Schedule of events

Hi all!

Here is what's happening for the next little while:

Dec. 11 - 1 pm - Board meeting in Fredericton
Dec. 11 - 5 pm - Deaf Darts Christmas Party (Fredericton)

Dec. 15 - 1 - 3 pm - SEDHHS Christmas Open House - at the Lewisville Lion's Club, Moncton

Dec. 17 - 11 am - 2 pm SJDHHS Christmas Open House - Saint John

Dec. 18 - Becky and Carly interpret at the Playhouse (Fredericton)

Jan. 8 - 10 am - 3 pm Committee meetings and Board Gov. Training (Moncton)
Jan. 8 - 7 pm - SJAD Dingo
Jan. 8 - 6:30 pm - Fredericton Darts - Legion on Queen Street

Jan. 15 - Fredericton Works - workshop TBA

Jan. 22 - SJDHHS - workshop TBA
Jan. 22 - 6:30 pm - Fredericton Darts

Jan. 29 - 10 am - SEDHHS - workshop TBA

Feb. 5 - 10 am - AVLI-NB board meeting - SEDHHS
Feb. 5 - 2 - 4 pm - SJAD Bowling - Bowlarama, Saint John
Feb. 5 - 6:30 pm - Fredericton Darts
Feb. 5 - 7 pm - SJAD Dingo

Feb. 12 - Fredericton Works - workshop TBA

Feb. 19 - SJDHHS - workshop TBA
Feb. 19 - 2 - 4 pm - SJAD Bowling
Feb. 19 - 7 pm - SJAD Dingo

Feb. 26 - 10 am - SEDHHS - workshop TBA

Mar. 5 - 10 am - 3 pm - AVLI-NB Committee meetings and PD (SEDHHS)
Mar. 5 - 2 - 4 pm - SJAD Bowling
Mar. 5 - 6:30 pm - Fredericton Darts
Mar. 5 - 7 pm - SJAD Dingo

Mar. 12 - Fredericton Works - workshop TBA
Mar. 12 - 7 pm - AVLI-NB and FAD Skip-Bo (Marshall D'Avery Hall, UNB F'ton)

Mar. 19 - SJDHHS - workshop TBA
Mar. 19 - 2 - 4 pm - SJAD Bowling
Mar. 19 - 6:30 pm - Fredericton Darts

Mar. 26 - SEDHHS - workshop TBA


For those of you we don't see until January - Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Four Deaf Yorkshiremen

Sarah MacKenzie, at SEDHHS just showed me the most awesome video!

I couldn't get the link to work, but if you go to youtube, search for "Four Deaf Yorkshiremen".

And then sit back and enjoy!

PD Opportunity - Vancouver

Members,

We are thrilled to be able to offer the Interpretation of Interactive Interviews Workshop this coming November!

This is the second of the two available CES workshops. Upon completion of both workshops you are eligible to take the TOI. Even if you don't feel ready to take the TOI anytime soon, both of these workshops provide fantastic professional development. It's a great opportunity to assess your current skill level and establish goals for the future. To register for this workshop you must...

1) be an Active AVLIC member
2) have successfully completed the WTK
3) have already completed the Interpretation of Narratives Workshop
4) have maintained your membership since entering the CES process

Dates: Saturday, November 6 & Sunday, November 7, 2010
Location: Douglas College, New Westminster, BC
Facilitator: Deloris Piper
Cost: $200
Registration Deadline: Monday, August 23, 2010

This intense, theory based workshop takes place over two days. There are seven required readings that are provided through the AVLIC website (password protected). All workshop participants are required to provide a sample of their interpretation of specific materials. These materials are provided by AVLIC via web-streaming. After submission two sets of AVLIC Feedback Specialists, one Deaf and one certified (COI) interpreter, will evaluate the sample interpretations. These samples will be returned by the facilitator at the workshop and participants may keep them. WAVLI Professional Development can assist with taping locations if a member is unable to locate the necessary taping equipment on their own.

Samples must be received at the AVLIC Office by Friday, September 24, 2010.

The registration from is available at www.avlic.ca under the Services tab, in the Canadian Evaluations System section. Sign in using your name and password, and once on the CES page just scroll down to "Phase Two Registration Form" and click on "Online Form". Registration and payment must be received at the AVLIC office by Monday, August 23, 2010.

AVLIC
110 - 39012 Discovery Way
Squamish BC
V8B 0E5

This workshop requires a minimum of six eligible members to register and it is restricted to a maximum of eight. If the minimum number of registrations is not received, the workshop will be postponed or cancelled.

Please contact wavli.pd@gmail.com or ces@avlic.ca if you have any questions.

Brianne Braun & Nicole Pedneault
WAVLI-Professional Development

NFSD Closed

Thanks, Chrissy, for this article. This is, indeed, sad news.

http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2010/08/02/nl-deaf-school-closing-802.html?ref=rss

Educational Interpreting Issues letters

Dear Members,

The Educational Interpreting Issues Committee has developed two letters for member use which are now posted on the AVLIC website under the Members Only tab or by following this link: http://www.avlic.ca/member.php?eiic. One letter is for members to send to their local unions; the other is for local school districts. Members who work in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 setting may download these letters and use them to lobby for change or to educate unions and school district administration as needed. Each Affiliate Chapter also has a copy of these letters via e-copy.

Ministers of Education and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) across the country will soon be receiving a similar letter with a copy of the MAVLI DVD, Best Practices in Educational Settings Making an Informed Choice: Educational Interpreters vs Signing EAs. The DVD, as most are aware, is an educational tool developed by MAVLI that demonstrates the difference between an interpreter and a signer.

Several years ago the EIIC conducted a survey of Affiliate Chapters. An area of need identified at that time was educating both unions and school districts about the role and responsibility of an interpreter. We hope that these resources assist interpreters in the K-12 setting in these areas.

Sincerely,

Colleen Friel
AVLIC President
president@avlic.ca
www.avlic.ca

Minister Cannon Invites Disability Stakeholders to Witness

Ratification of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Convention Advances Disability Rights as Human Rights

New York, March 11, 2010 - Today the Government of Canada has ratified the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Canada is now the 82nd country to make this international commitment to protecting and advancing the human rights of persons with disabilities.

Traci Walters, National Advisor to Independent Living Canada, was in attendance at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City to witness this historic moment. “Today’s ratification marks the culmination of years of work by the Government of Canada and the organizations that represent Canadians with disabilities,” she said. “It demonstrates to Canadians with disabilities that our Government is thoroughly committed to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all Canadians citizens.”

“The importance of ratification of the CRPD for Canadians with disabilities cannot be overstated,” said Kelly Nadeau, National Chairperson of Independent Living Canada. “Ratification enshrines the rights of Canadians with disabilities to be fully included in all spheres of Canadian life and is a formal and international acknowledgement of the contributions that people with disabilities make to Canadian society.”

By tabling the CRPD in the House last December 3, 2009, on the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Government of Canada promised to consider disability issues as matters of national importance. Today the Government has followed through with that promise.

“This is truly an historic day for persons with disabilities in Canada and it was an honour to be invited to participate in the final step of this process,” said Walters. “Today Canadians with disabilities are enormously grateful to all Members of Parliament and to all Parties for their support in developing and ratifying the CRPD, as well as to the groups and organizations such as the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and the Canadian Association for Community Living which played an integral role in representing Canadians with disabilities at home and on the international stage.”


For More Information Contact:
Traci Walters, National Advisor to Independent Living Canada
613.563.2581 x 13

402-214 ch. Montréal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1L 8L8
Tel./Tél. (613) 563-2581 Fax/Téléc. (613) 563-3861 TTY/ATS (613) 563-4215
info@ilc-vac.ca
www.ilcanada.ca - www.vacanada.ca

DEAF SCHOOLS STILL UNDER ATTACK
DESPITE NEW INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT

Ottawa (ON) -- It has been a week of great joy and angry grief for Deaf Canadians at opposite ends of the country.

On July 19th in Vancouver, an agreement was signed that repudiated 130-year-old resolutions that have caused incalculable damages to Deaf people all around the world.

Exactly one week later, the Newfoundland and Labrador government pushed Deaf education backwards again by announcing the closure of the Deaf school in St. John’s.

In 1880 in Milan, Italy, the International Congress of Educators of the Deaf (ICED) passed a motion that effectively banned Sign language from Deaf schools and prevented Deaf people from becoming teachers. More than a century of plummeting literacy and employment resulted in Deaf communities everywhere.

That 1880 motion was formally rejected last week when the “New Era” agreement was signed by ICED Chairperson Claire Anderson, World Federation of the Deaf President Markku Jokinen, Canadian Association of the Deaf President Doug Momotiuk, and B.C. Community leader Wayne Sinclair.

“We did it to try to erase the worldwide ignorance and misconceptions about the deaf,” said Sinclair, who spearheaded the negotiations. “The Milan decision was a disaster for all of us. It resulted in two-third of Deaf people being functionally illiterate, and only one-third of us are fully employed.”

Responding to the closing of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf, Jim Roots, Executive Director of the Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD), caustically observed, “It seems the Newfoundland government is no longer half an hour ahead of everybody else. Instead, they are now 130 years behind!”

The government justified the school closing by saying all 199 Deaf students in the province are enrolled in regular schools, but Roots questioned whether there were sufficient support services in place to meet the needs of 199 students.

“Newfoundland has no more than a handful of qualified Sign language interpreters, and they are all overwhelmed with community demands. The province certainly doesn’t have 199 fully-qualified interpreters to serve these students.

“So the government is basically telling these students to either drop out of school or else move to Ontario and try to enroll in the Deaf schools there.”

Doug Momotiuk, President of the CAD, pointed out that the Newfoundland decision not only goes completely against the “New Era” document, it also violates the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

“The Convention explicitly protects our right to be educated in Sign language in Deaf schools,” he explained.

A coalition is building among Deaf organizations such as the Canadian Association of the Deaf, Deaf Bilingual Coalition - Canada, service agencies including the Canadian Hearing Society, and community groups.

“We’re going to work together to address these issues in every province,” promised Chris Kenopic, newly-appointed President and CEO of the Canadian Hearing Society. “The New Era document and the United Nations Convention are not just pieces of paper. They represent a whole new attitude about the right of Deaf children to an education that includes Sign language.”



For further information:
(1) Wayne Sinclair, independent Vancouver Deaf activist; email to deafwanderer@hotmail.com or text to 778 899 5975.
(2) Roger Carver, Executive Director, Saskatchewan Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services; email to rcarver@sdhhs.com.
(3) Doug Momotiuk, President, Canadian Association of the Deaf; email to DMomotiuk@smd.mb.ca

Introducing...

(So this is a little late, but here is the introduction to Carly Jones, living in Fredericton.)

Carly is originally from Brampton, Ontario, and began studying Sign Language at George Brown College, Toronto. In 2007 she moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia to attend NSCC's ASL/English Interpreter Program. Upon completing the program Carly moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick to begin her interpreting career at the Post-Secondary level. In addition, she interprets part-time in the Community, where she has the opportunity to be mentored by some of our more seasoned Interpreters. Carly is an active member of AVLIC and AVLI-NB.

Deaf Ninja Sequel: Deaf Ninja vs. Transformers

For any of you who have watched Austin Andrews do his brief story on Youtube of the Deaf ninja fighting a gang of thugs with his martial arts skills and old-style hearing aid whip action, you must find time in your busy schedules to watch the sequel: Deaf Ninja vs. Transformers! He is an amazing storyteller, setting scene and surroundings subtly and poetically. His use of classifiers is beyond skilled with an awe-inspiring facility of changing viewpoints frequently amidst all the action. The size and shape classifiers that he uses are incredibly detailed and creative, speeding by so quickly that although it would be almost impossible to transcribe, the image he creates appears instantly in the movie screen of your mind. If you have ever wondered how you could show the transformation of a Transformer, this is the video to watch.

I was particularly interested in the way he used his point of reference hand as a means of showing speed and movement as things sped through the air (ex: a jet plane careening down as the backdrop blurs by). I recommend not only that everyone watch this 4-minute video, but also that you pay attention to specific grammatical elements that he’s using, such as: the movement of the point of reference hand, the size and shape classifiers (SASS), the pronominal classifiers (note how he modifies the ILY handshape of the plane to one that shows the shape of a jet plane), the quick characterization amidst all the classifier action, the non-manual grammar (especially on his face) and the slowing down of sign articulation to replicate slow motion drama. I considered suggesting that we all practice shadowing the video, except that I honestly think it would be impossible for someone who is not a native signer to shadow this guy’s work; he is a Master! Enjoy and prepare to be amazed.

To find this video, go to www.youtube.com and search for ‘Deaf Ninja: DN vs. TF’.
Or, copy and paste the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6GmJ3ZvjQE

Calendar of Events

Sign Language Teacher Shares Understanding

Recently Tobie Martin was chosen as one of United Way's "Community Heroes of Greater Moncton."

Here is a link to the article:

http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com/search/article/896645

It's really interesting information about Tobie, and about baby sign.

Enjoy!

Deaf Md. entrepreneur John Yeh charged in fraud probe

The Washington Post - January 6, 2010
---------
By Maria Glod and Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer

John T.C. Yeh was a hero and an inspiration. He was named 2008 Deaf Person of the Year by Deaf Life magazine. And Gallaudet University, his alma mater, once honored him as Entrepreneur of the Year.

Now federal prosecutors call Yeh something else: thief.

Yeh founded Rockville-based Viable Communications, a company that enables deaf people to make telephone calls to relatives, friends, repair companies or even pizza delivery joints. Yeh used that business, prosecutors say, to participate in a years-long scheme that stole millions of federal dollars intended to help the deaf.

To many in the deaf community, it is a betrayal.

"I personally felt a bit of pain when I learned about Yeh's involvement in this," said Jamie Berke, a longtime acquaintance of Yeh's and a contributing expert on deafness to About.com, an online reference site. "For years, the deaf community has looked to him as an example of a successful deaf entrepreneur. We need our role models in the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, so it hurts when something like this happens to one of our role models."

Yeh, 62, of Potomac, is one of 26 people, including his brother Joseph, who are charged in federal court in New Jersey with gaming the Americans With Disabilities Act. Among other things, the law mandates that deaf people be given the tools they need to make phone calls. Companies that provide that service -- known as the Telecommunications Relay Service -- are reimbursed by the government.

It works in various ways. In traditional text-to-voice mode, for instance, the relay center acts as a go-between for a deaf person using a special text telephone and a hearing person using a standard voice phone. Or a deaf person can contact a company such as Viable by video phone. A sign language interpreter places the call and translates a conversation between the deaf caller and a hearing person on the other end.

Federal authorities say an extensive FBI investigation that spanned 10 states showed that Viable and six other businesses nationwide, five of which are independently owned call centers that did contract work for Viable, bilked the government by ginning up bogus calls. Officials did not say precisely how much they think was stolen, but they said it is in the "tens of millions."
Viable took legitimate calls. But Yeh also paid friends to use his company to link to recordings of radio programs, even podcasts of someone reading a novel, prosecutors allege. Some calls were quick; others dragged on. Often, no one interpreted, authorities say.

"That people would prey upon the program for their own greed is absolutely inexcusable," said Lanny A. Breuer, chief of the Justice Department's criminal division.

Yeh, who has pleaded not guilty, declined through his daughter to be interviewed for this article and did not respond to a message left at his home.

Paul Kemp, an attorney for Yeh, said the defense is still gathering information related to the case. "John has served the deaf community for many years in a huge and innovative way," Kemp said. "We hope to be able to explain any billing problems, and if there are irregularities, John will take responsibility for whatever the evidence shows."

Robert Mason, a deaf blogger who met Yeh through Gallaudet, is among those who said the charges seem out of character. Yeh has supported the university, Mason said, even inviting students to his home. "I personally found John Yeh to be a person of integrity and compassion and sincerity," he said. "Yeh always had been an ardent supporter of deaf people to be successful in their own right."

The road to success

Yeh's journey from disabled immigrant to successful businessman has become a familiar story in the deaf community. One of six children, he was born in Taiwan in 1947, a time when disabled children were shunned. His parents moved to Brazil, hoping opportunities would open up for Yeh and his deaf sister. In search of still better schooling, the family came to the United States.

Yeh was 15 when he enrolled at Kendall School for the Deaf in the District. He started in classes with students who were five or six years younger, and he has described how he felt out of place, even embarrassed. Determined to make quick progress, he carried around a Chinese-English dictionary and studied it every chance he got.

Yeh went on to receive a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Gallaudet University, where he met his wife, Mary, with whom he has three grown children. Dreams of becoming a math teacher faded after he couldn't get a job. He enrolled at the University of Maryland and became the only deaf student in the computer science master's program. He received his degree in 1973, the same year he became a U.S. citizen.

In a business world where many deaf people describe a struggle for acceptance, Yeh forged his own path. Along with his brothers, James, Jeffry and Joseph, he founded the computer company Integrated Microcomputer Systems in 1979. The company, which prided itself on hiring deaf employees, thrived.

"I was deeply touched by his story," said Matthew S. Moore, publisher of Deaf Life. "Mr. Yeh is not only deaf, but Asian American, and so he has had to deal with both audism and racism. I felt that he triumphed over this double-whammy of prejudice by succeeding in a technology-based enterprise, it appeared, spectacularly."

Yeh explained it this way in a 1989 Washington Post article: "It is a great joy for me to be able to turn the negative energy of my early frustrations into this positive contribution."

In 1996, the brothers sold Integrated Microcomputer Systems to Arlington County-based CACI International. In 2005, Viable Communications was launched. The company's Web site says, "Our Philosophy: We believe in giving back."

Diane Plassey Gutierrez, who met Yeh at Gallaudet in the early 1970s, was thrilled. She had gotten to know him during captioned-movie nights she hosted at her apartment. Over the years, Yeh gave her advice on a small business she started. She had watched him become a respected businessman.

"We all cheered for him," Gutierrez recalled. "If anyone could do it, he could, we said, because he is deaf and knows our needs better than hearing people who started earlier relay systems."

Allegations of conspiracy

For a deaf person who wants to call a friend, a relative, her child's school or even a plumber, the Telecommunications Relay Service provides an invaluable link.

In 1993, the first year the federal government reimbursed translation centers such as Viable, the Federal Communications Commission set aside $30.8 million. As the number of providers grew, so did the funding, rising to $64 million in 2002. Then it really took off, increasing to $440 million in 2007. The skyrocketing costs began to raise questions.

Viable and other service providers were reimbursed $6.73 per minute -- $403.80 per hour -- for the first 50,000 minutes a month, then slightly less after that.

The fraud at Viable started around summer 2006, court papers allege. John and Joseph Yeh paid friends and acquaintances to make bogus calls.

The scam grew as Viable contracted with call centers in New York, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Texas and encouraged owners to drum up more phony calls, court papers say. Yeh and his brother even offered tips on how to make the calls appear legitimate: The length of calls should vary, and phone numbers shouldn't be repeated too often.

In a July 2007 e-mail, Yeh gave an accomplice who co-owned a Viable call center in Arizona advice on how to conceal the scheme from federal regulators, according to court papers. "Your calls should look good -- not too perfect and too long hours. Important not raise 'red flag' for FCC to see it. Understand me?" he allegedly wrote.

Gutierrez said she thinks Yeh should be punished if he intended to cheat the system. But she wonders whether the alleged phony calls at first seemed an innocent "loophole" to boost business. "We see, all the time, hearing people become very successful and wealthy, but we never do, even when we give it all effort and follow the same rules. Over time, we get the impression that hearing people know all the loopholes," she said.

Moore said many deaf people are concerned that if widespread fraud is proved, support for the Telecommunications Relay Service will wane. The service, he said, "is as important to us as access to telephones and cellphones are to hearing people."

Investigators conducted 80 interviews in 10 states and so far have served three search warrants and 26 arrest warrants, the FBI said. Because many of the witnesses and defendants are deaf, at least two sign language interpreters were present for each interview, to guard against fatigue and to ensure accurate translation. The probe is continuing.

Yeh, his brother and two other Viable executives are charged with conspiracy to defraud the federal government and to submit false claims, submitting false claims, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and mail fraud. The case is pending in federal court in New Jersey, where the nonprofit association that administers the Telecommunications Relay Service fund is based.

"This is definitely bad news for the deaf community, considering that several of the accused are deaf and that Viable is alleged to be the chief player in the scandal, but I prefer to reserve judgment until . . . the judicial system reaches a verdict," Moore said. "It's a terrible situation."

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.

Thanks to Chrissy for contributing this.

Did you know...

The current AVLIC Board has representation from coast to coast: 1 member from Nova Scotia, 1 from Quebec, 3 from Ontario, two from Alberta and two from BC. When considering nominations for our upcoming elections please think of your colleagues locally who would contribute nationally and represent our diverse membership.

This message brought to you by the Association of Visual Language Interpreters of Canada

Meet our new interpreter in Moncton

AVLI-NB would like to welcome Beth Lachance to the Moncton area.

Beth is from the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and is a recent graduate of the ASL/Interpretation Program in Dartmouth NS.
She is currently working for APSEA as an Educational Interpreter in the public school system in the Moncton area.
Beth is an active member of AVLI-NB and AVLIC.
In the past she has worked overseas in Africa and Latin America facilitating educational youth exchanges.
She also has spent many years working as a professional actor. Eventually. she hopes to do theatre with Deaf people.

Next meeting

The next AVLI-NB meeting will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6 at the SEDHHS building in Moncton.

Committee meetings will be from 10 - 11:30 am, and the Board of Directors meeting will be from 1:30 to 3:30 pm.

Dingo in Saint John will be that night, for anyone who is interested.

See you on Saturday!

DRP workshop in Moncton

Thanks to everyone who participated in the DRP workshop in Moncton on January 30. I think this gave the Moncton Deaf community a better understanding of the procedure and the role of the IRPs, and it opens up the opportunity to have more workshops on the Code of Ethics, and professionalism for interpreters.

Also, thanks to Kathern for taking the pictures below.