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Independent topical source of current affairs, opinion and issues, featuring stories making news in Canada from immigrants, newcomers, minorities & ethnic communities' point of view and interests.

Rebecca Blaevoet: Braille Form and Ont .,

rebecca blaevoet: Blaevoet, who is totally blind, requested that Passport Canada staff write out her form according to the responses she provided, but was informed that doing so would violate official guidelines, according to CTV. Staff offered her a braille form, which would only have allowed her to read the application rather than complete it, only to retract the offer upon realizing they did not have any in stock. Rebecca Blaevoet of Windsor, Ont., says she learned of the policy last month when she went to have her passport renewed. In the end Blaevoet says she was asked to handwrite the form as a staff member placed a writing guide -- an aid to show her where to write -- on each individual line, an option she said wouldn't have been available to people whose disabilities prevented them from holding a pen or writing in print. Blaevoet, who has filed an official complaint about her experience with Passport Canada, said the policy represents a complete failure to accommodate those with disabilities. Passport Canada says the rule barring staff from filling in forms on behalf of others is applied across the country, adding there is no exemption in place for Canadians with disabilities. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.