Having filed its human rights claim in 2014, the Disability Rights Coalition is very happy to report that we have achieved what we feel is a tremendous remedy to the systemic discrimination found by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal in October 2021.
On June 28, 2023, the human rights Board of Inquiry approved an Interim Consent Order, which will start a step by step 5 year plan for the government to end the systemic discrimination of persons with disabilities in their access to social assistance including supports and services to live in community. A plain language summary of the Interim Consent Order can be found here.
The Interim Consent Order between the Province, the DRC and the NSHRC, follows a report by Eddie Bartnik and Tim Stainton, jointly appointed, independent experts. The report has been made public and can be found here, with a plain language summary to be found here.
The Order is called “interim” because it is an initial Order requiring the Province to take action to end the systemic discrimination. A final order for the full resolution of the DRC’s human rights complaint will only happen when the government fully implements its entire legal obligations under the Interim Consent Order, thereby bringing to an end the discriminatory practices and policies identified by the Court of Appeal.
The final ‘outcomes’ include closing all institutions, ending the waitlist for access to social assistance including supports and services to live in the community of their choice, and fulfilling the government’s legal obligation to provide social assistance as an entitlement to all persons in need, in a manner that is consistent with the Human Rights Act.
The remedy is a legally binding Interim Consent Order which imposes legal obligations on the Province to fix the systemic discrimination by March 31, 2028.
CLICK HERE for more details regarding the remedy