Inclusion

By Raymond D. Cohen

Welcome to the 67th issue of Abilities and our special focus on transportation. You’ll find plenty of information about moving around for Canadians with disabilities. In compiling the material, we could not help but note just how far we still have to go before transportation and travel in general are truly inclusive. “Moving Backwards” (page 48), the Forum article from the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), vividly drives home the fact that transportation in Canada is fraught with barriers, and that the pace of change is alarmingly slow.

It is important to bear in mind that transportation is but one of a number of sectors in which people with disabilities are forced to operate on less than equal footing. The paradox is that this kind of disparity seems to prevail during an era of healthier attitudes, more accessible spaces and more enabling technology. The good news is that, increasingly, people with disabilities and their organizations are no longer willing to accept the economic, educational, vocational and social inequities with which they have lived for so long.

For this reason, we at the Canadian Abilities Foundation feel that it is imperative to shine a spotlight on companies and organizations that strive to be accessible and inclusive. The more we focus on these emerging resources, the more business they will garner and the stronger they will become.

You’ll find a growing list of accessible businesses and services in our online directory, Access Guide Canada (www.abilities.ca/agc). Get involved – add places in your community that are doing the right thing! Read more about Access Guide Canada on page 44.

The bigger picture here is that inclusion does not simply mean being able to access businesses and services physically. It also means ensuring that laws are in place to protect the rights of people with disabilities; it means changing attitudes so that more people in society at large understand the value of inclusion. This requires education and re-education of many sectors of our society – from schoolkids and their teachers to the most powerful political decision-makers in our nation. It means bringing marginalized people in from the edges so they can experience the same opportunities, supports and activities as those who live in the mainstream. It means fostering a world in which everyone belongs and communities across the country experience the benefits of embracing their diverse populations.

There are some exciting initiatives underway to increase awareness of inclusion. For example, in his article “The Next Generation” (page 42), Charles Silverman shares his experiences of teaching high-school students in Toronto about accessible media as part of two projects on access to the arts, Stretch and CulturAll (http://stretch.atrc.utoronto.ca and http://culturall.atrc.utoronto.ca, respectively). He brilliantly analyzes what the “curb cut” metaphor has come to mean to young people, and how everyone benefits from universal design.

One has but to look west to see more encouraging examples of inclusion and accessibility. The momentum building in British Columbia in anticipation of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games will only become stronger up to, including and beyond the Games. Sam Sullivan, Vancouver’s new mayor, touches on this in our In Conversation piece (page 36).

The CCD and the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) present a golden opportunity for you to get involved – read “Speak Out to Build an Inclusive and Accessible Canada” on page 55. And, a growing group of several important organizations have joined forces in a project known as The Belonging Initiative. They include the Canadian Abilities Foundation, Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, Canadian Down Syndrome Society, the Developmental Disabilities Resource Centre of Calgary, Inclusion Press/Marsha Forest Centre, Laidlaw Foundation, L’Arche and PLAN. The intention is for this initiative to continue to snowball as it gains momentum. Check out PLAN’s website at http://www.planinstitute.ca for more information.

The various efforts underway across our country will only grow stronger as alliances are formed and like-minded organizations, people with disabilities, their friends and families raise their voices – and the entire country wakes up to the value of total inclusion.

Coming in August: Our special issue on lifelong learning and education. Don’t miss it!