A Seat at the Table: Persons with Disabilities and Policy Making PDF
Preview A Seat at the Table: Persons with Disabilities and Policy Making
A Seat at the Table Persons with Disabilities and Policy Making The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has been used to strike down fifty-eight statutes that permitted the exclusion of persons with disabilities, women, ethnic minorities, or gays and lesbians. While some conservatives see this trend as "rulings for the many by the few," those representing excluded groups view their successful court chal- lenges against unjust laws as a long-awaited coming of age, allowing them to finally obtain a seat at the table. A Seat at the Table documents the participation of disability activists and organizations in public policy making in Canada. The authors combine studies of contemporary federal and provincial policy making with a historical perspective on the progress made by disability groups since World War I. The cases they discuss illustrate the tension between issues of human rights and personal capacities that the disability move- ment must deal with, but which have implications for other groups as well. An analysis of contemporary social policy networks in Canada makes it possible for the authors to suggest reasons for the inconsistent success that disability organizations have had in translating their re- quirements into policy. A Seat at the Table illuminates the key social-political factors of re- sources, roles, and reputations that must be taken into account by ex- cluded groups seeking to gain a seat at the policy table. The insights it provides are important for the development of more professional lob- bying practices by disability stakeholders as well as by women, Aboriginals, ethnic groups, the elderly, and the poor. WILLIAM BOYCE is director of the Social Program Evaluation Group at Queen's University. MARY TREMBLAY is associate professor of rehabili- tation science at McMaster University. MARY ANN MCCOLL is professor of rehabilitation therapy at Queen's University. JEROME BICKENBACH is professor of philosophy and law at Queen's University. ANNE CRICHTON is professor emerita of health care and epidemiology at the University of British Columbia, j. STEVEN ANDREWS is consultant for Queen's University. NANCY GEREIN is a lecturer at the Nuffield Institute for Health at the University of Leeds. APRIL D' AUBIN is a re- searcher for the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. This page intentionally left blank A Seat at the Table Persons with Disabilities and Policy Making William Boyce, Mary Ann McColl, Mary Tremblay, Jerome Bickenbach, Anne Crichton, Steven Andrews, Nancy Gerein, and April D'Aubin McGill-Queen's University Press Montreal & Kingston • London • Ithaca McGill-Queen's University Press 2001 ISBN 0-7735-2180-1 (cloth) Legal deposit fourth quarter 2001 Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec Printed in Canada on acid-free paper This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Humanities and Social Sciences Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. McGill-Queen's University Press acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP) for its activities. It also acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts for its publishing program. Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: A seat at the table: persons with disabilities and policy making Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7535-2180-1 (bnd) i. Handicapped - Government policy - Canada, I. Boyce, William JL86.P64S42 2001 362.4'o4561'og71 000-901692-9 This book was typeset by Dynagram Inc. in 10/12 Baskerville. Contents Glossary of Organizations in this Study vii Paternalism or Participation? 3 1 From Asylum to Independent Living: Disability Policy Making, Past to Present 10 2 Theoretical Frameworks for Citizen Participation: Contextualizing the Case Studies 23 3 Constitutional Ferment: Proceeding to Patriation 38 4 The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms: The Political Battle over Four Words 49 5 The Charlottetown Accord: Post-Patriation 66 6 The Ontario Advocacy Act: Representing Persons with Intellectual Disabilities 85 7 Adult Guardianship Legislation in British Columbia: Reform and Restructuring through Community Participation 108 8 Themes in Disability Policy Participation 124 9 The Potential for Influencing Policy 145 10 Recommendations for Research and Strategy 166 vi Contents Notes 171 Appendix 185 References 187 Index 203 Glossary of Organizations in this Study ARCH Advocacy Resource Centre for the Handicapped BCACL British Columbia Association for Community Living BIA Brain Injury Association BOOST Blind Organization Offering Self-help Tactics CACL Canadian Association for Community Living CAILC Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres CCD Council of Canadians with Disabilities CDRC Canadian Disability Rights Council CHS Canadian Hearing Society CNIB Canadian National Institute for the Blind COPOH Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped CPA Canadian Paraplegic Association CPC Canadian Pensioners Concerned CRCD Canadian Rehabilitation Council for the Disabled DAWN DisAbled Women's Network LEAP Legal and Educational Advocacy Project OAC Ontario Advocacy Coalition OACL Ontario Association for Community Living OMA Ontario Medical Association OFS Ontario Friends of Schizophrenics PRAG Project to Review Adult Guardianship PUSH Persons United for Self-Help SRRS Seniors Resources and Research Society This page intentionally left blank Preface Disability issues represent an interesting nexus of public policy de- bate. Concerns for the basic human rights of persons with disabilities, which suggest their inclusion in policy making, are contrasted with concerns for defining the capacity of individuals to make fundamen- tal life decisions. Members of the disability community find themselves in the middle of this tension and are often forced to adapt their focus. At the same time, interests of others (parents, families, professionals) may lead to radically different perspectives on policy issues. The result is a complex policy environment with a strong measure of impassioned debate. This book explores that environment principally from the perspectives of persons with disabilities and organizations advocating on their behalf. Two sets of federal and provincial policy initiatives are used in this book to illustrate this tension. The team for this study included the Council of Canadians with Disabilities as a full research partner, along with academics from three universities (Queen's, McMaster, University of British Columbia) in disciplines varying from law, philosophy, history, and sociology to reha- bilitation science and epidemiology. The diversity of the team allowed us to address a variety of perspectives that revealed numerous interest- ing themes. A Seat at the Table will be of interest to researchers and graduate stu- dents in the social sciences; to disability organization leaders and members; and to federal and provincial government officials. It also offers material appropriate for courses in disability studies.
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