify for the CDCP. If you qualify, your coverage will be coordinated between the plans to make sure there are no duplication or gaps in coverage.

If you provide false information on your application, you and your family may be removed from the plan. If you weren't eligible for the CDCP, you may have to repay the full cost of care received."

06/05/2024

Happy retirement to the bestest doggie! After 7+ plus years of Zaun working alongside Jason King. June 1st, at Capable Con, was Zaun's last day of being a working dog. He is now a retired dog, able to put his feet up and beguile those around him with his winning vibe. He won't be far tho! Jason and Zaun will get to visit often. I'll miss Zaun dreadfully but he deserves some rest and relaxation after being so integral to Jason's accessibility. I'm not the only Council for Persons with Disabilities member who is verklempt, I'm sure.

Hopefully Jason gets a new dog soon. Until then he'll surely lament that he doesn't have to carry p**p bags for for his white stick. 🙃

ID: A superhero-caped Jason King holds Zaun's leash. Seated beside Zaun, Sioux Dickson pets (after being granted permission!) Zaun, a favourite furry friend. All three smile at the camera on this auspicious day. 🥹

05/29/2024

Great new event for this year's National AccessAbility Week!

05/29/2024

Adaptive Qigong happens today, at Peterborough Square at noon.

Artccessibility's first event happens on Wednesday, May 29th at noon, as part of Peterborough's National AccessAbility Week celebration. Come and get your Qigong on!

Id:
poster reads:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH AT 12 PM PETERBOROUGH SQUARE COURTYARD

Kathryn Matheson offers a unique opportunity to experience a Qigong class that includes postures designed for those in a seated position and those with vision loss. Try the class conventionally, with only spoken guidance, or in a wheelchair. The event moves inside the mall in the event of bad weather.

ACCESSIBILITY IS INCLUSIVE! THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO: KATHRYN MATHESON NUTRITION, PETERBOROUGH SQUARE, AND ALIGN HOME HEALTH CARE

05/24/2024

Artccessibility's first event happens on Wednesday, May 29th at noon, as part of Peterborough's National AccessAbility Week celebration. Come and get your Qigong on!

https://www.facebook.com/100072050142702/posts/468984315513236/?

Id:
poster reads:

WEDNESDAY, MAY 29TH AT 12 PM PETERBOROUGH SQUARE COURTYARD

Kathryn Matheson offers a unique opportunity to experience a Qigong class that includes postures designed for those in a seated position and those with vision loss. Try the class conventionally, with only spoken guidance, or in a wheelchair. The event moves inside the mall in the event of bad weather.

ACCESSIBILITY IS INCLUSIVE! THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE.

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MADE POSSIBLE THANKS TO: KATHRYN MATHESON NUTRITION, PETERBOROUGH SQUARE, AND ALIGN HOME HEALTH CARE

05/10/2024

Through gritted teeth, Our Ford, will be graciously giving us 4.5% extra month, on the July 31st cheque, for inflation. Thank Ford.
/sarcasm

A single on ODSP, getting the max benefit, will get about 58$ more a month, if my math is correct (it's 50%/60% I'm correct tbh 🙃) Inflation of course doesn't apply to any extra amount for special diet funds because we all know that food is never affected by inflation. 😶

Id: screenshot reads "ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) rates go up 4.5% effective July 2024

On July 1, 2024, an inflation-based increase of 4.5% applies to:

• basic needs and shelter maximum amounts for singles and families

• board and lodge amounts for singles and families

• the amount provided for a couple where both have disabilities

• amounts for services provided by a Long-Term Care Home or a Specialized Care Residence

ODSP rates are tied to inflation. In any year that payments go up because of inflation, you will receive the higher payment at the end of July."

05/01/2024

May is Ehlers-Danlos Syndromes Awareness Month. What are the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS)?⁠
⁠
The Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) are a group of heritable connective tissue disorders that vary in how they affect the body and their genetic causes.⁠ 🧬⁠
⁠
⁠Variants in the genes that determine how the body makes collagen and other proteins that work alongside collagen have been shown to cause EDS. ⁠
⁠
At this time, genetic variants have been found in all types of EDS, with the exception of hypermobile EDS (hEDS).⁠🔬⁠
⁠
Connective tissue is everywhere in the body. It provides support and structure to other tissues and organs, including bone, ligaments, tendons, blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, the tissue that holds the gastrointestinal tract in place, etc. ⁠
⁠
❓️⁠Signs and symptoms⁠
⁠
Some certain signs and symptoms are common across all types of EDS. However, these can vary in severity between individuals, even with the same type of EDS. ⁠
⁠
These include:⁠
⁠
• Joint hypermobility⁠
• Joint instability with dislocations and/or subluxations⁠
• Injury to connective tissues in and around joints⁠
• Joint, muscle, and nerve pain⁠
• Scoliosis⁠
• Hernias⁠
• Pelvic floor weakness and prolapse⁠
• Easy Bruising⁠
• Stretchy skin⁠
• Fragile skin⁠
• Scarring⁠
• Slow or poor wound healing⁠
⁠
In rarer types of EDS, there are specific concerns with certain tissues of the body that can present with complications such as:⁠
⁠
• Arterial/intestinal/uterine fragility or rupture (usually⁠
associated with vascular EDS (vEDS))⁠
• Pneumothorax (collapsed lung)⁠
• Severe dental and gum disease⁠
• Severe scarring of the cornea of the eye⁠
⁠
Across all the types of EDS, a number of conditions and symptoms are now also recognized as common. These include:⁠
⁠
• Fatigue⁠
• Autonomic dysfunction (such as fast heart rate and/or low blood pressure)⁠
• Headaches⁠
• Gastrointestinal problems⁠
• Anxiety disorders⁠
• Heavy and painful periods and bladder pain⁠
• Allergies and intolerances⁠
⁠
➡️ Learn more here: https://www.ehlers-danlos.com/what-is-eds/
⁠
❓️What would you like people to know about EDS?

04/24/2024

Spreading accessibility awareness in a fun way! 👨‍🦽👩‍🦽🦸‍♂️🦸‍♀️

The 2024 installment of Capable Con by Council for Persons with Disabilities returns to the Venture North parking lot on June 1 to cap off National Accessibility Week.

04/16/2024

In case you thought our government gave a damn about people with disabilities you can now let that hope go and find something more realistic to dream about.

Applications to MAiD will go through the roof and they'll pay out for fewer people. It's a thoughtful attrition plan. Ffs.

Id: A screenshot reads: "$6.1 billion in funding earmarked over the next six years - far short of what many advocates had hoped for.

Announced Tuesday in the 2024 budget, the benefit will focus on low-income working age persons with disabilities and is expected to cover up to 600,000 Canadians with a maximum of $2,400 per year and clawbacks based on family income. Only those with a Disability Tax Credit certificate will be eligible, but it will be indexed to inflation.

The funding of the benefit comes as advocates had grown increasingly anxious another budget would go by without a clear timeline on when to expect the roll out to begin."

04/15/2024

We are proud to be partnering with JA Northern and Eastern Ontario to ignite your child's entrepreneurial spirit this summer! 🚀 Let them embark on a journey of creativity, teamwork, and innovation as they learn to run their own business from start to finish. 📈 From brainstorming ideas to marketing strategies and creating product, this camp empowers young minds to dream big and succeed!💡 Don't miss out on this opportunity to give your child the tools they need for a bright future! ✨

For more information contact Chris Struwing
chris.struwing@pcpd.ca
705 874-8661