Archive for the ‘Inclusion Policy Context’ Category

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Ontario has an accessibility crisis. It’s time Queen’s Park acted with urgency

Thursday, January 4th, 2024

First, avoid gathering any data that might indicate the scope of the problem, as well as how to solve it. Second, don’t put anyone in charge of remedying the problem. Finally, avoid employing any enforcement mechanism, so no one’s ever held responsible for failing to do anything. That… is precisely what the province has been doing for the past 17 years. The review, which is mandated by the act, found that more than three quarters of the province’s 2.9 million people with disabilities (PWD) reported negative experiences.

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How Canada can make better progress on disability inclusion

Thursday, September 14th, 2023

Pervasive misconceptions about disabilities, flawed income support systems and inadequate enforcement of regulations are among the systemic challenges… A fully inclusive society could generate an economic benefit of $337 billion — the equivalent of approximately 17 per cent of Canada’s GDP. Moreover, when systems are designed to accommodate those facing the most significant barriers, everyone benefits.

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The Canada Disability Benefit Act is progress worth celebrating

Monday, July 31st, 2023

First, it is a measure to prevent poverty that is protected by law. It adds to our system of legal protections, which include laws such as the National Housing Strategy Act (2019) and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005). These laws are important symbolically, as they codify our society’s commitment to uphold our economic and social rights. They are also important practically, as they require governments to set out rules about how they will put that commitment into action.

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Private foundations sit on billions of dollars while charities struggle

Thursday, February 9th, 2023

We don’t need more tax breaks for charitable giving — Canada already has among the world’s most generous charitable tax breaks, and we are overflowing with charitable funds. It’s just that we can’t get at them. What’s needed is a major overhaul of Canada’s two-tier charity sector where private foundations controlled by wealthy families sit on mountains of idle cash while thousands of working charities are starved for funds as they struggle to deliver services to Canadians.

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A judge’s ruling focuses attention on the homeless crisis

Monday, February 6th, 2023

A court ruling that Waterloo cannot dismantle an encampment may oblige governments to do a better job of ensuring that people have shelter… Clearing encampments is traumatizing for those being moved, costly for taxpayers and ultimately counter-productive, since it only serves to displace unhoused individuals rather than provide lasting accommodation. 

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Ontario court rules encampments can stay if there’s a shortage of shelter beds

Monday, January 30th, 2023

In a precedent-setting decision that will have implications across the province, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has denied a municipality’s request to remove a homeless encampment on the basis that doing so – when there is no adequate indoor space – would violate the residents’ Charter rights.

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Something really, really must be done: an urgent plea for the Canada Disability Benefit to become law in 2023

Monday, January 16th, 2023

The Canada Disability Benefit, a proposed federal disability benefit to complement the inadequate provincial supports, is essential to ending disability poverty… it is also essential that, with the implementation of CDB, there are no clawbacks, that health benefits, transportation allowances, adaptive equipment, employment supports and other in-kind benefits, available from provincial and territorial governments, must remain intact.

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It’s good the government has promised a Canada Disability Benefit. Here’s how to fix the flawed bill

Saturday, November 12th, 2022

The CDB shouldn’t be restricted to “working age” people. The bill should set a mandatory minimum CDB amount, indexed to inflation, and a mandatory start date for paying it… The bill must set specifics on things like eligibility, requirements that cabinet’s regulations can clarify but can’t contradict… It should require that none of the benefit will be clawed back by federal, provincial or territorial programs.

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Warehousing disabled people in long-termcare homes needs to stop. Instead, nationalize home care.

Thursday, January 13th, 2022

It is clear that regardless of ownership — by private corporations or public agencies — the warehousing, caging and incarcerating of older and younger disabled people is an act of violence… We must support disabled people’s call to abolish LTC and develop a national home care, palliative care and pharmacare system that robustly funds and prioritizes disabled older and younger people’s desire to live in community.

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Canadians with disabilities fell through the cracks in the pandemic response. Here’s what needs to change as Omicron surges

Tuesday, January 11th, 2022

… living with a disability is one minority group that anyone can join.  Disability Without Poverty is led by people with disabilities and came about around the end of 2020 in response to gaps in how the government served their communities during the pandemic and to push for a national disability benefit, which has been slowly moving through Parliament and would provide support besides existing provincial programs. 

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