Saltwire Opinion: Government should drop appeal of court’s ruling on systemic discrimination
Nova Scotia’s Accessibility Advisory Board calls for the Province to drop its appeal and take action on systemic discrimination
Letter to the Premier – Jeff Moore
“Please Premier, don’t listen to all the excuses, rationalizations and restraints that stand in the way of a better future for our citizens with disabilities. Create a Nova Scotia where “Everybody is somebody!” and worthy of a dignified place in our communities.” -Jeff Moore, Founder of L’Arche Homefires
Holiday Rules in Long-term Care: An Open Letter from Victoria Levack
There has been much confusion over the past week over what the rules are for people living in long-term care facilities. This has made it very hard for residents to plan for the holiday season. But today (Dec 22nd ) at 6:00am, we were told that we are not allowed to leave the building except for medical appointments.
Marty Wexler 1951-2021
Claire McNeil: “I first met Marty in the Kings gym where Vince and I occasionally played basketball on Sunday mornings in the mid 1980s before Marty gave up basketball for golf. Years later we met again – this time on the same side – working on behalf of people whose voices were ignored, in advocating to meet their basic needs for supports and services to live in the community. …”
CALL TO ACTION – TIME TO END THE DISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN NEED
A day after the Court of Appeal released its ruling regarding decades-long systemic discrimination against people with disabilities in their access to social assistance, the Premier announced that he would “not fight people with disabilities in court” and that he would not appeal.
Fast forward to one week ago – a complete reversal by the Premier with the announcement that Province is appealing – all the while the discriminatory treatment continues unchecked.
CBC The Current: NS gov’t appeal shows ‘they don’t view us as people’
When Nova Scotia’s top court ruled the province discriminated against people with disabilities — by housing them in institutions like nursing homes and psychiatric hospitals — Vicky Levack felt relief and hope for the future. The Oct. 6 ruling found systemic discrimination in how the provincial government placed Nova Scotians with disabilities in institutions, even though they could have lived in the community with support. But last week the province announced it intends to appeal. We hear from Levack, as well as Lawyer Claire McNeil, who’s a part of the Disability Rights Coalition that launched the appeal.
Saltwire: Government justification for appealing disabled discrimination ruling ‘misleading,’ lawyer says
The Nova Scotia government has been “misleading” and “disingenuous” in its attempt to justify appealing a court ruling that found the province culpable of systemic discrimination against disabled people, says a disability lawyer.
“I find the government’s response, rationale as to why they are going to the Supreme Court of Canada misleading in the extreme,” said Claire McNeil, lawyer for the Disability Rights Coalition. (photo: Ryan Taplin)
A Head-spinning Reversal
“‘It’s the right thing to do. It’s the human thing to do,’ Premier Tim Houston said two months ago.
“Now that his government intends to do the opposite, wouldn’t that reversal have to be wrong and inhuman?” -Jim Vibert
PC government changes course
The Progressive Conservative government has had a change of heart about appealing a landmark October court decision that found the province culpable of systemic discrimination against disabled persons.
Halifax Examiner: ‘The worst possible outcome’
The Houston government is going to the Supreme Court of Canada to appeal a decision that said the continued institutionalization of persons with disabilities amounts to “systemic discrimination.”