Disability Rights, and Wrongs: The David Lepodcast

Disability Rights, and Wrongs: The David Lepodcast

Outspoken disability rights advocate David Lepofsky and AMI’s Jacob Shymanski welcome guests to discuss the latest in disability rights … and wrongs.

Episodes

January 9, 2026 51 mins
This episode of Disability Rights and Wrongs highlights a powerful story of advocacy that illustrates an important reality of the work of an advocate; Golden opportunities for progress can present themselves at any time. In this case, Maayan Ziv, a respected disability rights advocate and entrepreneur, took a cross-Atlantic flight in September 2022 with her power wheelchair stowed away in the cargo hold. Despite having taken mult...
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In this second half of the conversation David had with former Premiere of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne, they combine forces to offer tips for advocates on a range of topics. This includes how to get through the door if you don’t already have a relationship with the person/office you’re looking to reach, how to compose compelling emails and even how to actually handle yourself during crucial meetings.   About AMI AMI is a med...
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Our hope as disability rights advocates is that the messages of our campaigns reach the desks of the decision makers; the CEOs, organization presidents and high level politicians. But what does our labour and messaging look like from the other side of the desk? Today, we share a conversation David had with former premiere of Ontario, Kathleen Wynne about what we can do to get into the busy agendas of people in high level position...
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Getting media attention is an invaluable tool for disability rights advocates. Whether you’re trying to pressure your provincial/state government or a private company, the public scrutiny a high profile media piece can provide is often the decisive factor that turns an advocacy battle in your favour.

In this episode, David talks to Michelle McQuigge, a Canadian Press journalist of nearly 20 years. She is very familiar with the proce...

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In this episode, you’ll hear from Bruce MacIntosh about a remarkable disability advocacy campaign he helped organize in the 2000s. It centered around hugely problematic, arguably unconstitutional, age cutoffs for crucial government funded therapies for Ontarian children with Autism. The 26 events they put on directly lead to the government backing down. While this was only one small chapter in a much larger advocacy battle, this mo...

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Builders and architects are overwhelmingly misinformed on the realities of what it takes to make our shared spaces accessible. Why is this?

One of Canada’s top built environment accessibility experts, Thea Kurdi, makes it clear that a few persistent misconceptions continue to counter efforts to make our shared spaces fully accessible. Those misconceptions are:

- Building codes insure accessibility
- Accessible buildings will be more e...

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In this first episode, David Lepofsky shares one of his most impactful advocacy stories—the time he dragged the Toronto Transit Commission to the Human Rights Tribunal just so blind riders could know what subway stop they were at. Sounds simple, right? It wound up being a 12 year battle. But thanks to that fight, we now have the automated stop announcements you hear on every subway and bus in Toronto. David walks us through the str...

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August 28, 2025 30 secs
David Lepofsky and AMI’s Jacob Shymanski discuss the latest in disability rights … and wrongs. About AMI AMI 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 ...
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