Feature Issue: Disability Discrimination Top Ranked Human Rights Issue For Entire Decade
November 29, 2011
The Tale of Time
Some things change year by year. Others don't change for decades. Sadly, the prominence of disability discrimination, as measured by complaints to the Manitoba Human Rights Commission (MHRC), seems to be stuck on high.
The release by the MHRC of its 2010 Annual Report has provided the first opportunity to review consistent data on human rights complaints over an entire decade. The story told by ten years of data is very different than the one might read by focusing on a single year.
Scanning the Decade
The graphic below compares two percentage figures for each year over the decade. The blue set of bars shows the percent of formal complaints made to the MHRC each year based on the ground of disability discrimination. The second set of yellow bars shows the percent of complaints that were based on the second most frequent ground for each year.
As a quick glance demonstrates, disability discrimination has ranked as the undisputed No. 1 ground for human rights complaints in Manitoba every year over the last decade. Clearly, the percent of complaints made based on disabiity discrimination jumps around a bit but it never dips below 33% (2002) and rises as high as 47% in 2009.
A second finding that emerges is that the gap between the share of complaints based on disability discrimination and the next most frequent ground has been increasing rather substantially. In 2001, the gap was only 5 percentage points. By 2009, the gap had increased to 33 percentage points. Notably, the gap narrowed somewhat in 2010 but the overall trend remains rather obvious - complaints lodged with the MHRC are increasingly becoming concentrated on disability discrimination relative to next most frequent grounds for complaint.
As Janet Forbes, spokesperson for Barrier-Free Manitoba said in the November 17th media release (word / pdf), “Discrimination of any kind in Manitoba today is deeply disturbing. But the lock-step consistency of disability discrimination as the primary ground for complaint is especially troubling. So too is the growing gap between disability and the next most frequent ground for complaint over the years.”
Averaging Over the Decade
Sex including pregnancy was the second most frequent ground for complaint for eight of the ten years in the last decade. Ancestory ranked second in the other two years (2004 and 2006). Indeed, these two grounds represented a total of 21% and 15% of total complaints to the MHRC over the decade.
Complaints based on disability discrimination, in comparison, comprised 39% of total complaints - a greater share than sex and ancestry combined.
Looking Ahead
Evidently, Manitoba, like other jusridictions, still has a long way to go to address the full continuum of human rights issues faced by its citizens. A big question is whether the data for disability discrimination for the next decade (2011 to 2020) will look any different from the remarkable persistant data from the last ten years.
Barrier-Free Manitoba, along with hundreds of coalitions, groups and individuals, has called on the Province to match its promising words with resolute effort. Barrier-Free Manitoba is calling for strong and effective accessibility-rights legislation as both the right and the reasonable step needed to deal with the pervasive human rights violations faced by persons with disabilities.
"With progress on the impressive new Human Rights Museum coming along so well,” said Ms. Forbes, “it’s well past time that the Government of Manitoba took real action to address the No 1. human rights issue in the province.”
PROVINCE ANNOUNCES HUMAN RIGHTS COMPLAINT AGAINST MANITOBA DEVELOPMENTAL CENTRE SETTLED
November 29, 2011
Planning for Future of Centre Underway: Mackintosh
The Province of Manitoba, Community Living Manitoba (CLM) and the Manitoba Office of the Public Trustee have agreed to a mediated settlement that resolves a human rights complaint involving the Manitoba Developmental Centre (MDC), Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh announced today.
“We believe this agreement supports the right of residents at MDC to choose to live in the environment that best suits them, reaffirming some of the core goals of our services to adults with intellectual disabilities,” said Mackintosh. “We look forward to working closely with CLM to explore the option of community living for those residents who are interested, while continuing to offer the best quality care to those residents who remain at MDC as it moves from a traditional institution setting to a new focus on outreach services and continued specialized residential services.”
The province and the public trustee have always maintained the personal choice of the resident and/or their substitute decision-maker is paramount in considering any change to care or living arrangements, Mackintosh said, adding the government remains committed to ensuring the best possible residential settings for persons with intellectual disabilities including those at MDC.
Highlights of the settlement include:
- about 16 MDC residents who have indicated a wish to live in the community will be transitioned in each of the next three years;
- government and CLM will work together to ensure all MDC residents, their families and/or substitute decision-makers have information that enables them to make informed choices about opportunities to live in the community;
- the province will support the transition of any additional individuals who indicate a wish to move from MDC to the community in the future; and
- a committee will be set up to monitor progress on the terms of this settlement and will include representation from the Manitoba Human Rights Commission.
In June of this year, the province announced an advisory committee would work on a new, long-term plan for MDC with a focus on determining how it can be redeveloped to provide specialized services including options for crisis stabilization, respite, day and residential supports, and community services and remain a vibrant employer in the Portage la Prairie area, Mackintosh said. This would include the development of homes in the Portage la Prairie area so individuals could move out of the centre and choose to access MDC for professional services like day programming and recreation.
This committee is made up of many stakeholders such as the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, an MDC employee representative, the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, the City of Portage la Prairie, Friends of MDC, a family member of an MDC resident, Community Living – Winnipeg, People First of Manitoba, New Directions, the Manitoba Office of the Public Trustee and Manitoba government representatives. This committee will work collectively to provide recommendations for government’s consideration, said Mackintosh.
Government will continue to invest in necessary health and safety upgrades to MDC but any new development at MDC will be focused on specialized residential care and community-based services, the minister said.
Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) - Update
July 8, 2011
Recently, the Government of Canada introduced two improvements to the RDSP, the grant and the bond that provide more flexibility to Canadians with disabilities and their families when saving for the future.
First, as of January 2011, individuals will be allowed to claim unused grant and bond entitlements from the past 10 years (starting from 2008, the year RDSPs became available). This applies if an individual already has an RDSP, or if an RDSP is opened in January 2011 or later. Grant and bond amounts will be based on the beneficiary's family income in those years.
Second, beginning in July 2011, parents or grandparents of a financially dependent child or grandchild with a disability will be able to transfer Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) and Registered Pension Plan (RPP) funds, tax free, to his or her RDSP when they pass away.
For more detailed information, including a list of participating financial organizations, please visit the Human Resources and Skills Development Canada website at www.disabilitysavings.gc.ca.
Province Commits to Creation of New Abuse Registery
June 17, 2010
Manitoba is developing Canada’s first registry of people who abuse vulnerable adults including seniors, and people with disabilities or mental illnesses, Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors Minister Jim Rondeau, Family Services and Consumer Affairs Minister Gord Mackintosh and Labour and Immigration Jennifer Howard, minister responsible for persons with disabilities, announced today.
“An abuse registry for incidents involving vulnerable adults will give caregivers, support agencies and volunteer organizations another tool they need to more thoroughly screen potential employees,” Rondeau said. “Families need to know that we will make every effort to ensure their loved ones are in good, caring hands.”
A provincial committee with members from the departments of Health, and Child and Family Services, along with the Winnipeg Police Service and RCMP, and people who work with seniors and adults with disabilities has been studying what other jurisdictions are doing, and will make recommendations to government for the implementation of a Manitoba abuse registry.
“We need to make every effort to ensure someone with a history of inappropriate behaviour isn’t able to find employment with vulnerable persons,” added Mackintosh. “We’re going to tighten the rules and toughen up the penalties for abuse.”
“Manitoba is already a leader in this area, as one of only two provinces with a child-abuse registry and this effort will build on our commitment to the protection of vulnerable people,” said Howard.
In addition to a registry, the committee is looking at a number of options, improvements and legislative changes that will make it easier to discipline offenders and screen applicants who want to work with vulnerable people. Those options include:
- strengthening the penalties and increasing fines under the Vulnerable Persons Act and working to give other options for discipline if an offender is not facing criminal charges;
- developing strong human-resource policies and training around recruitment, selection, hiring processes and information about alleged offenders and indicators of abuse/neglect;
- providing more training for staff and public education on abuse indicators, abuse investigations and reporting requirements; and
- identifying areas where the Criminal Code could be strengthened to better protect vulnerable adults and lobbying the federal government to make those changes.
AGM and Celebration of New Beginnings
June 15, 2010
Thank you to everyone who attended our AGM and Celebration of New Beginnings at the Victoria Inn on June 15th. We had a great turn out, with almost 200 people in attendance. Among those celebrating this historical event, were our business associates, friends, families, staff members and most importantly the people we support.
It was great to see Caleb Friesen among those who attended. Caleb is a direct service worker with Epic Opportunities who designed our new logo.Thank you to Larry McFarlane at Krystal Dreams for his generous donation of the ice sculpture.What a beautiful way to present our new name and logo!
Thanks to Mark Toews for being our MC, to the people who shared their personal stories with us and to the many hands that went into making the evening such a success.
Can we afford not to make Manitoba fully accessible?
June 11, 2010
A new Canadian study, released by the University of Toronto-based Martin Prosperity Institute, has concluded that "releasing the constraints that limit full participation in the economy will create a significant force for economic growth." And its findings are clear:
"the demand for accessible goods, services, buildings and employment is not just large but growing, and will overtake the demand for their conventional counterparts. Of further importance is our finding that the impact of increased employment accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities will increase the average incomes of all Ontarians."
The study was undertaken to assess the economic impact of achieving substantially higher levels of accessibility on individuals and markets in the province of Ontario.
Following are highlights (all figures refer to Ontario) on the economic impact of improved accessibility:
Estimated Economic Benefits
- Estimated increase of between $1.8 billion and $6.2 billion in annual employment income of persons with disabilities
- Estimated increase of between $700 million and $1.6 billion in annual tourism expenditures within 5 years
- Estimated increase of between $3.8 and $9.6 billion in annual retail sales within 5 years
Other Areas of Identified Impact
- Increased market access to the estimated $2 trillion in spending by persons over the age of 50 who live in Ontario and the United States
- Reduced ergonomic workplace time loss injuries which now cost over $1.7 billion per annum
- Increased incomes among families with children with disabilities (the shortfall in 2006 totalled $4.8 billion)
- Reduced government expenditures on social programs
- Reduced government expenditures on income transfers
- Increased tax and other revenues for government
View the pdf of the study here. We also invite you to visit the Martin Prosperity Institute's web site.
It has become obvious that ensuring accessibility in our province is both the right and the reasonable thing to do. This study now provides clear evidence that ensuring accessibility also makes excellent 'business sense.'
Can we afford not to make Manitoba fully accessible?