CCD Chairperson's Update - AGM Edition

AGM Highlights

CCD's Annual General Meeting (AGM) took place on June 7, 2014 in Winnipeg.

CCD Executive Committee – The National Council elected a new Executive Committee: Tony Dolan, Chairperson; Pat Danforth, First Vice Chair; John Rae, Second Vice Chair; Anne McPhee, Secretary/Treasurer; and Carmela Hutchison, Member-at-Large.

Chairpersons Appointed - The following will chair CCD's Committees for 2014-15:

• Pat Danforth - Transportation Committee
• Anne Levesque – Human Rights Committee
• Steven Estey – International Development Committee
• Dean Richert and Rhonda Wiebe - Ending of Life Ethics Committee
• Marie Ryan – Social Policy Committee

New to Council – Bonnie Brayton and John Rae were elected to the Member-at-Large positions on Council. 

Bonnie Brayton - Bonnie Brayton is the youngest of five children from a small village in Northern Quebec. Her earlier career successes were in the private sector in Sales and Marketing, as an Entrepreneur in both the for profit and not-for-profit sector and includes almost ten years in the Educational Sector, primarily in Administration, Human Resources and Fundraising at McGill University before joining DAWN Canada in 2007.

Bonnie Brayton has been the National Executive Director of DAWN-RAFH Canada (DisAbled Women’s Network of Canada( www.dawncanada.net) since May 2007. DAWN Canada has focused on advancing the rights of women with disabilities and Deaf women for almost 30 years in Canada and internationally.

Bonnie co-founded the first $5/day After School Program for children in the English Montreal School Board in 1998. Ms. Brayton served on the Board of CCDS (the Canadian Centre for Disability Studies) as their Quebec Representative for 3 years. Ms. Brayton is the President of Coup de Balai - Clean Sweepers, a social economy organization (www.coupdebalai.com ) providing home care services to people with disabilities and seniors in her community in Montreal.

Bonnie is also the Vice-Chair of the FEMINIST ALLIANCE FOR INTERNATIONAL ACTION (http://www.fafia-afai.org/ )and a member of the Steering Committee of La Maison Parent-Roback , a Quebec feminist collective in Montreal (http://www.la-mpr.qc.ca/) where the DAWN-RAFH Canada head office is located.. She also serves on the Women's Advisory Committee at the Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Ms. Brayton lives in Montreal with her partner Delmar Medford. She has two adult daughters, Leah and Virginia.

John Rae - John represented the Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians on CCD Council from 2003 until 2012, and served in various capacities on the National AEBC board for 13 years, including four and a half years as National President.

During his time with the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, John served as CCD's Treasurer and 1st Vice Chair of Council. John remains involved with CCD, and currently serves as a Member of CCD's Social Policy Committee.

John Rae brings a unique combination of government, labour and community experience to all of his involvements. John has been involved in Canada's disability rights movement since 1975, is a Past President of the AEBC, was co-chair of the committee that led to human rights coverage for persons with disabilities in Ontario, and has served as a Board and committee member of numerous human rights, labour and disability rights organizations at the local, provincial and national levels.

John took early retirement from his job with the Ontario Government's Accessibility Directorate of Ontario in 2005, and is currently a Board member of ARCH Disability Law Centre and Injured Workers Consultants legal clinics, a member of the Canadian Labour Congress's Disability Rights Working Group, and a member of the Canadian Human Rights Museum's Accessibility Committee.

Nominating Committee – Steve Estey and Jean Beckett served on the Nominating Committee.

Recipients of CCD Award - Tony Dolan announced the people nominated by member organizations to receive a 2014 award.

BCCPD – Tom McGregor
ACCD – Scott Timothy Hamilton
MLPD – Hon. Jennifer Howard
CWDO – Jeffrey Stark
PEI Council of People with Disabilities – Blake Scott
COD NL – Cecilia Carroll
NWT Disabilities Council - Esther Braden
AEBC – Albert Ruel
CAD – Boissonneault-Witcher-Benoit (BWB)
DAWN Canada – RAFH Canada - Maria Barile, (posthumously)
NEADS - Natalie Fougère
TVAC – Bernadette Bainbridge