Nova Scotia Disability Rights are Human Rights
January 2023: Eddie Bartnik and Tim Stainton, independent reviewers, release an update on their work towards a systemic human rights remedy to end the discrimination against persons with disabilities as found by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal.
“When we see an excessive amount of prescribing for antipsychotics, where there’s no clinical reason or disease state to be prescribing it, that would be a flag,” (photo: Shane Hennessey)
In 2013, the current government committed to closing institutions and providing community-based living supports for all persons with disabilities within 10 years—by the end of 2023. It was all set out in the Roadmap—a plan to community inclusion drafted jointly by the Province and disability rights advocates, and endorsed by then Premier Stephen McNeil and his government.
A report issued yesterday by the Disability Rights Coalition says there remains “a mismatch” between government rhetoric on providing services to disabled adults and the frustrating reality faced by many families. Photo: Questsociety.ca
I remember how genuinely excited disability advocates were when in 2013 Denise Peterson-Rafuse, then minister of Community Services, announced a five-year plan to close down all large institutions for people living with physical or intellectual disabilities and provide them with the supports to live in their own communities, either in a small group home or in a place of their own. -Robert Devet
The Nova Scotia government is being accused of pushing its plans to transform services for people with disabilities to the back burner.
The Disability Rights Coalition says the 2013 roadmap in which the province committed over 10 years to more community-based services rather than institutional care has stalled.
There is an opportunity to participate in an online survey to seek input on barriers to accessibility in education and the built environment.
At the conclusion of her mission to Canada, the UN’s expert on disability rights expresses ‘extreme concern’ concerning the failure of Canadian governments (incl. Nova Scotia) to ensure adequate community-based supports for persons with disabilities. She was also critical of the idea of making individual families file their own human rights complaint.