AN ACCESSIBLE CANADA
Accessibility promotes the inclusion of people with disabilities including children, youth, adults, and Elders in their communities, workplaces, and services without barriers. Accessibility in Canada is about creating communities, workplaces and services that enable everyone to participate fully in society without barriers. Its aim is to identify, remove, and prevent barriers for people with disabilities.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Canada joined the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2010. The Convention protects and promotes the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities without discrimination to ensure equal freedoms by all persons with disabilities. The Convention’s general principles include:
a. Respect for autonomy and choice
b. Non-discrimination
c. Full participation and inclusion
d. Respect for diversity and differences
e. Equal opportunity
f. Accessibility
g. Equality between sex/gender
h. Respect for evolving capacities and identities
The Duty to Accommodate
IQ Principles: Inuuqatigiitsiarniq (respecting others, relationships and caring for people), Tunnganarniq (fostering good spirit by being open, welcoming and inclusive).
The duty to accommodate means that employers must make sure that everyone has equal opportunity to participate in the workplace (Canadian Human Rights Commission, n.d.a). Sometimes this means treating people differently to make sure they have everything they need to succeed. Sometimes this means changing the environment or the tools related to the job. Sometimes bigger changes are needed to address discrimination in the workplace, such as re-working the policy, rules, or practices (Canadian Human Rights Commission, n.d.a).
There are several acts in legislation that seek to protect and promote the rights of Indigenous people and people with disabilities. There are still barriers in daily living that effect people’s human rights. Half of these complaints are related to disability and accessibility (Canadian Human Rights Commission, n.d.b).
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities recognizes that all persons are equally protected under the law without disability discrimination, which includes all matters related to employment and the workplace (United Nations, n.d.a). People with disabilities must be included in hiring, career advancement, labour unions, safety protocols (United Nations, n.d.a). People with disabilities must have access to job assistance programmes and on-going technical or occupational support as needed (United Nations, n.d.a). Employers are encouraged to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace and provide the necessary accommodations to properly support inclusion (United Nations, n.d.a). The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples also prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability or indigeneity (United Nations, n.d.b). However, it is worth mentioning that although Canada must follow these guidelines, the country is still lacking in compliance with the declaration on the rights of indigenous people (Dion, 2017).
The Nunavut Human Rights Act continues the promotion of equal rights for indigenous people with disabilities, with a focus on the Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) framework. Anyone who feels harassed or discriminated against, can make a complaint to the Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal for assistance in resolving the issue (Nunavut Human Rights Tribunal, n.d.).