Thank you.
We wish to thank the Government of Canada for seeking our input on the future of this important initiative for Canadians and for disabled women. We wish to also thank the Algonquin people for sharing their traditional lands with us, and we thank the Creator for this opportunity to speak with you, in the hope that the Canadian government will restore the court challenges program, and even enhance it, to demonstrate both to its citizens and the world Canada's commitment of access to equality and human rights.
DAWN Canada is a national organization whose mission is to end the poverty, isolation, discrimination, and violence experienced by women with disabilities. DAWN began in 1985, and its incorporation was granted in 1992.
Because I know we only have five minutes, I'm going to go straight to the impacts of the closure and to the recommendations, and then I'll come back for whatever time is left.
The equality interests of women with disabilities continue to be underrepresented—or in many cases non-existent—in the development of government policy and program delivery. Likewise, there are very few equality test cases that deal with the many levels of discrimination experienced by women with disabilities. Therefore, DAWN Canada and its affiliates must continue to use every opportunity to continue to seek equality rights for women with disabilities.
The court challenges program provides funding for equality-seeking groups to meet and explore what issues might be tested in the courts; to develop tools to help people understand their charter rights; and to take cases to court on the grounds that a particular law or policy practice discriminates against women with disabilities. Potential impacts of the closure are that Canada would not be in compliance with its federal government obligation, under section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to promote and protect the equality rights of disadvantaged persons in Canada. DAWN is puzzled as to why the Canadian government would want to weaken access to rights protection when it observes that our government frequently calls on other nations to enhance human rights protections for their citizens.
Though the court challenges program has been pointed to in part as a means of compliance with international human rights committees, there is no indication of how we might continue such compliance in the absence of the court challenges program. Will this measure send a message to our international partners that we in Canada no longer care and, worse, also send a message at home and abroad that continued discrimination might be acceptable?
The costs of legal challenges are impossible for the average citizen, let alone disabled women. Disabled women, as an additionally disadvantaged group, should have additional help and protections for their charter rights and their ability to pursue them. Closure of the court challenges program will put any hope of this protection out of their reach. I refer you to DAWN Canada's presentation to you on May 3, 2007, on the economic security of women, for a detailed description of the poverty we live in.
There has been growing concern over the increase in the number of self-represented cases as people have had to resort to taking on their own legal work in order to pursue their rights. A further increase in this process may be a result of the closure of the court challenges program. Court challenges programs were successful in nine out of the twelve cases DAWN has participated in, suggesting that this program was meaningful and relevant for assisting disabled women to achieve justice in policies that had unintended negative consequences for their lives. A list of these, along with a summation of them, will be submitted with the written report that follows this oral submission. We respectfully recommend the reinstatement and enhancement of the court challenges program.
Government also needs to reclaim its legislative powers. Rights protection bodies, like the appeals tribunals and ombudsmen of government, need to have the ability and power to compel equality rights. Make legal aid widely available to impoverished people in pursuit of their rights, and provide funded programs for people to assist them with their applications for programs. The inability to perform this task, either by them or the professionals required to provide supportive documentation, is inadequate to uphold legitimate requests, and this then results in needless repetition and appeal processes.
Thank you.