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guelphmercury.com | INSIDER | Elections hard to follow for the deaf
Eddy Wiesblatt didn't attend the Guelph-Eramosa all-candidates debate in Rockwood.
He wasn't sick. He wasn't running late at work.
He didn't go because there was no way for him to understand what was going on.
"I cannot come to candidate meeting because I cannot hear," the 62-year-old man said at his home recently.
Wiesblatt is deaf, one of about 10 deaf people living in Rockwood.
He said he's disappointed there was no one at the debate who speaks his first language -- American Sign Language.
The outspoken Wiesblatt, who says he's not afraid to voice his concerns, pounds on his chest to show how disappointed he is.
He can read lips and speak well enough to communicate his message, sometimes using strong arm gestures to clarify his message.
"I want people to be aware," he said of his disappointment, touching his heart as he spoke.
"We need assistance and access."
At a 2000 municipal election meeting he made an impassioned plea to have a sign-language interpreter present at the next candidates meeting.
But in 2006, he still he hasn't got his wish.
The Oct. 18 Rockwood all-candidates meeting, which was not organized by the township, came and went, and Wiesblatt didn't get the chance to learn first-hand about the candidates' positions, like any other citizen.
But Doug Black, the moderator of the debate organized by the local Lions Club, said the group tried to find an interpreter because of Wiesblatt's requests.
About two weeks before the meeting, Black contacted the Canadian Hearing Society for assistance, and then e-mailed about 70 independent sign-language interpreters.
No one was available that night.
That's not surprising, said Adrienne Clarke of the hearing society. She said there is a shortage of American Sign Language interpreters in the province.
In the Guelph, Hamilton, London areas there are only about three to five interpreters.
Clarke said they have received two requests for sign language interpreters for election-related events in that area, but have not be able to fulfill them.
Two weeks' notice is required, and it's even harder to get an interpreter for an evening event, when many are on-call in case of physical or mental health emergencies, Clarke said.
But more and more people are taking the needs of the deaf into consideration when organizing events, which is a positive step, she said.
That shows organizers are interested in getting everyone involved in the democratic process.
Guelph-Eramosa Mayor Clint Martin said it was disappointing an interpreter couldn't be found for the Rockwood all-candidates meeting.
"Anything at all that can be done is a plus," he said.
Wiesblatt is frustrated because he said if he was contacted six weeks before the event he could have helped locate an interpreter, "because everybody knows me. (They would have) come for Eddy."
Black came to him about a week before the debate.
The whole incident is simply a sign about society's attitude toward the deaf, Wiesblatt said.
He said people have treated him as if he's mentally challenged.
Wiesblatt's wife Gail, who is also deaf, said "we always feel like second-class citizens.
"Of course we are different. The reason is that our culture and language are different," she said.
Wiesblatt said he just wants to be treated the same way he treats everybody else.
"I accept everybody," he said.
Eddy Wiesblatt didn't attend the Guelph-Eramosa all-candidates debate in Rockwood.
He wasn't sick. He wasn't running late at work.
He didn't go because there was no way for him to understand what was going on.
"I cannot come to candidate meeting because I cannot hear," the 62-year-old man said at his home recently.
Wiesblatt is deaf, one of about 10 deaf people living in Rockwood.
He said he's disappointed there was no one at the debate who speaks his first language -- American Sign Language.
The outspoken Wiesblatt, who says he's not afraid to voice his concerns, pounds on his chest to show how disappointed he is.
He can read lips and speak well enough to communicate his message, sometimes using strong arm gestures to clarify his message.
"I want people to be aware," he said of his disappointment, touching his heart as he spoke.
"We need assistance and access."
At a 2000 municipal election meeting he made an impassioned plea to have a sign-language interpreter present at the next candidates meeting.
But in 2006, he still he hasn't got his wish.
The Oct. 18 Rockwood all-candidates meeting, which was not organized by the township, came and went, and Wiesblatt didn't get the chance to learn first-hand about the candidates' positions, like any other citizen.
But Doug Black, the moderator of the debate organized by the local Lions Club, said the group tried to find an interpreter because of Wiesblatt's requests.
About two weeks before the meeting, Black contacted the Canadian Hearing Society for assistance, and then e-mailed about 70 independent sign-language interpreters.
No one was available that night.
That's not surprising, said Adrienne Clarke of the hearing society. She said there is a shortage of American Sign Language interpreters in the province.
In the Guelph, Hamilton, London areas there are only about three to five interpreters.
Clarke said they have received two requests for sign language interpreters for election-related events in that area, but have not be able to fulfill them.
Two weeks' notice is required, and it's even harder to get an interpreter for an evening event, when many are on-call in case of physical or mental health emergencies, Clarke said.
But more and more people are taking the needs of the deaf into consideration when organizing events, which is a positive step, she said.
That shows organizers are interested in getting everyone involved in the democratic process.
Guelph-Eramosa Mayor Clint Martin said it was disappointing an interpreter couldn't be found for the Rockwood all-candidates meeting.
"Anything at all that can be done is a plus," he said.
Wiesblatt is frustrated because he said if he was contacted six weeks before the event he could have helped locate an interpreter, "because everybody knows me. (They would have) come for Eddy."
Black came to him about a week before the debate.
The whole incident is simply a sign about society's attitude toward the deaf, Wiesblatt said.
He said people have treated him as if he's mentally challenged.
Wiesblatt's wife Gail, who is also deaf, said "we always feel like second-class citizens.
"Of course we are different. The reason is that our culture and language are different," she said.
Wiesblatt said he just wants to be treated the same way he treats everybody else.
"I accept everybody," he said.