And Now...We Take You to Your Leaders...

Dear ABILITIES Readers:

I welcome this opportunity to speak to you directly and to invite your collaboration in ensuring a prosperous and happy future for all Canadians.

The elimination of barriers to the full participation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of Canadian life is a priority for me and for my government. I am pleased to be able to inform you that, as a result of recent government restructuring, disability issues will be considered within the wider context of human resources development and will be linked, strategically, to policies and programs in the areas of employment and training and income security. The Disabled Persons Secretariat, now located within the newly created Department of Human Resources and Labour, continues as the coordinating body for all the government’s activities in support of persons with disabilities.

Canada has a well-deserved reputation around the world for leadership and understanding in dealing with disability issues. This reputation has come about not only through government initiatives but through the untiring efforts of people like you, your colleagues, family members and friends who refuse to be complacent despite our achievements.

And we do have achievements about which to be proud! An all-party Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Disabled Persons was established under our leadership. Today, Canada is the only country in the world with such an effective mechanism for addressing disability questions. I applaud my colleague, Dr. Bruce Halliday, for his exemplary leadership in the work of this parliamentary committee.

Our Government’s five-year National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, with its goals of equality, integration and participation for all persons with disabilities in all aspects of life in Canada, is well underway.

Our legislative record includes the Employment Equity Act and a landmark legislative package, Bill C-78. With regulatory and enforcement policies, this legislative package amended the Citizenship Act, Access to Information Act, Privacy Act, Canada Elections Act and the Criminal Code, bring them into line with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We have amended the Canada Labour Code and improved housing and transportation programs. We also modified the taxation system to better accommodate the additional expenses incurred by disabled persons in the workplace.

I am confident that Canada’s reputation to working with and for persons with disabilities will continue and expand under my leadership. I see challenges and opportunities head, and I believe that, together, we have the experience, determination, commitment and ability to meet them.

My Government values the contributions you have made and will continue to make to the social and economic life of our country. We are eager to work with you, and with all Canadians, in achieving equality, integration and participation for all.

Yours sincerely,
Kim Campbell
Prime Minister

Dear ABILITIES Readers:

People with disabilities are often clumped together with other so-called "special interest" groups. But being treated with dignity and respect is the furthest thing from a special interest. It’s a right -- or should be.

That is why I am disturbed by the erosion over the past decade of those values Canadians hold deeply -- equality, fairness and a decent standard of living for all Canadian families.

Canadians with disabilities face more than the barriers directly related to their disability. They also endure discrimination in employment, shelter, transportation and services.

For example, in the general population 70 per cent of working age people are in the labour force. But only 50 per cent of men with disabilities can find work. Worse, just 30 per cent of working age women have a paying job.

The number of people affected by double discrimination is rising. According to the 1991 Census, 15.5 per cent of all Canadians have some sort of disability. That includes nearly half of all Canadians over 65.

New Democrats will fight to provide Canadians with disabilities with equal and fair access to basic needs like a paying job. We are the only party with a plan that will generate jobs for all groups in a society while protecting services such as medicare.

Our plan begins with one simple economic truth: that Canada works when Canadians work. When Canadians work, the deficit comes down. When Canadians work, taxes can be made fair. When Canadians work, transfer payments to the provinces can be stabilized. All of which means we can invest in health, education, training and income programs that benefit everyone, from students to seniors.

Our plan will allow more specific federal initiatives like:
- An employment equity law with enforceable goals and timetables.
- Restoration of the Court Challenges Program and increased funding for the Human Rights Commission. Canadians seeking equality, including people with disabilities, must have the tools to protect their rights.
- Working with the provinces and territories to launch a comprehensive disability insurance program.
- Increased training targets for people with disabilities, partly met by giving private employers incentives to do their share in training.
- Amendments to the government transportation regulations to ensure widespread access for people with disabilities.

These initiatives, supported by our Jobs Plan, are necessary antidotes to the Conservative and Liberal records on equality.

Over the past decade, the Conservatives have set up Parliamentary Committees and other study groups. But, as one Parliamentary Committee noted, the government’s action plans seem "designed more to give the illusion of progress than to force the pace."

Training and employment are the most glaring areas of Conservative inaction. People with disabilities make up 5.4 per cent of our work force. In setting up federal training programs, the government originally set targets of 4.2 per cent for people with disabilities. And when the government cut its own contributions to training, this target was also cut. The new target is only 2.5 per cent.

In 1986, the Conservatives passed employment equity legislation that they claimed would help people with disabilities. But this law only requires employers to "report." There are neither goals nor timetables. No wonder that when the Canadian Human Rights Commission looked at workplaces governed by the law in 1991, it found only 2.4 per cent of employees were people with disabilities.

Conservative health care cuts and draconian drug patent laws -- which have driven up the price of prescription drugs -- are hurting all Canadians, including those with disabilities.

The Liberals have complained about funding cuts to health care. Yet it was Liberal governments in the 1970s and 80s that began these very cuts. The Liberals are also involved in keeping drug costs high. Former Liberal cabinet minister Judy Erola lobbies for the big drug companies that so successfully shaped Conservative policies.

Canada’s New Democrats believe governments do their job when their policies lead to choices and self-sufficiency for ordinary people. When you combine our Jobs Plan with our commitment to get persons with disabilities involved in every step of the decision-making, you will see that there is only one alternative.

In solidarity,
Audrey McLaughlin, M.P. Yukon
Leader, New Democratic Party


Dear ABILITIES Readers:

I am very pleased to respond to your publisher’s request for my perspective on issues of concern to you. The following general statement was prepared by the Liberal Party on July 9th.

In 1991, over four million Canadians, or 16 percent of the total population, reported some form of disability. The rates of unemployment and poverty in Canada for persons with disabilities are disproportionately higher than the rates for Canadians without disabilities. The situation is worse still for Aboriginal peoples with disabilities, women with disabilities, and visible minorities with disabilities.

Even when employed, persons with disabilities, whether mental or physical, are often in the lowest-earning categories of the paid labour force. If unemployed, Canadians with disabilities face a myriad of disincentives to enter the paid work force. With an income support system that perpetuates dependence, too many disabled Canadians are denied the opportunity to live independently and contribute to their own and the country’s prosperity. These realities must be changed.

The Liberal Party believes that effective governing for the 1990s, and into the next century, includes broadening the circle of participation in Canada’s economic, political and social renewal. Persons with disabilities are central to this process. Canadians must move toward eliminating the barriers that prevent independence and, instead, establish strategies that encourage independence.

Building on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of mental or physical disability, Canadians have already made some progress toward achieving full equality for persons with disabilities. Much work remains to be done, however.

The United Nations’ Decade of Disabled Persons (1983-1992) was an international call to action. Canada’s Declaration on the Decade of Disabled Persons emphasizes the right of persons with disabilities to be full and equal participants in Canada’s social and economic development. The Declaration’s first principle sets the stage for the task ahead: The abilities, integrity, right of choice, and dignity of individuals with disabilities shall be respected in all stages of their lives.

By working with other levels of government, business, labour, community organizations, and individuals, a Liberal government will be committed to turning principles of equality into action for the benefit of all Canadians. The Liberal Platform for the coming general election sets out how the Party’s vision for Canada will be achieved.

Thank you for providing me with this opportunity to address your concerns.

Sincerely,
Jean Chrétien
Leader, Liberal Party