Abstract
Canadian disability-related policies are shaped within a global system of inequalities, including colonialism and neoliberalism. Using a critical theory framework, this article examines the complicated material inequalities experienced by people with disabilities and evident in the intersections of disability, gender, Indigenousness, race, and age. The collectively held ideas that give context to disability policies are at odds. Human rights protections are found in the foundational documents of Canadian society and part of its international commitments, yet these commitments often become window-dressing for a pervasive logic that it is better to be dead than disabled, and medical assistance in dying legislation supports this choice. While human rights protections are essential, they are not sufficient for decolonizing inclusion. Constructive actions between Indigenous peoples and settlers may help to find new ways of addressing disability and inclusion in Canada.
Highlights
Disability policy in Canada is fragmented across many programs and jurisdictions [1]
Human rights legislation and commitments frame much of disability policy, but diverse people with disabilities continue to experience significant gaps resulting in on-going exclusions [3]
Cox [6] describes institutionalization as a means of perpetuating and stabilizing a particular order, reflecting the power relations existing at the beginning. While this approach has not been used to examine Canadian disability policies, in trying to locate disability in the global political economy [8], one article argues that disability is an historical structure in the global economy
Summary
Disability policy in Canada is fragmented across many programs and jurisdictions [1]. Indigenous peoples experience even greater complexity as a result of colonial structures and neocolonial practices. Neoliberal federal and provincial government practices have eroded funding and delivery of disability-related care by privatizing services and reducing funding programs, while some jurisdictions implement accessibility legislation [2]. Human rights legislation and commitments frame much of disability policy, but diverse people with disabilities continue to experience significant gaps resulting in on-going exclusions [3].
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