Leader Letters

CCD has sent the following letter to the Bloc Québécois, the Conservative Party, the Green Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party:

Re: Seeking Your Party’s Position on Some Key Questions

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) is a non-partisan, national human rights organization of people with disabilities working for an inclusive and accessible Canada.

Mission

CCD is a social justice organization of people with all disabilities that champions the voices of people with disabilities, advocating an inclusive and accessible Canada, where people with disabilities have full realization of their human rights, as described in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Mandate

CCD unites advocacy organizations of people with disabilities to defend and extend human rights for persons with disabilities through public education, advocacy, intervention in litigation, research, consultation and partnerships.  CCD amplifies the expertise of our partners by acting as a convening body and consensus builder.

A Federal Election presents an opportunity to explore the issues facing Canadians and the solutions that political parties are proposing to improve life in Canada. Canadians with disabilities want to be informed by Federal Parties, seeking to form the Government of Canada, how they plan to create a more accessible and inclusive Canada.

CCD is seeking to hear from Canada’ s main Federal Parties on the following questions:

• Does your Party support a disability benefit for Canadians with disabilities? If the Party supports a disability benefit:
  • How would eligibility be determined? 
  • How would the benefit be structured?
  • When would these benefits start?
• How will your Party ensure that Canada will re-build after COVID-19 in a manner that promotes the human rights of persons with disabilities?
• How will your Party ensure that Canada’s housing strategy is inclusive of the needs of women with disabilities, racialized people with disabilities, refugees and newcomers to Canada with disabilities and people with various types of disabilities, including those that are invisible, episodic and psycho-social in nature?
• How will your Party ensure that people with disabilities are fully engaged in Canada’s climate action and emergency planning?
• How will the Party, if elected to form the Government of Canada, ensure that Canada’s emergency preparedness activities contribute to the goal of a barrier-free Canada as set out in the Accessible Canada Act?

Disability is a nonpartisan issue; it is about ensuring a barrier-free Canada that is inclusive of and accessible to people with disabilities.  The initiatives raised in our questions are key components of an accessible and inclusive Canada.

CCD will share the answers that it receives to these questions with its members and members of the public, as disability is something that affects nearly all people living in Canada. Our members are as follows:

• Disability Alliance BC (DABC)
• Voice of Albertans with Disabilities (VAD)
• Saskatchewan Voice of People with Disabilities (SVOPD)
• Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD)
• Citizens With Disabilities — Ontario (CWD-O)
• Confédération des Organismes de Personnes Handicapées du Québec (COPHAN)
• Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities (NSLEO)
• PEI Council of People with Disabilities
• Coalition of Persons with Disabilities--NFLD and Labrador (CODNL)
• NWT Disabilities Council
• Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD)
• Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB)
• National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
• National Coalition of People who use Guide and Service Dogs of Canada
• National Network for Mental Health (NNMH)
• Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada (TVAC)

Sincerely,

Roxana Jahani Aval
Chairperson