Miss-Delectable
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Deaf woman's plea falls on unhearing ears
You would never know Julia has a disability unless she told you.
The vivacious 71-year-old woman is an avid walker and has completed treks of up to 300 kilometres, between towns in Germany and Denmark over seven days.
In the borough of LaSalle, where she lives, Julia likes to walk with her friends on the pedestrian path that runs parallel to the St. Lawrence River and beside the bike path.
Julia, who asked that her last name not be used, is deaf in one ear and only has 20-per-cent hearing in the other. She wears hearing aids in both ears.
For safety reasons, she brings her two Labrador retrievers along. The dogs are on leashes and trained to alert her to sounds she can't hear, such as cyclists approaching from behind.
Her canine companions have brought her afoul of the law on several occasions because LaSalle has bylaws barring dogs from borough parks and green spaces - and Julia uses a walking trail in Rapides Park.
Tickets for disobeying the bylaw cost $75.
Julia has successfully contested two tickets and is due back in municipal court tomorrow to fight a third.
"I want the rights of a handicapped individual to have what I need to live a safe life. These dogs are not pets, they are a necessity for me," she said in an interview this week.
Blind people with guide dogs are allowed in the park, so how is that different for a person who is deaf? she asked.
According to a LaSalle borough employee, Julia is missing a training certification from a guide-dog or hearing-dog organization because she trained the dogs herself.
"There are five dogs with certification from MIRA or the Lions Club in the borough of LaSalle and they are allowed in every park," said Claude Ouellette, who works for the borough's animal patrol division.
MIRA is an organization that supplies guide dogs for the blind and the Lions Club of Canada trains and supplies dogs for people in wheelchairs, the deaf and people with other disabilities.
Julia carries a photocopy of a doctor's letter, written in 2004 by an auditory specialist, stating she needs her dogs with her for safety reasons.
She has shown the letter to the public security agents who have stopped her in the park, but she has still been ticketed.
In 2006, Julia filed a complaint with the city of Montreal's ombudsman. Because LaSalle's dog bylaw was on the books before its merger with Montreal, the ombudsman was unable to intervene or evaluate whether the bylaw was appropriate or not.
Because guide dogs for the hearing impaired are trained mainly to hear household sounds, and not those generally found in parks, the ombudsman office wrote that it did not accept the view that they helped people with hearing problems walk in a park.
And because Julia trained the dogs herself and couldn't provide official documents about their training, the ombudsman's office said the borough did not have a legal duty to give her special authorization to walk her canines in LaSalle parks.
"I feel sorry for the lady," Ouellette said, "but she has to observe the law. If she doesn't want a ticket, there's an easy way: Don't go in the park with your dogs."
Julia said she isn't giving up.
"I'm tired of being shoved around for the deficit I have," she said.
"I'm not trying to get away with something; I want respect for what I need to lead my life."
You would never know Julia has a disability unless she told you.
The vivacious 71-year-old woman is an avid walker and has completed treks of up to 300 kilometres, between towns in Germany and Denmark over seven days.
In the borough of LaSalle, where she lives, Julia likes to walk with her friends on the pedestrian path that runs parallel to the St. Lawrence River and beside the bike path.
Julia, who asked that her last name not be used, is deaf in one ear and only has 20-per-cent hearing in the other. She wears hearing aids in both ears.
For safety reasons, she brings her two Labrador retrievers along. The dogs are on leashes and trained to alert her to sounds she can't hear, such as cyclists approaching from behind.
Her canine companions have brought her afoul of the law on several occasions because LaSalle has bylaws barring dogs from borough parks and green spaces - and Julia uses a walking trail in Rapides Park.
Tickets for disobeying the bylaw cost $75.
Julia has successfully contested two tickets and is due back in municipal court tomorrow to fight a third.
"I want the rights of a handicapped individual to have what I need to live a safe life. These dogs are not pets, they are a necessity for me," she said in an interview this week.
Blind people with guide dogs are allowed in the park, so how is that different for a person who is deaf? she asked.
According to a LaSalle borough employee, Julia is missing a training certification from a guide-dog or hearing-dog organization because she trained the dogs herself.
"There are five dogs with certification from MIRA or the Lions Club in the borough of LaSalle and they are allowed in every park," said Claude Ouellette, who works for the borough's animal patrol division.
MIRA is an organization that supplies guide dogs for the blind and the Lions Club of Canada trains and supplies dogs for people in wheelchairs, the deaf and people with other disabilities.
Julia carries a photocopy of a doctor's letter, written in 2004 by an auditory specialist, stating she needs her dogs with her for safety reasons.
She has shown the letter to the public security agents who have stopped her in the park, but she has still been ticketed.
In 2006, Julia filed a complaint with the city of Montreal's ombudsman. Because LaSalle's dog bylaw was on the books before its merger with Montreal, the ombudsman was unable to intervene or evaluate whether the bylaw was appropriate or not.
Because guide dogs for the hearing impaired are trained mainly to hear household sounds, and not those generally found in parks, the ombudsman office wrote that it did not accept the view that they helped people with hearing problems walk in a park.
And because Julia trained the dogs herself and couldn't provide official documents about their training, the ombudsman's office said the borough did not have a legal duty to give her special authorization to walk her canines in LaSalle parks.
"I feel sorry for the lady," Ouellette said, "but she has to observe the law. If she doesn't want a ticket, there's an easy way: Don't go in the park with your dogs."
Julia said she isn't giving up.
"I'm tired of being shoved around for the deficit I have," she said.
"I'm not trying to get away with something; I want respect for what I need to lead my life."