Springtime in Nova Scotia

Sumer is i-comen in.
Groweth seed and bloweth meed
And springth the wude nu.
Sing cuccu!

Chaucer

People with disabilities in Nova Scotia are looking forward  to a New Deal from this government.

The Disability Rights Coalition is negotiating an end to systemic discrimination.  The scope of the investigation seems to be limited to the housing services provided by the provinces's Disability Support Program, even though the discrimination goes much deeper.  The report was due February 3.  The antipodean/BC team has operated in near total secrecy and according to custom claims no first person experience with disability.

The Built Environment Standards Development Committee of the Accessibility Directorate eagerly awaits the implementation of their October 26, 2020 report (900 days ago, but who's counting?).  A delay could be due to intense consultations between the government and business interests.  Just a guess.

A Restorative Justice process to figure out how to enforce the regulation requiring washroom access must be close to a solution for the ruling of September 6, 2018 (1700 days).  All five of the original complainants have withdrawn from the process.  A large group is wrestling with the widespread problem of unkept government promises.  Or maybe not......

The four year review of the Accessibility Act is due this spring.

Meanwhile, at least 4 provincial agencies are in competition to become the authority on addressing systemic differences in the treatment of people with disabilities and other protected classes:

Agency	Department	Budget	Employees	Mandate
Accessibility Directorate	Justice	$2,837,000	14	....a central government mechanism to ensure that the concerns of persons with disabilities respecting policy, program development and delivery are advanced and considered by the government.
Office of Equity and Anti-Racism Initiatives		$4,803,000	24	We're responsible for making sure government identifies and addresses underlying and systemic differences that people experience with access to opportunities and resources
Engagement, Equity and Belonging	Labour, Skills and Immigration	$437,000	6	The branch works across the department to ensure our workforce is representative of the communities that we serve, and we continue to be responsive to the department’s needs to ensure our working environments are safe, accessible, equitable, and inclusive for all employees
Human Rights Commission	Justice	2880000	25	The Human Rights Commission administers the Human Rights Act by investigating and resolving complaints of discrimination and promoting awareness and respect for human rights through public education, training and outreach.

 

Ever hear of the Rooney Rule of the National Football League?  “Any club seeking to hire a head coach will interview one or more minority applicants for that position.”  In the 19 years since the rule was adopted, the effort has gone nowhere.
There were three Black head coaches in 2003. Today (2022), there are
three minority head coaches, one of whom is Black.  

Thanks to convenient government obsession with personal privacy, we'll never know how these four agencies are doing.  How many African Nova Scotians are in supervisory positions?  Sorry, that's private and none of your business. 

And speaking of secrecy (shhhhhhh.....) is there some reason the public (who paid for them) doesn't get a copy of the 4 year review and the 'systemic' report?

People with disabilities want to know.  People without disabilities are busy discriminating