It is International Day of Person with Disabilities today which is one of those reflective days for me in how we as a society are doing to improve experiences and access for persons with disabilities. This year’s theme from the United Nations is Fostering disability inclusive societies for advancing social progress, which highlights how inclusion needs to include persons with disabilities to achieve the goal of having societies that are sustainable and inclusive for everyone.
This past year has been interesting as I have had three elections which have shifted priorities of where I live and work. The most noticeable shift is where the focus is on disability and accessibility that the governments take (or not take). For example, in Nova Scotia, we do have the Accessibility Act with an ambitious plan in place to be accessible by 2030. But, we also have the Human Rights Remedy that the provincial government is required to meet due to violating persons with disabilities’ human rights. There is a shift in prioritizing the Human Rights Remedy due to its legal requirements. While it is incredibly important, it only affects a proportion of the disability community compared to the Accessibility Act. With this in mind, claiming that you are focused on persons with disabilities when the focus is specific, is a challenging place to be because the overall goal is to improve the quality of life of persons with disabilities.
We still need to have the conversation of what is needed to be fully inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities. That is what this day provides, the opportunities to have those discussions and provide attention to the issues that persons with disabilities are experiencing. I have a few opportunities to listen and learn below. You can also look to your local community to see if there are discussions and events that are happening.
UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Ability to Rise: Celebrating Leaders in Inclusion
Disability Poverty in Canada: Learning from Today to Make Tomorrow Better