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Introduction
Melissa Rezansoff's Story
There is no time for pity in Melissa Rezansoff’s world. Melissa, who is a quadriplegic, is too busy improving herself and working for the betterment of others in her position as the Saskatchewan Regional Manager for the Neil Squire Foundation.
Melissa grew up on the Kahakwisthaw First Nation as one of thirteen children. After attending a residential school and living with her family in Calgary and Vancouver, things turned for the worse when her family returned to the reserve when she was thirteen. There was little to occupy her time and soon she started to hang around with the ’wrong crowd’. At seventeen it seemed to her that life had no meaning.
"I decided that I wasn't going to live that way any more," Melissa remembers. Following an argument with her boyfriend, she went to the basement of her home, where her father kept his guns, locked the door, took a .22 calibre rifle and shot herself. Instead of entering her head, the bullet went through her neck, nicking the vertebrae and wedging a bone fragment against her spinal cord, paralyzing her.
During the long months of rehabilitation, Melissa ’reinvented’ herself. She pursued an education, studying accounting, computers and small business management. She set a goal to live independently, and moved into the Houston Heights apartments in Regina, for people with disabilities.
Before long, Melissa’s big break came when the Neil Squire Foundation, which had opened an office in Regina, contacted her as a potential program participant. Four months into her program, a position as an office administration assistant opened; Melissa applied for and got the job. By 1997, she had become the regional manager.
Today, Melissa Rezansoff works with politicians, bureaucrats, community leaders, First Nation Chiefs, and people with disabilities. She draws from her many experiences and has transformed her job into a way of life.
Melissa wants to carry her message to the public. She feels that it is wrong that people with disabilities are written off by their communities, as everyone has something of value
to contribute, and therefore should be encouraged, not pitied.
One in six Canadians and one in three Aboriginal people in Canada have a disability.1 People with disabilities live in every neighbourhood and every community in Canada. Their aspirations are no different from people without disabilities — they want to enjoy full citizenship through participation in Canadian society.
This report sets the stage for governments, persons with disabilities, disability advocates, communities, employers, labour and the non-profit sector to jointly focus on disability issues. It builds on the framework document entitled In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues, which was released in 1998, by federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for social services.
In Unison marked the first time that Canada's federal, provincial and territorial governments came together to express a common vision on disability issues. They also committed to creating an accountability framework to monitor progress toward fulfilling that vision.
The 1998 In Unison expressed a vision of persons with disabilities participating fully in their communities and in society. This 2000 report aims to provide Canadians with a broad view of how adults with disabilities have been faring in comparison with those without disabilities, using both statistical indicators and examples of personal experiences. Examples of effective practices that have been implemented across Canada are also woven into the report. The situation of Aboriginal persons with disabilities is specifically highlighted.2
In presenting statistics and stories, this report identifies barriers and areas where it may be possible to make continued progress toward full participation. Opportunities for further progress that are identified in this report provide a range of ideas that could be pursued by all sectors to help achieve the vision of full inclusion. This report is meant to complement other reporting mechanisms associated with specific government programs.
This report focuses on the situation of working-age adults with disabilities, reflecting the original parameters of In Unison. This focus is not intended to minimize the importance of improving the participation of children and seniors with disabilities in all aspects of society. Governments agree that the needs of all people with disabilities must be addressed, regardless of their age.
"Persons with disabilities participate as full citizens in all aspects of Canadian society. The full participation of persons with disabilities requires the commitment of all segments of society. The realization of the vision will allow adults with disabilities to maximize their independence and enhance their well being though access to required supports and the elimination of barriers that prevent their full participation."
2 Canada's constitution recognizes three groups of people as Aboriginal: indian (First Nations); Inuit; and Metis. Where the term ’Aboriginal’ is used in this report, it refers to any one of these three groups or to off-reserve Aboriginal people living in urban and/or rural settings. | |||
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