Latest / Podcasts By Donna Jodhan / Remarkable World Commentary Episode #43: Interview with Louise Gillis, Past President, Canadian Council of the Blind | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | September 18, 2025

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Remarkable World Commentary Episode #43: Interview with Louise Gillis, Past President, Canadian Council of the Blind | Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA | September 18, 2025 · Podcasts By Donna Jodhan

0:13
Podcast Commentator: Greetings. Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP and MBA,
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invites you to listen to her biweekly podcast,
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Remarkable World Commentary.
0:24
Here, Donna shares some of her innermost thoughts,
0:27
insights, perspectives, and more with her listeners.
0:31
Donna focuses on topics that directly affect the future of kids,
0:35
especially kids with disabilities.
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Donna is a blind advocate, author, sight loss coach,
0:42
dinner mystery producer, writer, entrepreneur,
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law graduate, and podcast commentator.
0:49
She has decades of lived experiences, knowledge,
0:53
skills, and expertise in access technology and information.
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As someone who has been internationally recognized for her work and roles,
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she just wants to make things better than possible.
1:07
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Remarkable World Commentary.
1:14
I'm Donna Johnson, a lifelong disability advocate and one who sees the world mainly
1:21
through sound, touch and stubborn optimism.
1:27
I am a law graduate, accessibility consultant,
1:31
author, lifelong barrier buster who also happens to be blind.
1:37
You may know me from a few headline moments.
1:41
In November of 2010, I won the Landmark Charter case that forced the Canadian
1:47
government to make its websites accessible to every Canadian,
1:53
not just to sighted ones.
1:56
In July of 2019, I co-led the Accessible Canada Act with more than two dozen
2:04
disability groups to turn equal access into federal law and most recently,
2:11
on June the 3rd, 2022.
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I was greatly humbled by Her Late Majesty's Platinum Jubilee Award for tireless
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commitment to removing barriers.
2:25
When I'm not in a courtroom or committee room or pottery studio,
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you'll find me coaching kids with vision loss,
2:36
producing audio mysteries, or helping tech companies to make their
2:42
gadgets talk back in plain language.
2:46
Everything I do circles one goal to turn accessibility from afterthought into everyday
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practice. I invite you to think of this show as our shared workbench where policy meets
3:03
live experience and lived experience sparks fresh ideas.
3:09
Now, before we jump into today's conversation,
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let me shine a spotlight on today's Guest Changemaker,
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whose work is as every bit as remarkable as the world that we are trying to build.
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Louise Gillis, my mentor, my friend and my advisor.
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Welcome to our podcast.
3:34
Louise Gillis: Thank you very much, Donna.
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I'm very pleased to be here on this podcast and look forward to our interview.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. So are we ready?
3:44
Louise Gillis: We're ready.
3:45
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay. So, Louise, would you start by sharing a little about your journey Need from nursing
3:55
in Cape Breton to becoming a national leader in the blindness home community.
4:03
What was the turning point that made you do this?
4:11
Well.
4:13
Louise Gillis: It was a major turning point when the fact that had lost the most of my sight very
4:19
suddenly while at work in the health care system.
4:23
So on that day, I had to leave work and never did return.
4:29
But after a number of months of kind of moping and saying,
4:34
there's more to life than just watching soaps,
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which I definitely do not like.
4:40
So. So I said, I got to get out and find something,
4:43
so I did. Then after many attempts, finally crossed the threshold of Cnib to see
4:50
what was available. And I guess there I did learn a lot and learned about accessibility
4:59
and and people needing assistance to get around and do that,
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because although I only had sight in one eye,
5:08
I didn't really have a whole lot of vision will say in the whole blind community.
5:16
So there's my time to to learn that and find out about people and going out as a a
5:24
volunteer volunteer coordinator with the Cnib,
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I got to meet a lot of different people who were blind.
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And I think that's the when I realized how much there needs to be done to improve the
5:37
quality of life for people with sight loss.
5:40
And it's during that time, too, that I was acquainted,
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got acquainted with the Canadian Council of the blind and began there And once I found
5:52
that organization and joined with them shortly thereafter, within that same year,
5:57
I kind of got thrown into it because because they said,
6:02
you know, the stuff. So let's try and get this thing going.
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So in our own province, we didn't have a whole lot of work going on
6:10
because the persons that were there before the my,
6:14
my mentor at the time and she said, we'll have to find,
6:19
find out how we can improve this here in the province.
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So that's what we set out to do.
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And within a very short time, we had the whole province up and running and
6:28
learning the, the needs for the province with,
6:33
for people with sight loss, whatever level it was,
6:36
it didn't matter. And then from there, we both went to the national level directly
6:43
as delegates for the province.
6:47
And soon there I was understanding a whole lot more about blindness that I never knew
6:54
from my working career, because I did deal with people who were
6:58
blind, but not to the extent of what other barriers they're running against.
7:03
And now facing those similar barriers myself.
7:07
I knew it was time to to keep on moving.
7:10
So within that year that I got or shortly thereafter my next year,
7:14
I got appointed to the advocacy committee.
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I said, well, what do I know about that?
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Not realizing that I was doing that all along.
7:23
Right. And in fact, doing it all along, basically,
7:26
since I was a child, because of different disability that I had from the age of two,
7:32
that being told at that time that I was not able to go to school or continued education,
7:38
that I wasn't smart enough to go to university or do any of those types of
7:42
things. So I said, well, I am and I want to do this.
7:45
I want to be a nurse. So I fought my way through those channels,
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and and I made it through my diploma program quite well on the top ten on my list in the
7:56
province. So I was not.
7:58
Not so dumb after all, I guess.
8:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I know.
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Louise Gillis: You're not. So. So anyway, that just progressed me into doing more.
8:05
So I got into full time work with nursing then,
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and that's when I realized that there's more to advocacy than just what you see for
8:15
yourself at this moment.
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And then once I got into the organizations like CCB and Cnib,
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I realized a lot more about it.
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And that's when I got into full time as a full time advocate.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Quite a journey.
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Louise Gillis: It was a journey. And, you know, lots of ups and downs in that time.
8:33
But you have to overcome them and realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel,
8:39
one way or another may not be what you are looking for,
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but it is a different route that you may have to take,
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and that's the route that you follow.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, many listers are who are curious about sudden vision loss and how it reshapes a
8:56
career and life. What were the biggest personal and professional adjustments that
9:04
you faced when your site changed in the late 1990s,
9:10
and how did you navigate them?
9:15
Louise Gillis: Well, I guess the first one was the the shock of losing most of my site.
9:20
How am I how am I going to do anything now?
9:24
Because I had one career left right?
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And nursing. In nursing, I was not able to continue to do that type of
9:34
work, so I had to go on a disability.
9:37
Long term disability.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
9:39
Louise Gillis: And again, at that same time, there really wasn't the the tools for me to
9:46
keep on working in the profession in a different range of work,
9:51
which now, in this day and age, there is other things that could have been
9:55
doing and could have done.
9:57
Well, I'm sure, but didn't have that opportunity.
10:00
So that's when I had to change from my personal adjustments,
10:06
professional adjustments into finding another way to use that,
10:11
because I had just graduated in May, and this happened to me in September,
10:17
in May from my Bachelor of Science in nursing,
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which I took throughout the five previous years on a part time basis while working full
10:27
time and caring for family as well.
10:30
And, and did very well in that, as you know,
10:33
was on the Dean's list for, for doing that.
10:36
So just to like four months after graduating,
10:40
losing my sight and not being able to use the degree I had worked in or worked for.
10:46
So I had to start thinking, how can I use that?
10:50
So with the advocacy again, that's where it came in.
10:54
Talking with other people that I met along the way.
10:57
And you find mentors such as yourself in different ways to to to help you adjust and
11:05
find out exactly what you are looking for and what you need to do to achieve your goals
11:12
there. So that's how I came about.
11:14
Overcoming them mostly is just trying to push forward and saying,
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shake this off. I got to do something.
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I'm not sitting home.
11:23
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Not many people are able to do that.
11:25
So, I mean, I know that my listeners would be really impressed and motivated to hear you
11:30
say this. You know.
11:31
Louise Gillis: It's not an easy thing to do, but you really have to talk to yourself a lot
11:36
and say, I can do this, and I need to do this for others too,
11:40
to so that they don't have to follow in my footsteps.
11:43
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And that's very selfless of you and very motivating,
11:47
if I may say so.
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Louise Gillis: Thank you for that.
11:49
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. You and I first crossed, crossed paths while I was leading the
11:56
Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians.
12:00
And you have been a steadfast advisor ever since.
12:07
What principles guide the way you mentor fellow advocates,
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and why do you think mentorship matters?
12:19
Well.
12:20
Louise Gillis: First off, I like to get to know the person a bit better,
12:23
especially if I've never really met the person before.
12:27
Find out what their interests are in like they somebody may be like to just get more
12:34
sports or somebody might else may like to get more medical approvals and somebody else may
12:39
like to move, have better transportation.
12:42
So you find out what their kind of interests are,
12:45
what their background may be in those places,
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and start working through with them and see what they really have.
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And then they realize, like I did that the, the they actually had
12:58
the effect, the factors needed to become an advocate if they really wanted to pursue that
13:05
method. So they had to just kind of shake things off and say,
13:09
okay, I can do this. But then providing them with places that they could get hints of
13:17
where to work with transportation or where to work with medical systems,
13:21
whatever that may be. Medications or, or any of the stuff that works with that,
13:28
even in the hospital to make sure that the hospital is accessible,
13:32
those types of things.
13:34
How to You find those maybe governmental or legal or or just general committees to get on
13:44
the committees and find out what the whole association is like that you're interested
13:48
in, so that you can then go forward with that.
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Mentorship really matters because you can struggle along the way.
13:56
If you don't have somebody to fall back on when you say,
14:00
well, I have this issue and I'm thinking about doing it this way,
14:04
is this the best way to go about it, or should I do it some other way?
14:08
So then you talk about the item with your person and then you just make the decision.
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Do you feel comfortable doing it this way or how else can you approach this?
14:20
We got to think of the ways to go about it.
14:23
So I think it matters a lot to have mentorship.
14:26
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: It does. It really does.
14:29
Now you led the push for provincial coverage of Lucentis to treat wet,
14:37
age related macular degeneration.
14:41
How did you build the coalition that ultimately convinced government to fund that
14:50
life changing medication?
14:54
Louise Gillis: Well, again, that is a tricky method, but I discovered that there was somebody in
15:01
the opposition of the provincial government who was quite eager to have this drug passed
15:09
as well. So working with that person, we got together and got a petition,
15:16
petition set up so that we could get it around,
15:19
then found other people in the blind community,
15:23
but also in the sighted community to to help circulate that that petition so that we can
15:30
get lots of signatures on it.
15:33
And then after a period of time, whatever.
15:36
I can't recall exactly how long it took, but just a couple of weeks,
15:39
I guess. And we continued with that, and I brought the petition to the.
15:45
This particular politician and she was going to present it in the local.
15:52
Nova Scotia Parliament, and I was invited to sit in the gallery at
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that time. During the presentation.
16:00
And that was going to be it.
16:02
I had tried many times before to speak with the Minister of Health in that office about
16:09
it. And I always got the answer.
16:10
Well, there's no money for that now. There's no money. We can't do this. Yeah.
16:14
So anyway, when we did this and that minister who was in the in the opposition,
16:20
that sorry politician who is in the opposition,
16:24
she built a very strong statement to put with this petition And then everybody in the
16:31
gallery and in the audience really were clapping that we had made such a major number
16:37
of commitments by people to have this done, that it went forward and it was approved at
16:45
that time. But like the petition was accepted,
16:48
I should say, at that time. And then shortly after that part was finished,
16:55
somebody came to tap me on the shoulder while I was in the gallery and says,
16:59
the health minister wants to see you in her office.
17:01
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh. Oh, no.
17:03
Louise Gillis: Oh, yeah. Exactly. Oh, no.
17:04
So I kind of got a little faint for a minute,
17:06
but anyway I said okay.
17:09
So off we went to the office to, to see this to speak with the minister,
17:14
and she was there with her secretary, I guess it would be.
17:18
And we talked about it and again several times she said,
17:24
well, we don't have it. I said, I'm not here for me,
17:27
and I. I said, it's too late for me.
17:29
I've lost my sight and there's no changing that.
17:31
You know the damage is done and I know I said I'm here.
17:37
And I pointed to her and the other lady.
17:40
I said, I'm here for you.
17:41
You don't know what tomorrow brings.
17:43
Because my life was changed in the blink of an eye.
17:45
And that can happen to you as well.
17:47
Right? Right. I said I just told her.
17:50
Then you know that that is it.
17:53
That's my last statement.
17:54
And it is. You know, I learned that you're if you have a half hour to try and get out in 20
18:00
minutes. So I knew my 20 minutes was about up.
18:03
So I said, that's my last comment.
18:05
And we started out. So she's opened the door partway for me,
18:09
but I had to put my hand up to the door to hold it open.
18:13
And on that hand was my graduation ring.
18:17
Whoa. And she was a a lady who had graduated from Saint Novak's,
18:22
lived in the town and was a member of parliament from that town.
18:25
And she realized, oh, well, when did you graduate from.
18:29
She says to me, just as a, you know, common courtesy to recognize the
18:33
ring. Yes. I said, four months before I lost my sight loss.
18:37
And I said, that can happen to you anytime.
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Wow. Out the door I left.
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And then we were having our national convention in in Sydney here just a couple of
18:52
months later. That was in the summer. So about two months later, I guess it was. And
18:56
we were in the middle of the meeting and somebody came to me and said,
19:00
you have a call from the health minister.
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Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh, no.
19:03
Louise Gillis: Oh, no. I guess I better go get this.
19:06
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah.
19:06
Louise Gillis: So anyway, I went off and talked to her, and she said Lucentis has been approved to be
19:14
given, but it's only going to be given in Halifax.
19:17
And I said, well, thank you very much for getting it approved.
19:20
I really appreciate that.
19:22
But Halifax alone is not good enough.
19:25
I said, we have people all over the province who have to drive,
19:28
and it takes a day to get there, you know?
19:31
A day before to get there for an appointment and then you're there for most of the day,
19:35
so you can't get home early that day. So it's another overnight.
19:39
Many people don't have the money to pay for two hotels,
19:42
plus a driver to take them, or a family member who has to leave work to
19:47
get there and do this.
19:48
You have to do better than that.
19:50
We need clinics in different areas.
19:53
My suggestion to you, because I'm from Cape Breton,
19:55
I think the first clinic should be in Cape Breton.
20:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay.
20:00
Louise Gillis: And she said, well, I'll see what I can do.
20:04
It won't be for a number of years yet.
20:06
Oh, well, I'm I'll you'll be hearing from me again if it's not soon.
20:11
So anyway, that time went on, and within the less than a year,
20:16
I got another call from her saying that the first clinic had been approved in Glace Bay,
20:21
which is in Cape Breton, And that's where it was.
20:24
And then soon after that, there'll be more.
20:27
And now it can be given in many places across the province.
20:30
So that's how that that was changed.
20:35
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Wow.
20:36
Louise Gillis: Just getting to know people and being I guess not pushy but being firm and not being cross
20:44
or ignorant or anything like that.
20:46
But just stay in your mind.
20:48
But in a, in a strong voice seems to make the difference.
20:53
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I think what resonates with me from your little commentary here is it could happen to
20:59
you and many people really do not think of it that way.
21:03
Louise Gillis: No, they don't know for sure.
21:06
I certainly never did know.
21:09
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Well, wow. I'm impressed.
21:14
Now, as a member of the Canadian Transportation Agencies As Ability Advisory
21:22
group, you have scrutinized everything from curbside assistance to airline seating.
21:33
What pieces of advice would you give regulators today to make travel truly
21:43
barrier free?
21:45
Louise Gillis: I think the best thing is now that we have you know,
21:51
really have improved quite a bit with the Accessible Canada Act and the different some
21:56
provinces coming up with the Nova Scotia and others with their accessible acts.
22:01
I think with all these things and developing standards and regulations,
22:07
that travel has to be barrier free and people need to know that and understand it,
22:14
but it's to get out and ask the people who need the the barrier free travel.
22:22
What will best help you to get to where you need to go?
22:27
You know travel includes more than just transportation to from one place to another.
22:34
It also can be traveled within your own city,
22:39
your own building. For instance, you're traveling from one unit to another
22:43
unit or in a hospital or something.
22:46
That's all travel under a different title, right?
22:49
It's not certainly not under the transportation agency, but it's a it's more
22:54
of getting there, making beaches and parks and all those things.
22:59
Find out how other people have done it and regulate that all parks in Canada should be
23:06
or have some accessible, barrier free transportation within their park
23:13
or their beach or their whatever traveled within the the city or the towns that people
23:21
live in with buses, etc..
23:23
So just to make sure that they need to know that they have to ask and have people on
23:29
their advisory boards of for their accessibility advisory boards should be from
23:35
the, the communities. And I'm speaking mainly for vision because quite often that is often
23:41
forgotten in many, many advisory panels.
23:45
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yes, yes it is. Now, white Cane Week has become a national platform for education
23:54
and celebration. How can local chapters make the most of that week to create lasting
24:03
community impact beyond the seven days of events?
24:10
Louise Gillis: Well, I think one of the big things I know some communities are very small and it's
24:14
difficult to get that out.
24:16
But when you do presentations to local community groups and
24:26
advisory groups, whatever they may be is one good thing that you can do all year long,
24:30
not only during White Cane Week.
24:35
Also having activities that show our abilities.
24:40
One thing, for instance, and I think that's coming up in a question
24:43
later, but it's about sports and activities showing that we can do those types of things,
24:50
but also showing people that we can be lawyers if we want to be or can be whatever
24:56
that you want to do. And that's anytime of the day or night or year doesn't have to be
25:02
just during White Cane Week.
25:04
But White Cane Week is made to especially notify people that there is you know,
25:11
a special time for education and celebration.
25:14
But all year long, every day, every minute can be used to get that lasting
25:20
community effect impact on people.
25:23
To realize that, yes, there are people here who are able to do
25:28
things and get them involved in whatever it might be,
25:31
even just local groups of card playing or something to that effect.
25:37
You know, there's different ways you can do that, just anything recreational.
25:42
Everybody is entitled to.
25:43
And people with different disabilities or different abilities can do whatever they like
25:50
to do.
25:51
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right now, sports has clearly played a huge role in your advocacy
26:00
narrative, especially for vision impaired curling.
26:06
How has stepping onto the ice strengthened your message that blindness,
26:13
blindness need not be a barrier.
26:17
Louise Gillis: Well, that's an interesting question, because I recall the very first day that I
26:22
asked somebody to to there's I got 3 or 4 different people together that were
26:29
interested in curling because it had been in some other places in Canada,
26:33
but we didn't really know much about it.
26:35
But to have somebody who would take us out onto the ice and let us at least give it a
26:41
try. That person kind of laughed at me and said,
26:45
blind people on the ice.
26:46
I said, yeah, but it's different ice than what we do on the streets.
26:49
I don't like ice on the streets, but I think it could be okay there.
26:55
I know others do it. We need to do it.
26:58
So anyway, reluctantly, she did take us out,
27:01
but she knew somebody else that I hadn't known at that time who had taught his brother
27:07
and helped his brother, who had sight loss, How to curl.
27:11
And he got along well.
27:12
So he became her coach and and still works with us at this day.
27:17
But for me, stepping onto that ice and seeing that,
27:21
yes, this is something I could do because curling was something that I wanted to do
27:25
while I was fully sighted.
27:27
But to me it was something just seeing what it was about and whatever it seemed like it
27:32
is for elite people, people who are more higher ups than I was.
27:37
I was just a lowly little person down here.
27:39
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Oh, yeah.
27:40
Louise Gillis: So, you know, I you know, I did go down a couple of times to the rink
27:44
and see if there's something that I could learn, but and I said, oh, no,
27:48
I'm not that type of person, so I'm just more side.
27:52
But now that we have our vision impaired team,
27:56
it has made a major difference in our community here for sure,
28:01
to see that people can be out on the ice and holding the vision impaired curling champions
28:06
here. February of this past year.
28:09
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay.
28:10
Louise Gillis: Made a major difference.
28:12
We had a lot of people come in and see it.
28:14
We had a lot of advertisements on radio and media,
28:18
different medias and live streaming and that sort of thing so that others could see it
28:23
across Canada. And I've gotten more compliments on being able to have that live
28:29
stream so that others could see what we're actually were doing in a small city here.
28:33
And if it really made a difference and it's not blindness.
28:40
It's definitely not a barrier to enjoying a sport,
28:43
right? If any sport. I know our goalball team from there's several across the country too,
28:50
but no, goalball has been provincial, national and international and have won
28:59
medals all across and made a difference in their lives as well.
29:03
So it's not only about me, it's about anybody who takes part in any
29:06
sport. Golf and a rock.
29:09
Climbing and sailing and and just whatever you.
29:14
If you're interested, go out and find somebody that will help you
29:17
with it and get going.
29:19
It's it's not it's sport is not.
29:22
It's not something that will hold you back from meeting your goals in life.
29:26
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: I like that approach. I like that attitude.
29:30
I am an avid skater as well, so I understand.
29:33
Louise Gillis: Well, there you go. Yeah, I was never a good skater,
29:36
so I'm not good at doing.
29:38
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Okay, well, you're wonderful at curling.
29:41
Louise Gillis: Yeah. Different type of ice.
29:42
So.
29:42
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. Yeah. At age 76, you were still competing for a national
29:50
curling title. What does that say about lifelong fitness?
29:57
And how can sports programs be made more welcoming to older adults with vision loss.
30:06
Louise Gillis: Well, it's you know, it certainly is a lifelong fitness for sure,
30:11
because you have to be fairly in good shape to be able to move up and down the ice and
30:16
hurl a £44 rock down the other end.
30:19
Yes, but any kind of sport will do the same.
30:24
You know, fitness for you, dragon boating and those types of things too,
30:27
which I did take part in.
30:29
Excuse me. And I think they've made a major difference for me by being able to get out
30:35
and see other people who are sighted doing the same sport that you're doing at the same
30:39
time. And that's what's important.
30:43
And many of those are older which comes to mind.
30:47
We were playing against seniors one day.
30:50
And this particular team we were doing pretty good and we ended up beating them.
30:55
Well that gentleman was quite upset at the fact that the blind team beat him 13.
31:01
So it's it's doesn't matter your age like we had a variety of ages on ours from you know,
31:08
the youngest being maybe 30 and the oldest being 82 or so.
31:13
So, yeah. So it's a sport that's just in my team.
31:17
Well, actually, it's somebody on.
31:19
They're a bit older than that now, too, so, you know,
31:22
you can do it at any time if you like it and you are able to,
31:26
you just keep fit and you keep on going.
31:29
So you say that, you know, I think I have enough for,
31:32
you know, after seven, 18 years of it, I'm still going and have
31:37
already signed up for this coming year.
31:39
Oh, and we did win silver medal at the nationals last year.
31:44
I just just shortly after me only playing a few games in January because I had knee
31:51
surgery in September of last year, and I was able to get on the ice and help to
31:57
win the silver medal.
32:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Wow.
32:01
Louise Gillis: So if I'd been on the ice more often before, that probably would have won gold at that
32:06
time. Anyway, we're happy with silver.
32:10
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Wow. Now, Cape Breton listeners would want to know how has your local community
32:19
influence your approach to national advocacy and in turn,
32:26
how has your national work fed back into programs at home?
32:34
Louise Gillis: Well, I think the local community were the majority at the time of the Lucentis in
32:39
particular. The fact that I was able to get that approved in Sydney being the first place
32:46
to to get the the clinic here, they were all so appreciative of that.
32:53
And with being able to do that, it also helped me to do more at the national
32:59
level. If I can do that here, I can do it more there.
33:03
So that you know, start your, your programs at home in a smaller place
33:09
where you have the support of friends and people that you do know.
33:12
And that's where I was able to to work with that part to get me into that,
33:18
into the national advocacy, which in turn now has,
33:23
has brought more stuff, more things and remove more barriers for
33:28
people in my home by having the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act,
33:33
you know, for sure. And that's helping us in our areas,
33:36
being making our little city here more accessible to people around.
33:42
And it's through the work with community that whether it be community,
33:47
local or community national, you do get to do things together and ensure
33:53
that that life is better for where you are both back and forward through to local to
33:58
national levels and back again.
34:03
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now you co-authored an open letter on Covid 19 vaccine equity for
34:13
Canadians with vision loss.
34:16
What gaps in emergency planning did the pandemic expose,
34:23
and how should we correct them before the next crisis?
34:29
Louise Gillis: Well, that's a very good question.
34:32
Emergency planning has been really no matter what the cost of the emergency has been
34:40
really not protecting people with disabilities in in many ways.
34:45
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
34:46
Louise Gillis: And with the this pandemic that really exposed so much in the fact that now many
34:53
communities are actually moving forward with finding out what the people with disabilities
35:00
need in. Emergency measures should anything happen.
35:04
And it moved beyond just the.
35:07
Covid 19 exposure and getting the the vaccines for everyone.
35:13
Realizing that people with disabilities now are at the foremost of any kind of.
35:18
A a breakout of things just as recently as the measles that are.
35:24
Coming in Canada more frequently in the past year that people with disabilities are are
35:32
top on the list for that as well.
35:34
And others. Rsv is now for seniors and people with disabilities free in our province and
35:42
hopefully as in others at the same time, to to to realize that medical emergencies are
35:50
important, to really help to get everybody looked after because somebody with anybody
35:56
with disabilities may have a higher risk factor because of maybe not being out in
36:03
public a whole lot and then getting into public for a medical appointment or something
36:07
like that are more prone to come down with a disease condition or in the case of a
36:16
wildfires, which are major this year, many places being able to escape from their
36:22
homes with what they need to get out.
36:25
And there's so many other examples you can give,
36:30
but it really needs to be looked at more.
36:33
They're starting to do that.
36:35
So we, as a group of persons with sight loss and other disabilities,
36:40
should be really pushing the governments to ensure that every community has a emergency
36:45
plan for for people with disabilities.
36:50
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And I think the Arrivecan app really highlighted the the need for this,
36:55
right?
36:56
Louise Gillis: Yes, it did for sure. Yeah.
36:58
It did.
37:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, in 2011, you stood beside of Canada when tactile features were
37:10
unveiled on our 50. And $100 notes.
37:20
What did that milestone mean to you personally?
37:24
And what next step would you like to see in accessible currency?
37:31
Louise Gillis: Well that is a a major step getting now all the bills with the the tactile features on
37:39
them in a variety of ways.
37:41
And that just watching people who are totally blind use all these features really means a
37:47
lot. And the fact that our organization was the was one of the groups that worked with
37:56
the Bank of Canada at the time to do this.
37:59
And you know, with everybody doing that, it really made a difference for people being
38:06
able to use their money more easily than having to have somebody fold it or do
38:12
whatever else for them to understand what each bill was.
38:18
The next steps I'd like to see in accessible currency.
38:22
The, the coins also are very tactile for people to understand and use to is is just to
38:31
ensure that other countries when you go to a different country,
38:36
in fact you get money and you have no idea what bills are.
38:41
So you have to go to somebody to, to find out what they are,
38:46
because they don't all have banknote readers that you can use for those.
38:51
So it's to make not only currency more accessible for people in different countries.
39:00
But if you run across some of that kind of money in your own province or your own city,
39:06
then you need to know what it is.
39:08
You know, it could be monopoly money for all you know.
39:11
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. Yes.
39:12
Louise Gillis: Really? So it's it's trying to to ensure that the accessibility currency continues to
39:19
improve. And if there's new ways of coming up with making each of the bills even more
39:24
accessible into the future, that would be great,
39:27
too. So I'm not exactly sure what other, you know,
39:32
it could be used for that right now.
39:35
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Right.
39:36
Louise Gillis: Yeah.
39:37
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, marine. Atlantic.
39:40
Atlantic.
39:41
Screen Reader: You know.
39:42
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: To inspect its ferries for Accessibility.
39:47
Okay. When you conduct an audit, what common design flaws jump out first.
39:57
And how do you persuade decision makers to fix them?
40:04
Louise Gillis: One of the big things that I find most reasonably after I've been working with the
40:09
committee for a number of years and along with other people with disabilities,
40:14
and they were very eager to fix the things that we had spoken about in the past.
40:21
But they just recently got a couple of new vessels in the last year or so and just doing
40:27
the view of those, finding that when they have made signage,
40:33
they did do a good job to a point.
40:36
But then it stopped and you're kind of lost, like going on the ferry to Newfoundland,
40:41
for instance, the one that we were talking about, you.
40:45
You want to know where the dog relief area is?
40:47
Well, the signs along the way that are pointing in the direction,
40:51
you can feel them. Tactile and whatnot.
40:54
So you go and then all of a sudden you run up against a desk.
40:58
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Yeah. Yeah.
40:59
Louise Gillis: And sometimes there's nobody at the desk.
41:02
So where do you go? You have no idea.
41:05
This is not the dog relief area.
41:06
Because, you know, it's not in this place.
41:08
No, it's working with them now, and I have been more recently than I have not
41:14
been able to use the various this summer.
41:16
They are trying to discover ways to improve that kind of markings to make sure.
41:22
And they were going to put new signage up on that desk,
41:25
for instance, to say, go left from here or whatever,
41:30
you know, and and that is one of the things that that has happened.
41:34
But Marine Atlantic actually a number of years back when the prize for the best
41:41
transportation Accessibility Award, you know,
41:45
over the time. And they continue to do that because they continue with the Accessibility
41:51
Advisory and Inclusion Committee which I continue to be a member of,
41:57
and they continue to ask the questions that you know,
42:01
we've done this. It says, right, in most cases,
42:04
they do send it to us before it's put into practice to see if there's if there's any
42:10
changes that need to be made.
42:12
And then if there are changes, they usually try to get on it and fix it.
42:18
In some cases with ferries, though, there are certain things that have to
42:22
be there because it's a seaworthy vessel, and they have to be fitted in such a way that
42:30
the doors have to be have to have a little bumper on them so that water cannot get in
42:36
the cabins and that sort of thing.
42:37
So it's just preventive preventive methods.
42:41
So they're working on finding ways to remind people that there are these little obstacles
42:47
in the way. And prior to you getting to them so that you can,
42:52
you know, get across those barriers much more easily.
42:57
Yeah. So they're they're doing a lot of work and really working with the committee in,
43:01
in fixing these problems.
43:04
It's one of the best groups that I've worked with in,
43:07
in doing things, because they seem to really want to take people with disabilities on
43:13
their, their vessels. And it's a really a great organization.
43:20
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Now, you led the initiative that saw me receive the CCP person of the year award
43:30
back in 2017. Why do peer recognitions matter and in our community.
43:41
How can we use words to spotlight unsung heroes?
43:46
And I just want to add, I was extremely shocked and humbled that I
43:50
received this award. So tell us how this.
43:56
Louise Gillis: Yeah. Well, if the main reason when somebody goes out and and does the work,
44:02
just like what you had done with the Accessibility Act and all your work prior to
44:07
that, and since that time, you're kind of leading the people into making
44:13
Canada a much better place to live, a much safer place and barrier free.
44:18
Whenever we can. And if we don't recognize people for doing that type of work it's it's
44:27
kind of a sad way. Like, the person has done the work and then said,
44:32
okay, it's done so much for that.
44:34
What am I going to do next?
44:36
But if you get an award for doing it, or recognized in any way,
44:40
doesn't necessarily have to be an award or a piece.
44:44
Just to be spotlighted is a major thing to show that this is what this person has done.
44:52
And you can do this too.
44:54
So just follow the footsteps and show that you,
44:57
as a person who has won the award, can do the work.
45:01
But you are also bringing people along, mentoring people about how they can do this
45:07
same type of work in a different location or whatever it might be.
45:11
So it's important to really recognize people have done and worked very hard,
45:18
and, you know, you're not getting paid for the work that you're doing.
45:21
It's all volunteer work in many cases for most people.
45:25
So if you're doing that and you're not only working eight hours a day,
45:29
you're working maybe 12, 14 hours and seven days a week.
45:34
So that's a lot of your time.
45:36
Volunteer time that goes into this.
45:38
People don't understand that.
45:40
And this needs to be shown to general population.
45:45
That they understand that people who are blind or have other disabilities can do
45:50
things and work many more, longer hours than people who are working
45:54
regular shifts and getting paid a wage for it.
46:00
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Do you have any final thoughts?
46:01
Louise? Because I don't have any more questions for you,
46:04
but what are your final thoughts with regard to younger advocates?
46:08
What would you tell them?
46:10
Louise Gillis: I think the biggest thing that we need to tell younger folks you know,
46:15
they're they're there and they're different from their peers.
46:18
Yes. It's important to keep your friends from school and all that sort of thing,
46:23
but you need to do some work with your yourself and be able to say,
46:30
well, I need to find I'm having trouble with this particular thing in life,
46:36
whatever it might be. Maybe it's a parent's not actually understanding what you're going
46:42
through because they have never gone through it looking for other people in not
46:49
necessarily in your town, but any place across Canada through sports or
46:53
whatever you may be in who have come across the same situation and how have they been
46:59
affected by it? Listen to podcasts, listen to any of these things.
47:04
These are things you can do on your own time,
47:07
and nobody needs to know you're listening.
47:09
But you can learn from those types of things when you're just sitting back listening to
47:15
what somebody has to say about something.
47:17
It's advocacy. And moving forward in life is something that every person has to do,
47:23
whether you have a disability or not, and each person has to be able to find that
47:29
road and understand what it is and be encouraged to to get the help that they do
47:35
need, and not just to stay in a corner in their house and do nothing.
47:40
Because you are. Everybody's better than that.
47:43
You can do something and you know that, but you just don't know the way.
47:47
So see if you can find anybody and us who have gone before.
47:52
You are always open for questions.
47:55
If you have any questions, if you can look up our websites and whatever
48:00
and get in touch with somebody in the community that can help you guide your way
48:04
through.
48:06
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Please, I really would like to thank you for having been an interviewee on my podcast.
48:11
I've learned so much about you, the things you've done.
48:15
You've not been afraid to go out there and bat the ball as they would say,
48:19
but you've done it so majestically and so generously and so kindly.
48:25
And I want to thank you for having been my mentor,
48:28
my advisor, my friend, and I look forward to seeing you in Toronto
48:32
when you get here.
48:34
Louise Gillis: I'm looking forward to seeing you and thank you for all that you have done before me
48:38
even, and continue to do this day.
48:41
So podcasts are important for people, and this is one way of getting information
48:45
out to people who need to get support and may not know where to turn.
48:51
So I think in both cases, we both have helped people in that way.
48:56
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: And if you ever want to come back and share anything else with us,
48:59
please let me know.
49:01
Louise Gillis: I will, and thank you so much for having me here today.
49:04
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: My pleasure, Louise, thank you very much.
49:07
Louise Gillis: You're quite welcome. Bye, all.
49:08
Donna J. Jodhan, LLB, ACSP, MBA: Buh bye now. Bye.
49:13
Podcast Commentator: Donna wants to hear from you and invites you to write to her at Donna at gmail.com.
49:19
Until next time.