February 2021
Two young men with disabilities playing a game in a classroom. The boy in the foreground is moving colourful pieces around on a white board and the boy in the background is watching while smiling.
4 children sitting on the floor of a classroom drawing.
Inclusive Education Canada: Recent & Upcoming Work

February is Inclusive Education Month in Canada. Inclusion Canada is committed to building capacity for inclusive education at every level of education.

We've written a blog post detailing the recent and upcoming work of Gordon Porter and Inclusive Education Canada (IEC), our organizational partner in inclusive education priority work.. The post discusses our recent Fall and Winter webinar series, new IEC associates, and ongoing work with Montessori Education.

Bill C-7 - An Act to Amend Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD)

Inclusion Canada and our disability community partners have been working tirelessly to stop Bill C-7, which would expand medical assistance in dying to include people with disabilities that are not near the end of life.

Our advocacy against the bill has been supported by the United Nations, who believe that the eligibility criteria for MAiD discriminate against persons with disabilities.

We have been joined by policy experts, doctors, lawyers, Senators, and many self-advocates in our calls to rethink the amendments to Bill C-7 that would further stigmatize and discriminate against people with disabilities in Canada's healthcare system. Ultimately we continue our collective fight to kill Bill C-7.

As Bill C-7 is currently back before the House of Commons, we urge members of our community to contact their MPs to urge them to kill this dangerous Bill. Bill C-7 is fundamentally flawed and a threat to the lives of Canadians with disabilities. The government has decided to focus on providing an easier path to death when what is needed is a path to a meaningful life. It is not too late - we can ensure equality of people with disabilities by saying NO to Bill C-7.
Inclusion Canada in Action
  • Ready, Willing and Able (RWA) is very pleased to announced that The Brick and IBM Canada have both joined RWA as national employment partners. Through their partnership with RWA, both of these national employers affirm their commitment to inclusive hiring practices for people with an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

  • Inclusion Canada hosted a national press conference about Bill C-7 with members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and several other media outlets. Moderated by Bonnie Brayton, National Executive Director of the DisAbled Women's Network (DAWN) Canada, a panel of disability advocates and policy experts discussed how the bill will impact people with disabilities in Canada and responded to questions from media.

  • Inclusive Education Canada will be releasing a new video series, "Let's Chat about Inclusive Education with Jacqui Specht, Diane Richler, and Gordon Porter." The series features conversations between the 3 hosts and guest educators, researchers, teachers, parents, and more. Stay tuned to IEC's Facebook page for details!

Canadians with disabilities need priority access to vaccines

Inclusion Canada Executive Vice President Krista Carr was recently interviewed by CBC's Natasha Fatah about the need to prioritize people with disabilities in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. The majority of provinces and territories do not have a plan in place to ensure people with disabilities have priority access to the vaccine. This is problematic because people with disabilities are contracting and dying of COVID-19 at higher rates than the general population. We continue to advocate for priority access.
A child in a stroller with a disability smiling at the camera. A family member stands above, pushing the stroller and smiling. A yellow school bus is in the background.
Inclusive Education Canada Webinar: Perspectives on Inclusive Education
In many Canadian communities, families are struggling to make inclusive education a reality for their child. Those who do need support – from – other families; parent associations both local and provincial; rights and advocacy groups. Inclusive Education Canada will be hosting a webinar, “Supporting Families with Inclusion: Strategies for Associations & Parent Groups”. It will be on March 9th from 6-7:15 EST. Keep an eye out on the IEC Facebook Page for the registration link!
Image of the COVID virus in the background. Text in foreground reads "COVID-19 & Disability Resources"
COVID-19 & disability resources page updated

Inclusion Canada has recently updated its COVID-19 & Disability Resources page to accurately reflect the needs of the disability community during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The page provides current and accessible information about vaccines, government supports, mental health support for people with a disability and their families, plain language resources and guides, and more!


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