Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship (CURA) Archives
Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship
October 29, 2010
Disability Poverty: An Unacknowledged Reality
In Ottawa, at a national forum called End Exclusion 2010, people with disabilities and their allies are challenging the myth that people with disabilities are "well taken care of in Canadian society." We are speaking out about the realities of living in poverty with a disability. People with disabilities, researchers and policy analysts will present new knowledge and policy alternatives to existing Canadian income security programs. End Exclusion is coordinated by the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD), Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) and Canada Without Poverty (CWP). Read more.
October 28, 2010
Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship: End Exclusion 2010
At End Exclusion 2010, people with disabilities will be speaking out about the realities of living in poverty during an economic downturn. In addition to explaining how poverty limits the choices and opportunities available to Canadians with disabilities, the organizers of this event will be sharing policy for addressing disability poverty. Read more.
September 16, 2010
END EXCLUSION 2010
The Council of Canadians with Disabilities and the Canadian Association for Community Living in partnership with Canada Without Poverty invite you to add your voice to a national dialogue on poverty and disability: END EXCLUSION 2010. Read more.
June 16, 2010
Income Programs and Social Rights and Wrongs
Social rights & citizenship--These terms have public meaning and political significance in Canada. Full citizenship is a core objective and key message of the disability movement. Social programs, such as health care, seen as contributing to national identity and sense of belonging. Read more.
March 16, 2009
Disability, Poverty and Citizenship: A Short Note
Yvonne Peters and Michael J. Prince present a shared understanding of three key concepts—poverty, substantive equality and economic independence—to guide future work in CCD's CURA research project. Read more.
Demographic Profile
November 1, 2011
Gender, Disability and Low Income
This fact sheet compares the rates at which men and women with and without disabilities experience low incomes. Read more.
November 1, 2011
Trying to ?Make the Grade?: Education, Work-Related Training
This fact sheet looks at the education, work-related training and low-income status of Canadians with and without disabilities. Read more.
November 1, 2011
From Coast to Coast: Provincial Rates of Low-Income among Canadians With and Without Disabilities
This fact sheet looks at the low income rates of people with and without disabilities in each province, and also compares the rates of low-income among people living in rural and urban communities who do and do not have disabilities. Read more.
June 22, 2011
On the Home Front: Poverty, Disability, Housing and Help with Everyday Activities
This fact sheet looks at the relationship between poverty, disability, living arrangements and residential needs of Canadians with and without disabilities. Read more.
June 22, 2011
Low Household Income and Disability: Income Sources, Employment and Employment Discrimination
This fact sheet looks at the relationship between poverty, disability and income-related characteristics of Canadians with and without disabilities. Read more.
June 22, 2011
Personally Speaking: Poverty and Disability in Canada
This fact sheet looks at the relationship between poverty, disability and selected other personal characteristics of Canadians. Read more.
June 30, 2010
Disabling Poverty and Enabling Citizenship: Understanding the Poverty and Exclusion of Canadians with Disabilities
Despite Canada’s obligations under international agreements and the staggering costs associated with the non-employment of people with disabilities, relatively little has been written about people with disabilities who are living on low incomes. The present report aims to help close that knowledge gap. The research draws primarily from Statistics Canada’s Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) of 2006 and provides a profile of people with disabilities in terms of their general socio-demographic characteristics such age, gender, visible minority and Aboriginal person status, education level and labour force status and in terms of selected disability-specific characteristics that are discussed in the body of the report. Read more.
September 23, 2009
As a Matter of Fact: Poverty and Disability in Canada
Based on the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) of 2006, people with disabilities make up 16.5% of the adult population 15 years and older in Canada, or nearly 4.2 million people. PALS is Statistics Canada's 'flagship' survey on disability. Read more.
Legal Protections
June 24, 2011
Accommodation in the 21st Century
In this first excursion into the jurisprudence, we have been interested in identifying some of the “knots” that may need to be unraveled if the jurisprudence is to move forward fruitfully for Canadians with disabilities. Read more.
July 8, 2010
Canadian Legal Literature Addressing Social and Economic Rights of People with Disabilities: An Annotated Bibliography
CURA team members have created an annotated bibliography which is intended as a resource for academics, students, advocates, and community members interested in the role that law has played—and can play—in remedying poverty experienced by people with disabilities. Read more.
June 30, 2010
How Human Rights Legislation is Dealing with Serious Disabilities that Tend to Result in Social Judgment and Social Exclusion
This report considers whether statutory human rights litigation is serving the needs of persons with permanent, lifelong disabilities who are chronically unemployed, underemployed, and marginalized in Canadian society. Read more.
June 30, 2010
Overview of Complaints under Human Rights Legislation Regarding Access to Services for Persons with Disabilities
The report addresses issues, trends, and obstacles facing complainants in cases involving discrimination in services and accommodation. These cases tend to be critical for persons with disabilities, as they often have far-reaching implications regarding accessibility to, and the inclusivity of, core institutions, facilities, and services (e.g. education, transportation, communication, public buildings, etc.). Read more.
June 30, 2010
An Overview of the Duty To Accommodate and Undue Hardship in Human Rights Jurisprudence
This report highlights the key human rights cases that have contributed to the principle of the duty to accommodate and the defence of undue hardship under human rights legislation. It further assesses how the duty to accommodate has affected the claims of persons with disabilities. Read more.
June 29, 2010
An Overview of the Comparator Group Analysis in Human Rights Jurisprudence
The report addresses a relatively recent trend in Canadian human rights jurisprudence: the importation of the comparator group analysis from the section 15 Charter context into the analytical framework for statutory human rights adjudication. The comparator group analysis, which requires claimants to prove that they have been treated differently than a specific group which mirrors their characteristics save for the alleged ground of discrimination, has been sharply criticized for being antithetical to substantive equality. The details of this argument and the pitfalls of the comparator group analysis are provided elsewhere, and are not the focus of this report. Suffice it to say that this development is particularly troubling for persons with disabilities and other equality-seeking groups who have spent years fighting for judicial recognition that equality is not always achieved by same treatment, but rather often requires that true differences be taken into account and accommodated so as to render society inclusive and accessible. Read more.
June 29, 2010
An Overview of the Human Rights Jurisprudence Underpinning the Test for Prima Facie Discrimination
This report highlights the key human rights cases that have contributed to the current test for establishing prima facie discrimination under human rights legislation. It further assesses how the test for prima facie discrimination has impacted on the rights claims of persons with disabilities. Read more.
June 28, 2010
The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
In 50 articles, the CRPD clearly articulates what existing human rights mean within a disability context and establishes reporting and monitoring procedures for States Parties. Read more.
Income Security Reform
January 17, 2012
Advancing the Participation of People with Disabilities in the Labour Market: International Practices and Lessons
This presentation by Michael J. Prince examines what policies act as barriers to labour market participation for people with disabilities and what policies act as facilitators. Read more.
December 21, 2011
IN UNISON: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues
This report sets the stage for governments, persons with disabilities, disability advocates, communities, employers, labour and the non-profit sector to jointly focus on disability issues. It builds on the framework document entitled "In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues," which was released in 1998 by federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for social services. Read more.
December 18, 2011
Highlights of End Exclusion 2011
Check out the information shared at End Excluison 2011. Read more.
December 18, 2011
Key Messages from End Exclusion 2011 Round Tables
Participants at End Exclusion 2011 shared their views with the Disabling Poverty/Enabling Citizenship research team. Read more.
December 18, 2011
Notes from Presentation by Lived Experience of Poverty Panelist Laurence Parent
I was asked to speak about personal experiences, what it is like to be living in Quebec in 2011 with physical disabilities. Read more.
December 18, 2011
Notes from Presentation by Lived Experience of Poverty Panelist Laurie Larson
I am a caregiver with no pension of my own. How will I support myself? Will I be faced with living in poverty? Is that the price I will pay for loving and raising my children? Last night, we celebrated 30 years of achievements. With a little effort and commitment, and some political will, we could add ending the poverty of families raising children with disabilities to our list of achievements. Many families across this country are counting on us to do that. Read more.
December 14, 2011
IN UNISON: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues
As Ministers of Social Services, we have developed this document together in response to the request by First Ministers in June 1996, and reaffirmed in December 1997, to make disability issues a collective priority in the pursuit of social policy renewal. Read more.
November 25, 2011
Welfare? Or What? Shifting thinking about poverty reduction and income programs
The process of considering the possibility of a new income program has led to some important conversations that are relevant across the country as other provinces and territories consider review and reform of income programs as part of their anti-poverty interventions. Read more.
November 22, 2011
Celebrating Our Accomplishments
We have produced this booklet both to celebrate our success and to help others understand the contribution of the disability rights movement in Canada.
Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon, far left, observes as U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, second from left, meets members of the Canadian delegation, including CCD's Steve Estey. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
November 17, 2011
Social Assistance Disability Income Expenditures
“Because they are often excluded from the regular workforce, Canadians who become disabled or those who have disabilities are forced to rely on social assistance programs,” explains social policy consultant John Stapleton of Open Policy Ontario. “Over the past five years alone, the social assistance share of total disability income programs has risen to almost 29% across Canada, even higher in Ontario. The clear trend is toward the ‘welfare-ization’ of disability benefits.” Read more.
November 16, 2011
Canadians with disabilities recognize political allies, denounce the 'welfarization' of disability benefits
"Because they are often excluded from the regular workforce, Canadians who become disabled or those who have disabilities are forced to rely on social assistance programs," explains social policy consultant John Stapleton of Open Policy Ontario. "Over the past five years alone, the social assistance share of total disability income programs has risen to almost 29% across Canada, even higher in Ontario. The clear trend is toward the ‘welfare-ization’ of disability benefits." Read more.
November 11, 2011
Disability lens evaluation of four provincial poverty reduction strategies: Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Nova Scotia
This report reviews the poverty reduction strategies of Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia. Read more.
End Exclusion supporters rally in support of an accessible and inclusive Canada.