Disability policy is perceived by people with disabilities as being impenetrable and unnecessarily complex, with little in the way of a coherent underlying ideology or policy framework. We use the term “disability policy” as if it referred to an entity that was widely recognized and acknowledged as such. The reality however is quite different. Policies designed to serve the needs of people with disabilities vary across jurisdictions, across sectors within government, and across programs within ministries. There is a patchwork of legislation, regulations, and programs that requires considerable probing to understand.
The purpose of this research was to identify legislation, regulations and program descriptions for all of the policies directly related to disability at the Federal and Provincial levels in Canada that have the potential to effect community integration for people with spinal cord injuries. In the process, a detailed roadmap of the Canadian policy environment for people with disabilities in Canada has been documented, in the form of A Scoping Review of Disability Policy In Canada. The road map is helpful for those who wish to get to know the policy environment better and for seasoned researchers who wish to track problems in the lived experience of people with disabilities back to specific policies that may need to be addressed to create a more equitable policy framework.