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"If we’re going to build a fairer society, we must ensure people with disabilities are included in decision-making to determine what supports are needed to live a full and active life.” — Larry Brown, NUPGE President
Ottawa (02 June 2021) — During National AccessAbility Week, the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) celebrates and recognizes the contributions people with disabilities have made in the fight to remove barriers and gain equality in Canada.
So much more to do
While Canada has legislation that speaks to the rights of people with disabilities, disability activists fought long and hard for them. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act provide many protections, but violations continue to occur in areas of employment, housing, transportation, and access to services. Canada also is a signatory to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which was ratified in 2010.
While this week is a time to highlight the diversity, inclusion, and accessibility across the country, we must recognize the ways in which barriers have disenfranchised so many. This is especially relevant as the pandemic has shone a light on the cracks in our systems and in our communities. It hit people who were already vulnerable hard and created even more obstacles in living a full life.
"As continue to recovery from the pandemic, we must take the opportunity to make right our failures of the past,” said Larry Brown, NUPGE President. “We know that people with disabilities face discrimination in the workplace, in housing, with transportation and in accessing services. If we’re going to build a fairer society, we must ensure people with disabilities are included in decision-making to determine what supports are needed to live a full and active life.”
New resource from CLC
To mark National AccessAbility Week, the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has released a new resource: Doing Things Differently: A Disability Rights at Work Handbook.
The handbook is intended as a resource to educate and inform union members, leaders, staff and others about some of the challenges experienced by persons with disabilities, and to identify and inspire ways in which the union movement can work for the full integration and equal participation of persons with disabilities in society and in the labour movement.
NUPGE members are invited to read the handbook and share with their networks. The labour movement must better the lives of all members, both at work and in their personal lives.