On November 25th, 2021, Statistics Canada launched a new podcast series affectionately called Eh-Sayers, presumably referring to one of Canadians’ most endearing sayings! This episode is called Talk about the barriers, not the disability: Activity limitations and COVID-19. It features national data on the realities, challenges and changes that the pandemic has brought to the daily lives of people living with… Read more »
In late 2020, the federal government’s COVID-19 Disability Advisory Group released its report applying “a disability lens to the government’s response to the pandemic”. Chief among their 21 recommendations are: To provide monthly financial support to disabled people in need; To identify personal support workers as “essential services”; To ensure universal access to personal protective equipment (PPE); To surveil for… Read more »
Two recent op eds in the Globe & Mail have resurrected the thorny issue of defining disability for the purposes of policy. While one says greater unity is needed in the disability movement, the other says a monolithic approach to disability would overshadow individual needs. Certainly the conventional wisdom has been that a lack of unity around disability issues has… Read more »
At all times, but especially during the unprecedented start of 2020, it is important to have resources on emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. Our colleagues at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy & Governance at Dalhousie University have recently conducted research indicating that the key issues for people with disabilities in times of emergency are: access to assistive devices,… Read more »
Locating and navigating government disability services is often described as difficult and frustrating. In some ways, there is little wonder that it is, since disability is such a complex issue, and disability services span different levels of government (federal & provincial), as well as different ministries or departments within government. We have attempted to identify the “office most responsible” for… Read more »
Ever since the Rodriguez case was heard by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993, medical assistance in dying has been recognized as an issue with special implications for people with disabilities. Currently the federal government is engaged in consultations on revisions to the Criminal Code governing medical assistance in dying (MAID), specifically focusing on the need for a “reasonably… Read more »
The story broke in the national media in February 2019 that a woman with an upper extremity impairment was asked to leave an Alberta grocery store and not come back, when she took too long packing her groceries. Instead of offering an accommodation, the store banned her from its premises, and offered her $100 credit to not pursue the issue… Read more »
The Canadian Disability Policy Alliance was honoured to be invited to represent a Canadian perspective on disability policy at the Northeastern Political Science Association annual meeting, held in Montreal, November 8-10th. Mary Ann McColl, Academic Lead, Canadian Disability Policy Alliance and Queen’s University was joined by Jennifer Erkulwater, University of Richmond, VA, Andrew Jenks, University of Delaware, and David Pettinicchio, University… Read more »
CDPA is pleased to be working again with a number of long-standing partners to enhance the ability of people with disabilities across Canada to engage in the process of bringing new federal accessibility legislation into reality! Under the leadership of SCI Canada, the Federal Accessibility Legislation Alliance (FALA) consists of 50+ organizations representing people with disabilities, working together to: Increase… Read more »
It has been nine years since the 1st edition of this policy scan was completed by Rachel Stevenson and myself in 2008. That report was one of the first research activities of the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance (CDPA), and has served as the basis for much of our subsequent research and policy analysis. The 2nd edition by Rebecca Bond and… Read more »
