Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship (CURA) Archives
Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship
August 16, 2010
The Québec Act to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion: How Does it Tackle the Situation of People with Disabilities?
In Québec, the disabled form, with refugees, immigrants and the homeless, one of the segments of the population that are the most touched by poverty and social exclusion (CCLP, 2009). The purpose of this document is to examine the key measures that the Government of Québec has implemented to remove the many barriers that prevent these persons from improving their economic and social situation. Read more.
July 8, 2010
Canadian Legal Literature Addressing Social and Economic Rights of People with Disabilities: An Annotated Bibliography
CURA team members have created an annotated bibliography which is intended as a resource for academics, students, advocates, and community members interested in the role that law has played—and can play—in remedying poverty experienced by people with disabilities. Read more.
June 30, 2010
How Human Rights Legislation is Dealing with Serious Disabilities that Tend to Result in Social Judgment and Social Exclusion
This report considers whether statutory human rights litigation is serving the needs of persons with permanent, lifelong disabilities who are chronically unemployed, underemployed, and marginalized in Canadian society. Read more.
June 30, 2010
Overview of Complaints under Human Rights Legislation Regarding Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities
The report addresses issues, trends, and obstacles facing complainants in cases involving discrimination in services and accommodation. These cases tend to be critical for persons with disabilities, as they often have far-reaching implications regarding accessibility to, and the inclusivity of, core institutions, facilities, and services (e.g. education, transportation, communication, public buildings, etc.). Read more.
June 30, 2010
An Overview of the Duty To Accommodate and Undue Hardship in Human Rights Jurisprudence
This report highlights the key human rights cases that have contributed to the principle of the duty to accommodate and the defence of undue hardship under human rights legislation. It further assesses how the duty to accommodate has affected the claims of persons with disabilities. Read more.
June 30, 2010
Disabling Poverty and Enabling Citizenship: Understanding the Poverty and Exclusion of Canadians with Disabilities
Despite Canada’s obligations under international agreements and the staggering costs associated with the non-employment of people with disabilities, relatively little has been written about people with disabilities who are living on low incomes. The present report aims to help close that knowledge gap. The research draws primarily from Statistics Canada’s Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) of 2006 and provides a profile of people with disabilities in terms of their general socio-demographic characteristics such age, gender, visible minority and Aboriginal person status, education level and labour force status and in terms of selected disability-specific characteristics that are discussed in the body of the report. Read more.
June 29, 2010
An Overview of the Comparator Group Analysis in Human Rights Jurisprudence
The report addresses a relatively recent trend in Canadian human rights jurisprudence: the importation of the comparator group analysis from the section 15 Charter context into the analytical framework for statutory human rights adjudication. The comparator group analysis, which requires claimants to prove that they have been treated differently than a specific group which mirrors their characteristics save for the alleged ground of discrimination, has been sharply criticized for being antithetical to substantive equality. The details of this argument and the pitfalls of the comparator group analysis are provided elsewhere, and are not the focus of this report. Suffice it to say that this development is particularly troubling for persons with disabilities and other equality-seeking groups who have spent years fighting for judicial recognition that equality is not always achieved by same treatment, but rather often requires that true differences be taken into account and accommodated so as to render society inclusive and accessible. Read more.
June 29, 2010
An Overview of the Human Rights Jurisprudence Underpinning the Test for Prima Facie Discrimination
This report highlights the key human rights cases that have contributed to the current test for establishing prima facie discrimination under human rights legislation. It further assesses how the test for prima facie discrimination has impacted on the rights claims of persons with disabilities. Read more.
June 28, 2010
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In 50 articles, the CRPD clearly articulates what existing human rights mean within a disability context and establishes reporting and monitoring procedures for States Parties. Read more.
June 28, 2010
Canadian Association for Community Living Position on Legal Capacity
Adults with intellectual disabilities must have their legal capacity – the right to make decisions about their own lives – recognized and supported. Adults with intellectual disabilities have the right to act legally independently and must be provided appropriate accommodation to exercise this right. Where required, adults with intellectual disabilities must be assured access, with appropriate safeguards, to needed supports. These supports must include representatives and support networks – people who are legally recognized to assist a person to make decisions and/or represent them in the decision-making process, based on their personal relationship, moral and ethical commitment to the individual’s well-being, and their best understanding of the person’s will and intention. Read more.
June 28, 2010
Canadian Association for Community Living Position Statement on Income Security
People with intellectual disabilities must have the income and resources they need to secure a good quality of life and fully participate in all aspects of their communities. Where income support is required to assure income security, it must provide an adequate and appropriate income in a progressive, responsive and non-punitive manner. People with intellectual disabilities must have the means to live life with dignity. Read more.
June 28, 2010
Canadian Association for Community Living Position Statement on Housing
Adults with intellectual disabilities must be afforded the opportunity to live in typical houses and communities where they can exercise their full rights and responsibilities as citizens. Living in the community is a right of all Canadian citizens and thus public policy in Canada must facilitate, accommodate and enable the free and full exercise of this right. Read more.
June 28, 2010
Canadian Association for Community Living: Position Statement on Income Security for Families
While a more comprehensive family supportive policy agenda is needed to address the full range of supports that families need, the purpose of this statement is to explore the income needs of families and options for securing a family’s economic well-being.
June 28, 2010
Canadian Association for Community Living Position Statement on Employment
The harsh reality in this country is that a very large percentage of people with intellectual disabilities remain reliant on provincial / territorial income support systems - systems that were never designed nor intended to be used as a primary or enduring source of income. A new approach to employment and improved public attitudes is needed. Read more.
June 16, 2010
Income Programs and Social Rights and Wrongs
Social rights & citizenship--These terms have public meaning and political significance in Canada. Full citizenship is a core objective and key message of the disability movement. Social programs, such as health care, seen as contributing to national identity and sense of belonging. Read more.
June 15, 2010
Engaging in Disability Policy Development and Advocacy with the Canadian State
Objectives
To distinguish citizen and community engagement
To survey several organizational sites for policy engagement and other methods of mobilization
To identify benefits and risks to disability groups of engaging with the Canadian state
Read more.
June 15, 2010
Low-income families in British Columbia: the time is now for a new strategy
What are the systemic causes of persistent low-incomes, and how do they affect families in British Columbia from one generation to the next – both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal? Are existing methods of measurement accurate, suitable and relevant to BC? Which reduction strategies appear to be successful (or unsuccessful) in other jurisdictions and how can we best measure that success?
Read more.
June 15, 2010
Fixing Our Pension Crisis:Toward retirement security for everyone
What is the best way to enable Canadians to save, invest and prepare for retirement? Read more.
June 15, 2010
Family Policy at Work: Employment Benefits, Women, and Labour Force Participation in Canada
Examine multiple roles of Employment Insurance (EI) policy in Canada Read more.
June 15, 2010
A National Anti-Poverty and Supports Agenda -- The Need to Act
CACL’s ten-year agenda. Read more.
March 23, 2010
Absent Citizens: Making Citizenship Accessible
Outline
- My locations
- Absent citizens and related concepts
- What is citizenship
- Making citizenship accessible
- Continuing thoughts
March 4, 2010
Working Together on Employment
Outline
- Diagnostique of people with disabilities and the Canadian labour market
- Research lessons and gaps in knowing what is, why, and what works
- Brief history of Canadian employment programs for persons with disabilities
- Vision for reforms and reform ideas
- Concluding thoughts
March 4, 2010
A Medium-Term Sickness/Disability Income Benefit
Overview
1. The issues
2. Federal programs in place
3. The gaps and risks
4. Three policy options
5. Conclusions
Read more.
March 4, 2010
BOLD FEASIBILITIES: A NEW POLICY SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE FOR CANADIANS WITH DISABILITIES
In proposing a new social policy architecture for disability income benefits, this submission has four aims: first, to emphasize the serious problems of poverty facing hundreds of thousands of Canadians with physical and mental disabilities; second, to outline how a new national program of Basic Income for people with severe disabilities would interact with a Refundable Disability Tax Credit as well as existing federal and provincial income programs and tax measures; third, to propose specific reforms to the Employment Insurance Sickness benefit and the Canada Pension Plan Disability program; and, fourth, to identify other initiatives that could comprise an overall federal agenda on disability issues facing Canadians. Read more.
December 15, 2009
New deal for disabled
Professor says dignity of pension could replace welfare for thousands Read more.
December 3, 2009
Making the Invisible Visible
In her presentation at the Canadian Social Forum, Sharon Murphy, a member of the CURA project’s Research Team, recounted the experiences of people with disabilities living in poverty. Sharon’s goal was to make the invisible visible. Read more.
September 23, 2009
As a Matter of Fact: Poverty and Disability in Canada
Based on the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) of 2006, people with disabilities make up 16.5% of the adult population 15 years and older in Canada, or nearly 4.2 million people. PALS is Statistics Canada's 'flagship' survey on disability. Read more.
July 24, 2009
BOLD FEASIBILITIES:A NEW POLICY SOCIAL ARCHITECTURE FOR CANADIANS WITH DISABILITIES
In proposing a new social policy architecture for disability income benefits, this submission has four aims: first, to emphasize the serious problems of poverty facing hundreds of thousands of Canadians with physical and mental disabilities; second, to outline how a new national program of Basic Income for people with severe disabilities would interact with a Refundable Disability Tax Credit as well as existing federal and provincial income programs and tax measures; third, to propose specific reforms to the Employment Insurance Sickness benefit and the Canada Pension Plan Disability program; and, fourth, to identify other initiatives that could comprise an overall federal agenda on disability issues facing Canadians. Read more.
March 16, 2009
Disability, Poverty and Citizenship: A Short Note
Yvonne Peters and Michael J. Prince present a shared understanding of three key concepts—poverty, substantive equality and economic independence—to guide future work in CCD's CURA research project. Read more.
End Exclusion supporters rally in support of an accessible and inclusive Canada.