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ARTICLE

Inching Towards Accessibility and Inclusion

December 2010

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“Slowly but surely we are leaving behind antiquated ideas of disability as tragedy.”
—  Helen Henderson,  Toronto Star, July 3, 2010

March 2010  Canada  became  the 82nd nation in  the world to ratify the Convention  on the Rights of Persons  with Disabilities, an international  human rights treaty, at  the United Nations. Among other things, the treaty calls on nations to eliminate barriers to  equal access to  public  spaces, workplaces,  housing, and transportation;  and to provide equal and fair access to the justice system, health care services, and  employment.  Above all  it  promotes increased  respect  for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.

Canada’s ratification of the treaty “ushers in a new era where people with disabilities are viewed as full  citizens with exactly the same rights and responsibilities as other citizens of Canada,” said a spokesperson for the  Council of  Canadians  with Disabilities. The treaty requires Canada to report every four years on the steps it  has taken to improve  access and inclusion. For persons  with disabilities it represents  one more step forward.

Rights for persons with disabilities became a focus of  activism in the 1970s,  spurred  by the civil  rights  and women’s  movements   of the time, and by the fact that large numbers  of Vietnam war veterans were returning with disabilities. Canadian activists,   including  law  student  David  Lepofsky  (see page 7),  worked successfully  to have  disability rights included in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that came into effect in 1982. The decade from 1983-1992  became  the United Nations Decade of Disabled Persons.  At the end of that  decade December 3 was proclaimed as the International Day of Disabled Persons.In  the years since then, activists have continued to push for laws to force the elimination of social and  physical barriers. The most recent Ontario legislation, the Access for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (2005), sets  standards that aim to achieve accessibility by 2025.

For persons with  disabilities the  struggle continues. The Ontario Federation  of Labour first called on the  provincial government  to take action on employment  barriers more than 40 years ago. Today employment remains one of the major hurdles for people with disabilities. About half of Ontario’s  1.5  million persons with  disabilities live in deep poverty and subsist on poverty-level  payments from the Ontario Disability Support Program.

 

Support  from  ETFO

  • ETFO’s Disabilities Issues  Committee was established in 2000.  Members discuss  policies and issues  and make recommendations  to the  executive.
  •  ETFO  has provided training for stewards and has produced a manual, Access Without Borders,  that assists locals in creating accessible meetings.
  • Access Without Borders  workshops, presented by trained  members, explore disability issues,  attitudes, policies, and barriers, and  works to dispel myths.
  • The workshop Focus on Ability: Promoting an Inclusive Work Environment focuses on members’ rights  and the union’s responsibilities. It  highlights the four A’s of Accessibility:  Advocacy,  Awareness, Accommodation,  and Ability.
  • The Disability Connections  Incentive Fund provides support for  members organizing a conference,  workshop, sport competition, or  cultural event featuring artists who  have disabilities.
  • ETFO  also produces posters and  the See Ability bookmark, included  in  this issue of Voice