This whole “giving blind people real jobs” thing is just NOT working out.
“Which brings us to the matter of Steacy himself. He’s blind, and he has an assistant help him function — no doubt a double-expense that the CHRC regards as a source of pride and a symbol of how the rest of society ought to work. I think it’s great that Steacy is still working despite his handicap. But being an investigator, especially where the matters investigated are words and symbols and intricate websites, requires eyesight.
“Keeping a lead investigator who is blind isn’t just an act of supreme political correctness, it’s an act that so obviously risks the integrity of the commission’s work. Again, if it helps, imagine if an investigator hunting real crimes, not thought crimes, were blind. It’s inconceivable that any defence lawyer wouldn’t immediately object to any of the evidence that such an investigator collected, on the grounds that it was flawed; I can’t imagine any criminal judge accepting such evidence — if it related to anything important, it would simply provide “reasonable doubt” to any charge, and yield an acquittal. It’s so ridiculous, it wouldn’t even fly in a fictional TV show, even the most politically correct of the Law and Order series just wouldn’t be able to have a blind investigator without fans jeering ‘yeah, right’.
(…)
“Look, I think it’s great that Steacy’s still working after going blind — the fact that he was the CHRC’s union boss probably ensured that his lower productivity and need for another assistant wouldn’t even be considered. I’m sure that, if the CHRC could, it would require all Canadian businesses to go to such lengths and costs. But even the nuttiest anti-discrimination advocate would acknowledge that there are some jobs where vision is necessary. Being a pilot is one of them; being an investigator is another. Unless, of course, accuracy, comprehensiveness and fairness are optional — which is why the CHRC permits it.”
