Social Policy

By Daphne Bramham Vancouver Sun - May 30, 2011
Canadian girls and women with disabilities are up to 10 times more likely to be sexually assaulted or exploited than other girls and women. The Evidence Act allows defence lawyers to challenge a person's mental capacity to understand what it means to take an oath to tell the truth and promise not to tell a lie. Those with mental disabilities are the only people other than children who can be questioned about their understanding of the duty to tell the truth.  
May 2011

Winnipeg 15 March 2011—Canada’s provincial and territorial ministers responsible for disability issues and human rights spent the last two days considering what human rights mean in the context of life with a disability.  
March 2011

From Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, international.gc.ca (No. 99 - March 11, 2010 - 11:15 a.m. ET) The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, today announced that, with the support of all provinces and territories, the Government of Canada has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at United Nations headquarters in New York City. “Canada is committed to promoting and protecting the rights of persons with disabilities and enabling their full participation in society,” said Minister Cannon. “Ratification of this convention underscores the Government of Canada’s strong commitment to this goal.”  
March 2010

The Final Proposed Accessible Information and Communications Standard, as part of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, has now been posted on the Ministry of Community and Social Services’ website.   
August 2009

The new Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was negotiated by the Ad Hoc Committee in record time. No United Nations human rights instrument has moved from the concept stage to the final draft as quickly as the CRPD. Many have asked: How and why did it happen so quickly?   
By Steve Estey
August 2009

Long after a war is over, land mines continue to kill and maim – and most of the victims are civilians. The prevalence of land mines in war-torn regions has been recognized for decades. In total, 60 countries have serious mine problems, and 120 countries have unexploded ordnance (UXO), potentially lethal artillery shells. Since 1975, land mines have killed or injured more than one million people worldwide, 90 per cent of them civilians.   
December 2008

  
January 2008

People with disabilities don't get many opportunities to get jobs and keep them. When people with disabilities do get paying jobs, it is often precarious employment, meaning it lacks security, benefits and a living wage. As Map I shows, nearly half (47.9%) of people with disabilities (aged 15 Ð 64) are "not in the labour force." The data to create the map was taken from the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (2001). It shows that if you have a disability and live in Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick or Nova Scotia, you are less likely to have paid employment.  
By Marcia Rioux, Ezra Zubrow, Christy Spielman, Miha Dinca-Panaitescu, Gail Kunkel and Tamara Daly
April 2007

The Marsha Forest Centre (MFC) collaborates to build a society where contribution, membership and belonging bring meaning and quality to each of our lives. By pursuing questions of community, social justice, family and inclusion, the Centre creates, develops and researches resources that make a difference in nurturing full lives, without isolation, for all citizens. This past year, four new resources were added to our materials — strategies for teachers, students and families that make a difference.   
By Lynda D. Khan and Jack Pearpoint
September 2006

  
By Raymond D. Cohen
August 2006

  
August 2006

  
August 2006

  
By Raymond D. Cohen
August 2006

  
By Brad Jacobsen
August 2006

  
August 2006

  
August 2006

  
By Connie Jia
August 2006

  
By Raymond D. Cohen
March 2006

  
March 2006

  
By Melissa Davis
February 2006