Disability Justice Resources

By Breanna Case | University of Alberta
​Disability justice is an umbrella concept that critically examines how the oppression of individuals connects to other systems of oppression and injustice. Disability Justice is the focus of a panel presentation, with David Lepofsky, Greg McMeekin and Dr Ameil Joseph, hosted by the University of Alberta, Faculty of Law on October 28, 2021. This blog highlights some resources for those interested in learning more about Disability Justice.

​David Lepofsky is a leading disability justice advocate in Canada. You can watch footage of his appearance in Parliament in 1980 to argue that disability should be included as a protected ground in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or a talk he gave on the subject. He is now a driving force behind the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance, a disability consumer advocacy group that works to support the full and effective implementation of accessibility standards in Ontario. He has produced a large number of videos, including:

• Duty to Accommodate People with Disabilities 101 
• An Introduction to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
• 2018-2019 Campaign to get Canada’s parliament to Pass a Strong Accessible Canada Act, and
• What should Canada's promised national accessibility legislation include?

​​Greg McMeekin is Chair of the Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities and The City of Calgary Advisory Committee On Accessibility. He is working to bring accessibility legislation to Alberta as part of the Alberta Ability Network.

Dr. Ameil Joseph, an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at McMaster University, has written a number of pieces examining disability justice in the healthcare and policing fields and the connections between disability justice and racial justice:

• The impact that amendments to the Medical Assistance in Dying legislation may have on people with disabilities is canvassed in this article. 
• This article calls for accountability in policing, touching upon the inadequacy of police responses to mental-health needs, the widespread issues of racial profiling, and access to justice for those impacted by hate. 
• This article argues against the diversion of funds allocated to mental health services to policing budgets. 
• This article discusses the ways in which the language used by the alt-right can be canvassed in the university undergraduate setting. 

Dr. Ameil Joseph has also published a peer-reviewed article which investigates the ways in which the concept of “lived experience” which is used widely in mental health literature carries ethical implications for racialized and indigenous peoples. 
Here are some resources that may specifically be of use to legal professionals:

• ARCH Disability Law Centre, a specialty legal clinic that practices exclusively in disability rights law.
• The Canadian Association of Lawyers with Disabilities’ Facebook page for members. Here is a podcast about the organization.
• The Alternative Dispute Resolution Institute of Canada has a Disability Accessibility Guidebook for Mediators, co-authored by David Lepofsky and 
• The Law Society of Ontario’s Continuing Professional Development Program has collaborated with David Lepofsky on a video series about Enhancing Access to the Court. 
• A new textbook discusses persons with disabilities and their interactions with the law has been created called Law and Disability in Canada: Cases and Materials. 

You might also want to re-watch last year’s Access to Justice Vlog on Disability Justice, created by Andrew Green, a Social Benefits Advisor at the Edmonton Community Legal Centre, available at this link.