WEBVTT

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[Anselmo]: Hello! This is
DeafDots, 22 April 2022.

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Bringing alerts & news reports at
intervals for all Deaf Canadians.

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Don't forget to subscribe, like, and
follow DeafDots to get new video updates!

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[Anselmo]: On April 2nd, Toronto
Association of the Deaf celebrated

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its 85th anniversary.

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The organization was founded in 1937.

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TAD wasn't originally called TAD,
it was known as the Silent Athletic

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Club (SAC) in 1929 which was
founded by three Deaf men -

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William McGovern, Lorenzo Maiola,
and Joseph Goldman.

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To become an official charter,
SAC had to change its name and

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they decided on the Toronto
Association of the Deaf.

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TAD is one of Canada's longest
standing Deaf non-profit organizations.

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Ontario Association of the Deaf,
OAD is the oldest - they were

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founded in 1886.

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DeafDots asked Daniel Loaiza from
TAD to share a little bit about

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why TAD was founded.

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In the 1930s, TTY wasn't invented yet.

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VRS didn't exist either.

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There were also no captions on TV.

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Seeing ASL interpreters on TV,
or at meetings, or in the government

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was unheard of.

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We didn't have the Human Rights law.

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That's why Deaf people would
frequently gather at TAD meetings.

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Information was also exchanged.

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TAD has a rich history, but
the following two are the most

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important that left a positive
impact on Deaf Torontonians and

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Canadians also.

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In 1988, Deaf Ontario Now,
DON for short, was a success.

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Deaf people from all over
the province marched together.

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This event was hosted by the
Ontario Association of the Deaf,

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OAD, partnering with TAD.

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Together, they hosted many
events and gave workshops.

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The point of all this was to
educate others about the Deaf

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community, how they
have their own language,

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their own culture, and etc.

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[Anselmo]: What was the most
significant thing TAD did for

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the Deaf community?

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In 2013, TAD was one of the
organizations that advocated for

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VRS in Canada. A TAD representative
attended CRTC public hearings to

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participate in discussions
- this is held in Gatineau

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which is close to Ottawa.

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Today, we have VRS and that's
such a big deal in making

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communication accessible. That
project was very important for

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for Deaf Torontonians
(and Canadians, too).

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TAD supports the Deaf community.

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[Anselmo]: What are TAD's current
goals and are there any exciting

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projects or events coming up
that we should be aware about?

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TAD's current goals include
attracting diverse members,

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such as youths, Indigenous people,
Black people, immigrants,

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Deaf senior citizens, and others.

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We support and provide workshops
for those who are searching for

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work, help them navigate oppression,
and we fight for their rights.

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And more.

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TAD also offers the Deaf community
in the Greater Toronto Area

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different services and programs.

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The goal is to ensure there's
accessibility and equality for

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Deaf people. We have TAD workshops
every month for everyone.

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Where? Online because of
the ongoing pandemic.

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Anselmo: Deaf non-profit
organizations, including TAD

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are key to being the "voice"
for Deaf communities everywhere

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fighting for our rights.

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If it wasn't for TAD, OAD, and
other Deaf organizations, maybe

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Deaf Canadians would still
be making calls on TTY.

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[Anselmo]: The first Deaf rapper,
Signmark, from Finland

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is performing in Toronto on April 29th.

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Signmark is part of the Nordic Bridges.

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It's a year-long collaboration
between the Nordic Region and

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Canada to exchange culture,
art, and ideas.

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Nordic Bridges will host one of
the largest scale Deaf and disability

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arts festivals in Canada - CoMotion
Festival which is from April 20 to

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May 1st at the Harbourfront
Centre in Toronto.

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Signmark's real name is Marko
Vuoriheimo and he already released

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an album in 2006 - both, soundtrack
on CD and signed music videos on DVD.

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Signmark is also the first Deaf
person in the world to get

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a record deal with an
international record company.

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He has performed in more
than 40 countries and

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is not slowing
down anytime soon.

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DeafDots asked how does a Deaf
boy from Finland get into rap music.

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I fell in love with music
through my grandparents.

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They're hearing.

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The rest of my family are all
Deaf and we use sign language.

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At Christmas time when we would
all get together, the family would

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communicate in sign language - my
grandmother didn't understand any

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signs, so she would just
go to a different room to

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play the piano and to sing.

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I'd walk up to her and
ask what she was doing.

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She said she didn't understand
what we were signing about,

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so she decided to play
music instead and have fun.

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I enthusiastically asked
her to teach me.

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I read my grandmother's lips as
she sang and I felt my grandfather

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playing music - the piano -
with low bass.

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It was a lot of fun.

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I would sign the songs and
get my parents to watch me.

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It was the first time the family,
as whole, was able to be together

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and to have fun.

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This was through music.

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I ended up wanting to make more.

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That's how I fell in love with music.

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[Anselmo]: What goes into the
process of creating music?

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Do you write your own songs?

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When I first started, I knew
nothing about what goes into

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making music. I'd tell my hearing
friend what I want to sign about.

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The theme.

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He would write the words
and create the music.

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I'd tell him it was important to
me to be able to feel the bass.

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Something simple like that.

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He would come up with it and I'd
look it over, making corrections.

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Keeping what I want to keep and getting
rid of what I want to get rid of.

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I'd translate the songs.

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But now, I do my own writing
and have the hearing person

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test it out
by singing.

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There were issues.

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He'd point out certain words that
didn't seem to fit and there was

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no flow. He'd change the
melody and the words.

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We'd make sure we were able to
sync up our singing and signing.

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I'd go through samples of different
music and pick out ones I like,

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expand them, and then make more.

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I'd explain that my vision
consisted of sadness, feelings,

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emotions, and etc.

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They would modify the music
to fit with my vision.

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That's how it's done.

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Sometimes I'd film myself signing
songs then I would write down the

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words after and then
create the music last.

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[Anselmo]: Did you meet any resistance
when you decided to make

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rap music? Were people confused as
to how this was going to work?

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Many hearing people doubted me,
"how can Deaf people make music?"

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In reality, I love all kinds of music.

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The violin.

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The piano.

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It's impossible for me to sign
the sounds an instrument makes.

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However, I can follow the beats of
a drum and feel the vibrations from

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the bass and I want
to show what I like.

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The idea.

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Or music videos or other songs.

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I know what I like and they...

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I need to teach them and they need
to teach me so we can learn from

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each other and make
good songs together.

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[Anselmo]: Tickets are available for
sale at the Harbourfront Centre

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in Toronto.

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[Anselmo]: With the film "CODA"
winning an Oscar award on March 27th,

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the word "CODA" has become a
more familiar term among hearing

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communities. CODA means
"Child of a Deaf Adult".

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In the last few weeks, a BC band
called Half/Asian and Amy the CODA

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saw a huge increase in
visibility and media exposure.

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When people google the word,
CODA, online, the Half/Asian

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and Amy the CODA band
pops up among the results.

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Half/Asian and Amy the CODA's songs
focus on their experiences with

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racism and ableism.

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DeafDots asked Amy and Ian how they
incorporate their Asian and CODA

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backgrounds in their music.

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And I think that we just like, when
we're on stage, we're just being

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ourselves like I'm being Amy the
CODA, I'm being the Child of Deaf

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Adult. I'm fully expressing who
I am with my first language and

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my love for music.

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With Ian having the name
Half/Asian, it just allows for

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these open and honest conversations
to happen so we don't just

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incorporate the work into our songs
and into our performances, but

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also in the conversations that
happen after our performances

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and in workshop settings as well.

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[Anselmo]: What about you, Amy?
How does being a CODA fit in?

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The CODA and Deaf communities
when they come to our shows

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have been so happy, having so
much fun. I've looked out

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to the audience and seeing
people signing along

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to the lyrics and we've gotten
some really great testimonials

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from individuals as well.

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[Anselmo]: How did the film "CODA"
winning an Oscar increase

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your band's visibility?

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When the movie came out, it
really boosted our visibility.

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In the same week, we suddenly
had interests from CBC and four

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different interviews with them, and
then we were on Global News in BC

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and then also nationally.

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Now we're on DeafDots.

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[Anselmo]: How does your arrangement
work with music albums?

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Is it solely Half/Asian's
music on the soundtracks

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since Amy signs the songs?

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Yeah, it's not like I am just
hopping onto Ian's project and

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interpreting; it's definitely
something we write together.

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Like people often view me as an
interpreter, but I write my parts

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just as much as Ian writes his.

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So, up until this point, our
music albums are like on Spotify.

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It's all been Ian's voice
and synthesized compositions.

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But we're excited to share that
now I will be singing with my audible

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voice as well as signing.

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[Anselmo]: Singing vocally and
signing in Pidgin Signed English

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(PSE) - do you think the movie
parallels your real life CODA

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experience well?

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Yeah, so the CODA community and
the Deaf community, there's such

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a wide diversity of experiences and
I don't think that any film could

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ever encapsulate an entire
community's experience, so

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I do not necessarily feel like
it represented my experience fully.

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There were parallels, for sure,
but, yeah, I think that the best

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part about the CODA film coming
out is like all the Deaf

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representation, the Deaf
actors in the film.

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And now there's more of a cultural
awareness of what a CODA is.

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Like up until the film was
released, I would say to people

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"I'm a Child of a Deaf Adult"
and they'd be like "okay, cool."

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And that there wasn't really like
any context to what that actually means

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but now with the film it's like
people are like, "ohh, yeah, kind

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of like the film, okay, I have a
little bit of an understanding of

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maybe your experience growing up
a little" - but even though it's not

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an exact parallel, you kind of get
the idea of the CODA experience and

00:18:32.904 --> 00:18:35.923
the CODA role though the film.

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[Anselmo]: The film "CODA" has raised
awareness and representation

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of Deaf people, and casting of
Deaf actors to play Deaf roles.

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It is unfortunate that a non-CODA
played the role of a CODA in the

00:19:04.224 --> 00:19:08.457
film. It's a step back in efforts
made to be diverse and inclusive.

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[Anselmo]: Nicole has several
announcements recently made in

00:19:21.686 --> 00:19:28.115
Deaf communities across Canada.

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[Nicole]: Mayfest has been canceled
for the third consecutive year.

00:19:42.123 --> 00:19:48.562
The Toronto Mayor, John Tory,
announced the return of major

00:19:48.563 --> 00:19:52.627
festivals and events to Toronto
this spring and summer.

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Pride parade is back on.

00:19:55.394 --> 00:19:59.997
The Ontario Association of the Deaf
(OAD) however said it takes nine

00:19:59.998 --> 00:20:03.553
months to plan for Mayfest and
they did not have enough time

00:20:03.554 --> 00:20:07.168
to host Mayfest this year.

00:20:07.169 --> 00:20:14.034
AASQ (Association sportive des
Sourds du Québec) is still hosting

00:20:14.035 --> 00:20:20.855
the 2022 Canada Deaf Games in
Montreal, Quebec this July.

00:20:20.856 --> 00:20:24.341
They expect about 300 participants
from across Canada.

00:20:29.349 --> 00:20:33.159
[Nicole]: In February, Canadian
Hearing Service (CHS) announced

00:20:33.160 --> 00:20:40.912
the launch of Canadian Hearing
Services Global Partnerships

00:20:40.913 --> 00:20:46.389
for Research & Innovation.
Then at the end of March,

00:20:46.390 --> 00:20:56.807
CHS sold their headquarters
on Spadina Avenue in Toronto.

00:20:56.808 --> 00:21:00.907
DeafDots reached out to
CHS for more information.

00:21:00.908 --> 00:21:10.540
According to Lisa Flowers, CHS's
Communication Manager, they manage

00:21:10.541 --> 00:21:17.215
their operations to ensure the best
use of their funding and that like

00:21:17.216 --> 00:21:23.210
most organizations are currently
re-examining their real estate

00:21:23.211 --> 00:21:27.068
needs based on the shift to virtual
services from the last few years.

00:21:27.069 --> 00:21:29.170
She said further details
would be forthcoming.

00:21:39.029 --> 00:21:43.040
[Nicole]: In our last report,
we did a story on the Canadian

00:21:43.041 --> 00:21:48.612
Radio-Television and Telecommunication,
CRTC restarting

00:21:48.613 --> 00:21:56.375
proceedings to accept comments from
the general public regarding their

00:21:56.376 --> 00:22:00.950
satisfaction with Canada Video
Relay Service and performance of

00:22:00.951 --> 00:22:05.387
interpreters, and how
Canada VRS is managed.

00:22:05.388 --> 00:22:08.854
Deadline for the initial
comments is on May 16th.

00:22:08.855 --> 00:22:15.741
Alvin Witcher, a Deaf advocate in
Ontario, posted a YouTube video on

00:22:15.742 --> 00:22:20.031
how consumers can submit comments.

00:22:20.032 --> 00:22:33.845
On the CRTC website, type in the
Public Proceeding number 2021-102.

00:22:33.846 --> 00:22:35.415
Click on "submit" then...

00:22:35.416 --> 00:22:43.117
the "Intervention Comment Form"
will appear.

00:22:43.118 --> 00:22:45.775
It will ask if you are making
a comment or if you are in

00:22:45.776 --> 00:22:51.944
opposition. Then you can type your
comment in the box or insert

00:22:51.945 --> 00:22:56.590
a YouTube link to your
video comment in ASL or LSQ.

00:22:56.591 --> 00:22:59.686
CRTC staff will transcribe
your video comments.

00:23:00.921 --> 00:23:04.396
[Anselmo]: Thank you, Nicole.

00:23:04.397 --> 00:23:07.988
Thank you for watching DeafDots.

00:23:07.989 --> 00:23:16.986
Please send your news suggestions
through our website www.DeafDots.ca

00:23:16.987 --> 00:23:27.022
or email to news@deafdots.ca.

00:23:27.023 --> 00:23:35.032
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