What should I ask my MLA about

disability issues in Nova Scotia?

Election time is looming.

Now is the time to talk to politicians about the issues that will affect you in the years
to come.

One in five Nova Scotians lives with a disability.

According to government figures, there are about 152,000 people aged 15+ who live
with a disability in our province. Our votes could make all the difference in the coming
election.

What will your MLA do to improve the lives of people who have disabilities in your
area?
We hope that this guide will help you to ask important questions of the people who
want your vote.

1
Having a voice

People who have disabilities have the same rights as other citizens. This includes the
right to vote, and take part in forums, debates and the right to communicate with
candidates.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights and Dignities of Persons with
Disabilities says that people with disabilities have the right to support when making
decisions. Canada has signed this convention.

What plans does your party have to create laws that will enable people with
disabilities to make supported decisions?

What part does Disability play in your party’s platform?

2
Where we live

Why does Nova Scotia put more people in institutions than any other province in
Canada?

The UN Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities (Chapter
19) has recommended that all citizens have the right to be enabled to make choices
about where, and with whom, they live. How will your MLA address this?

What will you do to get rid of the long waiting lists within the Services for Persons
with Disabilities Program?

See also www.institutionwatch.ca and www.freedomtour.ca

3
Contributing to the economy

60% of people who have disabilities are of working age but only 37% of people with
disabilities are active members of Nova Scotia’s labour market. How will your MLA
work with the business community to address this?

For many years people have been working in dead-end jobs in sheltered workshops
with pay a fraction of the minimum wage. How will your party help people get real
jobs?

Often parents are forced to put their careers on hold when they find they have a child
who has a disability. Lack of accessible after-school activities, summer programs, or
appropriate supports for dependent adults, can mean that these active contributors
are not able to return to the workplace. How will your MLA address this?

4
Access to our communities

Many shops, parks, pre-schools, businesses, restaurants, and other small or medium
sized enterprises are not accessible to people with disabilities. Sometimes this is
because of their physical layout, sometimes their service delivery. Often barriers to
access could be easily solved with a small amount of training or physical changes
but small businesses may not have the resources to implement these. How will your
MLA address this?

Often people who have disabilities are not able to access the activities and social
spaces that others take for granted. This means that friendships and emotional
supports are very hard to create and maintain. What will your MLA do to address
this?

What will your party do to ensure that accessible transport is introduced and/or
maintained throughout Nova Scotia?

5
Poverty

You are twice as likely to be living in poverty if you are living with a disability than if
you are non-disabled. What will your MLA do to address this?

Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec have adopted Poverty Reduction Strategies
that have had some effect in those provinces. The Nova Scotia Poverty Reduction
Working Group has produced a poverty reduction strategy. What will your party do to
put this strategy in place?

See also www.gov.ns.ca and search ‘Poverty Reduction Strategy’.

6
Our Rights

Will your government recommend to the Federal government that the UN Convention
on the Rights and Dignities of Persons with Disabilities is ratified and formally
adopted by the Canadian government?

Will your party re-introduce discussions with the Federal government to create a
National Disability Supports Strategy for persons with disabilities?

See also www.un.org/disabilities

No more reports… now is the time for action
Produced by the Nova Scotia Disability Rights Coalition. March 2009.
For more information please email: disabilityrightscoalition@ns.sympatico.ca

For information about group readings of this document, please contact Lois Miller,
Executive Director, Independent Living Nova Scotia: telephone 902-453-0004, or
email Lois.Miller@ilns.ca