Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

The Canadian Association of the Deaf argues that
specialized learning is often necessary for children who
are deaf because “the regular school is the least enabling
environment” for many students due to “very weak”
support services. Academic performance, language skills
acquisition and social, psychological and cultural factors,
including a lack of peers, all justify centralized deaf
schools as “a valuable option particularly for prelingually
or early-deafened children.” 137
Every province and territory except Northwest Territories
provides segregated education programs for students with
ongoing behavioural problems or those who are blind or
deaf. There are no special or segregated education
programs for Aboriginal students on reserves. 138
Recent changes to specialized learning include the
following:
• The 1999 federal budget expanded tax relief for
parents of children with disabilities to include learning
disabilities. 139
• Alberta is adding 590 full-time intern teachers for
literacy assessment and assistance in kindergarten and
Grades 1 and 2.
• Saskatchewan has devoted $3.3 million in 1998/
1999 to the Education for Vulnerable Children
program, which assists school divisions in providing
for children with special needs. A “substantial portion”
of this funding targets students with social,
behavioural and emotional difficulties.
• Despite widespread budget cuts to public services,
Ontario has maintained its special education budget at
$1.2 billion, most of which is devoted to programming
for the learning disabled. 140 However, no framework
ensures that this $1.2 billion is in fact spent on this
group of children.
• There is no information available about
accountability frameworks in other jurisdictions. 141
Services for blind or deaf students vary across the
country.
• In 1995-96, 2,461 students attended schools for the
deaf and blind in Canada. There is one separate school
for the deaf and the blind in Nova Scotia.
• Schools for the deaf exist in Alberta, British
Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec and they
have been closed in New Brunswick, Newfoundland,
Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.
• All provinces and the Yukon have local programming
for blind students.
H O W D O E S C A N A D A M E A S U R E U P ?
67
• There is one school for the blind in Ontario.
• Most major Canadian cities have Canadian National
Institute for the Blind centres, which offer white cane
training, instruction in visual aids, printed material on
tape and braille resources. 142
Limited funds for public education result in competition
between different groups of students with special needs for
various learning programs. 143 Yude Henteleff, honorary
counsel for the Learning Disabilities Association of
Canada, says that certain school districts will not offer
special help to a poor learner unless that child falls two
years behind; others cut extra tutorials or special classes
once a child shows some progress. 144 There is uneven
availability in services within a city and between provinces
due to different rules, regulations and budgets available to
children.
Parents have fought legal battles to get education services
for children with disabilities. 145 For example, in August
1998, six families in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan won the
right to challenge the province and the boards of education
over schooling provided to their children with learning
disabilities. 146 The issue is currently before the court.
Preparation for Employment and
Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation services provide opportunities to develop
basic skills and can be important to prepare people to take
on school and work. However, these services and relevant
supports are only partially covered by government. People
have limited access in Canada to services such as
physiotherapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy. 147
Only 48 percent of working-age Canadians with
disabilities are in the paid labour force, compared with 73
percent of persons without disabilities. Only 31 percent of
people with intellectual disabilities have jobs. 148 In October
1997, federal, provincial, territorial ministers (except
Quebec) approved a new multilateral framework for
Employability Assistance for Persons with Disabilities.
This program includes funding for students with
disabilities. 149
Governments fund various pre-vocational and vocational
training opportunities for youth with disabilities. The more
education and training people get, the more likely they are
to pursue and obtain employment but for persons with
disabilities, opportunities can be limited. 150 In November
1998, Human Resources Development Canada announced