August 2016
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Inclusion Matters Newsletter!
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Coming Changes in Executive Leadership

The Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) and IRIS - Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society are pleased to announce the creation of a full-time Managing Director position at IRIS, the research and development arm of CACL.

Dr. Michael Bach, current Executive Vice-President of CACL, will be moving into the Managing Director role on a full-time basis so that he can devote his time more completely to the Institute's renewal, and its research and development priorities.

"We are very pleased to announce that with some additional resources we are able to significantly grow our capacity to make progress on priorities and also grow our sustainability. The creation of a full-time Managing Director at IRIS means having more executive leadership to drive our agenda forward, to build needed partnerships, to engage and grow donors and supporters, to work with governments and to get our message to the public." - Joy Bacon, CACL President.

At Coop Coco & Calendula, Inclusion is Synonymous with Retention

Among the 25 employees working at Coop Coco & Calendula, three are participants in the Ready, Willing and Able program: packing clerk Lucia Feola, and production clerks Heather Franklin and Shadday Polony. 

In the early days of the cooperative, which produces natural soaps and body care products, a volunteer with an intellectual disability helped out. This experience led co-owner Sarah Hunter to hire inclusively.

As is the case for all employees, those with a disability tried out their tasks for a few days to make sure it was a good fit for them.

During their first few days, the Ready, Willing and Able program assisted the employer by providing information about intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder. Counselors from Action main-d'œuvre and Agence Ometz, organizations that help place employees with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorder, explained how Hunter could work with program participants.


Project Value: Disabled Lives Have Value

Project Value, currently available on Facebook, is a video collection featuring Canadians with disabilities sharing why disabled lives have value.

Project Value emerged from the complex discussion in Canada about doctor-assisted suicide. Canadians with disabilities are worried that Canadians are only getting one side of the disability story - that death is a natural choice for "these poor suffering disabled people". Advocates from Project Value believe that story doesn't speak to the experiences of many with disabilities.

Featuring advocates such as Norman Kunc and Catherine Frazee, as well as many others from across the country, the Project seeks to explore a different perspective; to share stories and experiences that contradict the narrative that disability is a fate worse than death.

Follow Project Value on Facebook to watch the entire series. To watch Catherine Frazee's contribution, click here.
Shaping the Future: International Forum
 
Inclusion International and The Arc of the United States have partnered to host the 2016 National Convention & International Forum, Shaping the Future. 

Join the global conversation as people from all over the world share best practices, struggles, successes, and hopes for the future in promoting the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities.

The conference will feature workshops and key note speakers from across the world as well as plenty of of opportunities to network with each other. 
 

Photo courtesy: Mark Blinch,The Canadian Press
Montoya Family Granted Permanent Residency on Compassionate Grounds

York University professor Felipe Montoya and his family will be returning to Canada after their bid for permanent residency was granted on compassionate grounds.

Felipe and his family moved from Costa Rica to Toronto in 2012. In March 2016, they were denied the opportunity to apply for permanent residency by the Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade because son Nico has Down syndrome.

Under Section 38.1 (c) of Canada's the Refugee and Immigration Protection Act, a foreign national is inadmissible on health grounds if their health condition "might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services."

Upcoming Dates and Events
September 5 - Labour Day - CACL offices will be closed
 September 15  - Deadline for youth to apply to Federal Accessibility Forum

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