BCACL is now accepting applications from self advocates or self advocacy groups for funding to do innovative work in their communities. Grants are available for up to $5000. Visit www.bcacl.org/sasi for the application form and for more information. The deadline for applications is January 29, 2010.
The BC Association for Community Living (BCACL) has joined the BC Coalition of People with Disabilities (BCCPD) and the Social Planning and Research Council of BC (SPARC BC) in calling for an immediate end to the HandyDART strike in Metro Vancouver. The strike has now lasted over four weeks. Read the press release here.
The BC Association for Community Living and the Canadian Association for Community Living want to thank everyone who came out on November 16 & 17 to make the forum such an overwhelming success. Check out the forum section of this website for resources and photos from the event.
Some educators in BC are distributing a disclaimer form to parents saying that their child's needs may not be met as the classroom has more than three students with special needs. The BCTF (having distributed the form to teachers) claims that the intent of the letter is to let parents know that their child's Individual Education Plan (IEP) requires resources that are not being provided by the school system.
We believe that to single out one particular group of students - knowing that there are many other student groups who require extra supports and attention - is discriminatory and done at the expense of students with special needs. Click here to read BCACL's letter to the editor.
BCACL is tracking developments with regards to the H1N1 flu pandemic to ensure that everyone who needs treatment gets treatment. The Canadian Association for Community Living recently passed a resolution at its 2009 AGM regarding H1N1 pandemic planning and people with developmental disabilities. Read the H1N1 CACL update here.
A 2006 article by the Canadian Health Association (CMA) identifies a suggested approach to pandemic planning that includes the development of "exclusion” criteria. Exclusion criteria would deny an individual critical care and may be used in the event that the hospital cannot meet the needs of all infected patients. One of those criteria is "severe baseline cognitive impairment." BCACL has written to the BC Minister of Health asking for assurances that a triage protocol would not discriminate against people with disabilities. Read the BCACL letter here.
The Voice Newsletter is a newsletter written by self advocates, for self advocates. Download the latest issue of the Voice newsletter now!
October 1, 2009 - The BC Association for Community Living is outraged at the BC Government's recent decision to eliminate the Provincial Advisor Offices of the Infant Development Program, Aboriginal Infant Development Program and the Supported Child Development Program.
This cut comes at the heels of other devastating cuts to supports and services for children and youth with special needs, including the recent loss of the Early Intensive Behaviour Intervention (EIBI) program. Visit the Children and Families section of this website for more information.
Read the full press release here.
The schedule for public hearings across BC was announced on September 24. For this, and other information, visit the 2010 budget consultation section of our website. We know that personal stories make a big difference. Register now and have your voice heard.
After weeks of uncertainty, the provincial government has decided to honour three-year gaming grant commitments. Read the information bulletin here. While this is good news for non-profit organizations across the province (including BCACL and many of our member organizations who rely on the grants), the future security of these grants remains uncertain.
BCACL will continue working to ensure that gaming proceeds in BC are used to help make our communities better places to live for children and youth with special needs, adults with developmental disabilities and their families.
BCACL is reassured that the provincial government has "reconfirmed” in their September 1, 2009 budget update that funding from the February 2009 budget for programs and services for children and youth with special needs, adults with developmental disabilities and their families will be maintained.
However, many questions still loom around new housing, the impact of the HST, and inclusive education. Read the full press release here.
BCACL to Attend Budget Lock-Up
BCACL Board Member and UVic Political Scientist Michael Prince and BCACL Executive Director Faith Bodnar will be attending budget lockup today, September 1st, to ensure that this provincial budget answers to people with developmental disabilities. Read the media advisory here.
* Michael Prince will be commenting on the provincial budget today from approximately 3:10 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on local Victoria radio station CFAX (1070 AM). Listen online.
Minister of Housing and Social Development Rich Coleman announced funding on August 28 to eleven community-based service providers in BC to deliver employment services to people with specialized disabilities. Read the press release here.
August 20, 2009 - The provincial government has lifted its funding freeze on lottery/gaming grants. While this is good news for those who are waiting for critical grants, we are concerned that this reprieve is temporary. According to media reports, grants will likely be reduced in the future, as government re-assesses priorities of the grant process. Government has not yet made any official announcements regarding the gaming grants. Read the BCACL Press Release here.
Speaking of a 1999 gaming revenue-sharing agreement, Susan Marsden from the BC Association for Charitable Gaming writes, "With nearly 2 billion in government gaming revenues for 2008, the unfreezing of $159 million of that amounts to only 7.95%, a far cry from the 33 per cent original commitment”. Read the BCACG media release and Memorandum of Understanding.
August 18, 2009 - The provincial government has frozen all lottery gaming grants pending a review of the entire program. We are concerned that grants affecting our sector may be either significantly reduced or cut completely. BCACL and many of our member organizations rely on these grants to do essential work in the community. Organizations who provide human and social services in B.C. receive $36,829,769.00 from gaming direct access funds. View a complete list here.
Government needs to know the full impact of potential gaming cuts. Contact your MLA and tell him or her how cuts would affect your community.
In the media:
Vancouver Sun - Vancouver non-profit accuses province of reneging on funding
Georgia Straight - Arts groups, opposition critics slam BC government's handling of ...
The Province - Community groups waiting for grants
Globe and Mail - Cultural groups on hook after BC fails to pay up
CKNW - Audio Vault (August 18, 2009; 10:30 a.m.)
President Obama announced on July 25 that the United States of America will sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Read the full article here.
The Government of Canada is currently hosting a public consultation on the convention: If you haven't had a chance to make your voice heard please do so by visiting the HRSDC website. The consultation closes this Friday, July 31, 2009.
The Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) is taking this opportunity to launch a Call to Action on making the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) a reality.
For more information on the UN Convention and to find out how you can get involved, read CACL's Call to Action.
The June 18 issue of the New Westminster News Leader includes a letter from Rory Summers, BCACL President, stating our firm opposition to the restoration of the Woodlands Institution Centre Block as part of a residential, retail complex. Read the City of New Westminster Staff Report here. BCACL stands with former residents who call for the Centre Block to be demolished.
BCACL finds the report troubling for its insensitivity and innacuracy. To write your own online response to the articles, visit the New Westminster News Leader website.
See below for full media coverage:
It's a time to heed former residents' voices. New Westminster News Leader. June 25, 2009.
Too many memories - Former residents want tower gone. New Westminster News Leader. June 25, 2009.
BCACL's June 18 letter to the editor of the New Westminster News Leader
Original article: Keep Woodlands Building: Report
For more information on Woodlands, visit the Woodlands section of the BCACL website.
Nidus Personal Planning and Resource Centre has responded to CBC news reports (July 9, 2009) of alleged abuse by British Columbia's Public Guardian and Trustee (PGT), writing that they are a strong reminder of the importance of planning and accessing community-based resources if challenges arise.
CBC News Report, July 9, 2009: B.C. public guardian accused of abusing rights.
The Vancouver Sun - June 18 edition - has printed a BCACL letter in response to their article titled "Women must now wait to 40 for publicly paid amnio test." Read the BCACL Letter to the Editor here.
The Canadian Down Syndrome Society has also written a letter. Read the letter here.
We are encouraging people to share their own letters with us. You can read the letters that we have received here.
For a complete list of the new Cabinet (including biographies), read the Government backgrounder.
The NDP has also announced its shadow cabinet. Visit the NDP website for a full list. Shane Simpson is the Critic for the Ministry of Housing and Social Development and Nicholas Simons is the Deputy Critic for that ministry. There is no longer an NDP critic for Community Living BC (CLBC).
Click here for more information about the awards, including nomination criteria and indicators of successful inclusion.
Three awards were selected in the areas of early childhood education, K-12 education and post-secondary education. Winners will be announced during Inclusive Education Week (February 15-22, 2009) and honoured at our Conference and Annual General Meeting in June, 2009.
And the winners are...
National Inclusive Education Week offers all of us an opportunity to highlight the benefits of inclusive education and to increase awareness of its many positive outcomes. Inclusion means fully engaging and supporting students with developmental disabilities to participate in a holistic learning environment with their non-disabled peers.
In preparation for the 2009 BC election on May 12, 2009, BCACL has launched a BC Election 2009 section on this website. Together we can ensure that issues that matter to people with developmental disabilities are a priority in this election.
The End Waitlists Campaign held a press conference on February 2, 2009 at the SFU Harbour Centre. Click here to read the press release. Visit www.endwaitlists-now.org for more details, including videos of the conference.
The BC Association for Community Living (BCACL) applauds the Government of BC for investing in the lives of people with developmental disabilities. The $73 million new investment for adults with developmental disabilities announced in yesterday's provincial budget is the first step needed to begin to address the crisis being faced by individuals and families across BC. Click here to read BCACL's press release.
Content from the campaign blog, www.endwaitlists-now.org is available in PDF format. Click here to download.
Advocates from the Saskatchewan Association for Community Living (SACL) celebrated on October 23 as the Government of Saskatchewan announced a $76.9 million investment to eliminate waitlists for residential, day and specialized programs for people with developmental disabilities in Saskatchewan. Click here to read the BCACL press release.
On Friday, October 24, 2008, BCACL submitted the written segment of our presentation to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Relations for input towards the provincial budget 2009 consultation.
Click here to read BCACL's written submission. The 2009 Budget Consultation report was released on November 16 and is available on the Committee website.
Committee Website: https://www.leg.bc.ca/budgetconsultations/index.htm
The written submission follows BCACL's presentation to the Committee on September 15, 2008. We would like to thank all of the individuals and groups who made a personal, written or survey presentation to the Committee. We hope the Committee will hear our concerns and write a report that reflects the critical need of a financial investment towards eliminating waitlists.
December 10 is the UN International Day of Human Rights. BCACL has written a letter to Amnesty International to urge Amnesty International to recognize the institutionalization of people with developmental disabilities as a violation of human rights. Click here to read BCACL's December 10 letter.
BCACL strongly urges the Federal Government to help promote and protect the principles of dignity and justice for all persons around the world, by supporting the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), before October 3, 2008. BCACL has written to the Hon. David Emerson, Minister of Foreign Affairs, urging him to make ratification a reality. Click here to read the letter.
On Friday, the Campbell government announced a forecasted budget surplus of $1 billion - $970 million more than what was forecast and one that is predicted to double by the end of this fiscal year. Despite this year's surplus and those before it, waitlists for community living services continue to grow. We believe the government's unwillingness to fund the necessary supports and services that people need to participate in communities is unacceptable. Click here to read the BCACL press release.
Faced with a second petition filed by the Community Legal Assistance Society (CLAS) on behalf of a youth who did not meet CLBC's eligibility criteria based on I.Q., the Provincial Government has changed the regulations guiding the Community Living Authority Act to enshrine an I.Q. of 70 or below as a criterion for receiving services from Community Living BC (CLBC).
Click here to view BCACL's social policy statement on eligibility for community living services and supports.
Click here to read the BCACL press release.
Click here for media coverage.
Premier Gordon Campbell announced changes in the provincial cabinet on Monday, June 23, 2008. The provincial government has turned its back on its agreement to put into action the community's vision of a having a seamless life-long system of support for children and youth with special needs, adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Click here for more information, including media coverage and ways that you can make your voice heard.
The Encampment is an exhibition presented by the Canadian Association of Community Living (CACL) as part of its 50th anniversary cultural initiative to bring national awareness to the inclusion of people with an intellectual disability.
The BC Association for Community Living (BCACL) joins its national partners, the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) and People First of Canada, in denouncing the film Tropic Thunder for its negative portrayal of people with developmental disabilities and its liberal use of oppressive language. Striving for humour at the expense of people with developmental disabilities, the film reinforces harmful and dangerous stereotypes. Click here to read the BCACL press release. Click here to read the CACL press release.
We would like to thank all those who attended our 2008 Tools for Change conference, helping to make it one of the best ever. Click here to watch the slideshow that was viewed at the conference, capturing the fun, learning, and inspiration that was shared by those who attended. The slideshow was created by Brian Salisbury and Neil Madu; photography by Wioletta Okwieka-Reduch, Brian Salisbury, and Neil Madu. When your browser opens, right-click your mouse and choose "full screen". You may be prompted to install a plugin that will allow you to view the show. Turn your sound on and click the icon - enjoy!
Results of the BCACL survey, Evaluating your Current Experience with CLBC, were recently shared at regional meetings across B.C. and at the BCACL conference and AGM on June 12-14. The document is now available for download as a PDF file. Click here to download the survey report.