The Parallax View

par·al·lax

n.
A change in the apparent position of an object relative to more distant objects, caused by a change in the observer's line of sight towards the object.

I've been very critical of The Federal Government's foot dragging on a range of issues facing people with disabilities.  So I was nearly blown away by yesterday's list of cabinet appointments.  The idea that there is now a Ministry of Sport and Persons with Disabilities is a very good sign and should be the new beginning we have sought for so long.

The long list of cabinet members shows a willingness to rethink government that well might restore Canada's reputation for fairness and equality.  We will all be watching carefully (and critically), but change is in the air and we're hopeful.

The name 'Sport and Persons with Disabilities' reflects a basic tension.  I like the association and feel strongly that sport has provided one of the few opportunities for excellence.  But therein lies the heart of the issue - are limitations inherent or caused by arbitrary barriers?  Should government be thinking about my disability or the barriers that cause it?  So 'Sport and Access' or 'Sport and Equality' would have been more to my liking, but a distinction without a difference for most people.

In any case, the full realization of equality will take the participation of many ministries - Labour, Justice, Transport, Health, and others.

Carla Qualtrough, the new minister, surely gets it.  I'm not a big fan of BC's accessibility efforts - accessibility is a matter of right, not subject to negotiation - and their timeline is ridiculously long. But Qualtrough has the right credentials and if Trudeau follows through on his promises, the stage is set.

Trudeau's answer to the question "Why gender balance in cabinet?", "Because it's 2015" says it all in seven syllables.

Canada has compared badly with the US in the area of disability rights, but now that we've got:

• A Sikh Minister of Defense
• A  First Canadian Justice Minister 
• A  gay President of Treasury Board
• A Sikh Minister of Economic development
• An astronaut(!) Transport Minister
• A wheelchair-using Minister of Veteran's Affairs
• An Afghan-born Minister of Democratic Institutions
• A scientist Minister of Science
• A Paralympian Minister of Sport and Disability
• A thing called the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
• And other breathtaking choices

we've shown the world what Canada is and wants to be.  Expectations are high.

East Coast Rules

Congratulations to Liberals on their overwhelming victory!  And even more kudos to all Canadians who have now committed to this platform plank:

• To eliminate systemic barriers and deliver equality of opportunity to all Canadians living with disabilities, we will consult with provinces, territories, and other stakeholders to introduce a National Disabilities Act.

Although Liberals did not commit to implementing the Optional Protocol of the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, they may do so anyway, and if not, a national disabilities act is a better idea.

As long as it isn't modeled on Ontario's failed Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which flunked its five-year review not to mention its ten-year review and has a ludicrously long timeline.  By granting sweeping exemptions, it trivializes Charter rights.

Better it should be modeled on the forthcoming Access for All Nova Scotians legislation, which is focused on fair and equitable treatment for all, mindful of the promises of the Charter.  It is intended to be a courageous piece of civil rights legislation, more aptly named than the Americans with Disabilities Act, but equally far-reaching.

I have an abiding distrust of anybody who claims to know the needs of people with disabilities.  I've seen a thousand roll-under sinks where I couldn't reach the soap and ten thousand dangerous curb cuts.  So I was disappointed but unsurprised to see that newly-minted MP Andy Fillmore had a step at his campaign HQ on Quinpool.

Except for the little sign 'Ramp Available on Request'

Those four words make a difference.  There's a sign like that at Hali-Deli and Argyle Fine Art. They get it.  There isn't one at Epicurious Morsels or Jennifer's of Nova Scotia, both run by people who share Stephen Harper's parsimonious vision of Canada.

It'll be a tedious process, with foot dragging (and knuckle dragging), so here's a place to begin.  Put it on your calendar:

Halifax Accessibility and Inclusive Design Meetup

Wednesday November 4th at 6:30PM

Lindsay Children’s Room, Halifax Central Library

Accessible Media Inc. is hosting our first Accessibility and Inclusive Design Meetup in Halifax. AMI’s Accessibility Officer, Robert Pearson has hosted these events previously in Toronto and Vancouver as a means to promote a greater understanding of digital and media accessibility as well as inclusive design. This group is about regularly bringing together the accessibility community to share ideas, best practices, our experiences and hopefully to raise the bar when it comes to inclusion.

We look forward to starting the conversation to build, develop and grow the accessibility community on the east coast. Bring your questions, thoughts and curiosity about accessibility and inclusive design and how they can be used to serve the needs of persons with disabilities. This will be an open forum discussion to start and we will then plan out more meet-ups in the months to come.

Attendance is free, snacks and refreshments to be provided. Please RSVP to confirm your attendance via the meetup website: http://www.meetup.com/a11yHFX/events/222923289/

Contact Ryan Delehanty ryan.delehanty@ami.ca with any questions.

2015 Party Platforms

I should have done this earlier.

If you are interested in the issue of disability, here are excerpts from the Canadian Federal party platforms of 2015 where the word 'disabled' or 'disability' occurs.  

Of course, an interesting and meaningful program that does not mention the word 'disability' might escape notice.  Youth unemployment, affordable housing and various tax credits are of interest, but harder to assign directly to the cause of people with disabilities.  Other words like 'accessible' have other contexts and are not so useful. 

So here are the relevant paragraphs, links to the platforms, and a count of how many times 'disab...' is mentioned.

Notably, both the Liberals and the NDP promise a Canadians with Disabilities Act, but the proof is in the pudding.  The more like Ontario, the less effective.

Liberal - 88 pages, 7 mentions

• We will more than double the almost 11,000 Canadians who access Skills Link each year. This program helps young Canadians – including Aboriginal and disabled youth – make a more successful transition to the workplace.
• To eliminate systemic barriers and deliver equality of opportunity to all Canadians living with disabilities, we will consult with provinces, territories, and other stakeholders to introduce a National Disabilities Act.
• We will re-establish lifelong pensions as an option for our injured veterans, and increase the value of the disability award. We will ensure that every injured veteran has access to financial advice and support so that they can determine the form of compensation that works best for them and their families
• We will introduce a public safety officer compensation benefit to be paid to the families of fire fighters, police officers, and paramedics killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. This $300,000 benefit will offer a measure of financial security to families who are struggling with permanently changed life circumstances or the loss of a loved one.
• Canadian families looking for caregivers to help family members with physical or mental disabilities must pay a $1,000 Labour Market Impact Assessment fee. We will eliminate that fee.

Conservative - 159 pages, 20 mentions

• Maintaining programs such as the Opportunities Fund and the Enabling Accessibility Fund to help disabled Canadians participate in the job market. 
• Expand grants for families with disabled children
• A re-elected Conservative Government will increase the maximum annual RDSP grant for low- and middle-income families from $3,500 to $4,000. This means that these families will now receive a matching grant of $4 for every $1 contributed, on the first $500 they contribute each year. 
• We’ll also continue to work with the provinces and Canada’s financial institutions to improve the administration of the RDSP program, and to expand the range of investment options for RDSP holders.
• A re-elected Conservative Government will continue to support our three-year partnership with the Canadian Association of Community Living to help connect people with developmental disabilities with jobs. 
• We'll also continue our four-year partnership with the Sinneave Family Foundation and Autism Speaks Canada to expand vocational training programs for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. And we'll continue to support the Autism Spectrum Disorder Working Group’s work to develop a Canadian Autism Partnership. We'll be ready to support the initiative in areas of federal jurisdiction once the development work is complete.
• A re-elected Conservative Government will implement our plan to increase the Child Care Expense Deduction by $1,000, beginning this year. This means that the maximum amount that can be claimed will increase to $8,000 from $7,000 for children under age seven, to $5,000 from $4,000 for children aged seven through 16, and to $11,000 from $10,000 for children with disabilities. 
• Providing significant new resources to support Canadian veterans who are affected by disability or injury, and those who wish to transition back into civilian life. 

NDP - 81 pages, 25 mentions

• The Canada Student Grants program will receive additional funding of $250 million, ramped up over four years, to make education more affordable with an emphasis on helping low-income and Indigenous students, as well as students living with disabilities
• Amending federal bankruptcy legislation to move pensioners and those on long-term disability up the line of creditors when their employer declares bankruptcy or enters court protection.
• Introduce a comprehensive Canadians with Disabilities Act
• Fully implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
• Undertake a review of income security programs for persons living with disabilities.
• Fix the broken process for CPP Disability appeals
• We will stop the Conservative plan that unfairly impacts seniors and persons living with disabilities, and restore home delivery for the one million Canadian households where it has already been cut. 
• This investment increases available funding to provinces and territories for community sports programs through Sport Canada bilateral agreements. It will also help increase participation of underrepresented groups in sports activities, including girls and young women, new Canadians, youth living with disabilities, as well as low-income, Indigenous and LGBTQ youth.
• Eliminating the Veterans Review and Appeal Board, which is staffed by appointees who have often been unresponsive to the realities faced by veterans seeking disability benefits, and replacing it with a medically focused peer review process for appeals.
• Establishing a Hero’s Benefit to recognize the contributions of firefighters, police officers and other public safety officers who die or are permanently disabled in the line of duty

Green - 44 pages, 2 mentions

• We will phase-in a national Guaranteed Livable Income, to ensure that no person’s income falls below what is necessary for health, life and dignity. Through the Council of Canadian Governments we will work with the other levels of government whose inadequate poverty band-aid solutions (such as welfare, disability programs) can be rolled up in order to fund Guaranteed Livable Income.
• Recognizing the critical role that our forces play also means respecting and truly taking care of our veterans. Canadian veterans deserve our grateful and ongoing support, including secure and generous pensions. Our veterans should never be forced to fight in the courts to secure their long-term benefits or to ensure that Veterans Affairs disability pension promises are honoured.

Marxist-Leninist - HTML, 0 mentions

Nova Scotia Liberal Party Policy Statement

Dear Mr. Reed;
Thank you for your e-mail regarding an invitation from the James McGregor Stewart Society. The N.S. Liberal Party is currently in the process of building a policy platform for persons with disabilities.

I spoke to Kevin Murphy on the weekend regarding issues of concern to persons with disabilities. I hope to, as this process moves forward, engage those involved in the issues such as the James McGregor Stewart Society. I look forward to working together with organizations such as yours to better the lives of those living with disabilities.
Sincerely,
Stephen McNeil
Leader N.S. Liberal Party