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Disability Supports
Opportunities for Further Progress
Persons with disabilities and governments agree that disability supports are key to full citizenship, and that the important issues for attention are accessibility, portability and continuity, and individual focus. In the next section on effective practices, a number of initiatives focused on these issues are highlighted.
Most of the effective practices stories demonstrate the importance of strong partnerships — between governments, community organizations, employers, learning institutions, and persons with disabilities. Partnerships need to be built and sustained, and people with disabilities and their organizations must be part of the discussions that lead to solutions. It is particularly important to find ways to involve Aboriginal people with disabilities and others who face multiple barriers to full participation.
The effective practices stories at the end of this chapter demonstrate the principle that disability support initiatives will be more successful if they respond to, and are tailored to, the individual needs of clients.
A number of initiatives are underway to address issues of portability and accessibility. The separation of eligibility for disability supports from eligibility for other programs is a key issue. Building disability supports into mainstream programs, such as education, training, and employment helps people with disabilities participate more fully, particularly when supports are provided in ways that recognize the varying cultural needs of people with disabilities.
For Aboriginal persons with disabilities, a culturally sensitive approach to providing disability supports is crucial. This needs to take into account the holistic context of family and community and the connection to their own people. Métis, Inuit and First Nations people, on and off reserve, stress the importance of programs and services that are designed, developed and delivered by, and for, people of their own communities.
One of the barriers to improving supports is a lack of data on what
the needs are, whether they are being met, variation in demand, costs
and out-of-pocket expenses. The Government of Canada announced in Budget
2000 that funds would be available for a Participation and Activity
Limitation Survey (PALS) in 2001. Along with other research on disability
that is being supported through funding from the 2000 federal budget,
the 2001 PALS will provide important information for all sectors to
help develop solutions to disability supports issues. Members of the
disability community have expressed willingness to take an active role
in conducting qualitative and quantitative research in this area.
Many disability advocates and organizations have also called for a refundable disability tax credit that would reimburse individuals for more of their actual out-of-pocket disability-related costs. Such a scheme could make it easier for people with low incomes to purchase disability supports. Some disability advocates have also recommended the establishment of national standards and a national disability supports program as a way of addressing portability and equity of access.
Some disability advocates have called on governments to provide more incentives and direct funding to enhance accessibility. In addition, advocates have recommended amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act, and more funding to provincial and territorial human rights commissions so that they can promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities to access public services.
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