<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3c.org/TR/1999/REC-html401-19991224/loose.dtd">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=windows-1250">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.3395" name=GENERATOR></HEAD>
<BODY style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff">
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>Subject:</B> Canada: Teacher
quits after wife's guide dog is denied access<BR></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV></DIV><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStartT|**|-~--><FONT face=Tahoma size=2></FONT>
<DIV id=ygrp-mlmsg style="WIDTH: 655px; POSITION: relative">
<DIV id=ygrp-msg
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 25px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; Z-INDEX: 1; FLOAT: left; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 470px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEndT|**|-~-->
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P>--The comments quoted from the woman who denied access are incredible. /sigh/
<BR><BR>Teacher quits after wife, guide dog denied access<BR><BR>Woman wasn't
allowed to enter reception area<BR><BR>By CHERYL BAUSLAUGH<BR>Brantford
Expositor<BR>Ontario, Canada<BR><BR>September 27, 2008<BR><BR><A
href="http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca:80/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1221968">http://www.brantfor<WBR>dexpositor.<WBR>ca:80/ArticleDis<WBR>play.aspx?<WBR>e=1221968</A><BR><BR>A
city woman says she was discriminated against because her guide dog was not
allowed in the reception area of a local business.<BR><BR>Lynn Raloff, who is
visually impaired, said she was asked to leave the reception area of the Sylvan
Learning Centre on North Park Street Wednesday night<BR>when she arrived to wait
for her husband Jeff, a teacher there.<BR><BR>Raloff said the owner, Margaret
Mercer, asked her to sit in an outer waiting area instead.<BR><BR>Raloff
explained that her dog was "a working dog" rather than a pet but she was told it
made no difference.<BR><BR>"I was just so surprised and then so upset," Raloff
said.<BR><BR>"She refused to listen to me and wanted me to be as far away from
the teaching area as possible."<BR><BR>When Jeff Raloff found out about the
situation, he protested and told his employer that it was illegal to deny access
to his wife and her dog.<BR><BR>"When I saw her sitting out where she was, I
wasn't too happy."<BR><BR>After arguing with Mercer for some minutes, Raloff,
who was in his second week of employment, became increasingly angry and quit --
with one hour left in<BR>the class.<BR><BR>Contacted Friday, Mercer said she
does not allow dogs in the school for safety reasons.<BR><BR>"It would be a
liability issue," she said.<BR><BR>"We are not insured around having
dogs."<BR><BR>Mercer said she also is worried that some of her students, who are
as young as three, might be afraid of the dog or have allergies.<BR><BR>"Our
kids come first," she said.<BR><BR>"This is not a public place, it's a
school."<BR><BR>Mercer said Lynn Raloff was not asked to leave the building but
just to move to an area that was farther away from the teaching
space.<BR><BR>"It's not a human rights issue," she said.<BR><BR>"It's a dog
issue."<BR><BR>But Afroze Edwards, communications officer for the Ontario Human
Rights Commission, said that's not the case.<BR><BR>"There is a human rights
protection in terms of access to services and facilities."<BR><BR>The issue of
access also is covered in provincial law under the Blind Persons Rights Act,
which says that guide dogs are permitted in places to which the<BR>public is
permitted.<BR><BR>Edwards said that applies to all schools, public or
private.<BR><BR>"The services are still services to the public," she
said.<BR><BR>"People with disabilities who require a guide dog can't be
discriminated against. We're not talking about a pet."<BR><BR>However, Edwards
said Mercer did make an effort to accommodate Raloff by allowing her to sit in
another area.<BR><BR>"In a sense, she was accommodated.<WBR>"<BR><BR>Lynn Raloff
said she was made to feel like a second-class citizen.<BR><BR>"It's not
appropriate to discriminate against a disabled person," she said.<BR><BR>"She
has a public service. She can't refuse people with a dog."<BR><BR>Raloff said
she worries that parents or students with guide dogs may run into similar
difficulties at Sylvan.<BR><BR>"I don't want them to go through what I went
through."<BR><BR>Mercer said she does have one visually impaired student but he
doesn't have a dog.<BR><BR>She said she's not sure what she'd do if a student or
parent had a guide dog, since her landlord does not allow dogs on the
premises.<BR><BR>Lance Calbeck, who owns the building, said that's not
true.<BR><BR>"I have no idea where she heard that," he said Friday. "It
certainly didn't come from me."<BR><BR>Calbeck said he was surprised to hear
that Mercer was reluctant to allow a guide dog in the school.<BR><BR>"I thought
it was required under provincial law."<BR><BR>Mercer said guide dogs aren't used
at W. Ross Macdonald School for the Blind either.<BR><BR>John Howe,
vice-principal of the secondary division, said that's no longer the
case.<BR><BR>Guide dogs have been allowed in the school for the last five years,
although only for senior students.<BR><BR>"We realized that for some of our
students who were going to get dogs after they left us it would be good to get
used to the responsibility of working with<BR>the dog."<BR><BR>This year, the
school has two students and one instructor who have guide dogs.<BR><BR>Mercer
maintains that she didn't do anything wrong by asking Raloff and her dog to sit
in the outer foyer, away from classrooms where students were
working.<BR><BR>"It's a tempest in a teapot," she said. Mercer said the request
had nothing<BR>to do with Raloff's visual impairment. "She would not have been
(asked) if she didn't have a dog."<BR><BR></P></DIV><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~--><SPAN
style="COLOR: white" width="1">__._,_.___</SPAN> <!-- Start the section with Message In topic -->
<DIV id=ygrp-actbar><SPAN class=left><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/message/777;_ylc=X3oDMTMycmNuamNsBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BG1zZ0lkAzc3NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawN2dHBjBHN0aW1lAzEyMjI2MjkwNzMEdHBjSWQDNzc3">Messages
in this topic </A>(<SPAN class=bld>1</SPAN>) </SPAN><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJvbDdoZWw2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BG1zZ0lkAzc3NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNycGx5BHN0aW1lAzEyMjI2MjkwNzM-?act=reply&messageNum=777"><SPAN
class=bld>Reply </SPAN>(via web post) </A>| <A class=bld
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlc243OGJxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA250cGMEc3RpbWUDMTIyMjYyOTA3Mw--">Start
a new topic </A></DIV><!------- Start Nav Bar ------><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV id=ygrp-vitnav><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlOTRhaDRnBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA21zZ3MEc3RpbWUDMTIyMjYyOTA3MQ--">Messages</A>
</DIV><!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV id=ygrp-grft><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->For guide dog handlers
assisting guide dog handlers with advocacy/education--
visit:<BR>www.gdui.org or www.nfb-nagdu.org <!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --></DIV><!-- yahoo logo --><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV id=ygrp-ft><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkNGh1c3BvBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2dmcARzdGltZQMxMjIyNjI5MDcz"><IMG
height=15 alt="Yahoo! Groups"
src="http://us.i1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/i/yg/img/logo/ma_grp_160.gif" width=106
border=0 NOSEND="1"></A> <BR><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmc3FnZzQzBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA3N0bmdzBHN0aW1lAzEyMjI2MjkwNzM-">Change
settings via the Web</A> (Yahoo! ID required) <BR>Change settings via email: <A
href="mailto:K9Scoop-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email Delivery: Digest">Switch
delivery to Daily Digest</A> | <A
href="mailto:K9Scoop-traditional@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change Delivery Format: Traditional">Switch
format to Traditional</A> <BR><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop;_ylc=X3oDMTJkdTk0cXE4BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwNmdHIEc2xrA2hwZgRzdGltZQMxMjIyNjI5MDcz">Visit
Your Group </A>| <A href="http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Yahoo! Groups Terms
of Use </A>| <A
href="mailto:K9Scoop-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=">Unsubscribe
</A></DIV><!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --></DIV><!-- ygrp-msg --><!-- Sponsor --><!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV id=ygrp-sponsor
style="CLEAR: none; BACKGROUND: white; FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 25px; WIDTH: 160px"><!-- Network content --><!-- Start Recommendations -->
<DIV id=ygrp-reco></DIV><!-- End Recommendations --><!-- Start vitality -->
<DIV id=ygrp-vital><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/K9Scoop;_ylc=X3oDMTJlZWVmanJoBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzcwNzQyNTIEZ3Jwc3BJZAMxNzA3NTA1MjQ3BHNlYwN2dGwEc2xrA3ZnaHAEc3RpbWUDMTIyMjYyOTA3MQ--">Visit
Your Group </A></DIV><!-- Network content -->
<DIV id=nc>
<DIV class=ad>
<DIV id=hd1>Sitebuilder</DIV>
<P><A
href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13oujncab/M=493064.12016255.12445662.8674578/D=groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1222636276/L=/B=elc9BkLaX.A-/J=1222629076048771/A=4025304/R=0/SIG=12uhb64pb/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44092/*http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting/sitebuilding.php">Build
a web site</A></P>
<P>quickly & easily</P>
<P>with Sitebuilder.</P></DIV>
<DIV class=ad>
<DIV id=hd1>Discover photos</DIV>
<P><A
href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13od2idr5/M=493064.12717544.13024012.8674578/D=groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1222636276/L=/B=e1c9BkLaX.A-/J=1222629076048771/A=5370603/R=0/SIG=11lnr7bf1/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/familyographer/">and
scrapbooking</A></P>
<P>groups in the</P>
<P>Familyographer Zone</P></DIV>
<DIV class=ad>
<DIV id=hd1>Everyday Wellness</DIV>
<P><A
href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=13o334cnd/M=493064.12662708.12980600.8674578/D=groups/S=1707505247:NC/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1222636276/L=/B=fFc9BkLaX.A-/J=1222629076048771/A=5349272/R=0/SIG=11nhsqmjq/*http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/EverydayWellness/">on
Yahoo! Groups</A></P>
<P>Find groups that will</P>
<P>help you stay fit.</P></DIV></DIV></DIV><!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| -->
<DIV style="CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 1px; COLOR: #fff">.</DIV></DIV><IMG height=1
src="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=7074252/grpspId=1707505247/msgId=777/stime=1222629073/nc1=4025304/nc2=5370603/nc3=5349272"
width=1 NOSEND="1"> <BR><SPAN style="COLOR: white">__,_._,___</SPAN> <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~--><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~-->
<STYLE type=text/css>#ygrp-mkp {
BORDER-RIGHT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; PADDING-RIGHT: 14px; BORDER-TOP: #d8d8d8 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 14px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 14px 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d8d8d8 1px solid; FONT-FAMILY: Arial
}
#ygrp-mkp HR {
BORDER-RIGHT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #d8d8d8 1px solid
}
#ygrp-mkp #hd {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 85%; MARGIN: 10px 0px; COLOR: #628c2a; LINE-HEIGHT: 122%
}
#ygrp-mkp #ads {
MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px
}
#ygrp-mkp .ad {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-mkp .ad A {
COLOR: #0000ff; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
</STYLE>
<STYLE type=text/css>#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc {
FONT-FAMILY: Arial
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc #hd {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 78%; MARGIN: 10px 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 122%
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc .ad {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
</STYLE>
<STYLE type=text/css>#ygrp-mlmsg {
FONT-SIZE: small; FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif
}
#ygrp-mlmsg TABLE {
}
#ygrp-mlmsg SELECT {
FONT: 99% arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif
}
INPUT {
FONT: 99% arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif
}
TEXTAREA {
FONT: 99% arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif
}
#ygrp-mlmsg PRE {
FONT: 100% monospace
}
CODE {
FONT: 100% monospace
}
#ygrp-mlmsg {
LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em
}
#ygrp-text {
FONT-FAMILY: Georgia
}
#ygrp-text P {
MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em
}
#ygrp-tpmsgs {
CLEAR: both; FONT-FAMILY: Arial
}
#ygrp-vitnav {
FONT-SIZE: 77%; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana
}
#ygrp-vitnav A {
PADDING-RIGHT: 1px; PADDING-LEFT: 1px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-actbar {
CLEAR: both; MARGIN: 25px 0px; COLOR: #666; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; TEXT-ALIGN: right
}
#ygrp-actbar .left {
FLOAT: left; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap
}
.bld {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold
}
#ygrp-grft {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 77%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 15px; PADDING-TOP: 15px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana
}
#ygrp-ft {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; BORDER-TOP: #666 1px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 77%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; PADDING-TOP: 5px; FONT-FAMILY: verdana
}
#ygrp-mlmsg #logo {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px
}
#ygrp-reco {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-reco #reco-head {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: #ff7900
}
#reco-grpname {
MARGIN-TOP: 10px; FONT-WEIGHT: bold
}
#reco-category {
FONT-SIZE: 77%
}
#reco-desc {
FONT-SIZE: 77%
}
#ygrp-vital {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 8px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 8px; PADDING-TOP: 2px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e0ecee
}
#ygrp-vital #vithd {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 77%; TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase; COLOR: #333; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana
}
#ygrp-vital UL {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 2px 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-vital UL LI {
CLEAR: both; BORDER-RIGHT: #e0ecee 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #e0ecee 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #e0ecee 1px solid; BORDER-BOTTOM: #e0ecee 1px solid; LIST-STYLE-TYPE: none
}
#ygrp-vital UL LI .ct {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0.5em; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FLOAT: right; WIDTH: 2em; COLOR: #ff7900; TEXT-ALIGN: right
}
#ygrp-vital UL LI .cat {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold
}
#ygrp-vital A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#ygrp-vital A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: underline
}
#ygrp-sponsor #hd {
FONT-SIZE: 77%; COLOR: #999
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov {
PADDING-RIGHT: 13px; PADDING-LEFT: 13px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e0ecee
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov UL {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 8px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov LI {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 77%; PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; PADDING-TOP: 6px; LIST-STYLE-TYPE: square
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov LI A {
FONT-SIZE: 130%; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#ygrp-sponsor #nc {
PADDING-RIGHT: 8px; PADDING-LEFT: 8px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #eee
}
#ygrp-sponsor .ad {
PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 8px; PADDING-TOP: 8px
}
#ygrp-sponsor .ad #hd1 {
FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 100%; COLOR: #628c2a; LINE-HEIGHT: 122%; FONT-FAMILY: Arial
}
#ygrp-sponsor .ad A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#ygrp-sponsor .ad A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: underline
}
#ygrp-sponsor .ad P {
MARGIN: 0px
}
o {
FONT-SIZE: 0px
}
.MsoNormal {
MARGIN: 0px
}
#ygrp-text TT {
FONT-SIZE: 120%
}
BLOCKQUOTE {
MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px
}
.replbq {
}
</STYLE>
<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~--><!--End group email --><BR>
<P><FONT size=2>No virus found in this incoming message.<BR>Checked by
AVG.<BR>Version: 7.5.526 / Virus Database: 270.7.4/1695 - Release Date:
9/27/2008 1:11 PM<BR></FONT></P></BODY></HTML>
<BR>
<P><FONT SIZE=2>No virus found in this outgoing message.<BR>
Checked by AVG.<BR>
Version: 7.5.526 / Virus Database: 270.7.4/1695 - Release Date: 9/27/2008 1:11 PM<BR>
</FONT> </P>