Video transcript: What is Ableism?

Video length: 06 min 29 sec

White text appears in the centre of the screen against a black backdrop.

The narrator reads the following text onscreen:

00:01
Narrator: The examples presented in this video are inspired by real events shared by members of IRCC’s Persons with Disabilities Network.

To protect their anonymity, the voices were performed by actors.

Pleasant music plays. The images are animated and formed from basic shapes.

A yellow sun shines in a blue, purple and golden sky. There’s a city made of pink, blue and purple buildings.

White captions contained in a black box appear across the bottom of the screen.

00:16
Narrator: That day, I was heading to an important meeting, dressed in my best Italian three-piece suit. Crisp white shirt, burgundy tie… I felt great.

The city dissolves into shapes bouncing around the screen. They change colour and shape to form a brown suit jacket and pants, a tan vest and a white dress shirt.

A burgundy tie flies onto the outfit as a finishing touch. The suit’s sleeves move up to finish tying the tie’s knot. The suit flexes, as if a person is wearing it.

The suit folds up and becomes a brown tea bag with burgundy labels. The tea bag drops into a green paper cup.

A smiling orange person grabs the cup, sniffs it and closes their eyes.

I grabbed a tea, then stopped for a quick break. I use an assistive device for mobility, so I can’t drink while driving.

The person drives a red and brown mobility scooter against a yellow background.

Suddenly, I heard a clink—something had dropped into my cup. A coin. Someone had walked by and tossed it, assuming I was asking for money.

The person’s mouth opens in surprise. They glance from side to side.

A silver coin lies at the bottom of their paper cup. A small amount of tea sloshes around.

A hand reaches out and flips a coin in the air.

The judgment came quickly. Despite my suit, they saw me as unemployed, homeless, in need of help.

The coin flips around. The suit is depicted on it.

The coin falls against a dark purple brick wall. It lands on the sidewalk in front of a brown cardboard sign.

The text on the sign reads “Help.”

On a black background, white text displays: “Ableism”

00:55
Holly Ellingwood (speaking English): Ableism. Ableism are the types of things that you sort of expect when you hear about what are the barriers for people with disabilities. The thing is it’s also some of the things we don’t see.

In live action, a grey-haired man in a suit, who wears neck support, appears against a white background.

Text displays: “Dr. Holly North Ellingwood (he, him, his)
Leader in accessibility and equity within the public service of Canada”

Video footage shows a red and white metal barrier blocking a dirt road in a forest.

So people think ableism could be people who don’t give a ramp.

Stone steps lead up to commercial buildings, which are barely visible.

But it’s also the attitudinal barriers.

Blinds cover a window in a dark room. The sun shines a small amount of light through them as it crosses the sky.

So it’s both those visible and invisible barriers we have in the environment and attitudinal that exist through systemic flaws.

Gears whir on metal machinery cogs.

Text displays: “Discrimination”

01:23
Marie-Jeanne Nahas (speaking French): Ableism is similar to other types of discrimination, such as sexism, racism or ageism.

In live action, a woman in a dark blazer appears on screen.

Text displays: “Marie-Jeanne Nahas (she, her)
Senior Advisor, Employee Support Office
Office of the Ombud, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Co-Chair of the Interdepartmental HR Advisory Committee on Persons With Disabilities”

A close-up video shows long hair.

A close-up video shows a person’s skin.

A close-up video shows another person’s skin, which is wrinkled.

It excludes and devalues people with disabilities through prejudice and microaggressions.

A patch of ice breaks into several pieces. Dark water is beneath it.

Animated waves in green, blue and purple flow across the screen.

Gentle jazz music plays.

01:43
Narrator: People misunderstand autism spectrum, assuming we prefer to be alone, isolated—but that’s just a stereotype.

A pink human figure stands alone in a small, dark room, against a grey wall.

That’s not me. I love being social, and I’m passionate.

A blaze of fire swirls from the person’s chest. It explodes into shades of pink, red and purple. The person stands between colorful curved lines. A cape appears on the person’s back.

Behind them, an enormous face with twinkling eyes looks down on them.

They fly away.

When I told my manager, I heard the surprise in her voice.

The person lands on a bar graph. The face looks at them with raised eyebrows. The person stands on the tallest bar.

I wanted to use those skills to help the department grow. But no one gave me the chance.

The face’s eyes close. The person falls from the bar onto dark purple and green waves. Their cape falls off.

Text displays: Impact

In live action, Holly Ellingwood appears onscreen.

02:08
Holly Ellingwood (speaking English): There’s also the other things that it can prevent a person from accessing, such as being seen as a viable partner, a viable parent, a viable friend.

Video footage shows people walking along a crowded street.

A shredder produces long strings of paper.

We are one of the absolute lowest in Canada for employment. Because of that, we’re one of the highest represented in poverty levels in the country.

A large, dense neighbourhood is shown from a bird’s eye perspective.

All those things all together create a cumulative harm on a person’s sense of self-worth. If one is continually treated as less, it’s hard not to have that internalized.

Thunder rumbles and lightning crashes through a dark cloud.

And that causes the greatest harm of all.

In animation, a small box appears against a dark grey, wavy background. A purple eye looks through it.

A maroon person sticks their hands through the box and pushes the sides to create a wider space.

02:45
Narrator: I’ve learned that I’m often seen as less, no matter my accomplishments.

The person throws a golden rod upward against a dark purple background.

I have a higher salary than many, higher degrees, and I’ve been recognized many times for my contributions.

The rod becomes a ball. It’s now a golden planet in a colorful galaxy.

The galaxy’s black sky dissolves. The person is still inside a box.

Yet, all people see is my disability. And I’m immediately labelled as less.

They push against the sides. The box collapses on them completely. It expands again. The person is now very small and blurry.

Text displays: “Signs”

Marie-Jeanne Nahas appears onscreen, in live action. She is sitting in a wheelchair.

03:06
Marie-Jeanne Nahas (speaking French): Ableism can be seen through stereotypes and generalizations, microaggressions, exclusion from career opportunities, inaccessible environments, condescending attitudes, the health care system, a lack of representation in leadership, and a refusal to adapt.

Text displays: “Language”

The main improvements to be made to language are to be inclusive, respectful and centered on the person.

Video footage shows a pencil crayon colouring a pink square in a patchwork of colours.

Yellow, pink and orange paint flow together.

A dart lands in the centre of a dartboard.

For example, we say a “person with a disability,” using the word “person” first, but also listening to how the person with a disability refers to themselves.

A cassette tape begins to play.

Sound reverberates inside a speaker.

In animation, the word “Lame” is written in blue against a grey background with dark patches.

04:05
Narrator: I hear people say “lame” all the time.

The word buzzes with electricity.

Most quickly notice my discomfort and go, “I’m sorry, I never thought of it that way.”

“I’m sorry” appears in gold, inside a gold circular pattern.

A dictionary opens to a page. “Ll” is written in the top left corner.

But others? They shrug and say, “Well, it’s in the dictionary,” like that makes it okay.

A person points to the definition of “lame.” The dictionary closes.

Plenty of words are in the dictionary. We stopped using them for a good reason.

The dictionary shakes. Letters fall out onto the ground. A broom sweeps them away.

Text displays: “Objectification”

Marie-Jeanne Nahas appears in live action.

04:30
Marie-Jeanne Nahas (speaking French): The representation of people with disabilities, whether tragic or inspiring, is considered ableism. When someone does something that is considered “normal” for everyone else.

In video footage, light shines on a wooden floor. There’s a shadow of a gate rising.

I’ll give you a personal example: I’m a person who uses a wheelchair, I’m married, I have a career. Often people will say to me, “Wow, you’re really inspiring!”

A photographer twists a camera lens. The lens opens wider.

So the focus is on my disability instead of the things I do every day.

Light forms a colourful kaleidoscope inside a dark space.

Text displays: “Mindfulness”

In live action, Holly Ellingwood appears.

05:09
Holly Ellingwood (speaking English): When people ask me what can they do to make sure they’re not being ableistic, I wish I had an answer that was a perfect answer. That was the answer. But unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

I’d love the world to be kinder to me. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. I’d like the world to be kinder for everyone. I can’t pretend otherwise.

It's really hard to dismantle something someone isn’t willing to see.

Video footage shows a person’s eye slowly closing.

It really needs to be approached with compassion.

Blue ocean waves break into white foam. Water flows in a swirl.

Compassion for the people around, but also compassion for oneself.

The problem is that each of us, that includes me, we do in some way maintain that systematic, like the systemic barriers that we have.

Cogs turn in metal machinery.

We maintain that in different ways that we don’t even realize, we don’t even know.

That’s where the mindfulness part is really key.

Light shines through the veins on a green leaf.

Dewdrops on a leaf shine in the sun.

Becoming more and more aware, educating oneself, really listening to people, recognizing it’s not about me being a bad person, it’s about trying to make better choices.

It’s so worth it, because every one of those steps means we’re getting closer to that time when we don’t have to have these conversations anymore.

The Canadian flag appears in red against a black background.

Next to it, white text displays: “Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Immigration, Refugiés et Citoyenneté Canada”

The Canada wordmark appears against a black background.