Vaccines and Consent…

Hey everyone, with the topic of VACCINES for COVID-19 coming up, there have been questions about providing informed consent for immunization. Thanks to the BCCEO network for sharing resources around this topic!

Click here to read what the BCCDC says about Informed Consent for Immunization, and inability to provide consent for immunization.

Click here to be taken to the Ministry of Health form for Consent for Vaccine-for Adults Assessed as Incapable of Giving Informed Consent.

Your Right to…Vote


Hey everybody, we are celebrating rights (and responsibilities) this month! Today’s post is about VOTING. You can register to vote in BC if you are:

  • 18 or older by General Voting Day (Oct. 24)
  • a Canadian citizen, and
  • a BC resident for the past six months as of General Voting Day (Oct. 24)

While Election Day in BC is coming up next Saturday (Oct. 24), in many places advance voting starts TODAY (Oct. 15)! If you plan to vote, check out what political parties say they will do about issues you care about. For example, the BC Special Olympics focused in on health care, check out this article for more information. Inclusion BC wrote to the political parties to find out what their plans were, check out their questions and issues here. You will need to decide which political party you will vote for in the election.

When you have decided who you will vote for, you will need to know where to go to vote. Find the place you will be voting (either in advance, or on Oct. 24) on the Elections BC website.

You will need to bring some specific items with you when you go to vote. You might want to get the items together in advance (i.e. your ID, a mask, etc). If you aren’t sure what you need, there is more information in this Elections BC voter guide.

Most importantly, if you’re planning to vote… ask for help, if you need it! Here are some ideas of who you could talk to and ask for help:

  • Your family or your friends
  • Your support worker or your home share provider
  • People you know at your church or in your neighborhood

When you’re making your plan to get out there and vote, you might need to know what help is available at the voting station. You can find information about what help is available on this Elections BC webpage.

Elections BC also has a webpage all about keeping healthy and safe while you vote — check it out here.

Happy voting!

WEBINAR: Voting!

Hey everyone, if you’re going to vote in the upcoming BC election there’s a webinar that can help answer your questions about voting — happening tomorrow!

You Can Vote! Webinar with Guest Melanie Callas from Elections BC
WHEN: October 14th, 2020 at 1:00-1:45PM (PST)

Inclusion BC is pleased to welcome Melanie Callas, Outreach Coordinator with Elections BC, to host the 5th webinar in our Virtual Learning Series. Melanie will talk about the voting process and answer questions about voting and the election.
Send us your questions! Inclusion BC is collecting questions to ask Melanie in the webinar. We want to hear from you! Please send your questions to Semanthi at swanni@inclusionbc.org

https://inclusionbc.org/bc-votes-2020/

Have Your Say In…Parking

Hey everyone, have your say in accessible parking in Kelowna and enter to win a $50 gift card to a local business:

The City is reaching out to accessible parking users to take a survey and share their experiences using City of Kelowna accessible parking stalls. Survey feedback will be used to create a new accessible parking program and respondents can enter to win a $50 gift card to a local business for their participation.

“We completed the Downtown Area Parking Plan last year and during that process we heard from residents that there are barriers to accessible parking in Kelowna,” says Andrew Rolston, Parking Operations Coordinator. “This survey will help us understand more clearly what those barriers are and what solutions users would prefer.”

The survey is open to anyone who regularly uses or has used accessible parking stalls in City owned parking lots and on-street parking, for themselves, friends, family members or clients. The survey is open until 4 p.m., Oct. 20.

To take the survey, go to https://getinvolved.kelowna.ca/. To check out a map of accessible parking stalls, go to https://www.kelowna.ca/roads-transportation/parking/find-parking.

COVID-19 Disability Survey

Hey everyone, Castanet.net reported this morning that Canadians who identify as having a disability – physical, cognitive, or sensory – or having a child or family member living with a disability have an opportunity to share their unique experiences and concerns while navigating COVID-19.

Participating in this survey provides feedback that will guide policymakers, businesses and national organizations to develop inclusive and accessible policies, processes, and services. To participate in the COVID-19 Disability Survey, click here and for more information you can email or call 1-(866)-639-1858.

“This is an opportunity for people with disabilities to share how their experiences in accessing services during COVID-19 has impacted their physical, mental and social health. … It’s imperative the voices and concerns of Canadians living with disabilities are reflected in the public health response to COVID-19.”

Martin Ginis (Director of the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention and Management)

Have Your Say In…Transportation!

Over two years in the making, the draft plan for transit in the Central Okanagan is published – have your say! The draft was prepared by The Sustainable Transportation Partnership of the Central Okanagan (STPCO), a group of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland and Westbank First Nation officials.

Give feedback and engage in how you want your transportation needs met in your community here!

The West Kootenays are also planning for the future of transit – check out their plan’s webpage!

You can also give feedback about West Kootenay and Kelowna Regional Transit services online.

Update on Home Share Working Group

Hi everyone, thanks to COPCS for sending around an update regarding the Home Share Working Group, and their efforts on behalf of home share providers:

Dear COPCS Members:
We want to share news from the Home Share Working Group’s meeting held on December 12th in Vancouver.
CLBC presented a proposal to support improved communication with the 4,000 home share providers across the province.  Action will be taken to create a new subscriber based newsletter which will be delivered every two months.  All of COPCS members will be sent the newsletter via email. 
If you would like to receive updates regarding the Home Sharing Working Group, please send an email to CLBCInfo@gov.bc.ca In addition, COPCS will be updating members at our regular business meetings.  The next Home Sharing Working Group meeting will be held on February 15th in Vancouver.
Sincerely,
Executive Members of the Central Okanagan Professional Caregivers Society
Accessibility