Spring 2005 Canadian Corner

Canadian Corner
By Wendy Nichols, AER Canadian Representative

Winter storms are common in Sault Ste. Marie, where I am finally back on line, and hoping to re-connect with my friends and colleagues in Canada and the U.S. My new e-mail address, wendynichols@shaw.ca, seems to be working (most of the time), and I encourage you to contact me and become informed about and involved in Canadian AER activities. The snow-storms battering the U.S. and Canadian North-East are subsiding today, with many people digging out from under mounds of snow. I was able to return home without long delays after our recent board meeting in Atlanta despite the storm, thanks to good timing, and lots of northern experience at dealing with piles of snow. Now I want to start a whirlwind of activity in Canada, a storm of my own.

I was thrilled to speak with many Canadian AER members in Orlando in July, and at the November parent-professional conference at the W. Ross Macdonald School. I look forward to doing more of the same at the Canadian Vision Teacher’s Conference, Time and Tides, this May in Halifax.

As a member of AER, and as your Canadian Representative, I have worked hard to ensure that there is a Canadian voice for people who are blind and visually impaired. John Martin and I recently met to plan the next steps for the Canadian AER office, which include advocacy efforts in Ottawa and Toronto, modeled on the successful efforts of our U.S. colleagues in Washington. Mark Richert is making a difference in our AER International Office, and I want to congratulate him and the AER staff in Alexandria for their successes. Way to go, Mark!

People in Canada need to understand how Canadian funding models work, and differ from those in the states. We are in the process of setting up meetings with the government, to continue our advocacy efforts at that level. We have written a letter in support of Views, our parent organization, regarding Orientation and Mobility instruction for blind and visually impaired students, who are not receiving consistent service delivery across Ontario, or Canada. This follows a meeting Sue Wolak (Views advocate extraordinaire) and I had with Ontario Ministry of Education representatives in June.

As a private practitioner, I know the feeling of isolation that might overtake professionals out in the field, or I should say snow-bank these days. It is so easy to think that one person alone cannot influence an entire country, or a government. While that is possible, it has been proven wrong before. Just think about the efforts of Terry Fox, and his effect on cancer treatment and research. I met Terry on his way through Sault Ste. Marie, when I was working my way through university as a waitress and served him his lunch. He was modest when I praised him, and he made an incredible difference for people living with cancer, the disease that claimed his life shortly after I met him. One young man, who turned personal adversity into a legacy.

YOU can make a difference! Together we are stronger, and I need you to help John and me, as we look to the future and increase our efforts to provide professional, high quality services to children, adults, and seniors who live with visual impairments in our great country. CNIB should not be the only voice the government hears. The message needs to come from all those stakeholders in our field, and that includes AER. By maintaining your membership, and encouraging your colleagues to join, we WILL have a stronger voice. John and I can’t do this alone. You need to become active participants, and advocates, where you live and work. Everyone I know and meet knows what I do, and about my AER involvement. Can you say the same?

Canadian membership hovers around the 100 mark, and I would like to see that number increase dramatically. CNIB has 1,000 staff across the country, and there is a huge number of teachers who continue to attend workshops and meetings sponsored by AER, but do not pay membership dues. Our numbers need to increase if we are to continue to be effective in our efforts. Do your part, and I’ll do mine, and together we can make a difference. Together we CAN make a difference. Contact John AERCanada@sympatico.ca or me to become involved, to obtain membership information for your colleagues and administrators, and to re-new your commitment to the people with whom we work.

See you in Halifax! Think Spring!