Communities Uniting: Talking About Justice, Disability and Possibilities

Important Event - Note Toronto Location:

COMMUNITIES UNITING: TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE, DISABILITY AND POSSIBILITIES

6:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH

PARC (1499 Queen St. West - on Queen just West of Lansdowne. TORONTO)

MEAL PROVIDED

Disabled people are imprisoned, impoverished and denied immigration status. The only way this will ever change is if disabled people and our supporters join together to fight for justice for everyone. Disabled people are an important part of every community. This should make us an important part of every community organizing effort, which largely isn’t the case. Join us as several community organizers address the role of disability and disabled people in the struggle for resistance as we begin
discussions about where to go from here.


Ableism and Accessibility: Griffin Epstein, DAMN 2025

DAMN 2025 is a direct action group currently bringing together disabled people, those affected by ableism, and our supporters. We believe that accessibility is more than adding in ramps, it is about ensuring that things are made accessible in a wide variety of ways to a wide variety of people. It also means looking at how different identities intersect and ensuring that there is room for everyone in our struggles. Disabled people must work towards cross disability organizing which allies us to
other people with disabilities as well as with other oppressed groups.


Ableism in the Immigration Act and the Case of Kader Belaouni: Jared Will, legal council for Kader Belaouni

Disability discrimination is written into the Immigration Act. If you are disabled, it is very likely that you will NEVER become a Canadian citizen because you are considered a ‘drain on the system’ and possibly a ‘danger’ to the country.

One of the worst examples of this is the case of Abdelkader Belaouni Kader), an asylum seeker from Algeria who has been in sanctuary in Montreal for over two years. As people concerned with equity and justice, we demand immediate status for Kader. As a disability organizing campaign, we are particularly concerned with how ableism plays out in his case. He is blind, and his status has been denied, in large part, on the basis of a flagrantly discriminatory policy. Immigration Canada denied his case
largely because he was unemployed; however, they failed to take into consideration the reality of systemic discrimination against disabled people.


Poverty, Productivity and Why Disabled People Are Poor: A.J. Withers, OCAP

Disability and poverty are inextricably linked in our society. It is impossible to fight poverty without addressing disability and how so many disabled people are poor. Poverty is a reality in many disabled people’s lives; it acts to limit our mobility, our opportunities, even our health.

Many disabled people are poor but contrary to popular belief it is not because we are unable to work. Systemic discrimination, the undervaluing of our labour, as well as social assistance rules that keep us from being employed or employed at the levels that would work for us are what keep us poor. One in five people on welfare in Ontario are disabled and social assistance rates are always too low. Fighting poverty means disabled and other poor people fighting back.

Come help start these discussions on organizing in Toronto and where to go from here.