Spring 2008

Jubilee Sailing Trust is a British charity that has enriched the lives of people with disabilities since 1977. Its fully accessible, three-masted ships, Lord Nelson and Tenacious, were designed to take on persons with disabilities as half of their hands-on crew, the only ships in the world with this purpose. Since her maiden voyage in 1986, Lord Nelson has taken over 9,000 people with disabilities to sea.
By Jean Hartley

When Sergeant Andrew McLean holds the beret he kept from serving in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Canadian Regiment, he feels something stir within him. The Air Force search-and-rescue technician’s memories of the Army come rushing back, with a sadness that is strangely motivating. Instead of dwelling on the friends and colleagues who have been killed or injured in Afghanistan or during search-and-rescue missions in Canada, Sgt McLean does the only thing he can to make sense of his feelings – he runs. He runs and runs and runs, until the sweat and adrenaline and the force of his six-foot, 186-pound frame on the pavement remind him how lucky he is to be alive.
By Holly Bridges

Acting is a tough line of work to get into, but for actors with disabilities, breaking into the business is fraught with even more challenges. Although 4.4 million Canadians – one in seven people – has a disability, we’re conspicuously absent from popular media. When we do appear, it’s often in roles that are stereotypical or degrading.
By Scott Bremner

When most people think of weddings, they often think of perfection: happy, smiling faces, impeccable clothes, fabulous cuisine and string quartets. But for some brides and grooms, the special day can be fraught with anxiety and tension. Planning a wedding is stressfuland labour-intensive for anyone, but for people with physical or mental disabilities, they can be downright overwhelming.
By Laura Yeager

Research shows that higher education and lifelong learning contribute significantly to the lifestyle that one enjoys. Canadians understand the power of education to transform people's lives by increasing their chances of gaining satisfying employment that provides financial independence. From this we can safely conclude that students with disabilities who have accessed post-secondary education will also improve the quality of their lives.
By Christine Staddon and Rabia Khedr

Music is the universal language that connects us all, regardless of age, race or ability. All of us have benefited from music as a learning tool. Think of a song that you learned as a child. What made it stick? Chances are, it had repetitive words and a simple, recurring melody. Perhaps it involved hand gestures or miming that helped reinforce the lyrics. Songs can help us remember and use language – it’s no wonder the alphabet has been set to music!
By Melissa Martz

It's a warm spring day in 2001 on the campus of Charleston College in South Carolina, and a Southern belle has just extended her hand to a distinguished gentleman. It seems that the famous Southern hospitality is at work, until the lady smiles sweetly and says, “Good afternoon, Mr. Singer. I’m here for Not Dead Yet.” Despite the pleasantries, there is no mistaking the meaning – the fight is on!
By Aaron Broverman

One snowy Saturday in February, visitors to The Back Nine Club, a restaurant and bar in downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick, were in for a real treat – an old-fashioned kitchen party complete with live bands, fiddlers and highland dancing. It was all part of Music Nova Scotia’s three-day showcase of acclaimed local talent, and this afternoon of Celtic music was one of the hottest tickets in town during the 2008 East Coast Music Awards.
By Stephen Pate

All her life, Jayne Dinsmore harboured a secret desire that even some of her closest friends didn't suspect. “Ever since I was a little kid,” she says, “I’d wanted to be a singer. But I was so shy, I couldn’t even do karaoke!”
By Ron Forbes-Roberts

If you're looking for a wheelchair sport that combines fast action and the great outdoors, tennis might be just what you’re looking for. Wheelchair tennis was started just over three decades ago. In January of 1976, 18-year-old American Brad Parks was injured while taking a warm-up jump in a skiing competition. The accident left him paraplegic.
By Mary Syrett and Jaclyn Law

This article is the first in a series of articles about the CulturAll 2.0 Network, a national multisector network developing innovative approaches, tools and strategies to ensure that everyone in Canada can participate in the Canadian cultural exchange online. As the Web becomes a participatory forum for bidirectional communication, social networking, cultural innovation and collaborative cultural production, it becomes even more important that people with disabilities not be excluded. Through strategic applied research and pioneering exemplars, the CulturAll 2.0 Network will work to make certain that inclusive design becomes a naturally integrated component of Web 2.0 technologies and reaffirm that advances benefit all Canadians.
By Anastasia Cheetham

By Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

By Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres

By Variety Ontario

By Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work

By Council of Canadians with Disabilities

By Canadian Centre on Disability Studies

By Canadian Council on Learning

By Ontario Human Rights Commission