OCAP

TWO IMPORTANT DISABILITY EVENTS:

COMMUNITIES UNITING AND ACCESS FOR KADER:

For those of our readers in the Toronto area, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP) has announced a couple of upcoming events around the issue of disability. Here are the details....

COMMUNITIES UNITING: TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE, DISABILITY AND POSSIBILITIES

6:30 PM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH

PARC (1499 Queen St. West - on Queen just West of Lansdowne.

Closest accessible TTC route - take the Lansdowne Bus South to Queen.)

ACCESS FOR KADER

11AM

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH

25 ST. CLAIR EAST (just off of Yonge).

(Closest accessible TTC route St.Clair subway station.)

--------------------------------------------------------

COMMUNITIES UNITING: TALKING ABOUT JUSTICE, DISABILITY AND POSSIBILITIES 6PMWEDNESDAY, MARCH 19TH

PARC (1499 Queen St. West - on Queen just West of Lansdowne.

Closest accessible TTC route - take the Lansdowne Bus South to Queen.)

MEAL PROVIDED

CHILDCARE PROVIDED

LIVE CAPTIONING AVAILABLE

The realities of disabled people are systemically erased. Though we are an important part of every community, disabled people are actively kept out of public culture. Disabled people are imprisoned, impoverished and denied immigration status. The only way this will ever change is if disabled people and our supporters join together to fight for justice for everyone.Join us as several community organizers address the role of disability and disabled people in the struggle for resistance. Help us move forward local efforts against ableism, and brainstorm new directions for Toronto-based organizing.

SPEAKERS ON:

Ableism and Accessibility: DAMN 2025

DAMN 2025 is a direct action group currently bringing together disabled

people, those affected by ableism, and our supporters. We believe that

accessibility means more than adding ramps and elevators; accessibility

must mean a restructuring of the way we incorporate difference into our

everyday lives. It means an active awareness of how different identities

intersect and assurance that there will be room for everyone in our

struggles. Disabled people must work towards cross-disability organizing

to ally us not only with other disabled people, but with all oppressed

people.

Ableism in the Immigration Act and the Case of Kader Belaouni: Jared Will, legal council for Kader Belaouni

Disability discrimination is written into the Immigration Act. If you are disabled, it is very likely that you will never become a Canadian citizen because you are considered a 'drain on the system' and possibly a 'danger' to the country.

One of the clearest examples of this violent discrimination is the case of Abdelkader Belaouni (Kader), an asylum seeker from Algeria who has been in sanctuary in Montreal for over two years. As people concerned with equity and justice, we demand immediate status for Kader. As a disability organizing campaign, we are particularly concerned with how ableism plays out in his case. He is blind, and his status has been denied, in large part, on the basis of a flagrantly discriminatory policy. Immigration Canada denied his case largely because he was unemployed; however, they failed to take into consideration the reality of systemic discrimination against disabled people.

Poverty, Productivity and Why Disabled People Are Poor: OCAP

Disability and poverty are inextricably linked in our society. It is impossible to fight poverty without addressing disability. Poverty is a reality in many disabled people's lives; it acts to limit our mobility,our opportunities, even our health.

Contrary to popular belief, the high rate of poverty amongst disabled people is not due to an inability to work. Systemic discrimination, the undervaluing of our labour, as well as stringent social assistance rules keep us from being employed. One in five people on welfare in Ontario are disabled and social assistance rates are always too low. A speaker from OCAP will address the fight against poverty in Toronto. Fighting poverty means disabled and other poor people fighting back.

Help us start this discussion, and figure out how to move forward from here.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACCESS FOR KADER

11AMWEDNESDAY, MARCH 26TH

25 ST. CLAIR EAST (just off of Yonge)

Abdel-Kader Belaouni is a disabled man who has been forced to take sanctuary in a Montreal church. He is there so he won’t be deported to detention in the U.S. and ultimately to conflict ridden Algeria where his safety would be jeopardized and there are few services for the blind.

Disabled people who come to Canada face tremendous barriers. Each year many people are denied entry or status in Canada because of their disabilities. These shameful and discriminatory practices must stop. Come out and tell the government to grant status to Kader. We as disabled people and our supporters, will tell the federal government to remove ableism and racism from the Immigration Act and stop all of its ableist and racist practices.