Evidence of meeting #118 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was c-81.
A video is available from Parliament.
Dean, Chang School, Ryerson University, As an Individual
This is the right approach. Again, I'm an educational psychologist by training, and sometimes you have to be specific, concrete with deadlines and expectations.
Dean, Chang School, Ryerson University, As an Individual
I'm sorry, I'm a former politician, so I talk too much.
Liberal
Consultant, Steering Committee, Barrier-Free Manitoba
I concur with Marie. The right is to equitable access. That's really what the right is. In Manitoba, 41% of all complaints to the human rights commission are related to disability discrimination. All of them have their roots in a lack of equitable access.
I think access is, then, the issue. It can be phrased as a human right, but it's concrete, it's real, it's what the issue is. I think, therefore, that the focus on access is entirely proper and effective.
Records Manager, Confédération des organismes de personnes handicapées du Québec
I won't comment on that, but I want to point out that Quebec has legislation that specifically concerns persons with disabilities. We remain very cautious, since the legislation will really address the barriers. We don't really know what differences this will create between the two pieces of legislation. In any event, we remain very cautious, since we can't establish comparisons with Quebec legislation.
Liberal
Bobby Morrissey Liberal Egmont, PE
Then if I only have one minute.... I thank you for your candidness and your in some cases blunt description of where the bill is inadequate. That's what the committee is here for.
I don't believe that any of your groups has had the opportunity to appear before a parliamentary committee in the past to discuss a bill such as this. Would I be correct in that? We've heard a bit about there being no deadline to make Canada fully accessible. Should the goal be to always strive to achieve a more accessible Canada or to achieve a static accessibility goal?
I'll put this probably to Mr. Falconer and Mr. Adair.
Consultant, Steering Committee, Barrier-Free Manitoba
We dealt with the issue. There's a view that the understanding of disability and accessibility evolves through time. You will never be at 100%, never.
Instrumentally and aspirationally, does it help to have a goal to which you get 95% of the way? I am firmly convinced that it does. One has to be careful that one does not drink the Kool-Aid and say, “This is 100%, and don't worry. There'll be no problems.” The reality of having a goal you can get nearly to, however, and of having a timeline attached to it would, I think, strongly reinforce the bill's effectiveness.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
I am afraid I'm going to have to cut in. One of your colleagues may share some time here.
We'll have Mr. Ruimy, please.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Maybe I will. I'll see.
Thank you all very much for coming in and making your presentations.
I want to start with Marie. I'm not sure I heard you correctly in your presentation. Did you say that the Ontario government put a freeze on the AODA?
Dean, Chang School, Ryerson University, As an Individual
When Premier Ford was first elected, basically there was a freeze on many things, and there was a freeze on the meetings for the standards development. These standards development committees had been meeting since the AODA became law in 2005. Now, however, they have unfrozen, so they are beginning to work on one of the standards.
His office did reach out and did want to talk to me, so I'm very hopeful.
Dean, Chang School, Ryerson University, As an Individual
I'm hopeful that the standards development will continue as planned and perhaps become even better, because Minister Cho is also the minister for seniors, and if we're lucky enough to get old, we'll all have a disability. I think putting this together with disabilities was a good move on Premier Ford's....
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
I'm just finding it interesting that the provincial government froze, that they had the ability to say they were going to stop all that right now. I find that a little disconcerting.
Dean, Chang School, Ryerson University, As an Individual
You have to consider that they did that for everything. Everything was frozen. Actually, the standards development committees have been re-enacted now and many other things are still frozen, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic that this is a priority for this government.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
Okay. Thank you.
Mr. Falconer, you were very strong in your words about this having been a failure. Could you give us a bit more of the timeline for when this all started and tell us whether anything has been accomplished, or is it because it's a failure...? Sometimes, when we put a timeline on something and we don't hit that timeline, it's a failure. That's the way some people look at it.
Have we made progress? Can you take us through that?
Consultant, Steering Committee, Barrier-Free Manitoba
I don't think I used the word “failure”. I'll look through my notes. I think I said “disappointment” and disappointment is perhaps a subtle, nuanced difference from “failure”. I don't think it's a failure. I think a lot of good things have happened.
Expectations were real. The commitments made by all parties.... I don't say that this was done as a feel-good exercise. Everyone wanted to get stuff done. The reality today is that disabilities have not been among the top government priorities for a long time. The reason for that, among others, is that the disability community is not well resourced. It's not like labour. It's not like business. It doesn't have champions and advocates. It doesn't have lobbyists. It doesn't have that kind of power, so there's a natural tendency for people to say, “Let's do what's right,” and then, once the pressure is off, “Maybe we could find a way to act on other priorities before we act on this priority that we made commitments to.”
I don't think the word is “failure”. I think we have had clear and unequivocal commitments made. Those commitments have not been met. There is movement towards them. Every time that happens, we provide commendation and support but the reality is that it's moving much slower than was contemplated when the act was passed in 2013.
Part of that is back to the issue of enabling language—a lot of “cans” and very few “shalls”. How can a government choose to move back when it is setting up committees? There's no requirement that they do this. It's “they can do this”. When you have that kind of latitude, when it's not a high priority, sometimes you don't follow through on what you have promised to do and what you know is the right thing to do.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
You said that there was a 10-year timeline implemented.
Consultant, Steering Committee, Barrier-Free Manitoba
This was not our suggestion, but yes there was.
October 24th, 2018 / 7:55 p.m.
Liberal
Dan Ruimy Liberal Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC
You have a 10-year timeline. You're at the halfway point.