ODA Action TIP ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE ACTION TIP dd Sept. 19, 2003

ONTARIANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT COMMITTEE ACTION TIP Urge The Media Today To Ask The Three Party Leaders A Question On Disability Election Issues During Next Tuesday's Leaders' Debate September 19, 2003 SUMMARY We have just learned that the TV stations that are conducting the Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Leaders' Debate are inviting the public to send them questions to ask the three party leaders. We urge you to send in questions on disability issues. Get others to do so too. The more people the media hears from on this issue, the more likely we will succeed in getting a disability issue raised. The deadline to submit questions is today. Tips on how to do this are set out below. MORE DETAILS We urge you to include only one question. Make it short, and to the point. Include your contact information so that the media can call you to verify it. You might wish to personalize it a bit, by linking your disability issue to your own personal situation. You might also mention that the media has never asked a disability issue question in any provincial leaders' debate before, even though this issue comes up time after time at all-candidates' debates. Raise any disability issue you wish. A suggested question might be as follows, though feel free to alter the wording: I am a voter with a disability. There are 1.9 million Ontarians with disabilities. The Conservatives promised in 1995 to pass a strong new law, the Ontarians with Disabilities Act, to achieve a barrier-free province so people like me could fully participate. They delayed six years passing that law, and only passed a law which is weak and still unenforceable. Ontario still has far too many barriers that block persons with disabilities like me from getting a job, and enjoying the services, goods and facilities that other Ontarians take for granted. What will your party do to strengthen this weak law, so that people like me can be a full citizen of Ontario? (Include an example of a barrier you face, especially if it relates to health or education, if you prefer.) Here is how to send in your question. You can go directly to a link on the Internet to send your question. Click on: http://www.cbc.ca/ontariovotes2003/parties/index_debate.html Otherwise you can fax your question to 416-205-6478 or 416-205-6491. Indicate clearly on your fax that you are sending a question for the Leaders' Debate. It may be possible to email your question to canadanow@toronto.cbc.ca but we are not sure. Safest route is to click on the link above. We have not had time to check it out to see if the CBC website is disability accessible. Hurry to do this right now. We repeat -- The deadline for sending in questions is today! 416-205-6478 OR 416-205-6491.

 

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Last updated Sept. 30, 2003