Inclusion by Design

By Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay

The following is excerpted from an address by Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay, Q.C., at the international "Inclusion by Design" conference hosted by the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work in Montreal, June 1.

We needn’t cast our minds back very far to recall a time when people with disabilities were denied the opportunity to participate in any way in society or to make their needed contribution.

With time came the growing recognition that this group deserved more from society. While this was indeed progress, people with disabilities nonetheless continued to be denied access to the workplace.

Only in recent years have members of the disability community been afforded the occasional opportunity to participate in the labour force and to live self-sufficient and fulfilling lives. Much of this headway has been and continues to be the result of activism, perseverance and education -- because, too often, accommodation is an afterthought. In essence, this marginalization constitutes a denial of their fundamental rights.

The inclusion of people with disabilities is a fundamental human right. This Canadian is proud to say that human rights are the law in this country -- both across each of our provinces and territories and at the federal level. Although the "Canadian Human Rights Act" hasn’t seen many changes since it was first passed in 1977, it was amended in 1998 to directly address the accommodation needs of people with disabilities. Known as the "undue hardship" clause, this new element of the Act has been the focus of considerable attention by the Supreme Court of Canada in recent human rights jurisprudence.

We now have clear interpretation from the highest court in the country that people with disabilities have the right to be treated as integral members of this society, and to have their needs accommodated. Rulings have confirmed that the only exception is where an employer can show that accommodating the needs of a person with a disability would cause that employer undue hardship. This is very significant jurisprudence.

And the Commission’s auditing role under the "Employment Equity Act" helps to further break down barriers to people with disabilities within the federally regulated job sector.

All of us here today share that goal -- inclusion by design.

With all that support, one could be forgiven for assuming we have reached our goal. Unfortunately, the rights of people with disabilities remain more a principle than an applied practice. The Commission’s annual report bears out this sad fact each year. And the same can also be said in other countries around the world.

Since the first rudimentary tool fashioned by human hands, we have sought to conquer the world -- to make it hospitable, to shape it to meet our needs -- at least the needs of the able-bodied. Unfortunately, only at that point do we begin to consider and address the accessibility needs of people with disabilities.

I don’t need to explain to this audience the logic of designing barrier-free buildings, transportation, tools and so on. Modifications made to structures, vehicles, et cetera, after the fact are expensive, disruptive, often less than adequate, and they often serve to further stigmatize and marginalize the disability community.

Let me give you an example of what I mean. Take two public transportation systems: one for able-bodied commuters, and a second service for people with disabilities. The operators of the second service go on strike, leaving their highly dependent customers without a means of transportation -- an essential service. The strike has no impact on the general public; their own transportation needs are being met. How long do you think the strike lasted? It had entered its 66th day before both parties agreed to go to binding arbitration. (Note: Agreement was reached between the parties a day after federal Labour Minister Claudette Bradshaw and two top federal mediators intervened.)

It is inconceivable that the general public would permit a similar scenario to continue for close to 10 weeks. But if all public transit buses were designed to enable boarding by persons with disabilities and those requiring assistance, we wouldn’t need this parallel, expensive system -- a system that doesn’t remotely approach the level of service demanded and enjoyed by the general travelling public.

So here we are today, with a vision of people with disabilities taking their rightful place among the ranks of working Canadians, in workplaces that are physically accessible to these newer members of the work force -- not workplaces that have been adjusted after the fact. Rather, workplaces that have been designed with their needs in mind.

Designs that will be found in "The Montreal Inclusion By Design Declaration." An ingenious tool -- this collection of model inclusion policies and designs will set the standard for inclusion in a barrier-free world. It will also provide guiding principles for developing and creating an inclusive environment -- both now and in the years to come. So seize this opportunity to exchange your thoughts, concerns and ideas about building a barrier-free world for -- well -- the world.

(Michelle Falardeau-Ramsay, Q.C., is Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.)