Human rights complaint filed against panel
Man with hearing loss says he was discriminated against by AISH
Alberta’s independent panel for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) appeals is facing a human rights complaint over allegations it discriminated against an Edmonton man with hearing loss.
In his complaint to the Alberta Human Rights Commission, Bill Day says he told the appeals secretariat he couldn’t hear AISH’S director who called in over speaker-phone during an appeal March 3, where Day represented his wife who has a cognitive disability. The complaint is also being reviewed by the Alberta ombudsman.
Despite raising the concern multiple times, he says the panel ignored him and continued, telling him he was being disruptive when he asked his daughter to explain what was happening. Day says he’s shocked the hearing process for disability benefits didn’t account for his own disability.
“I objected to not being able to hear, and ... my objections fell on deaf ears,” he said in an interview this week.
“I think when it first was revealed that I couldn’t hear, that was the time to shut it down and say, ‘OK, you know, that’s just not fair to Mr. Day, it’s not fair to his family, not fair to his wife, so we should reschedule this at another time.’”
Day says the experience was belittling and frustrating.
He says he feels he was disrespected and discriminated against because of his hearing.
“It was the first time in my hearing-impairment lifetime I ever felt anything like that,” he says. “I feel like (they’re) sitting there ... (thinking) ‘he’s not significant.’ ”
Alberta’s auditor general criticized the AISH process as inefficient and inconsistent in a 2016 report. It found the application process to be onerous and not user-friendly.
Day says he attempted to reference this report and other documents outlining the appeals process when he felt his concerns were being ignored, but he was told he could not refer to those documents.
He also believes the panel continued speaking with the AISH representative during a recess while he was out of the room.
When he raised this concern, he says the panel refused to acknowledge his question.
“I was sitting there, twiddling my thumbs ... I felt kind of dumb, and I felt totally left out of this,” he said.
The province promised to overhaul AISH in April 2017 to make it more accessible.
The Edmonton branch of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association has intervened on Day’s behalf. In a letter, program director Cindy Gordon asks AISH to reschedule his appeal.
“Mr. Day (representing his wife) should have been given the opportunity as every other citizen to fully understand what was happening during the appeal hearing and a fair and equal opportunity to participate like everyone else should have been provided,” she wrote in a letter addressed to the appeals secretariat and AISH.
The Office of the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities has also intervened on Day’s behalf, and connected him with the Alberta Human Rights Commission and the Alberta ombudsman.
The Ministry of Community and Social Services did not indicate whether the ministry would be reviewing the complaint or the appeal panel process.
Diane Carter, press secretary to Minister of Community and Social Services Rajan Sawhney, said she was not able to discuss specifics due to privacy reasons.
“Accommodations for disabilities during appeals are an important part of the panel’s procedures. Requests for accommodations during the appeal can be made in advance as part of the appeal process. Examples of the types of supports include providing an interpreter or communication access realtime translation services,” she said in an email statement Friday.
Day says he was not notified ahead of time that a representative from AISH would be calling in over speaker-phone.