| 1981 |
United Nations’ Year of Persons
with Disabilities |
|
Canada’s Obstacles Report was
developed by a Special Committee of Parliament. It was based on
widespread consultation across the country. Obstacles contained
130 recommendations, which involved every aspect of daily living. It
is still a major reference document for anyone involved in
disability. |
| 1982 |
The Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (Section 15) was introduced, specifically prohibiting
discrimination on the basis of a disability. As a result, many
pieces of legislation were amended including the Elections Act, the
Human Rights Act, Employment Equity Act, and the National
Transportation Act. In order to deal with disability issues, the
Canadian Parliament passed an Omnibus bill in 1992 effectively
amending several major existing laws and their regulations. |
|
REACH was started as part of the
initiative to establish and maintain legal access for people with
disabilities |
| 1983-92 |
The Decade of Disabled Persons was
declared by the United Nations. |
|
Canadian consumers played a lead
role at the United Nations in New York, especially in the
development of global “standard rules on disability”. |
|
Rick Hansen’s “Man in Motion”
World Tour made the public much more aware of the capabilities
of people with disabilities. |
|
The House of Commons established
a very active Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of
Disabled Persons. |
|
Premier’s Councils were
established across Canada. Each province set up their own
organisation for disability issues to advise their premier and
legislative body on contemporary disability issues and strategies.
1983-92 |
|
The Terry Fox Run For Cancer Research
made the public much more aware that disabilities can be
acquired. Since then, prevention and research into causes of
disabilities have become more focused and better supported. |
|
National Access Awareness Week was
implemented to give graphic examples to municipalities, policy
makers and the general public about the barriers encountered by
Canadians with disabilities. The Week first focused on the issue of
physical access and ultimately expanded to address all sorts of
disability issues in over 1,000 communities. National Access
Awareness Week is no longer a government supported campaign, but it
is still being held as a local event in many communities across
Canada. |
|
United Nations’ Standard Rules on
Equalization of Opportunities for Persons With Disabilities were
adopted so that any government, regardless of resources, could
develop an action plan on disability, based on generally accepted
principles of human rights. |
|
Independence ‘92, in which
Canada played host to approximately 4000 people with disabilities
from 140 countries, was held in one of the world’s most accessible
cities - Vancouver, BC. Many accessibility modifications were funded
privately. Rick Hansen played a major role in this initiative. |
|
United Nations’ Special Rapporteur was
nominated by Canada. The Rapporteur assesses world progress on
disability, region by region and country by country. This official
is an advocate for the Standard Rules and helps to keep disability
on the international agenda. |
| 1996 |
Hon. Andy Scott led a Parliamentary
Task Force whose report (Equal Citizenship for Canadians with
Disabilities: The Will To Act) examined the challenges of the next
millennium. |
| 1998 |
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award on
Disability was won by Canada. The Award acknowledged Canada as a
world leader in addressing disability issues and generated the
expectation for continued leadership. The nomination of Canada was
prepared and written by Reach |
