I went to a Services Ontario Office last week to renew my Health Card. I approached the Greeters desk, told them why I was there, and asked what I needed to do. Despite the fact that I was carrying my white cane, neither of the greeters were particularly helpful; I couldn't see that the number machine had five buttons marked "A" through "E" for the various services offered (because they weren't lit or even back lit). Rather than pointing to the button the one woman just kept saying over and over again that I needed to push the button marked "B", as they both watched me search the screen with my palm for anything that might be raised. I could feel myself prickle with humiliation as the waiting room full of people watched me. It was my three-year-old granddaughter who finally found the "B". I took my number and slunk off to wait my turn.
The real frustration happened after I told the clerk that I was there to renew my health card and I handed her my paperwork. She told me I couldn't renew it without a piece of government-issued photo I.D. The health card IS my government-issued photo I.D., I said. Not good enough, she replied. Did I have a driver's license? [Seriously?] Holding my white cane in front of me I had to explain that I no longer drive. Well, I should have checked list 2 for the necessary requirements, she tells me, and hands back my paper work open to list 2. At this point I became upset; "I can't possibly read that list - I have a vision impairment. Renewing a health card is not very accessible is it?" I asked her to write down the web address so that I could go home and read the document in its entirety using the assistive device on my computer. She happily complied, but wrote the information down in red ink and in the same-sized font as the written document in front of me. I sighed. "Why is all this even necessary", I asked? She explained that in order to renew your health card you need to prove that you still pay taxes in Ontario. Okay, I get that. Then she got the bright idea that I could return with a utility bill showing my name and address on it. When I said that we receive ALL of our bills by email so that I can read them on my computer, she looked dejected. "Oh dear, " she said, "printed online invoices aren't acceptable."
At this point I realized that I was stuck in a black hole of stupidity - I mean, who writes these policies, anyway?! I gathered up my papers and I left without renewing my health card. Accessibility is about more than wheel chair stalls in public washrooms. My next step is my MPP's office.
Has the government not heard of the bill that 'they' introduced called AODA it requires total accessiblity for those who need it in whatever form. We have been advised in our workplaces and our volunteer areas that we can be heavily fined if we do not comply - are the government areas EXEMPT,. This frustration should never have happened to someone who is trying to be a fully funtioning member of society in spite of her "handicap" . An 'oh dear' doesn't cut it in my books, common courtesy and compassion by those who are in the public eye instead of being the norm is instead sadly lacking.
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