disabilities

Jordan Kerton, manager of the Vernon Adaptive Program, helps Brodie Shaw try paddleboarding for the first time during an inclusive paddling event at Paddlewheel Park in Vernon Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Wheelchairs hit the water for day of inclusive paddling in Vernon

The Vernon Adaptive Program’s second inclusive paddling event was a day of firsts for many in attendance

 

Independent Living Vernon support worker Lisa Briggs (left) stands with longtime volunteer Leon Schwartz and Susan Novecoski. The agency had its 30th anniversary in Vernon Wednesday, Sept. 13, 2023. (Brendan Shykora - Morning Star)

Vernon agency marks 30 years of empowering people with disabilities

Independent Living Vernon turned 30 on Wednesday, Sept. 13

 

Balraj Partridge after completing the Drop Zone at last years Easter Seals BC/Yukon’s annual Drop Zone fundraiser. (Jennifer Vasarhely/Contributed to Black Press Media)

Young B.C. man in wheelchair rappels down building to raise money for Easter Seals

Balraj Partridge suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect in an area of the spinal column

 

Balraj Partridge after completing the Drop Zone at last years Easter Seals BC/Yukon’s annual Drop Zone fundraiser. (Jennifer Vasarhely/Contributed to Black Press Media)

Young B.C. man in wheelchair rappels down building to raise money for Easter Seals

Balraj Partridge suffers from spina bifida, a birth defect in an area of the spinal column

Balraj Partridge after completing the Drop Zone at last years Easter Seals BC/Yukon’s annual Drop Zone fundraiser. (Jennifer Vasarhely/Contributed to Black Press Media)
Carla Qualtrough, federal minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, announces $16 million in funding for programs across the country that aim to support Canadians with disabilities looking to enter the workforce. The press conference was held in Nanaimo on Thursday, June 1. (Bailey Seymour/News Bulletin)

Feds funding programs to support people with disabilities joining the workforce

Federal minister of employment announces $16 million to go to six organizations across Canada

Carla Qualtrough, federal minister of employment, workforce development and disability inclusion, announces $16 million in funding for programs across the country that aim to support Canadians with disabilities looking to enter the workforce. The press conference was held in Nanaimo on Thursday, June 1. (Bailey Seymour/News Bulletin)
Jessie Simpson blowing kisses to the camera. (Sue Simpson/Facebook)

Call for cards as Kamloops attack victim turns 26

Sue Simpson requests cards every Christmas and every July for Jessie’s birthday

  • May 29, 2023
Jessie Simpson blowing kisses to the camera. (Sue Simpson/Facebook)
WFG Marketing Director Denise Martell (second from the left) presented PLAN Okanagan representatives Sarah Bickert (far left), Mary Bickert (second from the right), and Lena Charlton (far right) with a cheque for $22,853 on April 30, 2023. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)

World Financial Group supporting Okanagan families with disabilities through charitable trust

Over $22,000 was presented to PLAN Okanagan

  • Apr 30, 2023
WFG Marketing Director Denise Martell (second from the left) presented PLAN Okanagan representatives Sarah Bickert (far left), Mary Bickert (second from the right), and Lena Charlton (far right) with a cheque for $22,853 on April 30, 2023. (Brittany Webster/Capital News)
Back in October 2019, a gathering was held to celebrate a newly installed accessible door at Salmon Arm’s recreation centre. (Observer file photo)

Concerns raised over accessibility in Salmon Arm for people with disabilities

Better ramps and crosswalks among needs, city plans to join regional district-led initiative

Back in October 2019, a gathering was held to celebrate a newly installed accessible door at Salmon Arm’s recreation centre. (Observer file photo)
Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor Ryan Straschnitzki pauses during a para golf lesson in Calgary, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Spending the last five years using a wheelchair has given former Humboldt Broncos hockey player Ryan Straschnitzki a new path forward. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

‘Making things a little more accessible’: Paralyzed Bronco looks to improve buildings

In a wheelchair since tragic crash, Ryan Straschnitzki studying how to address accessibility issues

Humboldt Broncos bus crash survivor Ryan Straschnitzki pauses during a para golf lesson in Calgary, Tuesday, Sept. 28, 2021. Spending the last five years using a wheelchair has given former Humboldt Broncos hockey player Ryan Straschnitzki a new path forward. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Auditor General Karen Hogan holds a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. The Auditor General says two thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, and is highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Two-thirds of Canadians with disabilities found barriers on planes, trains: audit

Auditor general: Via Rail, Canadian Air Transport Security Authority still show serious gaps

Auditor General Karen Hogan holds a press conference in Ottawa on Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. The Auditor General says two thirds of people with disabilities encountered barriers on federally regulated planes and trains in 2019 and 2020, and is highlighting a lack of consultation and enforcement by agencies involved. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A BC Transit handyDART bus. (Contributed photo)

‘It’s not fair’: Long road ahead for B.C. transit improvements

Province unlikely to fund more accessible transit this year: BC Transit

A BC Transit handyDART bus. (Contributed photo)
The signal says walk, but piles of icy snow say otherwise at the corner of Blanshard and Broughton in Victoria after a December 2022 snowfall. (Black Press Media file photo)

‘No access’: B.C. residents with disabilities keep cautious eye on snowy forecasts

Snow and ice severely limit those with mobility, sight or hearing disabilities

The signal says walk, but piles of icy snow say otherwise at the corner of Blanshard and Broughton in Victoria after a December 2022 snowfall. (Black Press Media file photo)
Sam the autism service dog is the first service dog to attend a School District 27 school. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photos - Williams Lake Tribune)

Autism service dog a game changer for family and 1st for B.C. school district

Dog attends class at Chilcotin Road Elementary to support a young student

Sam the autism service dog is the first service dog to attend a School District 27 school. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photos - Williams Lake Tribune)
Brayden Methot in the drivers position of his specially-adapted van, which he can drive from his power chair using hand controls, despite a C4 spinal cord injury. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo)

Williams Lake man driving first-of-its-kind adaptive van in Canada

Brayden Methot excited to enter back into the work force as he paves history

Brayden Methot in the drivers position of his specially-adapted van, which he can drive from his power chair using hand controls, despite a C4 spinal cord injury. (Monica Lamb-Yorski photo)
Salmon Arm resident Tim Kubash said a lack of staffing contributed to him being prevented from boarding his WestJet flight home from Victoria on Dec. 3, 2022. (Tim Kubash/Facebook)

Salmon Arm man kept from boarding WestJet flight due to battery in wheelchair

Incident took place on International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Salmon Arm resident Tim Kubash said a lack of staffing contributed to him being prevented from boarding his WestJet flight home from Victoria on Dec. 3, 2022. (Tim Kubash/Facebook)
Jason Boberg, a member of the disability caucus and a founder of the disability climate action network SustainedAbility, speaks at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Boberg told The Associated Press in an interview days before he departed for COP27 that he’s seen pro-disability rights language in draft text of negotiations at previous conferences, including language about funding disability rights organizations to do climate action work. But that language has been cut from final agreements at the negotiations. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

VIDEO: People with disabilities raise voices at international climate talks

COP27 runs until Nov. 18

Jason Boberg, a member of the disability caucus and a founder of the disability climate action network SustainedAbility, speaks at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 6, 2022. Boberg told The Associated Press in an interview days before he departed for COP27 that he’s seen pro-disability rights language in draft text of negotiations at previous conferences, including language about funding disability rights organizations to do climate action work. But that language has been cut from final agreements at the negotiations. (AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
Michelle Asgarali, shown in a handout photo, is the producer of the new show “Breaking Character,” which follows a cast of disabled actors trying to make it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/-HO-AMI

‘Breaking Character’ is breaking boundaries in the world of disability representation

Docu-series tells the stories of 6 performers with disabilities

Michelle Asgarali, shown in a handout photo, is the producer of the new show “Breaking Character,” which follows a cast of disabled actors trying to make it. THE CANADIAN PRESS/-HO-AMI
Emerson and Amelia Nelson are seen in a handout photo. Their mother hopes the siblings and other children with ADHD get support through B.C.’s new service “hubs” for neurodiverse children. But Jaymie Nelson is concerned about possible wait lists and staffing issues in the new system, set to be launched next year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Rochelle Hepworth

B.C. to launch ‘circle of care’ for neurodiverse kids but parents have many questions

40 family connections centres, or hubs, are slated to be opened across the province

Emerson and Amelia Nelson are seen in a handout photo. Their mother hopes the siblings and other children with ADHD get support through B.C.’s new service “hubs” for neurodiverse children. But Jaymie Nelson is concerned about possible wait lists and staffing issues in the new system, set to be launched next year. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Rochelle Hepworth
Tracey Werry fears her sons Myles, 7, and Elliott, 9, will lose their autism support in the province’s new needs-based model. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)

B.C. parents fear new autism funding model will leave their children behind

Children’s ability to mask their autism traits often places them low on support list, mother says

Tracey Werry fears her sons Myles, 7, and Elliott, 9, will lose their autism support in the province’s new needs-based model. (Jane Skrypnek/News Staff)
Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix look on as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks about the COVID-19 vaccine card set to arrive in mid-September as they discuss details about the process during a press conference at provincial legislature in Victoria, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Premier John Horgan shows his vaccination card after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the pharmacy in James Bay Thrifty’s Foods in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, April 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito

No medical exemptions for B.C. vaccine card ‘blatant discrimination’, disabled activist says

Some British Columbians cannot be vaccinated due to allergies to vaccine components

Premier John Horgan and Health Minister Adrian Dix look on as Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry speaks about the COVID-19 vaccine card set to arrive in mid-September as they discuss details about the process during a press conference at provincial legislature in Victoria, Monday, Aug. 23, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito Premier John Horgan shows his vaccination card after receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at the pharmacy in James Bay Thrifty’s Foods in Victoria, B.C., on Friday, April 16, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito