Introduction

The House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities invited CCD Chairperson Heather Walkus to speak to Committee on March 19, 2024.  In this month’s Update, we are publishing Heather’s speaking notes that were shared with the Committee in advance of the Committee meeting. In addition, a backgrounder that summarized CCD’s work in support of inclusion was also shared with the Members of Parliament on the Committee.  You will find that history appended to this Update.

Speaking Notes

For: House of Commons of Canada’ Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities

By: Heather Walkus, Chair, Council of Canadians with Disabilities

Date: March 19, 2024

We Are Not Stake Holders, We Are the Rights Holders

I would like to thank the House of Commons of Canada’ Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, in including me in your work to share an analysis, in understanding the systemic barriers for the intersectional disabled and Deaf communities that use and work in our Federal Transportation System.

I would also like to thank the tens of thousands of people working in the Canadian transportation industry who everyday assist passengers to navigate their travel experience. 

It is important to say that I do not consider myself disabled. My body is able as it can be, like yours is. We are all able bodied. It is the environment, attitudes and systems that disable me and my colleagues.

Since 1976, CCD, formally known as COPOH, has worked diligently through our Organization and Transportation Team, representing the intersectional cross-disability and Deaf communities that run rights holder organizations to address change in these three areas.  We have worked both in Canada and internationally and have developed a vast amount of expertise of the transportation industry, and have consistently analysed the issues and taken court action to advance inclusion of all persons with disabilities.  We continue to meet with all areas of the federal transportation industry and work to address the many barriers.

This is CCD’s 48th year of utilizing our expertise to bring about significant systemic change towards full access and inclusion within Canada’s federal transportation system. Through our submission to the House of Commons of Canada’, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, we will address some of the most pressing systemic changes and alignments needed, that will inform the members of this committee of the insights and analysis and a roadmap for change, from the disability community.

It is important to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) that on the road to our 50th anniversary, that fundamental rights, such as the right to travel with equity in Canada is finally realized. People with disabilities founded CCD in 1976, to ensure our voices are heard and discriminatory barriers to access and inclusion are eliminated. We represent intersectional, cross disability and Deaf people and our consumer organizations in Canada. We are committed to the full implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Canada., and upholding Section 15 of The Charter of Rights and Freedoms. When it comes to transportation, we are a far cry from full implementation. I remind you of the Auditor General’s report which stated, “In a survey conducted in 2021, Statistics Canada found that of the 2.2 million persons with disabilities who used federally regulated transportation in 2019 and 2020, 63% faced a barrier.”1

Further, Statistics Canada earlier this year issued a report that shows that 28% of Canadians over the age of 15 have reported they have a disability, A 4% growth in 5 years. The highest growth in disability has been in low vision followed by hard of hearing. 

The CCD members are: ten provincial/territorial disability run organizations, eight national disability run organizations, six members at large representing intersectional communities and one affiliate member. We also work in coalition with many other Canadian disability run organizations through a network.

People with disabilities in Canada have done all that is within our power to advance accessibility and to bring about an end to barriers that discriminate against people with disabilities. We have worked to be included in Canada’s human rights laws, fought to be in Section 15, the Equality Rights Section of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, played a significant role with people with disabilities worldwide, in both the writing and signing into law of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and were involved with many other organizations in the heavy lift in the passing of the Accessible Canada Act, and have played a significant role in the work of the Canadian Transportation Agency (Advisory Committee, development of the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations ( SOR /2019-244), and used the legal remedies available to us, to address barriers. Some examples of our litigation and interventions concerning transportation are as follows:

The CCD’s intervention in McKay-Panos v. Air Canada, confirmed that obesity is a disability for the purposes of Part V of the Canada Transportation Act (“CTA”).

Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. VIA Rail Canada Inc  confirmed the applicability of human rights jurisprudence in the sector; and

Air Canada v. Canada (Canadian Transportation Agency), CTA confirmed a policy of One Person/One Fare for persons with disabilities; and

Delta Air Lines Inc. v Lukács, 2018 SCC 2, where CCD assisted the Court in understanding the importance of regulatory protections for air passengers for Canadians with disabilities.

The disability community worked on the development of Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations ( SOR /2019-244). 

As you know from media coverage, people with disabilities are still encountering many barriers to their mobility in the federally regulated transportation system. The bit of coverage does not capture the depth of discrimination faced daily.

As people with disabilities, we have made significant change in Canada in the areas we noted above, in the development of our constitution, laws, regulations and legal outcomes. It is now your turn, as members of parliament to end the systemic discrimination that exists within the federally regulated transportation sector and all sectors in this country. The time is long overdue for those with the power to address the systemic discrimination that limits the equitable use of the transportation system by persons with disabilities. How much more can the rights holders do as volunteers? How many more laws, regulations, legal cases and Human Rights codes will it take to make the change? Enforce what we have built and make no excuses for anything less than full inclusion.

We see that this is beginning to happen in some quarters. An example of this is a research trip I recently had the privilege of joining on behalf of CCD. In June 2023, I traveled with the CEO of the CTA and three of their staff members to Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon, to meet with airports and small air carriers and their staff. A second group of advocates was invited to travel with the CEO of the CTA and three of their staff members by plane to Sept Isle, Quebec and then travel by train to Schefferville, Quebec. The second group included April D’Aubin, CCD’s Research Analyst/Coordinator, as well as representatives of the Canadian Association of the Deaf, Jason Nashtootaway and Janet Hunt of the Coalition of Guide and Service Dog Users. The purpose of these two trips was to gain a better understanding of the barriers and realities that small carriers and air terminal staff face in pursuing inclusive and accessible air travel. Both my and Ms. D’Aubin’s observations on these trips were reported to CCD, and confirmed CCD’s understanding that traveling with disabilities is challenging and unpredictable. We understand that it is common for necessary information to not be provided in an accessible format, that supports are not always available when or how they are expected, and that each person’s experience is distinct and unique due to the diverse nature of disability. The one common experience observed, however, is that failures to accommodate disability-related inclusion can have significant negative impacts on individuals’ abilities to safely, reliably and equitably use transportation services.

What is important in this example is that the CTA started their work on regulating small carriers and airports by involving people with disabilities in the research at the very beginning stages.

Another example is that Accessible Standards Canada contracted CCD to assist it in the development of a Seed Document to help guide the development of a standard on the travel journey. This is another instance where people with disabilities were brought in at the very beginning of the process. 

However, even with these few forward steps, we are a long way away from inclusion and accessible travel. 

I must emphasize the following is only 4 of the hundreds of supports and processes that are non-existent and exclude many.

1. the lack of options to identify your inclusion requirements,  you ask for a sighted guide and told you must use a wheelchair.
2. the lack of technology that could convey information and “emergency” information to Deaf, low vision and blind people for both in-flight and airport announcements.
3. The inability of ticket agents, accessibility support persons, and flight attendants to be able to communicate in ASL, LSQ or ISL – through the countries’ airports.
4. The lack of true consultation with organizations, led and run by people with disabilities, to find solutions and recommendations for the removal of these barriers.

We must see an increase and a strengthening of a collaborative approach, where the intersectional, cross disability and Deaf communities are involved meaningfully in the work to remove systemic barriers to inclusion, in the federally regulated transportation system. I would like to draw your attention to the UNCRPD’s General comment No. 7 (2018) on the participation of persons with disabilities, including children with disabilities, through their representative organizations, in the implementation and monitoring of the Convention. https://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2FPPRiCAqhKb7yhsnbHatvuFkZ%2Bt93Y3D%2Baa2pjFYzWLBu0vA%2BBr7QovZhbuyqzjDN0plweYI46WXrJJ6aB3Mx4y%2FspT%2BQrY5K2mKse5zjo%2BfvBDVu%2B42R9iK1p

Those with the power to address systemic discrimination, such as yourselves, we encourage you to be working with knowledgeable people with disabilities and their constituents when addressing the systemic barriers to the mobility, accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities and Deaf persons.

We must have measures with teeth, that make it too difficult to discriminate. When faced with the truth about the barriers that people with disabilities encounter with their services, Air Canada issued an apology. That same week, they made a decision to take a ruling by CTA that supported inclusion for people to travel with their wheelchairs on the same flight, to the court of appeal. This is why we need measures with teeth and an attitudinal change throughout the system to enforce the laws.

As the many media reports about the barriers experienced by people with disabilities when travelling on federally regulated carriers, much of the work of making transportation accessible has gone unattended. The Report of the Office of the Auditor General of Canada also shows how the implementation of accessibility has been neglected.

People with disabilities, through their own run organizations like CCD, must be involved in monitoring the federally regulated carriers for accessibility along with the Canadian Transportation Agency. There needs to be oversight concerning the steps being taken, or not taken as the case maybe, to implement full accessibility.

We require immediate progress from the airlines on adding accessible aircraft to their fleets so that people disabilities can remain in their own wheelchairs when travelling by air and all people with disabilities are able to use the washrooms aboard the planes. 
Our transportation industry, using the laws and regulations that govern them, must embrace within their DNA, dignity, inclusion and equity and enforce without hesitation our rights which are enshrined in the laws of Canada.

We must treat the inclusion of all people in the intersectional cross-disability and Deaf communities, who use the federal transportation system, and the laws and regulations that protect us, as important, essential to Canada and enforce those laws as seriously as inspectors do, to ensure safety with maintenance of all planes, trains, vessels and busses.

Ensuring dignified, accessible, inclusion, as defined by the intersectional disability and Deaf communities through the courts, and all our current legal instruments, it is not a request, it is entrenched in the laws of Canada!

I, and the constituents I represent, look forward to meeting more with the members of this committee and to continue working with all members of the industry, on developing consistency in our strategies and a roadmap to real change and inclusion in Canada. 

We already have in place, most of what is necessary and with changes in attitude and a clear decision from this committee to bring about change, we ask that you join us, the intersectional disability and Deaf communities and complete the work, together!

At my appearance, I will outline some specific systemic changes that CCD is calling for.

Thank you

Heather Walkus
Chair, Council of Canadians with Disabilities 
March 19, 2024
 

Appendix 1

CCD Transportation Backgrounder

Introduction

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) is on the road to its 50th anniversary. People with disabilities founded CCD in 1976, under the name the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (COPOH), to ensure our voices are heard and discriminatory barriers to access and inclusion are eliminated. In 1994, COPOH adopted the name Council of Canadians with Disabilities to reflect its new membership structure which admitted national organizations of persons with disabilities as members. In 2020, CCD amended its Bylaws to include four new Member-at-Large positions on the CCD National Council of Representatives for a youth with a disability, an Indigenous person with a disability, a racialized person with a disability and a 2SLGBTQA+ person with a disability.

CCD Structure

Today, CCD members are: ten provincial/territorial organizations, eight national disability organizations, six members at large representing intersectional communities and one affiliate member. The member organizations of the CCD are:

a. Provincial Members:
1. Disability Alliance BC (DABC)
2. Voice of Albertans with Disabilities (VAD)
3. Barrier Free Saskatchewan
4. Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD)
5. Citizens with Disabilities — Ontario
6. Confédération des Organismes de Personnes Handicapées du Québec (COPHAN)
7. Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities (NSLEO)
8. PEI Council of People with Disabilities
9. Coalition of Persons with Disabilities—NFLD and Labrador (COD)
10. Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society (Nunavut)

b. Affiliate Member:
1. NWT Disabilities Council

c. National Organizations:
1. Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD)
2. Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB)
3. Disability Without Poverty
4. Environmental Health Association of Canada/ Environmental Health Association of Quebec (ASEQ-EHAQ)
5. National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
6. National Coalition of People who use Guide and Service Dogs
7. National Network for Mental Health (NNMH)
8. Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada

d. Members At Large:
1. Ian Young (Member-at-Large on Council)
2. Alan Bridgeman (Member-at-Large on Council)
3. Ingrid Palmer (Member-at-Large on Council)
4. Fran Odette (Member-at-Large on Council)
5. Marjorie Aunos (Member-at-Large on Council)
6. Noah Papatsie (Member-at-Large on Council)
CCD is administered by a Council of Representatives which includes one designate its members.

CCD Mission and Mandate

CCD promotes full inclusion and equity for persons with disabilities in Canadian society. Its mission and mandate is as follows:

Mission - The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (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 - The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (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.

CCD’s Public Policy Work

The CCD is actively engaged in a wide spectrum of public policy work, including supporting the development of regulations for accessibility and accommodation of disability-related needs. Its work is guided by the principles of disability justice. CCD seeks to ensure these principles inform how service providers, employers, and governments function to make their goods, services, facilities, and accommodations more responsive to the needs of persons with disabilities.

Overall, the CCD advocates for the elimination of discriminatory barriers which prevent social and economic inclusion of persons with disabilities. Eliminating discriminatory barriers means accommodating to address barriers on a systemic level.

The CCD also engages in law reform. The Government of Canada has sought the perspective of the CCD on a variety of issues concerning the rights of persons with disabilities, including amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act, the strengthening of accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities in the National (now Canada) Transportation Act of 1987, and the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (“CRPD”).

The CCD was also an active participant in the development of the Accessible Canada Act through public advocacy, letter-writing campaigns, and submissions to Parliamentary and Senate committees considering the Bill.
One notable success flowing from these efforts is the inclusion of a specific deadline for achieving accessibility in the final version of the Act. The draft Bill’s lack of timelines was a focus of CCD’s criticism in its early public advocacy, as well as a topic raised in its 2019 submissions to a Senate committee. Ultimately, and based on the recommendation of the Senate, the Act now requires its goals to be achieved by January 1, 2040.

CCD is also Canada’s official representative on Disabled Peoples' International, a body that has been accorded consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

CCD was a participant in the Canadian delegation involved in negotiating and crafting the legal language of the CRPD which was adopted by the United Nations in December 2006. In this regard, the CCD hosted four national consultation meetings in advance of meetings of the United Nations Ad Hoc Committee which considered the CRPD.

The CCD has also played an international role in defining disability and drafting concepts relating to accommodation, universal design, accessibility, inclusion, dignity and discrimination.

Since its founding in 1976, a central focus of CCD’s advocacy work has been on addressing barriers in federally regulated transportation. We are a recognized and authoritative voice on the needs and interests of Canadians with disabilities regarding their need for accommodation in transportation services generally and air transport in particular.

CCD’s Transportation Committee actively monitors the services provided by transportation carriers, regularly contributes to legislative reform and policy development, and shares knowledge with collaborators and researchers to pursue shared goals.

CCD’s Transportation Work

Through its Transportation Committee, the CCD is a member of the Canadian Transportation Agency’s (“CTA”) Accessibility Advisory Committee and Working Group. In these roles, the CCD provides advice and guidance to the CTA in support of its regulation of the transportation sector. This work has included, for example, meaningful and direct contribution to the development of the Accessible Transportation for Persons with Disabilities Regulations and the Accessible Transportation Planning and Reporting Regulations.

Another example of this work is a research trip that Heather Walkus, CCD Chairperson, recently had the privilege of joining on behalf of CCD. In June 2023 she traveled with the CEO of the CTA and three of their staff members to Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon, to meet with airports and small air carriers and their staff.

This work confirmed CCD’s understanding that traveling with disabilities is challenging and unpredictable. We understand that it is common for necessary information to not be provided in an accessible format, that supports are not always available when or how they are expected, and that each person’s experience is distinct and unique due to the diverse nature of disability.

The one common experience observed, however, is that failures to accommodate disability-related needs can have significant negative impacts on individuals’ abilities to safely and reliably use transportation services.
CCD recognizes a great need for ongoing advocacy and inclusion in the transportation sector and plans to continue this work.

The CCD aims to promote equality for persons with disabilities in all aspects of Canadian society, including before courts and tribunals. To this end it regularly intervenes in cases in support of persons with disabilities under human rights and accessibility legislation and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (“Charter”).

CCD’s Litigation Work

CCD’s litigation work is directed by its Disability Justice Litigation Committee which is composed of disability rights advocates and practitioners who are recognized for their prominence and experience in the field of equality rights.
Some of CCD’s litigation experience is directly relevant to air travel and other transportation issues, as well as the legal analysis governing accommodation and undue hardship in the transportation context.

These include:

The CCD’s intervention in McKay-Panos v. Air Canada, [2006] 4 F.C.R. 3, 2006 FCA 8, which confirmed that obesity is a disability for the purposes of Part V of the Canada Transportation Act (“CTA”).

Council of Canadians with Disabilities v. VIA Rail Canada Inc., 2007 SCC 15, where the CCD as the initiating party was successful in a matter which brought a human rights lens to accessibility issues in Canada’s transportation system and confirmed the applicability of human rights jurisprudence in the sector; and

Air Canada v. Canada (Canadian Transportation Agency), CTA Decision No. 6-4T-4 2008 (leave to appeal refused by the Federal Court of Appeal (2008) FCA 194 and leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada denied 2008 S.C.C.A. No. 322), in which the Agency ruled in CCD’s favour regarding a policy of One Person/One Fare for persons with disabilities; and

The CCD’s intervention in Delta Air Lines Inc. v Lukács, 2018 SCC 2, in which the CCD assisted the Court in understanding the importance of regulatory protections for air passengers for Canadians with disabilities.

The CCD is also an active public interest litigant and intervener in matters before the Supreme Court of Canada, having participated in over 20 proceedings including:

Ontario Human Rights Commission et al. v. Simpson-Sears Ltd., [1985] 2 S.C.R. 536 (known as “O’Malley) and Bhinder v. Canadian National Railways, [1985] 2 S.C.R. 561, which cases elaborated on the concept of adverse effects discrimination and the duty of accommodation;

Andrews v. Law Society of British Columbia, [1989] 1 S.C.R. 143, an early case developing the discrimination analysis under s. 15 of the Charter;

Canadian Council of Churches v. Her Majesty the Queen and the Minister of Employment and Immigration, [1992] 1 S.C.R. 236, where the court established the test for granting public interest standing;

Weatherall v. Canada (AG.), [1993] 2 S.C.R. 872, a case involving a ss. 7, 15(1) and 15(2) Charter analysis in the context of employment and services in prison;

Rodriguez v. B.C. (A.G.), [1993] 3 S.C.R. 519, a case regarding the Charter rights of a person with a disability seeking assisted suicide;

Battlefords and District Co-operative Ltd v. Gibbs, [1996] 3 S.C.R. 566, a case involving discrimination against employees with mental health disabilities under the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code, S.S. 1979, c. S-24.I;

Brant County Board of Education v. Eaton [1997] 1 S.C.R. 241, a s. 15 Charter analysis with respect to integrated education for students with disabilities;

Eldridge v. B.C. (A.G.), [1997] 3 S.C.R 624, a case involving s. 15 of the Charter and a person with a hearing disability’s right to sign language interpreters to ensure access to health care services;

BC Superintendent of Motor Vehicles v. British Columbia Council of Human Rights, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 868, a case involving the application of the duty to accommodate in the issuance of a driver’s license to a person with a disability, under the under the British Columbia Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c.210;

Granovsky v. Minister of Employment and Immigration, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 703, 2000 SCC 28, a s. 15 Charter case involving the ground of disability in the context of the Canada Pension Plan, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-8;

Lovelace v. Ontario, [2000] 1 S.C.R. 950, 2000 SCC 37, a case involving an analysis of the relationship between ss. 15(1) and (2) of the Charter;

R. v. Latimer, [2001] 1 S.C.R. 3, 2001 SCC 1, where the court discussed the application of s. 12 of the Charter to an accused convicted of second degree murder of a child with a disability;

Auton (Guardian ad litem of) v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [2004] I 3 S.C.R. 657, 2004 SCC 78, a s. 15 Charter challenge with respect the ability of children with autism to access therapy;

Newfoundland (Treasury Board) v. N.A.P.E., [2004] 3 S.C.R. 381, 2004 SCC 66, a case involving ss. 15 and 1 of the Charter in the context of pay equity;

Honda Canada Inc. v. Keays, [2007] 1 S.C.R. 650, 2008 SCC 39, where the court discussed the application of human rights principles in the employment law context;

R. v. Gilles Caron, [2011] 1 S.C.R. 78, 2011 SCC 5, a case involving the superior court’s jurisdiction to order interim costs in litigation in provincial court;

Canada (Canadian Human Rights Commission) v. Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 53, a case involving the authority of human rights tribunals to order costs;

Her Majesty the Queen v. D.A.I, [2012] 1 S.C.R. 149, 2012 SCC 5, a case involving the impact of s. 16 of the Canada Evidence Act on the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities to testify in court;

Frederick Moore on behalf of Jeffrey P. Moore v Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Ministry of Education et al., [2012] 3 S.C.R. 360, 2012 SCC 61, where the court determined that students with disabilities who require accommodation had a right to equal access to public education services;

Carter v. Canada (Attorney General), [2015] 1 S.C.R. 331, 2015 SCC 5, a s. 7 Charter challenge of ss. 241 and 14 of the Criminal Code prohibiting physician assisted dying in Canada;

Brent Bish on behalf of Ian Stewart v. Elk Valley Coal Corporation, Cardinal River Operations, et al, [2017] 1 S.C.R. 591, 2017 SCC 30, relating to the prima facie test for discrimination and the defence of bona fide occupational requirement in s. 7 of the Alberta Human Rights Act; and

British Columbia (Attorney General) v Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 2022 SCC 27, in which the legal test for public interest standing was considered and confirmed.

Appendix 2 

CCD Highlights 1976-2024

1976 – 1989  CCD convened open national conferences addressing employment (1978), transportation (1979), the parameters of rehabilitation (1980), consumerism (1981), income security (1983), transportation and independent living (1985), and the UN Decade (1989).  Through these forums, important policy positions were established, such as the separation of systemic advocacy and individual advocacy that led to the emergence of the Independent Living movement in Canada and the founding of the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres (CAILC), which later became IL Canada. Women with disabilities discussed founding their own organization at our 1985 conference.

1981 The House of Commons' Special Committee on the Disabled and the Handicapped released the Obstacles report.  CCD seconded its National Coordinator to the Committee to work on Obstacles.

CCD played a key role in the development of Disabled Peoples' International (DPI).
1982 CCD fought for the inclusion of disability in Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.  Eventually, Rt. Hon. Jean Chretien, who was then Minister of Justice, was convinced. Canada became the first nation to include the prohibition of discrimination against people with physical and mental disabilities in its Constitution.

Section 15 came into force in 1985 and since that time CCD has intervened in a number of court cases, to advance an equality rights argument.  Some examples are: Andrews (how equality is defined under the Charter), Eaton (Inclusive Education), Eldridge (the right of deaf people to have interpreters in medical settings), Genereux and Latimer (the application of the proscribed legal penalties when the victim of a killing is a person with a disability), Carter (opposition to legalized assisted suicide).  CCD's factums from its legal interventions are available on its website.

1983 CCD actively promoted the broadening of the Canadian Human Rights Act (1977), because while the Act prohibited discrimination in matters of employment for people with physical disabilities, it did not, as it did with the other 8 grounds, protect people with disabilities from discrimination in the provision of goods, services, facilities and accommodation.  On March 30, 1983, Parliament gave assent to Bill C-141, An Act to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act, which expanded the protection of the Act to people with mental and physical disabilities and prohibited discrimination in matters related to employment and the provision of goods, services, facilities and accommodation.  CCD has intervened in court cases, where human rights have been the focus.  For example, in the Moore case, CCD intervened to argue "that when an exclusionary barrier is identified, the next step is to provide accommodation to remove the barrier."  In its intervention, CCD "challenged the lower court rulings which said that to get accommodation, persons with disabilities must show that they have been treated worse than other persons with disabilities."  CCD's VIA Rail case focused on whether formal or substantive accommodation will be made for equality seekers under specialized human rights legislation, such as the "undue obstacle" jurisdiction of the Canadian Transportation Agency under the Canadian Transportation Act.

CCD was consulted by the Minister of Transport during the development of the National Policy on the Transportation of Disabled Persons, which set out the Federal Government's responsibility for ensuring safe, reliable and equitable transportation services to people with disabilities.

CCD and the National Union of Public and General Employees published Together for Social Change, which investigated sheltered employment.

1985 CCD served on the Minister of Transport's Transportation of Disabled Persons Implementation Committee, which advised on the application of the national Policy on Transportation of Disabled Persons.

The federal Secretary of State was designated as the Minister Responsible for the Status of Disabled Persons and a secretariat was established to coordinate federal actions on disability.  The Disabled Persons Participation Program (DPPP) was created to fund organizations of persons with disabilities; CCD worked to ensure DPPP supported the voice of Canadians with disabilities.

CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Ontario Human Rights Commission et al v Simpson-Sears Ltd, a case which elaborated on the concept of adverse effects discrimination and the duty to accommodate persons with disabilities.

1986 Statistics Canada conducted the first Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS), a national database on disability.  CCD was contracted by the department to convene the first community consultation on HALS.

CCD and other groups worked in support of the Employment Equity Act, which requires federally regulated employers to report on the employment of designated groups. CCD convened community consultations on Employment Equity.

1987 CCD was consulted by the Department of Transport on the strengthening of accessibility requirements for persons with disabilities in the National (now Canada) Transportation Act of 1987.

1989 - The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Andrews v Law Society of British Columbia in a case involving the discrimination analysis under the equality rights protected by section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1990 In July 1990, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 159 (Vocational Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities) was ratified.  In 1985, CCD's International Committee established a sub-committee focused on the work of the ILO.

1991 Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced a $158 million National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, which involved 10 federal departments working over a 5-year period.  CCD met with Prime Minister Mulroney and sought his support to create this initiative.  CCD members were central to the launch of this initiative.

The Government of Canada created the Canadian Labor Force Development Board.  CCD was contracted to coordinate the CLFDB's Disability Reference Group, which named the disability community representative to the CLFDB.

1992 An Act to Amend Certain Acts with Respect to Persons with Disabilities (Bill C-78) became law and amended five pieces of legislation  (the Citizenship Act, the Canada Elections Act, the Criminal Code, the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act) to make them less discriminatory to persons with disabilities.  CCD coordinated the development of some of the legislative proposals which contributed to Bill C-78.

When disability rights were left out of the Canada Clause of the Charlottetown Accord, CCD worked to prevent the creation of a hierarchy of rights and in support of the integrity of Section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1996 The Federal Task Force on Disability Issues, chaired by Andy Scott, released its report, Equal Citizenship for Canadians with Disabilities: The Will to Act, which reiterated the importance of a strong federal government role in the removal of barriers for persons with disabilities.  CCD was a Special Advisor to the Task Force and a CCD representative participated in the Committee's hearings where hundreds of Canadians with disabilities discussed the critical role the federal government has to play in addressing disability issues.

CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Battlefords and District Cooperative Ltd v Gibbs, in case involving discrimination against employees with mental disabilities in Saskatchewan.

1997 The Mine Ban Treaty, also known as the Ottawa Convention, was adopted by the UN in 1997.  CCD's work on the Ottawa Convention directly contributed to Article 6, which included the first-ever reference to disability in an arms treaty at the global level.

The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Eldridge v BC (AG),  a constitutional challenge relating to a person with a hearing disability's right to sign language interpreters to ensure meaningful access to health care services. The CCD also intervened in Brant County Board of Education v Eaton, a section 15 Charter Challenge relating to the importance of integrated education for students with disabilities

1998 Parliament amended the Canadian Human Rights Act, requiring federally regulated employers to accommodate the needs of individuals with disabilities.  This amendment came about as a result of the Meorin and Grismer decisions at the Supreme Court. CCD intervened in the Grismer case.

The Federal, Provincial and Territorial (F/P/T) Minister’s  Responsible for Social Services released In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues, which set out a program for promoting the integration of persons with disabilities.  CCD was invited to present community views to the F/P/T Working Group on Benefits and Services for People with Disabilities.

1999 - The CCD intervened in BC Superintendent of Motor Vehicles v British Columbia Council of Human Rights, a case involving the application of the duty to accommodate in the issuance of a driver's license to a person with a disability in British Columbia

2000 The F/P/T Minister’s Responsible for Social Services issued In Unison 2000: Persons with Disabilities in Canada. CCD met with the F/P/T Services and Benefits Working Group that jointly developed this document.

The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Lovelace v Ontario, a case involving an analysis of section 15(2) of the Charter which shields affirmative action programs from the equality guarantee under section 15(1) of the Charter.

2001 In R. v. Latimer [2001] 1 S.C.R. 3, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Robert Latimer's crime of murdering his disabled daughter Tracy Latimer could not be justified through the defense of necessity. CCD was an intervenor in this case.

The CCD intervened in R v Latimer, where the Supreme Court discussed the application of the rights of an accused convicted of second-degree murder of a child with disabilities.

2004 The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Auton (Guardian ad Item of) v British Columbia (Attorney General) in a constitutional challenge with respect to the ability of children with autism to access required therapies. The same year, the CCD also intervened in Newfoundland (Treasury Board) v NAPE which was an equality law case under section 15 of the Charter in the context of pay equity.

2005 CCD published “A National Snapshot of Home Support from the Consumer Perspective: Enabling People with Disabilities to Participate in Policy Analysis and Community Development” The Co-Principal Investigators were Kari Krogh and Mary Ennis.

2006 The CCD intervened in McKay-Panos v Air Canada and successfully argued that obesity must be concerned a disability for the purposes of Part V of the Canada Transportation Act.

2007 In the VIA Rail decision, the Supreme Court of Canada said an emphatic “NO!” to the creation of new barriers.  CCD went to the Court to prevent VIA Rail from putting inaccessible passenger cars into service.

The Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) was created; it is designed to promote saving for the long-term financial security of a person who is eligible for the Disability Tax Credit.  Minister Flaherty named CCD to the 3-person Expert Panel to create the RDSP.

2008 As a result of a complaint brought to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) by CCD, the CTA ordered Air Canada, Air Canada Jazz and WestJet, to amend their practices to include a "one person - one fare" policy for persons with disabilities who require additional seating to travel on domestic flights.

The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court in Honda Canada Inc v Keays, where the court discussed the application of human rights principles in the employment law context.

The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council awarded CCD a $1 million grant to research poverty and disability.  Download the project's complete findings at Disabling Poverty, Enabling Citizenship.

2009 CCD made a submission to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Canada and has engaged in these reviews since that time.  The UPR takes place under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council.

2010 On March 11, 2010, Canada became the 82nd country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). "Nothing About Us, Without Us" had been the community's approach to all CRPD activities.  Representatives from CCD, IL Canada and the Canadian Association for Community Living and then Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon at the UN in New York to hand over the papers for ratification.  In a news conference at the UN, ratification was welcomed with joy and celebration, but it was also noted then that the community's work was just beginning.  A CCD representative had been included on the Canadian delegations to the UN that participated in the drafting of the CRPD.  Also in 2010, CCD began a 5-year project educating Canadians about the CRPD.

2011 The Participation and Activity Limitation Survey was cancelled and work began to develop a new data strategy related to persons with disabilities.  Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development Canada Diane Finley asked CCD to co-chair the Technical Advisory Group responsible for creating a new disability data strategy.
The CCD intervened in Granovsky v Minister of Employment and Immigration, an equality law case under the Charter involving the ground of disability in the context of Canada Pension Plan. The CCD also intervened at the Supreme Court in R v Gilles Caron which was a French language case involving the superior court's jurisdiction to order interim costs in litigation.

2012 The CCD intervened in Frederick Moore on behalf of Jeffrey P. Moore v Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia as represented by the Ministry of Education et al where the Court determined that a student with disabilities who required accommodation had a right to equal access to public education services. The same year, the CCD also intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Her Majesty the Queen v DAI which was a case involving the impact of section 16 of the Canada Evidence Act on the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities to testify in court.

2013 Minister Flaherty and Minister Kenney hosted a breakfast for the disability community to celebrate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.  CCD and CACL coordinated the community participation the event.

2014 Elections Canada created an accessibility advisory committee.  The committee emerged from a three year project between Elections Canada and CCD.  CCD is a member of the advisory committee and has worked with Elections Canada for over 30 years to improve access to the electoral process.

2015 Disability community organizations named CCD as the secretariat to coordinate the development of civil society's shadow report to UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Carter v Canada (Attorney General) which was a Charter challenge to the Criminal Code provisions which prohibited physician assisted dying in Canada.

2016 CCD and two individuals filed a legal action challenging provisions of legislation in British Columbia which permit forced psychiatric treatment to be administered to involuntary patients without their consent. After two years of litigation, the individuals were no longer able to participate in the claim. The government of British Columbia challenged the public interest standing of the CCD to raise this action without the two individuals. The matter made its way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court granted CCD standing. 

CCD, along with a number of other disability organizations, endorsed the Vulnerable Persons Standard, which outlines safeguards that will help to ensure that Canadians requesting assistance from physicians to end their life can do so without jeopardizing the lives of vulnerable persons who may be subject to coercion and abuse.  We are calling on all Members of Parliament to ensure that federal legislation regulating physician-assisted death incorporate these safeguards.

CCD contributed a written submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Canada's Sixth Periodic Review.

CCD established a new committee to work on the creation of a national disabilities act.

On December 1, 2016 in Ottawa, Hon. Minister Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, and Hon. Minister Stéphane Dion, Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a press conference at a CCD meeting about the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities (CRPD).  Minister Qualtrough and Minister Dion announced that Canada would ratify the CRPD’s Optional Protocol in 2017.

2017 In April 2017, then Chairperson Jewelles Smith was part of the civil society delegation that met with UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which was reviewing Canada’s progress on ensuring the human rights of persons with disabilities.

2018 The CCD intervened at the Supreme Court of Canada in Delta Air Lines Inc v Lukacs and contributed to a significant win for Canadians with disabilities. The Supreme Court of Canada held that the Canadian Transportation Agency cannot apply a narrow criteria for determining which complaints can be heard.

On April 25, 2018, CCD intervened in a very important case before the Supreme Court of Canada. This case could have a significant impact on persons with disabilities, affecting their autonomy, independence and inclusion. The case is called S.A. v. Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation. It raises the question: can absolute discretionary trusts, also known as Henson Trusts, be taken into account in eligibility criteria for social programs, like a housing subsidy or social assistance.

2019 CCD conducted a project to educate people with disabilities about human rights and the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  One of the outputs of this project was an online training resource.  The training materials can be accessed via the following link: Disability Rights Online

The CCD along with Inclusion Canada and People First Canada intervened in Disability Rights coalition v Attorney General of Nova Scotia et al. The decision which was released in November 2021 is a significant victory for Nova Scotians with disabilities in receipt of social assistance. The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal ruled that there was ample evidence that Nova Scotia discriminates against persons with disabilities through prolonged and unjustified institutionalization, years-long waits to receive services and relocation to receive services. The decision sends a powerful message across Canada that governments must not discriminate against persons with disabilities in designing and implementing social benefit programs.

2020 CCD amended its Bylaws to include four new Member-at-Large positions on the CCD National Council of Representatives for a youth with a disability, an Indigenous person with a disability, a racialized person with a disability and a 2SLGBTQA+ person with a disability. In 2021, there was a further Bylaw amendment whereby the aforementioned Members-at-Large are named by their respective communities and acclaimed by CCD.

2021 On June 1, 2021, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities co-hosted and participated in a roundtable discussion on "The Role of Innovative Technologies in Recruiting and Increasing Retention of Employees with Disabilities" with Facebook and Inclusion Canada. The event featured a keynote address by the Hon. Carla Qualtrough, Canada’s Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. CCD’s then Chairperson Roxana Jahani Aval provided closing comments at the Roundtable.  She noted that, “It is essential that multi-sector conversations about how to improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities continue beyond this [AccessAbility] week and become more inclusive, bringing in people from excluded communities that historically have been pushed to the margins.”

On October 6, 2021, the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in the MacLean case paved the road to addressing the human rights of thousands of Nova Scotians with disabilities who continue to languish in institutions or in community without support. This ruling sent a powerful message that there are fundamental systemic barriers in Nova Scotia that deny equality of opportunity for persons with disabilities.  CCD, Inclusion Canada and People First Canada were granted permission, as a coalition, to participate in the Appeal. The coalition urged the government of Nova Scotia to stop fighting persons with disabilities in courts, to acknowledge to systemic discrimination and to remove barriers to inclusion for all Nova Scotians with intellectual disabilities.

2022- A new territorial cross disability organization from Nunavut became a member of CCD – the Nunavummi Disabilities Makinnasuaqtiit Society and Barrier Free Saskatchewan became the member group from Saskatchewan.

On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the BC government’s five-year legal campaign aimed at stopping CCD from challenging BC’s outdated and unconstitutional forced psychiatric treatment laws. The court not only rejected the government’s appeal, but also confirmed that CCD has the legal right to bring the case forward and granted CCD, Public Interest Standing. In an extraordinary move, the Court also ordered that the government pay for all legal costs associated with this unnecessary delay.

2023 - In June 2023, Heather Walkus, CCD Chairperson, traveled with the CEO of the CTA and three of their staff members to Whitehorse and Dawson City, Yukon, to meet with airports and small air carriers and their staff. The purpose was to gain a better understanding of the barriers and realities that small carriers and air terminals face in pursuing inclusive and accessible air travel to inform the development of regulations for these small carriers and airports that are not included under the ATPDR.

2024 – CCD has worked diligently through its Transportation Team, with our member organizations and the intersectional cross disability and Deaf communities in Canada and Internationally and have developed a vast amount of expertise of the Industry, and the analysis of the issues with the laws and legal precedence, within our rights holder organizations. We continue to meet with all areas of the Federal Transportation industry and work towards address the many barriers.

This is CCD’s 48th year of utilizing our expertise to bring about significant systemic change towards full access and inclusion within Canada’s Federal Transportation System. Through our submission to the House of Commons of Canada’, Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, we will address some of the most pressing systemic changes and alignments needed, that will inform the members of this committee of the insights and analysis from the Disability Community.   

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