This information page is for Canadian Federal Election coverage for Canadians with disabilities.
Information. The final results and aftermath of election
SELFADVOCATENET.COM wants to Congratulate Justin Trudeau and Liberal Party of Canada
on them becoming our Majority govt of Canada
| LIB | CON | NDP | BQ | GRN |
| 184 seats |
99 seats |
44 seats |
10 seats |
1 seat |
| 54.4% | 29.2% | 13% | 2.9% | 0.3% |
Here is more detail on cbc final results of ridings and map of who in and who out
http://www.cbc.ca/news2/interactives/results-2015/
Here is some of headlines the aftermath of the 2015 Canadian Federal Election
http://www.democracynow.org/2015/10/20/headlines
http://www.castanet.net/news/BC/150115/B-C-splits-along-party-lines
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/5967610-trudeau-liberals-triumph-harper-steps-down-as-leader/
http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/237794093/justin-trudeau-to-become-new-canadian-pm
Here is the promises made by Justin Trudeau and the liberal party of Canada on disability related promises
http://www.aoda.ca/federal-liberal-party-promises-to-introduce-canadians-with-disabilities-act/
http://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2448348/new-plan-for-a-strong-middle-class.pdf
- The Liberal party of Canada has joined forces with Essential Accessibility in order to make their website more accessible (you can download keyboard and mouse solutions free of charge).
- On their website the Liberal Party has included their plan for accessible customer service in which they state that “The Liberal Party of Canada has developed a plan in accordance with the Accessibility for Ontarian s with Disabilities Act to ensure that the services offered by their party are done in an inclusive way in accordance with the act”.
- Policy platform related to disabilities and accessibility:
- Cancel the Conservative government’s plan to change the eligibility for old age security from 67 to 65.
- The Liberal party believes that the Federal government must show leadership and work in collaboration with provincial and territorial partners to address critical health care issues such as reduced wait times and strengthening home and seniors care.
- Saving home mail delivery.
- Work to ensure that more minorities are reflecte in positions of leadership by adopting a federal government wide open and merit based appointment process
- The Liberal party will introduce lifetime pensions for injured veterans.
- Negotiate a new Health Accord with provinces and territories, including a long-term agree3ment on funding.
- Deliver more and better home care services for all Canadians including more access to high quality in-home caregivers, financial supports for family care, and palliative care.
- Make the Employment Insurance and Compassionate Care Benefit more flexible and easier to access, so that it provides help for more than just end-of-life care.
- Eliminate systemic barriers and deliver equality of opportunity to all Canadians living with disabilities. Consult with provinces, territories and other stakeholders to introduce a National Disabilities Act.
- and assisted suicide issue
The Liberals also promised to fund the Court Challenges Program (CCP), which is good news for Canada’s equality seeking community. CCD obtained CCP funding to successfully challenge, in the courts, VIA Rail’s purchase of inaccessible passenger cars. “CCD has been calling for re-instatement of the Court Challenges Program and is pleased to see the Liberal Party commitment,” stated Laurie Beachell, CCD National Coordinator.
In the Affordable Housing Framework, Liberals promised to address the housing needs of persons with disabilities. “Augmenting inclusive policies and programs with specific measures identified by the disability community is the best way to remove the barriers that prevent Canadians with disabilities from fully enjoying their human rights,” said Tony Dolan National Chairperson of CCD.
The Platform acknowledged that too many people with disabilities live in poverty, however, it did not elaborate on specifics. “Canadians with disabilities have called for a refundable disability tax credit as a first step in addressing disability poverty but this was not specifically addressed in the Platform,” stated Marie White, Chairperson of CCD’s Social Policy Committee.
Digital technologies are a priority for the Liberals but their Platform did not address how they would ensure that technology develops in a way that ensures accessibility for persons with disabilities. They did commit to direct Elections Canada to develop “online voting options” which could remove barriers for those with vision impairments. The Platform’s section on Transportation did not make accessibility for persons with disabilities a priority.
Canadians with disabilities see themselves reflected within the Liberal Party Platform. CCD reminds all Federal Parties, that Canadians with disabilities are students, moms and dads, caregivers, workers, immigrants, environmentalists etc… To deliver equality of result all Federal policies, programs and services must respond to the needs of people with disabilities
Liberals will invest in the middle class and those working hard to join it by making it easier to find an affordable place to call home, said
the Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, today.
“Safe, adequate, and affordable housing is essential to building strong families, strong communities, and a strong economy,” said Mr. Trudeau. “We have a plan to make housing more affordable for those who need it most – seniors, persons with disabilities, lower-income families, and Canadians working hard to join the middle class.”
A Liberal government will restore federal leadership on affordable housing by investing in a comprehensive National Housing Strategy that will:
- Prioritize significant new investments in affordable housing and seniors’ facilities, as part of the Liberals’ historic ten-year investment of nearly $20 billion in social infrastructure
- Provide $125 million per year in tax incentives to increase and substantially renovate the supply of rental housing across Canada;
- Finance the construction of new, affordable rental housing for middle- and low-income Canadians;
- Inventory all available federal lands and buildings to see what could be repurposed, and make it available at low cost for affordable housing in communities where there is a pressing need;
- Modernize the existing Home Buyers’ Plan so that it helps more Canadians finance the purchase of a home; and
- Review escalating home prices in high-priced markets – like Vancouver and Toronto – to keep home ownership within reach for Canadians living in these areas.
2011 CCD Election Challenge
4 April 2011
During every Federal Election, CCD provides a disability rights overview of Party Platforms to ensure that members of the public are aware of the different approaches to disability issues that are being put forward by Canada’s Federal Parties. On 3 April 2011, the Liberal Party of Canada released to Canadians its Election 2011 Platform, “Your Family. Your Future. Your Canada.”, using live video streaming over the internet. In this edition of the 2011 CCD Election Challenge, CCD will comment on (1) the specific disability promises made by the Liberals, (2) the general commitments made by the Party and (3) how they presented their Platform to the Canadian public.
CCD has challenged Canada’s parties to address: the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, poverty, labour market issues, and issues relating to access, inclusion and the citizenship of persons with disabilities. The Liberal Party of Canada made commitments in these areas, either in a measure aimed specifically for people with disabilities or in a more generic manner.
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Under the heading of “Equality of Opportunity for Canadians with Disabilities” the Liberal Party promised to “work with the provinces, territories, disabled Canadians and their organizations to develop an action plan for implementing the Convention, monitoring and reporting to the public on progress (Page 62).” Led by CCD and the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL), in February, over 100 disability organizations issued a call, in a nonpartisan way, for a CRPD Action Plan; obviously, Michael Ignatieff’s Liberals paid attention to the disability community, committing to the action plan in the Red Book.
Poverty
The Liberal Platform promised to address poverty. As Canada Without Poverty commented, “This commitment represents a major step forward to securing strong federal leadership on poverty issues.” In the Platform, disability poverty was acknowledged. For example, the Platform made the following statement, “Too many Canadians with disabilities live in poverty, are unemployed or lack access to goods and services. More must be done to remove the barriers between them and equality of opportunity (Page 62).” The Platform also stated, “Too many Canadians with disabilities don’t enjoy the same standard of living as others (Page 54).” CCD had challenged the parties to make a commitment to a Refundable Disability Tax credit but this level of specificity was not in the Platform.
Income-The Platform committed to addressing the matter of equal pay for equal work, an issue that it identified as being of concern to Canadians with disabilities.
Pensions—Pension income was another topic that was given considerable attention by the Liberal Platform. The Liberal Platform did not forget people with disabilities when discussing pensions. The Platform stated, “We will boost the GIS benefit for low-income seniors by $700 million per year, strengthening an important tool in the effort to eliminate poverty among seniors, especially older women and seniors with disabilities (Page 32).” The issue raised by the Nortel employees on long-term disability was also addressed by the Platform. It stated, “A Liberal government will take additional steps to ensure that Canada’s pension regime protects society’s most vulnerable. We will ensure that those collecting long-term disability benefits are given greater protection in the event that the company providing the benefit goes bankrupt. We will also create a stranded pension agency. In the event that an employer goes bankrupt, this agency will give Canadian workers a chance to transfer their pensions into the Canada Pension Plan so that their assets can continue to grow through a secure investment vehicle, rather than having their pension simply placed in a low-return annuity (Page 32).” The Liberals also addressed veterans with disabilities, indicating they would examine “whether the disability award should continue to be a lump-sum payment (Page 84).”
Genetic Discrimination by Insurers and Employers—In the Platform, the Liberals committed to addressing genetic discrimination by insurance companies and employers. It states, “Today, even people without symptoms can be denied life, mortgage and disability insurance and even rejected for employment based on genetic testing that shows risk of future illness. A Liberal government will introduce measures, including possible legislative change, to prevent this discrimination (Page 37).”
Access to Justice
CCD has been working for many years to improve access to justice for people with disabilities. One of CCD’s main priorities has been the reinstatement of the Court Challenges Program (CCP), which assisted CCD, and other equality seeking groups, by funding Equality Rights test case litigation. The Liberal Platform committed to reinstating the CCP.
Access and Inclusion
The Liberal Party platform, in generic measures, touched on matters that are of concern to Canadians with disabilities.
Housing—The Liberal Party made a commitment to addressing the housing concerns of Canadians with disabilities in its Affordable Housing Framework. The Platform stated, “The new Framework will promote progress on the particular needs of people with disabilities, as well as Northern and Aboriginal communities. It will also recognize that affordable housing is one major piece of the larger puzzle for reducing poverty (Page 55).”
Information and Communication Technology (ICT)—There were many references to the digital world in the Liberal Platform, but the issue was not addressed using a disability lens. For example, the Platform stated, “Closing the Digital Divide. Research shows that Internet skills lead to real economic benefits, including lower prices for consumers and more competitive small business. A Liberal government will work with all partners to promote digital life skills and training, in particular for older Canadians and lower income families (Page 19).” While ICT holds a great deal of promise for people with disabilities, it is also creating many new barriers. These barriers were apparent during the online release of the Liberal Platform. There was no captioning on the streaming video. The PDF version of the platform had access barriers.
Transportation—The Liberal Platform included a sizeable section on transportation. Unfortunately, none of the many transportation concerns of people with disabilities were specifically addressed by the Platform.
Drug Costs—The Liberal Platform included measures on the cost of prescription medications. The Liberals made the commitment to “work with the provinces and territories to ensure that all Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast have a drug plan that covers the cost of prescription drugs for illnesses such as cancer, diabetes or arthritis that can be financially catastrophic to families (Page 38).” This is good news for Canadians with disabilities, who use prescription drugs.
Immigration—While the Platform addressed immigration, it did not make any commitment to resolve Canada’s discrimination against immigrants with disabilities.
Federalism—CCD has been calling for the Government of Canada to be a leader on disability issues. The Red Book signals that a Liberal Government would be prepared to exert Federal leadership. This could be good news for Canadians with disabilities. Historically, the Federal Government has been a leader in creating opportunities for people with disabilities. For example, the Federal Government has been a strong supporter of Independent Living in Canada.
Voting—The Liberal Platform indicates that a Liberal Government would instruct Elections Canada to begin addressing online voting. If done in an accessible manner, online voting could address a number of access concerns for the disability community, such as independently verifying one’s vote. The current paper ballot system presents a barrier to persons who are handicapped by print.
CCD Will Share A Disability Rights Analysis on Platforms
CCD eagerly awaits the full election platforms from the Conservatives, the NDP, the Bloc Quebecois and the Green Party. CCD will apply a disability lens to the Platforms of all the major Federal Parties and share its views with its members, the media and the general public.
As government, the Liberals will elminate the $1,000 Labour Market Impact Assessment fee that Canadian families must pay when looking for caregivers from abroad to help family members with physical or mental disabilities.
The Liberals will also work with the provinces and territories to develop a system of regulated companies to hire caregivers on behalf of families.
