Federal Court case could improve access to info for the blind

Donna Jodhan, a blind Toronto woman, is in Federal Court today to launch a constitutional challenge, claiming government websites are inaccessible to the visually impaired. Jodhan says that some government websites prevent her and other visually impaired people from having equal access to services and information, including filling out government job applications. Her lawyer said that this means she experiences "unanticipated barriers" when searching for information and compared her situation to that of a person in a wheelchair discovering a single step in the middle of a ramp. Government lawyers will argue, says the Canadian Press, that Jodhan is guaranteed equal benefit of the law because government services are provided in other formats, and also that there is no guaranteed access to information online on a 24-7 basis under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Winnipeg Free Press