AMI This Week is a weekly magazine show with a distinct community focus, sharing events and interesting stories from coast to coast.
AMI This Week is a weekly magazine show with a distinct community focus, sharing events and interesting stories from coast to coast.
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Grant Hardy learns about the inaccessible ArriveCAN app used by Canadian Border Services to control the spread of COVID-19, and meets an advocate from the blind community fighting to have it changed.
Jillian Gillis smiles as she sits at a desk.
Victoria Nolan profiles Halifax Bureau Reporter Jillian Gillis.
Two men speak during a television interview.
Grant Hardy learns about the inaccessible ArriveCAN app used by Canadian Border Services to control the spread of COVID-19, and meets an advocate from the blind community fighting to have it changed.
Jessica Baird smiles into the camera.
Chris Vallée meets Jessica Baird, a young woman with an auto-immune disorder who is sharing love and spreading awareness of chronic illnesses with The Sock Project.
Two men, wearing surgical masks, look at a laptop computer screen.
Alex Smyth heads to Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital to learn about a program designed to help those from the disability community find meaningful employment.
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All aboard! AMI This Week correspondent Travis Murao checks out CharterAbility, an accessible boat charter based in Oakville Ontario. Then, Chris Vallée meets Zoey Schvan, a mentor and entrepreneur who is creating space for business to meet accessibility.
Stephen Cull speaks into the camera. He is a wheelchair user.
All aboard! AMI This Week correspondent Travis Murao checks out CharterAbility, an accessible boat charter based in Oakville Ontario.
Zoey Schvan sits at her laptop, typing.
Chris Vallée meets Zoey Schvan, a mentor and entrepreneur who is creating space for business to meet accessibility.
Shawn Marsolais watches her son bake in the kitchen.
AMI This Week Correspondent Shawn Marsolais returns with another parenting tip, and shares how she discovered the joys of baking with her son.
Gary Steeves speaks into the camera.
In this ATW 10th Anniversary Moment, Gary Steeves recalls some of his favourite stories.
Birthing Blind: Birthing Plan
Beth Deer learns about the importance of having a birthing plan by speaking to a labour and delivery nurse, and Victoria Nolan.
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Grant Hardy meets Christina Martin, a singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia who commissioned an accessible, described music video for her new single, “Stay with Me.” Then, Mary Mammoliti shares her recipe for flourless chocolate cake.
Mary Mammoliti stands in her kitchen.
Mary Mammoliti shares her recipe for flourless chocolate cake.
Two men, wearing surgical masks, sits in a meeting room.
Jillian Gillis learns how ADHD coaching helps neuro-diverse adults stay on track in their studies and career.
Grant Hardy and Christina Martin chat during a television interview.
Grant Hardy meets Christina Martin, a singer/songwriter from Nova Scotia who commissioned an accessible, described music video for her new single, “Stay with Me.”
A group of firefighters speak to children, while standing in front of their truck.
Beth Deer learns how Regina’s Fire & Protective Services began a new Autism Alert Initiative to help better serve their community.
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AMI contributor Laura Bain talks about her experiences with accessibility, accommodations, and advocacy as a graduate student with a disability. Then, Alex Smyth gets to know Wheelchair Rugby Paralympian, and new AMI This Week correspondent, Travis Murao.
Travis Murao smiles in a wheelchair rugby team photo.
Alex Smyth gets to know Wheelchair Rugby Paralympian, and new AMI This Week correspondent, Travis Murao.
Laura Bain smiles into the camera.
AMI contributor Laura Bain talks about her experiences with accessibility, accommodations, and advocacy as a graduate student with a disability.
Kevin Naidoo smiles into the camera.
Kevin Naidoo discusses the importance of finding your breath when managing your mental health.
Henry Bockstael walks along a dirt path.
Meet Henry Bockstael, who started a YouTube channel, Troubleshooting with Henry, to provide tips and tricks on how to troubleshoot your way through life.
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Beth Deer reveals that she is pregnant and shares some advice to expecting mothers based on her own journey. Then, Alex Smyth visits the set of the upcoming AMI-tv original series, Fashion Dis, and meets the cast and crew behind the new show.
Ardra Shephard speaks into the camera during a television interview.
Alex Smyth visits the set of the upcoming AMI original series, Fashion Dis, and meets the cast and crew behind the new show.
A man speaks during a television interview. He is a wheelchair user.
Vancouver’s Grant Hardy learns about a new armed cycle controller in use at the Physical Activity Research Centre (PARC), providing gaming and physical fitness to members with spinal cord injuries.
Beth Deer speaks into the camera.
Beth Deer reveals that she is pregnant and shares some advice to expecting mothers based on her own journey.
A woman speaks into the camera during a television interview.
Jillian Gillis checks out The North Grove Community Farm in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where people come together to grow, cook, share, and advocate for good food and a fair food system.
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Beth Deer meets an Edmonton mother who started her own business selling inclusive and developmental kits to build awareness about children with disabilities. Then, we meet Angela Waldick, believed to be the first legally blind team photographer in sports history.
Three children read a book together.
Beth Deer meets Meranda, an Edmonton mother who started her own business selling inclusive and developmental kits to build awareness about children with disabilities.
A giraffe snacks on tree leaves.
In this ATW 10th Anniversary Moment, Alex Smyth and his crew talk about their favourite segment, Animal Class!
Angela Waldick sits on a metal bleacher, looking into the camera. She is holding a camera in her hands.
We meet Angela Waldick, believed to be the first legally blind team photographer in sports history.
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Alex Smyth learns about the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s new para sport mini figurine. Released as part of the Para Expansion Pack, a fun initiative that brings disability representation to a toy loved by millions around the world.
The CPC Para Expansion Pack.
Alex Smyth learns about the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s new para sport mini figurine. Released as part of the Para Expansion Pack, it’s a fun initiative that brings disability representation to a toy loved by millions around the world.
The book, Communication Alternatives in Autism: Perspectives on Typing and Spelling Approaches for the Nonspeaking, edited by Edlyn Vallejo Peña, leans against a tree.
Dartmouth filmmaker, autistic activist and AMI Contributor Alex Kronstein reviews the book Communication Alternatives in Autism: Perspectives on Typing and Spelling Approaches for the Nonspeaking, edited by Edlyn Vallejo Peña.
A woman speaks to a television producer during an interview.
The Ronald McDonald House is a safe place for families to find respite while children are undergoing treatment at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
Niek Theelan speaks into the camera during a Zoom interview.
Beth Deer meets Niek (Nick) Theelen, a young stand-up comic and entertainer from Red Deer, Alberta, who has produced a documentary on the disabled athletic community in Alberta.
AMI This Week November 1, 2021
Jillian Gillis rappels a building as part of CNIB Nova Scotia’s first-ever Over the Edge fundraiser. Then, Beth Deer learns about the National accessArts Centre in Calgary, a planned $12 million multidisciplinary disability arts campus that has the local arts community excited.
Chris Vallée speaks into the camera.
Chris Vallée tells us what he loves most about AMI This Week.
A man and woman speak during a Zoom conference call.
Grant Hardy learns about the Rescued Food Market and the Food Stash Foundation that runs it, helping Vancouverites who are dealing with food insecurity through grassroots community services.
A woman and man speak during a Zoom conference call.
Beth Deer learns about the National accessArts Centre in Calgary, a planned $12 million multidisciplinary disability arts campus that has the local arts community very excited.
Jillian Gillis, wearing a helmet and surgical mask, gives a thumbs-up to the camera.
Jillian Gillis rappels down a building as part of CNIB Nova Scotia’s first-ever Over the Edge fundraiser.
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Chris Vallée learns about a national movement to make trick or treating more accessible for children in the disability community. And, Alex Smyth learns about the fastest land animal in the world while at the Toronto Zoo.
A cheetah walks on a savannah.
Alex Smyth learns about the fastest land animal in the world at the Toronto Zoo.
Two boys, dressed as Harry Potter, and a man, dressed as a cowboy, smile into the camera.
Chris Vallée learns about a national movement to make trick or treating more accessible for children in the disability community.
Jillian Gillis speaks into the camera.
Halifax Reporter Jillian Gillis reminds everyone that the term “blindness” covers a spectrum of visual disabilities and individual experiences.
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Jillian Gillis profiles Steven Poole, a.k.a. Shayla Shenanigans, one of Nova Scotia’s most prominent drag queens about life, being legally blind, the joy of performing and the importance of giving back to the community.
Brian Bushway speaks to a group of men.
Beth Deer meets Brian Bushway, an entrepreneur who is blind and teaching sighted and non-sighted athletes that with proper brain training and sensory awareness, their performances can far exceed their expectations.
Shayla Shenanigans performs on stage.
Jillian Gillis profiles Steven Poole, a.k.a. Shayla Shenanigans, one of Nova Scotia’s most prominent drag queens about life, being legally blind, the joy of performing and the importance of giving back to the community.
A man speaks into the camera during a television interview.
Vancouver’s Grant Hardy learns about a special mobile classroom launched by the Learning Disabilities Society (LDS), which travels around to communities in need to provide learning support for students with special needs.
Molly Burke speaks into the camera.
Molly Burke shares her thoughts on the importance of shows like AMI This Week.
AMI This Week October 11, 2021
Beth Deer learns about Jake, a service dog who plays an important role comforting children who testify in court about traumatic experiences. Then, Marco Pasqua talks about how he and his wife have taken an inclusive approach to their baby’s nursery.
Two men sit at a picnic table, talking.
Christopher Vallée learns about Nature for All, an initiative to make spaces like the Baxter Conservation Area—150 hectares of pristine nature—an accessible “gold standard” nature attraction in Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec.
Marco Pasqua, his wife and baby daughter.
Accessibility advocate, and new dad, Marco Pasqua talks about his anxieties leading up to fatherhood and how he and his wife have taken an inclusive approach to the baby’s nursery so that he can be fully involved in caring for their new addition: baby Stella.
Kevin Naidoo looks into the camera.
Contributor Kevin Naidoo shares his thoughts on headaches and a technique for improving them.
A black Labrador retriever looks into the camera.
Beth Deer learns about Jake, a service dog in Airdrie, Alberta, who plays an important role comforting children who testify in court about traumatic experiences.
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The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is out! Alex Smyth talks to the team behind the project, as well as Steve Saylor, a gamer who is blind, to find out his thoughts on the blind-accessible game.
Frances Dadin-Alli and Tomi Adesina stand in a kitchen.
AMI Contributor Tomi Adesina learns a new recipe for jollof rice, the popular and much-loved West African dish, from Frances Dadin-Alli of Franyz Kitchen Nigerian Cuisine.
Artist Paul Knoll paints a rainbow on a garage door.
Christopher Vallée meets Paul Knoll, an artist with Down Syndrome who creates vibrant art projects with the support of LiveWorkPlay.
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown title card.
The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is out! Alex Smyth talks to the team behind the project, as well as Steve Saylor, a gamer who is blind, to find out his thoughts on the blind-accessible game.
David Errington and Kelly MacDonald sit in the front seat of a car.
In this moment celebrating ATW's 10th anniversary, Kelly MacDonald recalls driving AMI CEO David Errington around a rally track for a segment.
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AMI Contributor April Hubbard checks out the accessible wheelchair course at the OnTree Fun & Adventure Park in Windsor, Nova Scotia. Then, we learn about Rocky Mountain Adaptive, a registered charity in Canmore, Alberta, making outdoor sport and recreation accessible for all.
Two girls sit at an electronic piano. One gives the camera a thumbs-up.
Hillary McKibbin was born with a one-in-a-million blood disorder, which started a movement to get Canadians to join the stem cell registry.
A man and woman speak during a Zoom conference call.
Grant Hardy chats with reachAbility’s CEO, Tova Sherman, about some of the challenges in traveling with a disability, and what she is doing to address them.
A woman, seated in a wheelchair, sits on a platform in the trees.
AMI Contributor April Hubbard checks out the accessible wheelchair course at the OnTree Fun & Adventure Park in Windsor, Nova Scotia.
A woman, seated in a wheelchair, is carried up a mountain trail.
We learn about Rocky Mountain Adaptive, a registered charity in Canmore, Alberta, making outdoor sport and recreation accessible for all.
The AMI This Week logo.
Alex Smyth learns about the CNIB’s future plans surrounding SmartLife Centres, including the newest location opening in Barrie.
A woman speaks into the camera during a television interview.
Chris Vallée learns about a new on-the-go day program in Ottawa that operates year-round for adults with exceptionalities.
Looking over the shoulder of a man reading a book.
Halifax AMI-tv contributor Alex Kronstein reviews the book “Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish their Parents Knew about Growing up, Acceptance and Identity,” edited by Emily Paige Ballou, Sharon daVanport and Morénike Giwa Onaiwu.
A man places bananas inside a plastic grocery bag.
Vancouver’s Grant Hardy learns about LOAF—Local Open Access Fridge—a grassroots community initiative that aims to organize a community-maintained fridge and pantry to offer easily accessible, free and healthy food to all who need it.
A group of people, wearing surgical masks, sit in a room.
Alex Smyth learns about the CNIB’s future plans surrounding SmartLife Centres, including the newest location opening in Barrie.
AMI This Week September 13, 2021
CNIB’s annual Guide Dog Month is taking place in September, and Beth Deer finds out what the organization has planned. Then, Grant Hardy learns about a new Braille code created to preserve the endangered Sm'algyax First Nations dialect.
Alex Smyth stands on the front porch of a home.
Alex Smyth shares his thoughts about getting back into field production, along with some of the stories he’s working on this season.
A man sits at a laptop, looking at the screen.
Grant Hardy finds out about a new Braille code that was created to preserve the endangered Sm'algyax First Nations dialect, and the remarkable individuals who made it happen.
Patronus, a black Labrador retriever, looks up.
CNIB’s annual guide dog month is taking place all of September, and Beth Deer finds out what the organization has planned this year.
A woman rides in a trishaw, a combination tricycle and rickshaw.
Jillian Gillis tags along on a trishaw ride with Mad Shea and reports on the new Cycling Without Age program at Northwood, a long-term care organization in Halifax.
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On this special episode of AMI This Week, we’re celebrating our 10-year anniversary with members of the ATW team, both past and present.