Following the decision by the National Parole Board Appeal Division to grant day parole to Robert Latimer, BCACL released a press release. Click here to read it. The Canadian Association for Community Living also released a press release - click here to read it. Click here to read some of the media coverage around the event.
BC's Representative for Children and Youth released a monitoring brief on February 26, 2008, which states that vulnerable children and youth with special needs and their families and caregivers need a more responsive and accountable system of supports. BCACL released a press release in response to the Brief. Click here to read our press release.
Click here to access the press release from her office.
Click here to access the whole report (28 pages).
For more information, visit the Representative for Children and Youth website.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has released a report titled Removing Barriers to Work: Flexible Employment Options for People with Disabilities in BC. The study urges the provincial government to adopt a series of creative recommendations that would make employment possible for many more British Columbians with significant disabilities. Visit BCACL's Employment Updates section for more details.
BCACL feels that the provincial government has not gone far enough in improving the lives of people with developmental disabilities with Budget 2008. Click here to read our press release issued February 20, 2008.
BCACL was present in Victoria at the Budget Lockup on February 19th in hopes of being reassured that government will respond to children and youth with special needs, adults with developmental disabilities and their families in crisis. Click here to read our media advisory released on February 18th. Click here to download BCACL's submission to the Select Standing Committee on Finance in October 2007.
Click here to go to the government's Budget 2008 page with information about the budget including Budget Highlights, slide presentations and backgrounders. Click here to access their news release about Budget 2008.
Read the transcript of the Throne Speech delivered on February 12, 2008.
Download two press releases on the Throne Speech from the Office of the Premier by clicking here and here.
Two young women with Down Syndrome were used as suicide bombers in Baghdad, Iraq. BCACL joins Inclusion International in strongly denouncing the use of vulnerable people in any act of violence. Click here to read a statement from Inclusion International.
Join BCACL & the Richmond Society for Community Living on February 25, 2008 for "Ensuring Community Living for Everyone", a day-long forum on supporting adults with complex health care needs. Click here for more information and registration details.
On United Nations' Day of the Disabled Persons - December 3rd - BC Association for Community Living (BCACL) and Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) are co-hosting a workshop titled Poverty and Intellectual Disability: the Invisible Development Challenge. This workshop will explore international development efforts that are inclusive of people with intellectual disabilities. Registration deadline is November 26, 2007. For more information visit the Upcoming Events section and look under Training.
Thank you to every one who celebrated Community Living Month and participated in activities and events throughout October. It was a huge success in raising the awareness in the broader community and in celebrating the gifts and abilities of people with developmental disabilities. There were many celebrations and activities in communities across the province. Check out the Photos 2007 and Media 2007 section.
BCACL teams up with Community Living BC to present a day of stories, tips and strategies about person centred small business development. Cary Griffin, a senior partner at Griffin-Hammis Associates, will be facilitating the workshop.
When: October 1 , 2007, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Where: Scottish Cultural Centre, 8886 Hudson St.
This option is well-suited to individuals for whom typical employment is not a desireable option. The workshop will focus on real life examples and concrete tools you can use in your work or family life, as well as strategies for financing the business and navigating income assistance systems.An effort will also be made to connect you with local resources to help you get started after the training. The workshop costs $60.00 (including coffee and a light lunch).
Contact: Meaghan Feduck at (604) 777-9100, ext. 506 for more information. Click here for a printable flyer and registration form. Click here to download parking and transportation information.
Come, celebrate our new home! The British Columbia Association for Community Living (BCACL), BC Self Advocacy Foundation (BC SAF), the BCACL Foundation and the Family Support Institute (FSI) warmly invite you to attend our Open House celebration. Click here to view the Open House invitation.
When: Friday, September 21; 3:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Where: 227 6th Street,
Please RSVP before September 14 by email to info@bcacl.org or call 604-777-9100.
BCACL is working to influence the Ministry of Education to abandon its plans for "model schools” for students with special needs.
Click here for the latest update on Inclusive Education activities at BCACL. You will find the email memo which you can send out, related press articles, letters and other useful information.
There're 650 million reasons to celebrate today, as the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities was ratified at a ceremony in the UN General Assembly hall this morning. Across the world, 650 million people live with a disability, and the Convention seeks to guarantee that the world"s largest minority enjoy their inherent right to life on an equal basis with others.
Particularly pleasing is the fact that Canada decided to sign the Convention and participated in the ceremony this morning. The decision to participate in the Signing Ceremony establishes Canada's commitment to real change through effective legislation and a shift in attitude, which the Convention demands.
We acknowledge and thank CACL and Anna MacQuarrie for their stellar work to ensure people with intellectual disabilities and their families were recognized in the Convention. Congratulations are in order!
View CACL"s Press Release "Canada a World Leader for Rights of Persons with Disabilities" regarding Canada's intention to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today.
For more information on the Convention visit: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/.
To raise awareness about the unacceptable and long waitlists for community living supports and services, people with developmental disabilities and their families visited their MLAs on February 14th.
L'Arche
It is difficult to sympathize with the ethicists and medical doctors who are now promoting the so-called "Ashley treatment." Ashley's case does not exist in isolation from human society, and it raises profound ethical and social questions. Read the full statement
CACL is proud to announce that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has been adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Moving forward the Convention will be used to secure the rights and full inclusion of persons with disabilities and their families internationally and here in Canada. In particular, the Convention will provide a useful framework for combating the poverty and exclusion facing persons with disabilities. We would like to acknowledge the work of CACL in achieving this remarkable outcome.
On December 13, 2006, the Minister of Finance's Expert Panel on Financial Security for Children with Severe Disabilities released its report calling on the Federal Government to implement a Disability Savings Plan.
The report, A New Beginning, calls for the creation of a Registered Disability Savings Plan that would enable families and friends to contribute to the long-term income security of a family member with a significant disability.
We want to acknowledge Planned Lifetime Advocacy Networks (PLAN) for having developed and advocated for this type of investment. Many of their efforts and suggestions have been incorporated into the report recommendations. The fact that the report is being so positively received is indeed good news!
On December 7, 2006 BCACL issued an update to the member associations on the status of the class action law suit brought about by former residents of Woodlands against the provincial government. BCACL joins with former residents of Woodlands, their families and community to call on government to negotiate a fair and equitable out-of-court restitution process.
BCACL has written a letter, published on November 1, 2006 in the Vancouver Sun regarding the use of the word de-institutionalization in a recent speech by Premier Gordon Campbell. Premier Campbell was quoted as saying that de-institutionalization was a failure, causing concerns from the Community Living movement, media and others. To read the letter, click here.
Vancouver Foundation is managing two funds for the Province: the Family Independence Fund, for families of individuals with developmental disabilities, and the Children and Youth with Special Needs Supports Fund, for families of children and youth with special needs. The application process is now open--visit here. The grants will cover costs to help an adult or child with a developmental disability or a child with special needs to live at home and access their community. For general program information on the funds, please visit the Vancouver Foundation site.
The UN adopts disability convention setting a standard for all countries. On families, the historic document states; "Convinced that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state, and that persons with disabilities and their family members should receive the necessary protection and assistance to enable families to contribute towards the full and equal enjoyment of the rights of persons with disabilities.” To see the UN document, click here. View Canadian Association on Community Living page on Enable. Visit Inclusion International site view their daily reports here.
UVIC Online Learning
The University of Victoria Assistive Technology Team (UVATT), in collaboration with the Garth Homer Society, has embarked on an ambitious program to build an online learning and community-building resource and support network for the special needs community. Details here.
The Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance, announced today the appointment of an expert panel to examine ways to help parents save for the long-term financial security of a child with a severe disability. Plans to establish the panel were announced in Budget 2006.
The panel will advise the Minister of Finance on ways to help parents save for the long-term financial security of a child with a severe disability. The panel will examine a range of potential vehicles, assess their relative advantages and disadvantages, and recommend appropriate instruments that could be implemented.
Consistent with the six-month timeframe indicated in Budget 2006, the group has been asked to report its recommendations to the Minister by Nov. 9, 2006.
Persons wishing to submit their views to the panel can do sobefore October 15, 2006, by writing to the Expert Panel on Disability Savings care of (c.o.) the Tax Policy Branch, Department of Finance, 140 O'Connor Street, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G5 or by writing to the panel"s e-mail address at disabilitysavings-epargne-handicapes@fin.gc.ca.
http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-036e.html
The distribution of cheques ($510) to former residents of Woodlands,
Glendale, Tranquille and the Endicott Centre from the BC Institutional Legacy Trust Fund started on July 31. The mail-out will continue for the next several weeks and everyone should receive their cheques by the end of August. The funds will not affect the benefits of individuals who receive income assistance and a letter from the Ministry of Employment and Income Assistance (MEIA) will accompany the cheques.
If you know of someone who is a former resident of one of the four institutions who do not receive their cheques from the Legacy Trust Fund by August 31, please send an email after the 31st to anita.nevistic@gov.bc.ca or call toll-free to 1-888-387-3354. (Please note that the toll free number will only be operational after August 31).