Nova Scotia Disability Rights are Human Rights
The DRC is advocating for emergency planning and relief supports on behalf of people with disabilities in institutional settings, such as RRCs, ARCs, RCFs, and the East Coast Forensic Hospital, who are capable and wish to leave the institutions. In response to Covid 19, to reduce the risk of infection, persons with disabilities need to be provided with supports and services to move to community based settings on an urgent basis.
One of the many health protection measures taken by the Nova Scotia government has been the ban on visitors for people with disabilities residing in institutions and small options homes.
Hearings of the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal have been adjourned indefinitely due to the Covid 19 pandemic, with the exception of those that are essential.
These are challenging days for everyone but particularly for vulnerable people and their families. As the corona virus spreads and more and more people practice social distancing, many will lose their community connections and will become even more isolated in their homes.
People with disabilities including many members of the Disability Rights Coalition are still waiting to hear from the Premier in response to the April 2019 letter regarding the human rights crisis.
ARCH (the Legal Aid Ontario Disability Advocacy Center) is offering on line learning for community members and lawyers in an effort to create a national network for the implementation of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.
Once again, Canada’s leading human rights publisher featured the human rights case against the Province brought by persons with disabilities. In its current ‘Human Rights Digest’, the editors of the Canadian Human Rights Reporter have selected the Board of Inquiry’s December 2019 decision regarding the compensation to be granted the three individual complainants for its monthly View Point editorial.
Halifax lawyer Vince Calderhead, who represented Beth MacLean, Joey Delaney and late Sheila Livingstone at the human rights board of inquiry, said the level of compensation awarded his clients devalues the lives of disabled people. – RYAN TAPLIN
Fri Nov 29th: The Dalhousie University Health Law Institute is presenting a free lecture by Linda Steele, Faculty of Law, University of Technology, Sydney Australia
