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‘Trust is gone’ after lengthy Canadian Hearing Services strike, some Ontario deaf clients say
In early June, Jessica Sergeant waited five and a half hours for a sign language interpreter to arrive at her Ottawa hospital room while she had a cardiac emergency.
Sergeant, who is Deaf, said the long wait amid a strike by Canadian Hearing Services workers in Ontario was “traumatic.”
“I didn’t know what was going on with my heart. I didn’t know at all what was happening,” she said through an interpreter in a recent interview.
Sergeant said she was about to get into the ambulance when she texted the Canadian Hearing Services’ Ontario provider to request an in-person American Sign Language interpreter.
“And they said, ‘Have the hospital call us,’” Sergeant recalled.
She said there was no confirmation that an interpreter was coming by the time she got to the hospital, so she had to ask again by typing it out on her phone to show the hospital staff.
“It’s my body, my health, my heart at stake,” she said. “Why is that power in the hands of the hospital or the organization providing the interpreter?”
Finally, an interpreter showed up. But when Sergeant returned to the hospital 10 days later, she was told there were no interpreters available because of the strike.
More than 200 unionized Canadian Hearing Services employees — including interpreters, audiologists and counsellors — walked off the job on April 28, leaving deaf and hard-of-hearing clients without critical services for more than two months.
The employees are set to return to work on July 14 after voting this week to ratify a new three-year contract that includes pension, benefits and wage increases, said their union, CUPE 2073.
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But Sergeant and others who rely on Canadian Hearing Services say the strike has illuminated operational issues at the non-profit, and the need for broader change within the organization.
“Trust is gone from the community,” said Sergeant.
She said timely access to an interpreter was a problem even before the strike.
“The issue fundamentally is my rights as an individual,” said Sergeant. “When I ask for a sign language interpreter, why isn’t that respected and arranged accordingly, immediately?”
During Sergeant’s medical emergency last month, the hearing services provider shouldn’t have required the hospital to verify the need for an interpreter after Sergeant had already requested one, said Leah Riddell, president of the Ontario Cultural Society of the Deaf.
“There is a roster of interpreters, freelance interpreters, different organizations they could have contacted to provide an interpreter, but they made a fundamental decision that impacted Jessica’s health,” Riddell said through an interpreter.
“They have a monopoly over all of us and all the services they provide, which puts us at a standstill.”
Riddell said the organization doesn’t reflect the community it serves, which also affects service quality.
“Their perspective is, ‘We’re going to do this for the Deaf community, but not with the Deaf community,’ and that kind of attitudinal barrier causes more harm to the Deaf community,” said Riddell.
Although Canadian Hearing Services says on its website that the “majority” of its board of directors is Deaf or hard of hearing, only two members identify as such in their bios.
The organization did not respond to questions about its board and leadership diversity, but said in a statement that it continued offering interpreting services during the strike to clients who needed them for urgent matters such as hospital visits.
“While we cannot discuss specific details about an individual client’s service as that information is confidential, we can confirm that we have 100 per cent supported priority clients in all our programs and services offered during the labour dispute,” CHS said.
Khaleelah McKnight, who has a 10-year-old Deaf son and has also turned to CHS to learn American Sign Language, said the strike was “really disruptive” for her child’s medical appointments.
“It’s a really big stress on me as a parent to have to interpret and be mom in an appointment and it also doesn’t allow him to learn how to advocate for himself and to communicate,” she said.
The last time CHS workers walked off the job was for 10 weeks in 2017 — something McKnight said she remembers well. She said the two strikes have left her with little confidence in the leadership of the organization.
“It’s a marginalized community, and in your structure, you seem to have marginalized the very people you’re serving,” she said, adding that she recognizes the strike’s impact on workers, many of whom are also Deaf or hard of hearing and have meaningful relationships with their clients.
“The workers are burnt out, they have their own issues and concerns,” Riddell said. “But at the same time, (CHS) promises to do better and they have not.”
Judith Greaves, a senior from Ottawa who has received interpretation services and mental health counselling from CHS over the past couple of decades, said that as some of those services become more internet-based and technology-reliant, they are actually less accessible for people like her. She relies on satellite internet and said accessing interpreting services over applications such as Zoom can be tricky.
“In the last 10 years it’s gone downhill a bit, where upper management has drawn a line where they can only go so far to help you,” she said.
“We need CHS staff to get back to work and do their jobs and we also need CHS to be more Deaf friendly and do a little bit more for us.”
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Myles Straw’s timing to have a career game was perfect.
The Toronto Blue Jays outfielder was in the mix to lose his roster spot with the return of George Springer before the Blue Jays throttled the Texas Rangers 14-2 on Saturday.
But with Springer back after missing 15 games with a concussion, the Blue Jays instead optioned 26-year-old Joey Loperfido to triple-A Buffalo. The 30-year-old Straw would have had to clear waivers.
With a new skinny bat compared to the thicker torpedo bat he had been employing, Straw pounded a three-run homer in the second inning and followed with a two-run blast in the same left-field area in the third for his first multihomer outing and a career-high five RBIs.
“This team is great,” Straw said. “The roster is great. Joey’s been doing phenomenal. I don’t think he could have been doing any better.
“I think there’s a really good chance he’ll probably be back with us as soon as the rosters expand (in September). He’s played his butt off, and he’s earned every single bit of being here.”
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Straw added two singles to lead the Blue Jays’ 18-hit attack with a 4-for-5 game. His play overshadowed Springer’s return.
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The 42,686 fans at Rogers Centre welcomed back Springer with a rousing ovation, leading off the bottom of the first as the Blue Jays’ designated hitter.
Springer struck out in his first two at-bats and then legged out an infield hit on a bouncer to third base before being hit by a pitch from position player Rowdy Tellez, who took to the mound for the final two innings.
“Seeing him hauling (his behind) down the line, it’s just who he is. He sets the tone for us,” Toronto manager John Schneider said.
There was some rust on Springer’s game, despite his rehab start in Buffalo on Friday, his first game since July 28, after a fastball from Baltimore Orioles Kade Strowd concussed him.
The 35-year-old Springer homered in the second of his three at-bats on Friday.
“It was really cool to hear the fans before his first at-bat,” Schneider said. “It’s just a good feeling having him back with his presence, his ability, his personality.”
Schneider also felt good about witnessing Straw’s performance.
“I remember in spring training, we had him in Group B with some of the younger guys in camp,” Schneider said. “He handled that well and just did his thing.
“He’s a pretty integral part of the clubhouse. He’s kind of tight with everybody. He understands the role that we’re asking him to play, and he’s playing it really well.”
Schneider called Straw “a winning baseball player.” He has played on winning teams, such as the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians.
The Astros drafted Straw, and he arrived in Toronto from Cleveland in an off-season trade.
“It feels the exact same,” said Straw when asked about the similarities to the Houston championship teams. “We’re winning. That’s what they did over there at the time, and that’s what we’re doing here.
“I feel like we win a lot of baseball games, which we do, and that’s how you win a world championship. You win games.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Myles Straw followed an early three-run homer with a two-run shot for his first career multihomer game as the Toronto Blue Jays throttled the Texas Rangers 14-2 on Saturday.
Straw ignited a six-run second inning with his three-run homer to left field and smashed his two-run blast to the same area in the third as the Blue Jays (73-51) won their third straight before 42,686 at Rogers Centre.
Straw added to his five RBI outing with two more singles to lead Toronto’s 18-hit attack with a 4 for 5 day.
Bo Bichette delivered a bases-loaded two-run double in the second, in which Vladimir Guerrero Jr. was thrown out at home trying to score from first base.
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Daulton Varsho piled on with a two-run homer as part of a three-run fifth. He reached base four times with three hits and a walk.
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With position player Rowdy Tellez on to pitch in the seventh inning, Davis Schneider also picked up a third hit with a three-run homer to left field.
Eric Lauer (8-2) left after walking the leadoff hitter in the sixth. His pitch count reached a season-high 102. He yielded a third-inning run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
Texas lefty Patrick Corbin (6-9) departed after 2 1/3 innings, having given up seven runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.
Takeaways
Rangers: The Rangers (61-63) have lost four in a row.
Blue Jays: George Springer returned to the lineup after missing 15 games with a concussion. Batting leadoff in the designated hitter spot, he went 1 for 4 with two strikeouts, an infield hit and was hit by Tellez.
Key Moment
After committing a first-inning error on a fly ball, Schneider made a diving catch in left field in the fifth to take a possible run-scoring hit away from Jake Burger and end the inning.
Key Stat
Bichette’s two-run second-inning hit to the right-field gap was his 36th double to move him two behind AL leader Bobby Witt of the Kansas City Royals.
Up Next
Jose Berrios (9-4) will face Texas ace Nathan Eovaldi (10-3) in the series finale on Sunday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 16, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
TORONTO – Alejandro Kirk’s late-game heroics resulted in three deafening ovations from the 42,260 inside the Rogers Centre on Friday.
The first roar arrived in the seventh inning when the Toronto Blue Jays catcher smacked an opposite-field two-run homer to right.
The next inning, the sellout crowd cheered as Kirk delivered a bases-loaded single to left field to score the game-tying and game-winning runs.
But the most thunderous praise from the faithful came when Kirk caught the Texas Rangers by surprise and stole his first career base.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Kirk said through an interpreter after the 6-5 win. “Then I turned around and saw myself (standing at second base) on the scoreboard.”
The Blue Jays celebrated along with their low-key teammate’s first stolen base. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. pulled the base out of the ground and presented Kirk with the keepsake.
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Kirk stated the memento will soon be on display in his home. He also admitted he was surprised when first-base coach Mark Budzinski told him to steal second.
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“I looked around and said, ‘Are you serious?’” Kirk said.
Budzinski was serious. Kirk made history. He was holding on to the base during his post-game interview.
“The fact that he was holding it on the field post-game is even better,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said. “I think they’re authenticating it.”
Although Toronto starter Chris Bassitt endured a difficult outing, lasting only five innings and giving up an early three-run homer, his night ended on a high note, watching his battery mate’s late-game wizardry.
“He’s catching (all-time base stealing leader) Rickey (Henderson) slowly,” Bassitt said with a smile.
Kirk hit his homer with an 0-1 count and his single with a 1-2 count.
“Kirk, the hitter, is pretty hard to face,” Bassitt said. “So I hate to say it, but I expect it from him. There are not many guys on our team that I’d rather have up than him because he can do damage with any kind of pitch.
“I’m always happy when he’s up late in big situations.”
This was the American League East-leading Blue Jays’ 39th comeback win of the season, and second in as many games after Guerrero belted a game-winning two-run homer in the seventh inning for a 2-1 win against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday.
“I think the more you do it, the more comfortable you are when you’re in that situation,” Schneider said. “It’s not luck. It’s hard to do, but like anything, the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
Springer, Bieber updates
George Springer homered in the second of three at-bats in his rehab start for triple-A Buffalo on Friday and could return to the Blue Jays lineup on Saturday.
Righty Shane Bieber pitched seven shutout innings in Buffalo, striking out four with six hits and no walks on 90 pitches.
Bieber could make his Blue Jays debut next week, likely on the road against the Miami Marlins next Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 15, 2025.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
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