Poste - Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children

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C A N A D I A N C O A L I T I O N F O R T H E R I G H T S O F C H I L D R E N Voices Coalition Questionnaire: Over the last 10 years my parents have spent over $80,000 on rehabilitation supports and specialized equipment. It is a constant fight with insurance companies to cover equipment “not specifically listed on their payment schedules”. —John, aged 18, Ontario, has athetoid cerebral palsy about whether people with disabilities are “part of the human family.” 178 At the 1998 Edmonton conference on Universal Rights and Human Values, the panel discussion on bioethics and biotechnology noted that technology “should serve people with disabilities, not devalue them.” The Canadian Human Rights Commission supports this conclusion and advocates for the active involvement of people with disabilities in the development of policies to guide technology use. 179 Play and Recreation The 1991 HAL survey found that: • 18 percent of people with an intellectual disability never take part in social activities; 180 • 26.5 percent of children aged 0 to 4 years and 57.8 percent of children aged 5 to 14 with disabilities participated in community physical recreation programs; and • 41 percent of youth with disabilities would like to participate in more activities in their leisure time and almost half of all youth with disabilities want to be more physically active. Cost and lack of opportunities were the two most common obstacles to their participation. 181 Public recreation and play activities are traditionally coordinated by municipalities across Canada. The federal government’s role is limited to injury prevention and fitness promotion. 182 Parks and recreation departments may provide special programming, equipment or staff to support the inclusion of children with disabilities but are not required to do so. However, funding for children’s recreation depends upon the local economy and political will. Thus services vary widely across the country. The Canadian Parks/Recreation Association recognizes that play is an equalizing medium for all children, 70 including those with special needs. The organization works with school boards and other bodies to ensure the development and maintenance of high quality outdoor play spaces that encourage the inclusion of all children. 183 Buddy programs provide the companionship of trained people, usually volunteers, to individual children for recreation and sports. They exist in parts of all provinces and territories except Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba and Northwest Territories. 184 The following describes some recreation programs in Canada. • The Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada provides community-based programming at 99 local clubs across the country for children at risk and most include children with physical and intellectual challenges in a variety of programs. Twenty-two clubs have specific outreach or services for young people with disabilities. 185 Voices Coalition Questionnaire: I have a special friend named Catharine who calls me almost every day. We talk about teenage stuff, such as going to the movies or about our favourite musical group, “The Backstreet Boys!” —Stefanie, aged 17, Ontario, has an intellectual disability I also love to take swimming lessons. I know all the instructors at our town’s pool and everyone is happy to see me. I like to go swimming all year long. I work out at the fitness centre in my high school. I didn’t like it at first but now I do. I go on a rowing machine, lift weights and ride a stationary bike. I like lifting weights the best and I am getting big muscles now. —Jesse, aged 15, Ontario, has a developmental disability Every time I go to the theatre with my parents, I pay my way and am responsible for my ticket. You should see the faces of the people around us when they see me do all that! (translation) —Karl, aged 10, Quebec, has Down’s syndrome
• Girl Guides and Scouts Canada encourage and promote inclusion of children with disabilities in their locally-based recreational activities. The Girl Guides’ national office has a full-time advisor to support the inclusion of girls with physical or mental disabilities into local groups. Scouts Canada has an award program to recognize youth with some form of disability who participate to the best of their ability and inspire others. • Special Olympics is a non-profit program with local chapters providing sport training and competition at local, regional, provincial, national and international levels for persons with disabilities. • Easter Seals runs specialized camps for children with physical disabilities. Recreational opportunities for children with disabilities are provided by special or integrated summer camps, most of which are coordinated by non-governmental organizations or service clubs, with limited government funding provided in the Yukon, Alberta, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. 186 Barriers to the participation of children and youth with disabilities in recreational activities include: • a lack of specialized equipment; 187 • a lack of accessibility standards for play spaces (described earlier); • insufficient staff training and staff ratios; • few recreational opportunities in small towns and rural areas; and • limited transportation (every province and territory except PEI has public transportation for the disabled but it is generally limited to urban areas). 188 The HAL survey found that more than 25 percent of youth said they would like to do more activities in their spare time but do not have adequate transportation. 189 International Cooperation International Instruments In 1993, Canada agreed to implement the UN Standard Rules for the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities. These rules outline improvements for disability policies and promote inclusion. A study completed in 1999 on Canada’s implementation of three of these rules (education, employment and income maintenance) found advances in some areas but additional action required in others. 190 H O W D O E S C A N A D A M E A S U R E U P ? 71 Canadians led the development of the 1993 Declaration of Managua, which affirms a common vision for children with disabilities and their families, especially the need to recognize children as persons and “assure their dignity, rights, self-determination, full access to social resources and the opportunity to contribute to community life.” 191 Representatives from 36 countries in the Americas worked on this declaration. International Recognition Canada was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt prize at a United Nations ceremony in March 1998 to honour its achievements in improving opportunities for people with disabilities. 192 However, disability activists at the time pointed to reductions in program funding and transfer payments, which reduced services such as home care and transportation for persons with disabilities. A year later, eight national organizations publicly condemned the federal government’s lack of progress on disability issues. 193 International Development Canada has a number of international initiatives to address disability issues. These include: • Disabled Persons International, an NGO supported by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), with offices around the world working on children’s issues relating to disability. • The International Centre for the Advancement of Community Based Rehabilitation is working in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Russia to provide community-based services for the disabled, and in Thailand to exchange information and strategies. 194 • The Canadian Association for Community Living worked on the Declaration of Managua and also initiated a fundraising drive for people with disabilities affected by Hurricane Mitch in Central America in 1998. 195 The Association is an active member of Inclusion International, in which 179 national nongovernmental organizations in 109 countries promote the human rights of persons with developmental disabilities. 196 The rights of children with disabilities are not yet considered a priority for Canadian foreign policy or overseas development assistance but a foreign policy strategy on disability was recently proposed by the Canadian Association for Community Living. 197 The International Centre for the Advancement of Community
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THE UNCONVENTION ON THE RIGHTS OF T
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C A N A D I A N C O A L I T I O N F
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articles 13, 14 and 15 (cont’d)
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article 23 (cont’d) NEEDS DIALOGU
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article 28 and 29 (cont’d) NEEDS
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Process and Protocols PROCESS: Key
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Positive Factor C A N A D I A N C O
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Concern C A N A D I A N C O A L I T
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This is aproject of the CanadianCoa
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