Okay. As you said, my name is Michelle Gillis. I'm the executive director of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities.
Ours is a non-governmental organization. It is a territorial council that serves all persons with disabilities, right across the north. At present, the majority of our funding comes from a contribution agreement through the territorial government, private foundations and grant moneys, as well as fundraising.
We have a number of programs and offer a number of services, including a 1-800 number, a parking placard system, and community outreach. Right now we're in the process of creating some new programs for our new fiscal year, which begins on April 1.
I'm new to the position as of September, but I'm a lifelong northerner. I am originally from Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
Our organization is run by a board of directors that is representative of people throughout the NWT.
Thank you, committee members, special guests, and stakeholders, for giving me the opportunity to address your organization today on this very important matter.
The NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities has a large clientele, with many different types of disabilities, right across the north. We provide information and assistance to whomever may require it.
Our mission is to achieve self-determination and full citizenship for persons with disabilities. We do this by promoting awareness, opportunities, choices, and participation in all aspects of life in the Northwest Territories.
I'd like to begin with the words of a participant at the Feeding Change forum held in Ottawa, Ontario, in 2007, who said that the poverty of aboriginal people may be better addressed by righting inequality rather than focusing on poverty itself, which could be a symptom of inequality.
This is very much the same for persons with disabilities. At present, persons with disabilities do not receive the same opportunities as other people and are, for the most part, low income, impoverished, or a paycheque away from poverty. This is very sad. People with disabilities lack enough income to properly cover the burdens of a disability.
Increased health care costs and prescription coverage, mobility aids, adaptations to the home and workplace, as well as other essential items, in addition to their regular living expenses, make it almost unbearable. People with disabilities have so much more to worry about, and the majority face poverty because of the inequality surrounding their disability.
In terms of the right to education, work, and a livelihood, we as a country and a government are not ensuring that persons with disabilities are getting a proper education right from kindergarten. We're not allowing each person in Canada the right to education. In the north, we are very remote and lack educational resources. People have little or no access to public spaces and institutions. We're setting up our people for failure later on.
How do we as Canadians expect people to look after themselves when we do not even give them the opportunity to educate themselves and become self-sufficient? We need to encourage our government to ensure that all persons have the right to education, the right to live and play in all areas, and to grow and flourish.
Children with disabilities often require a higher level of care, which can create increased stress for a family and can mean families must sacrifice school and work opportunities to provide the necessary level of caregiving. Parents who cannot work or go to school because of the extra demands of having a child with a disability may be more likely to experience poverty, which can affect the health and well-being of their children and themselves, as well as threaten the stability of the family unit.
Providing proper support to parents who have children with disabilities can increase the strength and capacity of families, decrease burnout, and allow other family members to access employment and educational opportunities. All of these things are essential in breaking the cycle of poverty for a family.
The other issue, which is a very important one, is the issue of the working poor. This relates to those who do have a good job, but because of the extreme cost of their own or their family member's disability, in addition to the high cost of living, are actually below the poverty line. This also makes them ineligible for social programs, as the government usually only considers income levels and not the circumstances or the related expenses.
So perhaps a review of government program eligibility criteria is a good idea.
Poverty often creates secondary disabilities in addition to the primary one. For example, an individual cannot work because of a primary disability and cannot afford groceries. He becomes malnourished and develops a whole host of secondary disabilities.
People need to adjust their perceptions, as well as provide opportunities for persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are shut out of everyday opportunities because people are looking at their disabilities instead of their abilities.
When people do not access these vital tools, they become welfare recipients. Even worse, they may end up homeless, in jail, or even, sadly, dead. When persons with disabilities end up living off social assistance, they already have higher expenses to account for, but they are not always given the opportunity to find their niche.
It is assumed, due to ignorance, that because individuals have disabilities, they have nothing to contribute. Our clients end up barely getting by and being hungry because their system has failed them and hasn't trained them for the normal workforce.
Everyone has something to contribute. We just have to change the way we think and provide these opportunities to everyone regardless of disabilities. Let's not discriminate; let's amend our present workforce to account for these part-time positions or adapted positions to help employ disabled persons.
On affordable and accessible housing, all across the country people are in poverty because of the national housing crisis. The worst housing conditions are within aboriginal communities. The lack of affordable and accessible housing is a reality for people with disabilities. If people are lucky enough to gain housing, it is often substandard housing that they have to accept and there are no alternatives.
Often low-income housing is used for persons with disabilities and not properly adapted for them. Housing without proper adaptations can cause accidents or death among the disabled. People often don't leave their homes because of worry about falling or injury. They often don't bathe as much as they would like because of unsuitable washroom facilities, and they are more prone to infection because of this.
Because of the small number of homes that are available, people most often live with other family members in order to make do. Often the disabled are then taken advantage of and even sometimes abused.
When there is overcrowding and hidden homelessness in the north, you have sexual abuse, incest, and other violent situations. This is no different for people with disabilities, as they are often fragile or in a vulnerable state. We owe our communities the opportunity to have adapted housing but also, for the privacy of individuals, the right to independent living.
On affordable food and necessities, at present the cost of food is a huge problem for people in the north. The federal government has implemented programs to help assist with this cost. However, the savings are not being passed on to the customers in many different communities. Suppliers or retail outlets often take advantage of these savings, and at present they are not mandated to pass these savings on to the consumer. Individuals who are low-income and/or on welfare are the people who need to get the lowest prices. However, not having luxuries like credit cards makes it impossible for people to take part in these programs.
Essentially, the people who need this program the most don't benefit at all. Persons with disabilities have extra cost burdens, in addition to food and shelter. Factor in medical costs and prescription drugs and this makes it impossible for someone to survive from day to day. This is the very reason why there is malnutrition. In each community across the north, access to food banks has increased and more and more people are fighting to get food on the table each and every day.
In summary, how do we break this cycle? It is simple. Ensure that persons with disabilities are treated equally and have the same rights and freedoms as each and every other Canadian. In this way they can make lives for themselves so that they can teach their children to contribute to society.
Let's make training and employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. We also need core funding for vital social programs, like the Council of Persons with Disabilities. Let's adapt our buildings, schools, and public spaces so that all persons can take part in daily activities. But let's also adapt the way we think as a society.
People are often discriminated against or not supported simply due to ignorance. This will ensure that people learn, work, and apply themselves. It will also ensure that those persons who absolutely need social programs are able to access them. Let's help people help themselves.
Just because someone is disabled does not mean he or she is not capable; all persons have abilities. This will not eliminate poverty, but it will help reduce it. We must start somewhere.
If I could, I'll go through the recommendations, Mr. Chair.