Citizenship Team

What are the benefits of citizenship? Are these benefits distributed to equally to all citizens, or do some citizens benefit more than others? In particular, are the means of civic participation equally accessible to all or do people with disabilities experience barriers that limit their ability to participate fully in the very democratic processes that many take for granted? These are some of the themes that are of interest to the Citizenship team.

Scope of Research:

Over the course of the research project this team will examine a number of issues relating to full participation in society with an emphasis on democratic participation and access to the programs and services that most citizens take for granted as necessary for living productive and satisfying lives. Special focus will be given to immigration as it relates to children with disabilities and the potential impact of ratifying the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Canadian disability policy.

Current Research

Accessible Transportation in Kingston, Ontario

The greater Kingston area is a regional hub of commerce and culture for Eastern Ontario with a population of approximately 150,000 people. Despite the fact that it is the location of a regional tertiary care teaching hospital, a large rehabilitation and complex care institution, a number of Federal and Provincial correctional institutions, a large Military base, two Universities and a community college, there are no taxi companies in the area that offer accessible service for people with physical disabilities. In order to access the local accessible public transit service for people with disabilities (Kingston Access Bus) a client must first take out a membership and then arrange for this service many days in advance. This project will look at building alliances with local elected officials to explore options for addressing this issue.

Full Participation in Democratic Processes in Canada

While the Federal Elections Act makes provisions to ensure that all polling stations are fully accessible for Canadians with disabilities, this may or may not be the case in practice. Furthermore, it is surprising to discover that even though there are provisions to protect voting rights there are no such requirements for the offices of elected officials or locations where all candidates meetings are held. As a result, some MP`s offices and other electoral venues are not accessible, creating a barrier to full participation in democratic processes for people with disabilities that their non-disabled contemporaries do not experience. The Citizenship team will investigate the extent of this problem, the potential impacts on people with disabilities, and develop a PDSA cycle for working with policy makers on possible solutions.

For more details about the research plans of this team, please see the CDPA Five Year Program of Research document on the research page.

Completed Research

To view completed research of the CDPA, that is currently available, please click here

Members:

The Citizenship team consists of:

Audrey Kobayashi (Academic Co-Lead)

Audrey Kobayashi is a Professor and Queen's Research Chair in the Department of Geography at Queen's University. She has published widely on topics of citizenship, human rights, immigration, employment equity, and access on the basis of ability, race, or gender. She sits on a number of community boards, including the Independent Living Centre. She is also a member of the Ontario Sailing team, and runs Able Sail Kingston, an adapted sailing program for people with disabilities.

Dave Shannon (Community Co-Lead)

David Shannon has been in a wheelchair for the past 25 years, as a result of spinal cord injury at age 18. Since then he has been committed to policy development and advocacy for bettering health care and community integration for persons with a disability. David holds degrees from Lakehead University (BA), Dalhousie University (LL.B.) and the London School of Economics (LL.M.). He was the founding president of the Canadian Network of Entrepreneurs with a Disability, and sits on numerous boards including the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. David practices Law in Thunder Bay.

Jerome E. Bickenbach

Dr. Bickenbach is a professor in the Department of Philosophy and Faculties of Law and Medicine at Queen's University and has authored many books and articles which focus on the nature of disability and disability law and policy. Since 1995 he has been a consultant with the World Health Organization international disability social policy, and has assisted in the writing of the World Report on Disability and Rehabilitation. Dr. Bickenbach currently works on disability policy issues at the Swiss Paraplegic Research group in Nottwil Switzerland.

Max Beck

For the past 6 years, Max Beck has been the Chief Executive Officer of Easter Seals Canada one of the largest not-for-profit organizations working with persons with disabilities. Easter Seals enables children and adults with physical disabilities to achieve their full potential and independence, delivering award-winning programs and services to more than 100,000 children and adults across Canada. In addition to his work with Easter Seals, Mr. Beck is currently Chair of the Governing Council of the Health Charities Coalition of Canada and Chair of Chantilly Shellfish Ltd - a British Columbia aquaculture company. Previously, Mr. Beck has been the head of Ontario Place, Social Planning for the City of Vancouver, Secretary of State (BC and Yukon), and Opportunities for Youth. For many years he was, Chair and major shareholder of Fanny Bay Oysters, British Columbia's largest shellfish export company, and Chair of Katimavik, a national youth service organization.

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