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Disability and Dignity-Enabling Home Environments: Key Messages from an Ontario Study.

This study investigated the adequacy of home environments as enabling or disabling places for adults with significant mobility disabilities living in Ontario. The results suggest that provincial policies and practices continue to focus narrowly on the basic physical needs of disabled people. Minimal consideration is given to how home environment is implicated in broader notions of citizenship, rights, dignity and social inclusion. The report outlines a framework of seven conditions for assessing the adequacy of home environments using social dignity as a guiding principle. A peer reviewed paper is also published in Social Science and Medicine: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22142787.

Enhancing Accessibility in Post-Secondary Education Institutions: A Guide for Disability Service Providers

This is a new, comprehensive guide on disability service provision and accommodations at colleges and universities in Canada. This Guide is now available on the NEADS website. You can locate the guide on their website in English at www.neads.ca/en/norc/eag/ and French at www.neads.ca/fr/norc/eag/.

to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the man in motion tour.  Rick Hansen is going across Canada.  Once again but this time he is inviting numerous individuals to run, walk or drive along side him.  Mr. Hanson created a contest where individuals with disabilities would be a medal bearer.   In order to win the grand prize participants would have to share stories of how they have made accessibility.  More inclusive in their town or city or create a video. Visit the Rick Hansen website For more information on the tour and when the tour is coming to your community.

Disability Rights Promotion International is thrilled to announce that the book, Critical Perspectives on Human Rights and Disability Law, co-edited by Marcia Rioux, has recently been published.

This book examines the changing relationship between disability and the law, addressing the intersection of human rights principles, human rights law, domestic law and the experience of people with disabilities. Drawn from the global experience of scholars and activists in a number of jurisdictions and legal systems, the core human rights principles of dignity, equality and inclusion and participation are analyzed within a framework of critical disability legal scholarship. This book breaks new ground in its consideration of the way in which human rights principles can be applied in law and policy to achieve positive outcomes for people with disabilities.

Here is some exciting news that may spur some discussion. The McGuinty Government has given Ontarians the ability to apply for an official photo identification card at 21 Service Ontario locations across the province. This government ID card will make it easier for those aged 16 and above who do not have a driver’s license to open a bank account, make travel arrangements or perform other activities that require official ID.

To apply for this card you need to be an Ontario resident, and provide original identity documents with your legal name, date of birth and signature. It costs of 35$ it is valid for 5 years.

The 21 Service Ontario locations can be found here:

http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dandv/driver/photo-card/locations.shtml

To mark the 8th annual disability pride celebration in Toronto, Simply People: Celebrating Our Lives & Identities, hundreds will gather at Nathan Phillips Square on July 19th from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This free outdoor event is open for all to attend (rain or shine) and there will be a number of performances and guest speakers on stage. Go to www.cwdo.org/d/content/8th-annual-disability-pride-celebration-toronto for more information.

The Ontario government has just released three more accessibility standards - all in one regulation.

The new standards cover information & communications, employment, and transportation.

Details and links are on our Accessibility Standards Committee page.

Members of CWDO voted in new board members, and confirmed others, at the AGM held on June 21st.  Please go to our Board Member Bios page to learn more about the interests and backgrounds of our 20 board members.

Read and comment on our members' blogs:

• Mobility Plus Left Me Minus Mobility - member Fiona Watson's blog documenting her struggle to be accommodated on specialized transit.
• "We asked CWDO's President, Terry Green, to write a blog.  "Keep it brief" we said.  Being a lawyer, he wrote a brief instead.  So we worked with him a bit. (Everyone is trainable.)   Find out what's on Terry's mindthis week."
• Jeffrey Stark's Blog "Jeffrey's Soapbox" covers topics of technology, accessibility, adaptive technology and disability.

CWDO welcomes blogs from members.  Contact us if you are interested in writing one.

• Position Papers - CWDO's submission on the proposed amendments to the Election Act.
• Archived Webinars - Find out what you missed!  You can access almost all webinars here.
• Planned Webinars - Find out about webinars CWDO is planning for the Winter/Spring.
• Technology news - YouTube is launching auto-captioning technology.
• Human Rights page - Canada ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 11, 2010.  Find out why this is such a big deal.

• CWDO became recognized as Ontario's representative on the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) in June, 2009.  We're honoured and proud to represent our members at this national table.