Reflections

Regardless of the common fears and criticisms around our relationship with artificial intelligence, AI plays a significant positive role in our world. Kelly MacDonald's guests remind us of what those good sides are. Musician, author, and entrepreneur David Usher presents his five key guidelines to AI creators, encouraging responsible development of AI. Technology Analyst and Journalist Carmie Levy throws in his professional opinion on the state of AI as we, the masses, deal with all its layers today. And as people living with disabilities, Jayden Prempeh-Vanhorne and Grant Hardy share their positive encounters with AI in their everyday lives.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Grant Hardy learns more about the Vancouver Adapted Music Society, an organization that makes music production and performance accessible to artists with disabilities. Bryden Veinot is Senior Program Coordinator for VAMS. He tells us about the organization, and the 2026 Strong Sessions Concert showcasing VAMS talent. Simon Paradis is a client of VAMS and a performer at the Strong Sessions Concert. He joins us to provide his perspective on VAMS. Eric Molendyk is Program Manager at the Disability Foundation, the parent organization of VAMS and the Tetra Society of North America. He discusses the role of Tetra Society, and how they adapt instruments to make them accessible for diverse performers.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Anxiety is often defined as a response to something we perceive as a threat. For people living with disabilities, the threat isn’t always hypothetical. It can be the inaccessible entrance you discover when you arrive, the mobility aid you’re afraid an airline might damage, the stranger who grabs your wheelchair without asking, or the medical professional who doesn’t believe your pain is real.When you’re navigating an inaccessible world, preparing for the next thing to go wrong feels less like overthinking and more like survival.Beth Deer is joined by Felicia Lovenjak and Britny Belskis, two women who share their lived experience around disability-related anxiety.Jenna Reed-Cote is a disability-affirmative therapist and explains how continually navigating an inaccessible system can create trauma for people with disabilities.Christa Gagnon is a mom to 16-year old Jordan who has a progressive neuromuscular condition. Christa shares how her worries about her child shift and change as Jordan grows older and deals with more complex medical concerns.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

A haunted restaurant. A mummified toe. A porter who’s been dead for decades, but still helps guests with their luggage. Welcome to the creepy side of Canadian history! From unexplained encounters to stories of lingering spirits, Jennie Bovard explores the strange tales connected to places you can still visit today, drawing on firsthand experiences, secondhand accounts, and expert perspectives. Author Vernon Oickle unravels the hauntings at the Five Fishermen Restaurant in Halifax, Nova Scotia, widely considered the most haunted building in the country. The spirit of Sam McCauley, former Head Bellman at the Banff Springs Hotel, continues to help guests with their bags, directions, and sticky elevator buttons. Samantha Welanc of Banff Canmore Ghost Walks tells us the story of Sam McCauley. And legend has it that in the 1920s, a Yukon rum runner cut off his frostbitten toe with an axe and placed it in a jar of alcohol. Forty years later, a local bartender found the mummified toe in a remote cabin and created the world-famous Sourtoe Cocktail! Kim Hovey, who participated in the Sourtoe Challenge, shares her experience. Are you brave enough to explore the places where Canada’s past refuses to stay buried?  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Kelly MacDonald learns from the pros about the power of preserving our past. Reflections Senior Producer Matt Agnew is in his element as he shares his passion and purpose behind archiving. Ed Conroy, Creator of Retro Ontario, explains how reviving forgotten analogue footage online brings communities together. Disability Media Historian Michael Marlatt reminds us that archives represent our history, and disability history is still being discovered.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode features un-aired clips and interviews from last year's coverage of the Toronto Treat Accessibly's Halloween Village.   Joeita Gupta is inviting you to join her and Producer Matt Agnew for a spook-tacular afternoon at the 2025 Toronto Treat Accessibly Halloween Village, where families living with disabilities can safely and accessibly celebrate the spookiest time of the year! Making Halloween Accessible has been Treat Accessibly’s mission since 2017, and it takes a village to make it happen! Joeita takes to the street full of characters from Paw Patrol, Star Wars, and Disney Princesses to talk with kids, parents, and homeowners who take part in the Treat Accessibly Halloween Village. Plus, Joeita speaks with founder of Treat Accessibly Rich Padulo who tells us how the event started, and how much it’s grown! Listen in to the Halloween fun in Toronto that will surely make you want to shout Trick or Treat! For more information about how to treat accessibly visit: www.treataccessibly.com  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Multisensory art has a way of rewriting the narrative on important issues in diverse ways. Grant Hardy spoke with three artists in the community to find out how they’re creating critical change for people with disabilities and other minority groups, having a creative and fun time while doing so. Multidisciplinary artist Theodore Walker Robinson discusses some of their weaving, television, and other artwork advocating for people with disabilities and individuals at risk of HIV/AIDS. Partially-sighted artist Douglas Knight shares some of the work he’s done, including painting and tattoo artistry, to authentically represent content from his perspective. Artist Carmen Papalia discusses his upcoming exhibition on disability advocacy, and the disability cultural movement, at the Museum of Vancouver.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Supports may be out there, but how do people with disabilities go about finding their way to those supports? Reflections Reporters Joeita Gupta and Kelly MacDonald join Ramya Amuthan to chat about how well disability communities are doing at finding each other, collaborating, and building bridges. The four Reflections episodes highlighted in this panel are: Looking into National Eye Care Strategy, released July 29, 2026, highlighting how we can tackle education around eye health. Launching Vision Health Canada, released December 2, 2025, prioritizing collective action to establish a unified national approach to vision health. Rethinking Navigation for the Blind, released August 6, 2026, stressing the importance of community feedback and community involvement. The Accessible Canada Act, released June 25, 2026, emphasizing the power of inviting people into the process early and starting somewhere, even if it's not perfect.  About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Understanding, and eventually undoing the erasure of the experience of Indigenous Peoples with disabilities is an attempt to unlearn our very way of thinking.Dr. Lynn Gehl talks through the political model of disability with Joeita Gupta, an approach which aims to eliminate ableist, racist, and sexist language written into Canada’s political policies and laws.Kathryn Reinders shares insights from her co-authored book chapter titled Complex Erasures, Reproductive Disability Under Settler Colonialism.Rheanna Robinson is amongst a growing number of scholars who are investigating the inter-related nature of ableism, colonialism, and racism within Canada. Through her personal journey, Rheanna shares how colonial practices have impacted her after being diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s hard to ignore the darker sides of social media, but sometimes something comes across our algorithms that reminds us of the positives of connecting through online platforms.When AMI's Crip Trip team was in Whitehorse, Yukon, an impatient truck driver drove over their ramp. They had nobody to call, no one to help, and no idea how they were going to continue on their journey. That was until a helpful passerby posted on her social media that the team needed immediate help.Beth Deer is joined by Fred and Danny from Crip Trip to tell us how it all happened. Darryl Tait, the mechanic who honourably helped the team repair their ramp and get on their way to Skagway, Alaska, brings the whole experience full circle. About AMIAMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:X /Twitter @AccessibleMediaInstagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audioFacebook at @AccessibleMediaIncTikTok @AccessibleMediaIncEmail [email protected] Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.