Eddie Morten (born 29 May 1962), also spelled 'Eddy', is a Canadian

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

athlete who won bronze in the 5 km

Walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an "inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults over ...

in 1980, gold in the -65 kg category in

Wrestling Wrestling is a martial art, combat sport, and form of entertainment that involves grappling with an opponent and striving to obtain a position of advantage through different throws or techniques, within a given ruleset. Wrestling involves di ...

in 1984, and bronze in Para judo in the -71 kg category in Para judo in 1988. Morten has been the Coordinator of the Deafblind Services Society of British Columbia's Volunteer Intervention Program since 2007, and in 2009 was awarded the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing's Award of Merit for his advocacy on behalf of the

deaf-blind Deafblindness is the condition of little or no useful hearing (sense), hearing and little or no useful visual perception, sight. Different degrees of Visual impairment, vision loss and Deaf, auditory loss occur within each individual. Because of th ...

community. He is the younger brother of Pier Morten, another successful Canadian Paralympian. Morten was born

deaf Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an audiological condition. In this context it is written ...

but with good vision, which has gradually deteriorated due to

Usher Syndrome Usher syndrome, also known as Hallgren syndrome, Usher–Hallgren syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa–dysacusis syndrome or dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes result ...

. He is now completely blind in his left eye and has severely limited vision in his right eye.

Human Rights Tribunal

In August 2004, Morten asked his travel agent to book him a flight from

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, but was told that the airline,

Air Canada Air Canada is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Canada, by size and passengers carried. Air Canada is headquartered in the borough of Saint-Laurent in the city of Montreal. The airline, founded in 1937, provides scheduled and cha ...

, would not allow him to fly without an attendant because he is deaf and partially blind. Morten filed a complaint with the

Canadian Human Rights Commission The Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC) was established in 1977 by the Government of Canada. It is empowered under the '' Canadian Human Rights Act'' to investigate and to try to settle complaints of discrimination in employment and in the ...

in September 2005, alleging that Air Canada had discriminated against him because of his disability. In January 2009, the Tribunal ruled that Air Canada had discriminated against Morten and ordered the airline to pay him $10,000 plus interest for pain and suffering.

References

External links

*
Interview with Morten as Coordinator of the Deafblind Services of British Columbia's Volunteer Intervention Program
(Garret Wasny on YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Morten, Eddie 1962 births Living people Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic bronze medalists for Canada Paralympic track and field athletes for Canada Paralympic wrestlers for Canada Paralympic judoka for Canada Athletes (track and field) at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Wrestlers at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic medalists in judo Canadian blind people Canadian deaf people Deafblind people Canadian male judoka Canadian male race walkers Visually impaired track and field athletes Paralympic medalists in wrestling 20th-century Canadian sportsmen

Human Rights Tribunal

See also

References

External links