Rights & Accessibility

Human Rights of People with Disabilities: Practical Strategies

It is vital that people with disabilities know their rights under provincial and federal human rights codes in order to effectively seek accommodation. Litigation is an important tool to remove systemic barriers to the education and employment of students and graduates with disabilities; however an adversarial approach may be inappropriate for initial accommodation requests. This presentation will provide an overview of the rights of disabled persons in educational and employment settings. Cara will discuss practical strategies that may be utilized to negotiate accommodation requests, including best practices suggested by provincial human rights commissions and her experience, such as how to disclose your disability, and what to do if your needs are not being met.

Speakers | Cara Wilkie |

"Opening Doors" - Involving Students with Disabilities in Accessibility Planning

Students with disabilities bring a wealth of lived experience to accessibility planning efforts and must be viewed as key players in all barrier removal efforts in the post-secondary sector. How can students with disabilities become more involved in campus accessibility initiatives? What are the benefits and challenges to a student of becoming involved? Once a student graduates then what? Margaret will address these questions using examples from Brock University, where students with disabilities have assumed leadership roles in the removal of barriers. They have done this through greater awareness of barriers through dynamic presentations to students, faculty, and staff, and by developing a community of peers for networking and mentoring. Involving students with disabilities in accessibility planning on campus is not only the right thing to do – it results in real short-term and long-term benefits to both the student and the campus community.

Speakers | Margaret Sanderson |

From Ratification to the Real World: Bringing the CRPD to life in the Canadian Context

Leah will discuss how the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities may work with provincial governments and provincial legislation, both to enhance and enforce accessibility and human rights for persons with disabilities in Canada. She will focus on Ontario and Manitoba in her examples and then she will discuss how Canadian students can help create legal change for persons with disabilities in their home province.

Speakers | Leah Simeone |

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