Nova Scotia Disability Rights are Human Rights
“There’s definitely light at the end of the tunnel but we’re just hoping that the tunnel is shorter than what we thought,” said Claire McNeil, a lawyer for the Disability Rights Coalition of Nova Scotia.
Vicky Levack was recently interviewed on the Todd Veinotte Show, CityNews 95.7 about the aims and current status of the court proceedings that the Disability Rights Coalition of Nova Scotia is involved in.
On June 30th Vicky Levack was presented with the 2022 James MacGregor Stewart Award for her leadership as an outspoken advocate for people with disabilities. See the videos of the presentation and her comments here.
“The Court of Appeal ruled last year that the government’s failure to offer “meaningful” access to housing for people with disabilities amounted to a violation of their basic rights. But under Section 6 of Nova Scotia’s Human Rights Act, the province can exempt itself from that ruling if it can prove the discrimination is justified in a free and democratic society.” -Keith Doucette
“Every single thing I’ve read about how the NS government has opposed this case makes me cringe.” -David T.S. Fraser
The Nova Scotia government must decide by July 11 whether it will try and exempt itself from a Court of Appeal ruling that stated the province had discriminated against people with disabilities who were seeking housing. (photo: Craig Paisley/CBC)
A Disability Rights Coalition lawyer says there can only be one conclusion as to why the province does not do the right thing for Nova Scotia’s disabled.
“Fundamentally, they (government) don’t care about people with disabilities,” said Claire McNeil. “They say they do and you hear that all the time from this premier and previous premiers and ministers of community services but actions speak louder than words and the solution to this problem has been staring us in the face for decades and other provinces have done it and we haven’t.”
Nova Scotia’s application for permission to appeal a decision that found evidence it discriminated against people with disabilities has been dismissed by the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed Nova Scotia’s bid to appeal a decision that found the province has for years been discriminating against people with disabilities.
On April 14th, 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision on the Province’s application for permission to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision. The top Court dismissed the Province’s request to appeal. In doing so, the Supreme Court awarded costs against the Province, payable to the DRC.