Mr. Chair, before we begin, there's something important that I think needs to be brought up at this committee.
I would like to start off by saying that I am wearing a black blazer with a blue shirt, and I have blond hair.
We received, shortly before this meeting began, an email that I was copied on. It was sent to the chair of the committee by one of the witnesses who was supposed to testify today, Christopher Sutton. I reached out to Mr. Sutton, who has given his permission for that email to be read at the committee.
I want to start off by reading the email that came from Christopher Sutton.
He says, “I'm writing to express my disappointment and frustration regarding my recent invitation to appear before the HUMA committee, which was scheduled to discuss the goal of achieving a Canada without barriers by 2040. I was invited to participate at the last minute and dedicated the entire day preparing for my appearance. Unfortunately, I was informed shortly before the meeting that I would not be able to attend due to not using the approved headset. When the committee clerk contacted me, I made it clear that I am deaf and that I use both a cochlear implant and a hearing aid. I also explained that my audio assistive technologies connect directly to my Apple devices for streaming audio, and that I utilize an external microphone for transmitting sound. Wearing a headset is not possible for me. This is not the first time I've met with a government committee, and this accommodation has always been understood as necessary due to my accessibility needs.
“It is deeply ironic that, despite the subject matter of this meeting, my participation was prevented due to barriers related to accessibility. Given my long-standing experience navigating the ableism embedded in government policies and systems, I find this situation not only disappointing but also revealing. It raises important questions about whether the challenges facing the Accessible Canada Act are due to inherent structural issues, and whether the commitment to a barrier-free Canada is as strong as it should be.
“As someone who takes pride in being collaborative and building bridges, I hope this situation can serve as an educational moment for this committee. I encourage you to consider how the committee can take the lead in ensuring its work is truly inclusive and accessible. I've attached the speaking notes I prepared for today's committee meeting. I hope that, along with this email, they can be included in the record.
“I look forward to your response and hope the issue can be addressed so that future engagements are genuinely inclusive and accessible.
“Sincerely, Chris.”
That is the letter this committee received.
It is completely unacceptable that Christopher Sutton is not able to participate in this committee and that the Government of Canada does not have the ability to have Christopher Sutton and others like him testify at a parliamentary committee. Therefore, we need to address this.
Based on that, I would like to move the following motion, which is relevant to this. It's relevant to this committee's work and to the study we're doing.
I move that:
Given that Mr. Christopher Sutton of the Wavefront Centre was invited to participate in the committee's study on the goal of achieving a Canada without barriers by 2040, that Mr. Sutton was blocked from participating in this study because his audio assistive technologies did not meet the committee's or House administration's headset rules, and that this represents a clear barrier to access for deaf, deaf-blind and hard-of-hearing Canadians, the House of Commons administration unreservedly apologize to Mr. Sutton, reschedule the appearance of Mr. Sutton, and investigate the committee's audio device rules and report back on what changes they will be making, within a month, to remove this discriminatory barrier to access.
Thank you.