Inside:
News from CACL 2
Canadian
documentary:
The R Word
3
International Day
of Persons with
Disabilities
4
Community Homes
Action Group
Rally
5
Up On The Hill 6
TYZE Online
Networks
Local Chapter
Contact Info
7
More From CACL
Family Forums
8
Nova Scotia
Association
for
Community
Living
Winter 2012
You are invited to the NSACL Open House
Wednesday, December 19th, 2012
1:00 - 3:00 p.m. NSACL Office
22-24 Dundas Street, Suite 100 Dartmouth
HAPPY HOLIDAYS
2
NEWS from CACL:
Victory at the Supreme Court of
Canada on the Right to Education
The Canadian Association for Community Living
(CACL) and the BC Association for Community Liv-
ing (BCACL) applaud the ground-breaking judgment
delivered by the Supreme Court of Canada on the right
to equal access to education Moore v. British Colum-
bia. The case began 15 years ago with a complaint to
the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal on be-
half of Jeffrey Moore who has significant learning dis-
abilities and at the time was a student receiving special
education services. The complaint alleged discrimina-
tion on the basis of disability by the North Vancouver
School District and the British Columbia Ministry of
Education for the period of June 1992 to June 1995,
when the special education services he was receiving
were cut and no other alternative was provided.
The complaint was made on the basis that Jeffrey was
denied a “service customarily available to the public”
under s. 8 of the B.C. Human Rights Code. As the
case made its way through the Tribunal, the B.C. Su-
preme Court and Court of Appeal, and eventually to
the Supreme Court of Canada, it became clear that one
of the central issues was the nature of the ‘service’ to
which Jeffrey was denied. If the service was simply
special educational services and Jeffrey was treated
the same as all other special needs students whose ser-
vices were cut, as the respondents argued, then the
claim of discrimination would not be allowed. This is
precisely the conclusion that the B.C. Supreme Court
and Court of Appeal arrived at, against the finding of
discrimination found by the B.C. Human Rights Tri-
bunal.
CACL intervened in this case to take a very strong
position that the ‘service’ to which Jeffrey was entitled
was public education, and the students he should be
compared to were all other students who were entitled
to general education. Our view is that special educa-
tion services should be seen as a support and as a
means to enable access to and inclusion in quality
public education, to which all citizens are entitled.
Special education is not an end in itself, and Jeffrey’s
access to special education should not be compared
simply with other students who may require special
education services. Rather, the question must be, are
students with disabilities obtaining the supports they
require to fully participate and be included in educa-
tion services like any other students?
Today is a watershed day for access to quality inclu-
sive education in Canada," said Laurie Larson, presi-
dent of the Canadian Association for Community Liv-
ing (CACL). "The Supreme Court of Canada got it
right. It may be too late for many of our kids who are
graduating from school this year and in the past. But
the direction to governments is unequivocal. Special
education in many parts of this country needs radical
redesign.”
“Special education has been a ‘dead end’ for far too
many students with disabilities," said Michael Bach,
CACL Executive Vice-President. "This judgment
makes it clear once and for all that children with dis-
abilities are entitled to the educational supports they
require to be fully included in school. The real test of
special education services is whether they provide the
‘ramp’ to educational services to which all children
are entitled. And, as required under the UN Conven-
tion on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, now
ratified by Canada such services must, by definition
and by law, be inclusive. All public education must be
redesigned to ensure inclusion for all children in Can-
ada.”
3
The Canadian Association for Community Living con-
gratulates Pierre Tétrault and Doris Rajan of Pierre
Tétrault Media Inc for their documentary The R Word
- winner of the TASH 2012 Positive Images in the
Media Award to be screened at their annual confer-
ence in Long Beach California on Nov 28th 2012.
TASH is a national organization based in Washington
that has been a leader in advocacy for people with in-
tellectual disabilities in the United States for over 35
years. The Canadian Association For Community Liv-
ing has a similar mandate in Canada and supported the
development of The R Word in its initial stages be-
fore it went on to full production with OMNI Televi-
sion. The R Word shares the experiences of people
with intellectual disabilities and their families through-
out Canada, as they often experience a pronounced
lack of financial and other supports, discriminatory
attitudes, and wide spread abuse and victimization.
The film was nominated by TASH member, parent,
activist and assistive technology specialist Marty
Sweeney. “The R Word is a powerful and important
documentary that reaches beyond the rhetoric of inclu-
sion to explore the daily challenges and practical reali-
ties faced by persons with developmental disabilities
and their families. “The R Word shares the experience
of living with a developmental disability from the per-
spectives of real people and real families” says
Sweeney. “These stories are about us—our children,
our brothers, our sisters, our friends, our neighbors
and our loved ones. It reminds us of how much we
share in common yet how far we still must travel to-
ward a truly inclusive society.”
Parent and Co-Chair of the Canadian Association for
Community Living Foundation, Zuhy Sayeed shared
her story as part of the film and in pleased to know
that the stories in the film continue to inspire and edu-
cate. “Stories that are shared demonstrate just a small
part of the lives we lead and serve as colourful snap-
shots on screen that become real to the general audi-
ence. We hope that our stories will serve to create
change in community- a change in attitudes, enabling
understanding that goes beyond a hurriedly fixed la-
bel- to the true person that shines.”
CACL President Laurie Larson says: “The R Word is
a very important film for the Community Living
movement because not only does it recount the history
of people with intellectual disabilities and their fami-
lies, it does so from the very real experience of those
who lived it. This important perspective is often over-
looked.”
Intellectual disability touches the lives of a wide diver-
sity of Canadians, including ethno-racial minorities,
immigrants, First Nations people, all income levels,
genders, and ages. It spans all regions of this country,
west to east, north and south – urban and rural. This
film profiles the lives of diverse individuals as they
face their challenges towards greater societal inclusion
and understanding.
Filmmakers and writers Pierre Tetrault and Doris Ra-
jan give audiences of The R Word a framework for
understanding the systemic marginalization experi-
enced by people with disabilities, by introducing view-
ers to the people and the families who survived abuse
and institutionalization into the experience of current
day barriers – yet whose hope and tenacity, never
breaks the human spirit.
Pierre Tétrault launched his film career with the award
winning documentary This Beggar’s Description pro-
duced by the National Film Board of Canada. Previ-
ously he developed theatre for Carousel Players before
(Continued on page 8)
Canadian documentary The R Word hon-
oured by American non-profit organization
for its portrayal of people with intellectual
disabilities and their families.
4
December 3, 2012
Over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent
of the world’s population, live with some form of dis-
ability.
Persons with disabilities, “the world’s largest minor-
ity”, often face barriers to participation in all aspects
of society. Barriers can take a variety of forms, includ-
ing those relating to the physical environment or to
information and communications technology (ICT), or
those resulting from legislation or policy, or from so-
cietal attitudes or discrimination. The result is that per-
sons with disabilities do not have equal access to soci-
ety or services, including education, employment,
health care, transportation, political participation or
justice.
Evidence and experience shows that when barriers to
their inclusion are removed and persons with disabili-
ties are empowered to participate fully in societal life,
their entire community benefits. Barriers faced by per-
sons with disabilities are, therefore, a detriment to so-
ciety as a whole, and accessibility is necessary to
achieve progress and development for all.
The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Dis-
abilities (CRPD) recognizes that the existence of barri-
ers constitutes a central component of disability. Un-
der the Convention, disability is an evolving concept
that “results from the interaction between persons with
impairments and attitudinal and environmental barri-
ers that hinder their full and effective participation in
society on an equal basis with others.”
Accessibility and inclusion of persons with disabilities
are fundamental rights recognized by the CRPD and
are not only objectives, but also pre-requisites for the
enjoyment of other rights. The CRPD (Article 9, ac-
cessibility) seeks to enable persons with disabilities to
live independently and participate fully in all aspects
of life and development. It calls upon States Parties to
take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with
disabilities have access to all aspects of society, on an
equal basis with others, as well as to identify and
eliminate obstacles and barriers to accessibility.
In spite of this, in many parts of the world today, lack
of awareness and understanding of accessibility as a
cross-cutting development issue remains an obstacle to
the achievement of progress and development through
the Millennium Development Goals, as well as other
internationally agreed outcomes for all.
The commemoration of International Day of Persons
with Disabilities in 2012 provides an opportunity to
address this exclusion by focusing on promoting ac-
cessibility and removing all types of barriers in soci-
ety.
Taken from the UN web site
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. - Lao Tzu
5
On December 5th, Community Homes Action Group
(CHAG) organized a rally called “Crisis! Lack of Ap-
propriate Homes for Nova Scotians with Developmental
Disabilities” at the NS Legislature. NSACL was proud
to support this rally, and we were pleased with the out-
come. Approximately 100 people gathered in the rain to
raise their voices. People came from all over the prov-
ince for this event, and a smaller event also took place at
the Provincial in Sydney.
In Halifax we listened to speakers talk about the need for
a range of community based choices, and the stress the
wait lists and lack of capacity are causing. Jocelyne
Tranquilla, from NSACL gladly accepted the responsi-
bility of introducing the fabulous speakers that were on
had to share their stories and perspectives. Wendy Lill,
co-chair of CHAG, gave a synopsis of the situation.
Nova Scotia needs:
more supportive residential choices in community,
commitment to deinstitutionalization
real choices for persons with developmental disabili-
ties.
Donna Murphy and Alan Harris, both from People First
Yarmouth, took the mic and made it clear that people
belong in communities and not institutions. Jean Cole-
man, NSACL, read a powerful letter Judy Van Ameron-
gen, parent advocate. Dr. Brian Hennen spoke about
how the wait lists and lack of appropriate residential op-
tions impact the health care system. NSGEU group
home worker, Kelly Murphy, talked about the pressure
building on staff and residents because no choices exist.
We heard from Anna MacQuarrie, Inclusion Interna-
tional, about Article 19 of the UN convention on the
rights of persons with disabilities. She gave a passionate
plea to respect the human rights for choice and real
homes. Minister Peterson-Rafuse spoke, as well as
MLA's from the Liberal and Conservative parties.
Wendy Lill wrapped it up and urged everyone to con-
tinue to:
put pressure on MLAs,
get involved in the Continuing Care/Services for
Persons with Disabilities consultation process,
talk to families & friends and
let politicians know we are watching for action.
The CBC did a report on Information Morning on De-
cember 4th. Global Maritimes had coverage on the 6:00
and 11:00 news. Many thanks to Robert Devet from the
Halifax Media Coop for the coverage that he provided:
http://halifax.mediacoop.ca/story/caring-nova-scotias-
most-vulnerable/14946
We hope and pray that this grassroots expression will
have a positive impact and lead to some real commit-
ments in dollars and policies. Stay tuned for more action
in the New Year!
Rally at the Legislature “Nova Scotia raise your voices! Better homes and better choices!”
6
NSACL meets with MPs in Ottawa to
talk about Labour Market Inclusion
In November representatives from all of the provincial
ACLs, along with People First reps, met with MPs,
Ministers and other Parliamentary Officials on Parlia-
ment Hill to talk about labour market inclusion for
people with developmental disabilities.
The Canadian Association for Community Living re-
leased a book of employment stories from across the
country, titled "Ready, Willing and Able." (http://
www.cacl.ca/news-stories/blog/ready-willing-and-
able). The book and the meetings with MPs are part of
a new national CACL initiative to increase employ-
ment options for people with developmental disabili-
ties.
After a parliamentary breakfast with MPS, the ACL
staff from the different provinces met with their MP’s
to offer the information in a more up close and per-
sonal format.
We met with Peter Stouffer, Scott Bryson and Mark
Ekying.
Some of our MP’s were not available on the Hill
(Gerald Keddy, Robert Chisholm ) but met with our
Board Members at their office. They were given the
information and message.
Nova Scotia Association for Community
Up On The Hill
Jean Coleman (NSACL), Calvin Wood, (People First) Sharon
Whiteway (NSACL Board) & Scott Bryson (MP)
7
Resource for self-advocates, fami-
lies, support groups and allied or-
ganizations offered FREE through
NSACL
Tyze Online Networks
With Tyze online networks, we
can extend our services and reach
within the community. Tyze was
developed by Planned Lifetime
Advocacy Network (PLAN), and
can be used in a variety of ways to
support and connect. These secure
and private online networks help
people make plans together, share
stories, track to-do tasks and sup-
port the individuals that NSACL
serves. Tyze helps people help
each other in a meaningful and
empowering environment.
Tyze is much more than a way to
make appointments and track
tasks.
It’s a place to celebrate contribu-
tions and achievements - a way to
stay in touch with friends and
loved ones. It can also be used as a
forum for parents to connect with
one another.
For more information or to set up a
network, contact Jocelyne at
nsaclinclusioncoordintor
@gmail.com
Check out the NSACL Tyze
homepage at www.nsacl.tyze.com.
Website
http://nsacl.wordpress.com
facebook.com/nsacl
Both our website and our facebook page are regularly updated.
Check them out!
Local ACL chapters in Nova Scotia
Amherst
Phone: 667-5871
Email: [email protected]
Enfield
Phone: 758-2739
Email:
Clare
Phone:
Email:[email protected]
Halifax
Phone: 463-4752
Email: [email protected]
St. Margaret's Bay & Area
Phone: 826-7232
Email: [email protected]
Antigonish
Phone: 863-5024
Email:j [email protected]
8
R Word (continued from page 3)
joining Young People’s Theatre in Toronto as Artistic
Director. Doris Rajan is a producer, actor, writer and
filmmaker. She has enjoyed her productions of her
one-woman play Doris Does Damage and in film she
worked on This Beggar’s Description and her short
film Healing Rani which she wrote and performed in
screened at the New York International Independent
Film Festival. Their combined experience as storytell-
ers highlight important issues and bring to non-
traditional audiences an urgency to create conditions
where all people can maximize their potential without
fear of discrimination and how that process in turn
makes us all more fully human.
The R Word is available for loan at NSACL
The UN’s International Volunteer Day was estab-
lished by the UN General Assembly on December 17,
1985. Since then, governments, the UN system and
civil society organizations have successfully joined
volunteers around the world to celebrate the Day on
December 5th.
As President of NSACL I would like to take this op-
portunity to express my deepest gratitude to the many,
many volunteers, past and present, who have contrib-
uted and who continue to contribute so much of their
time, skill and passion to our cause of creating a world
that is inclusive of individuals with intellectual dis-
abilities and their families.
From our humble beginnings over 50 years ago, gath-
ered around kitchen tables, our volunteers have built a
movement with global reach.
The ways in which our volunteers contribute are many
and varied. Our volunteers began their efforts by cre-
ating a place – a space by and for families - where
they could share their fears, hopes and vision for their
child's life. They took their efforts from kitchen tables
to church basements and by the early 1960s parents
and community volunteers had created over 1000 ser-
vices in communities across Canada. They worked to
close institutions, have human rights for individuals
with disabilities included in the Charter of Rights and
Freedoms, supported the birth of the self-advocacy
movement in Canada and contributed to the creation
of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities. Today, thousands of volunteers have ex-
panded their activities to support boards of directors,
sit on school boards, and human rights commissions,
and volunteer their time to create inclusive communi-
ties through their support to friends and families,
teachers, employers, and community agencies. And
we are growing the many ways that volunteers engage
in our movement - from contributing online to blogs
and through social media, to engaging government
and elected officials in conversations about how to
build an inclusive and accessible Canada. The efforts
of our volunteers have driven so very many positive
and progressive changes to Canadian society over the
past decades.
We all acknowledge that we have far to go to achieve
complete success but remain committed heart and soul
to reaching our goals. It is due to this unshakable be-
lief in our vision and the commitment and dedication
shown by our volunteers that I am confident in our
ability to reach those goals.
Once again, thank you to our volunteers! We would
not be where we are today without you!
Lew Crews, NSACL President
OVER THE YEARS I'VE LEARNED THAT LIFE IS
TOUGH, BUT I'M TOUGHER
9
A registered nurse and the single mother of a 15-year-
old son with disabilities is both delighted and compe-
tent to provide respite care for your child/loved one
with significant disabilities and or medical needs, in my
home.
Located in Dartmouth, close to the McKay Bridge,
your child will enjoy the comfort and privacy of his or
her own bed room with a hospital bed or crib, and the
safety of constant supervision and/monitoring. My fully
accessible town-house features a private fenced in back
yard, private parking and security alarm. I am able to
provide constant supervision to children through appro-
priate monitors and 1:1 nursing care. I have oxygen in
my home.
With my bachelor of science in nursing from Dalhousie
University, my professional nursing experience in-
cludes Burns and Plastics and Vascular surgery at the
Halifax Infirmary, as well as, RJF and VON providing
nursing home care. My personal experience includes
caring for my only child. My son has cerebral palsy and
uses a wheelchair for mobility. He attends Junior High
School. He is non-verbal and uses a G-tube for nutri-
tion. We manage a seizure and movement disorder.
Sometimes he needs oxygen and oxygen monitoring
and suctioning. I employ a full-time care provider to
assist me with my son.
My experience includes:
Trachs
Oxygen and suctioning
Nutritious meals, feeding tubes and special diets
TPN and other infusions
Seizure management
Administering medications including injections
Personal care and bowel management and catheter care
Current FA/CPR, Police and Child Abuse Checks, and
CRNNS Registration
CRNNS Registration
Fees range between $10 and $30 per hour and are
based on the care and monitoring needs of your
child.
Hours are generally up to 24 hours at one time, al-
though shorter and longer periods and flat rate fees
can be negotiated on an individual bases. Week-
ends are available. New born babies and very
young infants (with or without disabilities) are also
welcome.
Please Contact:
Jennifer RN
Phone: 902-225-5993
E-Mail: [email protected]
Website:
www.respitenursern.com
10
Jean Coleman
Executive Director
Phone: 902 469-1174
E-mail: [email protected]
Jocelyne Tranquilla
Community Inclusion Coordinator
Phone: 902 817-5391
Email: [email protected]
NSACL website: nsacl.wordpress.com
Facebook: facebook.com/nsacl
CACL website : www.cacl.ca
22-24 Dundas St.
Suite 100, Dartmouth, NS
B2Y 4L2
Contact Information
Parents Supporting Parents - NSACL Family Forums
Over the past 50 years, families have built momen-
tum and created a ripple effect for a tidal wave of
positive change in the Community Living movement
by advocating for a better life for their sons and
daughters with disabilities. Families and self advo-
cates have always been at the forefront of this move-
ment. We have seen our communities brighten as a
result of communities being more welcoming and
providing more opportunities for choice.
THE STRUGGLE IS NOT OVER
In order to secure a bright future for our sons and
daughters, we need to come together and continue to
ride the wave towards a bright future. NSACL family
forums will provide an opportunity for parents to
learn from the past, understand the current situation,
and plan for the future.
Family forums are being organized in communities
across the province. Contact Jocelyne for more infor-
mation or to start organizing a forum for your com-
munity.