On the occasion of the Quebec Week of Persons with Disabilities, which runs until June 7, we will hear about people with disabilities in the media and on social networks. For seven days, people living with limitations will come out of the shadows to be in the spotlight for a few moments. They will thus have the opportunity to raise awareness, share and have their achievements recognized as well as the obstacles they face on a daily basis. Will we also take the time to listen to their demands?
Posted at 1:00 p.m.
The arrival of the pandemic has exposed the flaws in the health system, had a disproportionate impact and accentuated the obstacles to the participation and social inclusion of people with disabilities. This great ordeal has strengthened the solidarity, determination and above all the resilience of the community, despite its invisibility to the public media and government authorities.
This year, Quebec Week for Persons with Disabilities coincides with the second anniversary of the Collective of Organizations for the Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CODDPSH). Bringing together 11 organizations, the CODDPSH campaigns for the full and complete inclusion of people with disabilities in Quebec society.
Over the past two years, we have worked with our members to take stock of the situation in Quebec. Unfortunately, we are forced to realize that there is still a long way to go before achieving equality.
According to data from the Quebec Survey on Activity Limitations, Chronic Diseases and Aging, 33.3% of people aged 15 and over in Quebec live with a daily limitation.
However, the budgets allocated by the government of François Legault to programs for accessible housing, home help, accessible transportation and employment for people with disabilities are largely insufficient.
While the shortage of affordable housing affects the entire population of Quebec, the challenge of finding accessible, adaptable and affordable housing is all the more daunting. The decision of the CAQ government to abandon the AccèsLogis program in favor of private companies constitutes a serious obstacle to the autonomy of the many people with disabilities who find themselves on endless waiting lists for access to housing. accessible and adaptable, or are forced to live in a CHSLD.
Home and employment assistance are limited
In terms of home help, the pattern is similar: waiting lists are getting longer and the labor shortage leads to service disruptions. Although the government allocated additional sums to home assistance, the budget envelope concerned targeted the needs of seniors with a loss of autonomy, leaving aside the specific needs of people with disabilities. Moreover, there is no guarantee that these increases will last after the health crisis.
On the employment side, the situation is hardly rosier: the Work Integration Contract (CIT), which is the only program facilitating access to employment for people with disabilities, does not meet the growing demand from organizations and businesses.
Moreover, the few statistics available since the adoption by the CAQ of the National Strategy for the Integration and Retention of Handicapped Persons in Employment do not allow us to conclude that there is a significantly higher representation of persons with limitations on the labor market. work.
Access to employment, already difficult for these individuals, is even more so for asylum seekers and people with disabilities. Another part of society that suffers from the negligence of the Legault government.
And paratransit lacks resources
In addition, to get to work, like all of their daily activities, people with disabilities also need timely and reliable paratransit services. However, service disruptions are reported across the province, and cries from the heart of taxi drivers, who make the majority of paratransit trips, are increasing.
In some municipalities, people are seeing their travel requests refused because of a lack of resources. Without adapted transport, people with disabilities will be the only ones to remain confined.
During this Quebec Week for People with Disabilities, we want to see the work and achievements of people with disabilities highlighted, but we also want their collective demands to be taken into account. Hopefully in June next year we can finally celebrate full social participation and equal rights for people with disabilities.
* CAPVISH is a member of the Collective of Organizations for the Defense of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CODDPSH), which also includes the Action des femmes handicapes Montréal, the Multi-ethnic Association for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities in Quebec, the Radisson Community Center, the Action Committee for Persons Living with Disabilities, Ex aequo, the National Institute for Equity, Equality and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities, Spinal Cord and Motricity Quebec, the PHAS Movement, Grouping of the Blind and Amblyopic of Metropolitan Montreal, the Grouping of Users of Adapted and Accessible Transportation on the Island of Montreal and the International Network on the Process of Creating Disability.