[Recorded by Electronic Apparatus]
Wednesday, March 19, 1997
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[English]
The Chair (Mrs. Sheila Finestone (Mount Royal, Lib.)): I call to order the meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Rights and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.
Our meeting today has been delayed. You'll please forgive us, but as you know, the House works under certain rules and procedures. There is a vote to be called that will happen within the next 30 to 45 minutes. We will proceed until such time as the bell indicates we must leave you. I am sorry that it has delayed our proceedings at this particular moment. The business of government must go on even though we have two such important and exciting guests with us today.
This meeting is a very significant one, because we have these two very special guests. They are Lynda Nancoo, and Laurie Bellefontaine, 1994 and 1995 recipients, respectively, of the Centennial Flame Research Award.
We applaud your presence. We're delighted to have you with us.
This Centennial Flame Research Award was established by an act of Parliament, and passed in 1991. The award represents an effort by this committee in particular and the Government of Canada - it's embodied in this committee - to use the message of life, hope, and community to recognize and publicize, through this particular award, the achievements of Canadians with disabilities. The money for the award comes from the coins collected in the Centennial Flame fountain, which you know is at the bottom of Parliament Hill. Of course, all private donations are more than welcome for this centennial fund.
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The Centennial Flame Research Award Act, passed by Parliament almost six years ago today, provides an annual award to a Canadian with a disability to conduct research and produce a report about the contributions to public life of persons with disabilities. So often we forget to look at people not with their disabilities, but with their abilities. We have very good examples with us here today, and we're most fortunate that the recipients have joined us.
Ms Lynda Nancoo of Toronto, the recipient of the 1994 award, is an individual who has made a significant contribution in terms of her research and writing on the issues of human rights and disability, issues that we have been dealing with on an ongoing basis in this committee.
Lynda has also been very much involved in community development. She's been instrumental in founding the Ethno-racial People With Disabilities Coalition of Ontario, xxx and that was no small task. This group was formed to address human rights issues of concern to racial minorities with disabilities. Lynda's commitment is expressed in the report she prepared. It deals with the lives of five ethno-racial women with disabilities and their achievements in creating change within their communities. Of course, that's where we all live. So to have effected this piece of research and to bring to life...
Later on, we will hear from you, Lynda, just how you approached this and who these people were.
She looked at the problems these women had experienced with existing services, their participation in the public policy and legislative process, and their efforts in overcoming barriers that hampered their full participation in the community. In other words, Lynda, you really worked on access and fulsomeness of rights.
Our second guest, Laurie Bellefontaine, received the Centennial Flame Research Award in 1995. Laurie has also been actively involved as an advocate on issues faced by people with disabilities in her workplace and community for several years. She has worked to increase awareness and remove barriers, particularly for people with visual impairments.
I'm very pleased to see that you've brought your friend and your Seeing Eye dog with you. I'd love you to tell us the story of how you named your dog. I know we'll all be very interested.
She has actively addressed one of the most important issues for people who are visually impaired - these are the print handicapped - notably, access to information, and promoted the availability of material in alternate formats. I'm quite pleased to advise you that this committee does do its work in alternate formats.
Her interest and commitment are reflected in the work she has done. She has used the award as an opportunity to tell all Canadians about the contributions of Charles Crane, and Paul and Judith Thiele, the founders of the Charles Crane Memorial Library at the University of British Columbia, the very beautiful university with which you did this work.
This resource centre has been made possible for people with visual impairments to receive a university education that is equal to that enjoyed by students without visual impairment. This is where the whole concept of equal opportunity really is relative to the equal outcome that people are able to acquire as a result of accommodation and access. The vision of the Thieles has, in Laurie's world, enabled people who are blind to turn a library from a vast wasteland of potential into a means of ensuring the achievement of a dream of higher education.
I will be tabling, in the name of this committee and in the interest of all Canadians, both Lynda's and Laurie's reports in the House of Commons. Copies of these reports will be kept in the National Library of Canada and the Library of Parliament.
I would now really like to ask our two guests if they would be good enough to outline their reports for us, the members of the standing committee, whom I would like to introduce.
I'm sorry that we don't have a full house. It's because of the vote and the changed hour. For those of us who are here, I will start with you, Maurice.
[Translation]
Mr. Maurice Bernier (Mégantic - Compton - Stanstead, B.Q.): My name is Maurice Bernier. I am the member for Megantic - Compton - Stanstead, a riding in Estrie, Quebec.
The Chair: And you are the vice-president of the committee.
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Mr. Maurice Bernier: Yes, it's a pleasure and an honour to be vice-president forMrs. Finestone.
[English]
The Chair: We also have members from the government side.
Mrs. Georgette Sheridan (Saskatoon - Humboldt, Lib.): I'm Georgette Sheridan, MP from Saskatchewan. Saskatoon-Humboldt is my riding.
Ms Jean Augustine (Etobicoke - Lakeshore, Lib.): I'm Madam Jean Augustine, member of Parliament for Etobicoke - Lakeshore. I want to add my words of compliment.
The Chair: Thank you very much.
I wonder, Lynda, if you would be good enough to introduce us to your accompanying guest and outline for us what it was that you looked at and what conclusions you drew from your experience.
Ms Lynda Nancoo (1994 Recipient, Centennial Flame Research Award): Thank you. My accompanying guest is Rudy Balcaran. xxx He is a family friend who was good enough to come here so that I would find the place.
My research began in 1992, when I became actively involved in legislation and the human rights of people with disabilities. I found myself personally involved in human rights abuse. I had thought there were people out there looking after my human rights. I thought legislation was there to protect me from any type of abuse, especially in employment.
When I found that I was personally subject to human rights abuse, I ended up filing a human rights complaint against an organization. As a result, I found other women with disabilities who were experiencing the same things. We grouped together and formed the Ethno-racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario. xxx
Some of our stories are told in the book that I'm preparing to write. Unfortunately, I have been told that I cannot go into details until a lawyer has looked through the contents of the book and the information I'm writing about, because I have named organizations and people. Until then, I wouldn't be able to tell or release as much information as I would like to. I hope that in the end, when my book is published, it does raise concern about legislation that is supposed to protect the rights of people with disabilities in all sectors of society, especially in employment, which is critical.
Employment opportunities are critical for me especially. Last year my income was less than $5,000. It's very difficult to do the things you want to do, especially to fight for human rights, which I feel do not exist. In 1992, and today in 1997, I have been unable to find employment because of my human rights complaint. I have tried to raise attention verbally by speaking out in public forums, and finally, will do so through my book. I know that the results of the book will raise concerns.
This is all I can say about the information contained in the book until I am given further instructions from the publishing company I'm involved with. I know it isn't enough, but I hope I have created curiosity and intrigue. I will certainly keep in touch so that the end result, the book, will be distributed to each and every one of you here today. Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you very much, Lynda. Today is the international day to fight against discrimination, racial discrimination in particular. As a matter of fact, I did a Standing Order in the House today in that regard.
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I can tell you that although Canada has a road map that is outlined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and we very specifically enunciate the fact that non-discrimination is the goal for a Canada that would be fair and equitable and open to everyone and in which tolerance and understanding of difference are things that you appreciate, it's the diversity of our society and its multicultural reality that is also inscribed in our charter as a value to be pursued. That road map has seen growth and development and change, but we still haven't reached the end.
There have been stumbling blocks along the way. I'm pleased to hear you describe one of them, but I'm sorry that it's happened. I can assure you that if you speak with our staff afterward, we'll look into it to see whether there's anything we can do to, first of all, facilitate your story so that it reaches the public. Second, every story helps move the goalpost ahead so that we can reach that target of non-discrimination in a free and democratic society.
I thank you very much for the work and effort you have put in toward the interests of people who are both handicapped and visible minorities. That is a double whammy in a sense.
We look forward to hearing about, seeing and reading your book. Thank you for being so open with us. May the future hold a much brighter light for you and your search for your right to economic opportunity be realized very shortly.
Ms Nancoo: Thank you very much.
The Chair: Joining us is John Godfrey, who is on duty in the House. He has just come to tell us that the bell is ringing.
Mr. John Godfrey (Don Valley West, Lib.): This wasn't supposed to have happened when I left, but that might well be a half-hour bell. It's summoning us to the sweet hour of prayer.
[Translation]
The Chair: Do we have time?
Mr. Maurice Bernier: We have half an hour.
[English]
The Chair: Okay.
John, would you just introduce yourself and give your riding, please?
Mr. John Godfrey: I'm John Godfrey from Don Valley West in Toronto. Hello and welcome. Sorry we're so confused today.
The Chair: It's the House that's confused, not us, John. Right?
Mr. John Godfrey: Right.
The Chair: We have just heard from Lynda Nancoo, who is the 1994 award winner. We are about to hear from Laurie Bellefontaine.
Laurie, I wonder if you could introduce your accompanying guest to us, please. I would then look very much forward to hearing what you have to tell us about your project.
Ms Laurie Bellefontaine (1995 Recipient, Centennial Flame Research Award): This is Margaret Baker. She is the chair of Revenue Canada's national advisory committee. I'm really pleased to have her here today, both as a friend and as a colleague in the department.
The Chair: Are you working for Revenue Canada?
Ms Bellefontaine: Yes, we're both working for Revenue Canada.
The Chair: Good. I wonder if you might outline what you had to say, what you had to do with respect to the presentation you made, and why you became our award winner for 1995?
Ms Bellefontaine: This committee was gracious enough to give me this award, and I am indeed grateful. It gave me an opportunity to do something that I've always wanted to do, and to write about a subject that is absolutely one of the most important subjects to people who are blind and visually impaired, as well as to people who have visual disabilities in general. It was your graciousness that gave me this award, so I thank you.
I was a student at UBC from 1981-86, and it really wouldn't have been possible without the support of Charles Crane Memorial Library. As I said in my introduction, I was leading a so-called fairly ordinary life as a young, single mom and working for Revenue Canada at the time.
Going to school requires a lot of time and energy for anyone, never mind when you have to organize readers and get things taped. It simply takes longer. It takes more energy, but the Good Lord has only given me about the same amount as everybody else, and it wanes sometimes. I really didn't think it was possible for me to ever acquire a university degree.
I went to UBC and spent my five years there working hard.
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I think it was really when I moved away from the university community and went back into the work world that I became very appreciative of what Charles Crane Memorial Library really meant to a lot of people, particularly as its survival really has been threatened in many ways over the years due to provincial government cuts.
The federal government did provide funding for Crane Library in the years of the LIP grants, the local initiatives program, but Crane has had to be self-funding and, like everyone, it had to depend on sometimes pretty shaky economic grounds.
But the service it provides is so absolutely important because we need information. Knowledge is power and empowerment, and we need to be empowered in order to take our places in society.
I became very attached to this report and the people in it. Charles Crane left an incredible legacy through his Braille work. I have looked through the library. I'm one of those people who walks through the library and pulls out a book to read a couple of paragraphs. I'm a browser, and the Crane Library gives me the freedom to do this. As I said in my report, most libraries for the blind, unbeknownst to me, don't give you that freedom. So I didn't even know that this was a freedom and a privilege until I actually did a little more research.
I've seen some of the work that Charles Crane transcribed himself. He was deaf and blind. He transcribed his books in the 1930s and 1940s on a mechanical Braille writer. This meant that someone would have to spell each word, letter by letter, on his hand. Word by word, he transcribed many books that are still there in the collection.
Paul is still going strong. Paul is very active in the community. He is working toward new premises for Crane Library. He's still speaking strongly on many issues of concern to people with visual disabilities. Paul is there and doing well, and I'm glad for it.
The Chair: Laurie, I don't want to stop your flow, but are they fund-raising right now for the extension of the library?
Ms Bellefontaine: There's a project out there. The library joined the Disability Resource Centre. While that made administrative and organizational sense, fund-raising is going to be happening at any time. There are proposals out there, so they will soon be doing this.
The Chair: Fine, thank you.
Ms Bellefontaine: I was speaking with Bill Young before the meeting started. He was a student at UBC when Crane opened. As I pointed out to him, they're still in the same premises. They're still there, and they keep growing.
I just wanted to say a few words about Judith Field, who died in 1993. As I said in my report, if Paul was the heart of Crane Library, then Judy was indeed its soul. She had a very wise and quiet strength. She was a very determined woman. She was the first blind Canadian to get a degree in library science. She was probably one of only a few in the world. There's still very much a presence of Judy at Crane Library.
The library is going to be 29 years old on April 4. They're looking toward having new premises. This year, they're actually serving their first international student, a student from Japan, who I believe is studying library science. They also had one of their students on an exchange program with Berkeley in political science.
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They continue, and they need to continue, because they are certainly championing the cause of those of us with visual disabilities. As I said before, access to information is the biggest issue we face, because without information, we are powerless and unable to participate on an equal footing. That's what this report is all about.
The message here is definitely that we need services like this library, and we need to look at the courage of these people's lives. It's very discouraging when you're constantly working and fighting for something while the ground seems to be slipping away all the time, yet these people have certainly demonstrated strength and courage and have really given a lot of people, internationally, nationally, and locally, a lot of hope and encouragement to pursue their dreams.
Thank you.
The Chair: I think we've all been most touched by your presentation. Monsieur Bernier wishes to speak with you first.
[Translation]
Mr. Maurice Bernier: First, I wish to thank Mrs. Nancoo and Mrs. Bellefontaine, for accepting to come and meet the committee and, naturally, I want to congratulate them for their work in promoting the rights of disabled people and in securing the resources they need.
I am sorry I didn't have the opportunity to read Mrs. Bellefontaine's document; I understand that Mrs. Nancoo's brief will come later. I am looking forward to reading these documents.
Personally, and I think my colleagues will agree with me, I would say that there is a need to provide services to handicapped people, and to enact legislation that will allow them to use those services, so that they can lead as normal a life as possible, a life more or less similar to what all Canadians experience. Even when we manage to establish such laws and services, as handicapped people know very well, the fight for their rights or simply being a normal member of our society goes on daily.
I must tell you that yours is an extraordinary initiative, and I commend your contribution to society as people with a disability. The community of people with disabilities, just as the general population, needs role models. You are role models for people with disabilities, but also for those people who do not perceive themselves as handicapped. I have often had the opportunity, during my life, to deal with handicapped people. Often, when I look at myself, I feel more handicapped than a lot of these people I was privileged to meet.
I must emphasize the fact the people with disabilities as well as the general public need your example, so that our laws and the services we provide to people with disabilities can be improved, you also demonstrate that it is possible to be handicapped and to be incredible assets to our society. Thank you very much.
The Chair: Thank you, Maurice.
[English]
I must tell you, Laurie, that the members of this committee are certainly looking forward to the printing of your book and making sure it's available in alternate formats. Just looking through it is a very moving experience.
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Georgette Sheridan.
Mrs. Georgette Sheridan: To me falls the happy task of thanking you both for appearing before us today and giving us some idea of not only the obstacles you face, but how you've overcome many of them. I would like to echo the comments of my colleague, Mr. Bernier, in terms of the importance of enhancing the profile and acting as models for, as you said, the community at large.
I would like to comment on something Lynda said that struck me. It has to do with the economic impact of living with a disability. She mentioned being both a person with a disability and part of a visible minority. I would add to that the aspect of being female.
This is at the forefront of my mind, because it was just this afternoon at lunch time that the women's caucus of the Liberal Party met with the Prime Minister to go over some of these kinds of issues. The sad part is that we females still have not achieved equality in the workplace in terms of our earning capacity or economic capacity, so I would say that is still a struggle that faces us all.
I'm a newcomer to the human rights committee. I just joined in the last month. I'm replacing another member. Shortly after we were elected, the human resources development committee began its tour to look at the social policies and so on of our government.
I remember a hearing in Regina. In fact, Jean Augustine was with me. There were many witnesses from all aspects of life, so it wasn't focused on people with disabilities or anything; it was on all aspects of society. This fellow came forward and spoke very eloquently. I listened. By the time he was finished, I thought he must be the dean of a university or something. He then said, having made his presentation on what the government should be doing for social policies, that he was a person with a disability.
He had achieved an educational level that I don't recall at this moment, as we saw so many different witnesses. He told the story of when, in high school, he had been advised, given his disability, that maybe he should become a watch repair person and work at an Eaton's store in a small cubicle.
It struck me, Lynda, as you were talking, that telling those things to a young person is a kind of blindness on the part of the people who are making these decisions and recommendations that would steer the young person in the wrong direction.
Given that, it's so important that these stories are told. I hope your book succeeds in getting them out so that people are awakened to the consequences.
Finally, Laurie, you talked about energy and how little we are all given to do the various tasks we have to do. Many of us are short of energy too. You mentioned your ordinary life. You may have an ordinary life, but it seems to me that you have made extraordinary efforts and have an extraordinary spirit.
I thank you both for coming here today, and I wish you well. Thank you very much.
The Chair: Thank you, Georgette. Jean, we have about eight or nine minutes.
Ms Jean Augustine: I'll take just one minute of that time.
Madam Chair, it is also my pleasure to say congratulations. I'm pleased that you've overcome difficulties to get those two pieces of work completed. It's an accomplishment to have arrived at the point at which you can say this is a book, a finished piece, something that is ready for publication. It could be ready for publication in your case, Lynda, very soon. You worked against great odds.
Lynda, you talked about Charles walking around both deaf and blind, and you tried to picture yourself without hearing. I'm sitting here trying to picture myself without vision and trying to accomplish what you accomplished.
I had a friend 30 years ago who was the executive director, I think, of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Her name is Louise Cowan. xxx I spent a lot of time at the CNIB on Bayview in Toronto. You would know that place, Lynda. I learned Braille and how to use the old... What was it called? There were two pieces you put together and then you'd make the holes.
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Ms Bellefontaine: The slate and stylus.
Ms Jean Augustine: Yes. I started with the old stylus. Often when I go back to the CNIB, I'm very proud of some of the work I was able to help with in terms of translation. As for some of the names on the plants outside, I was part of a little crew that went around doing stuff like that.
I also spent some time at the school for the blind just outside of Niagara Falls. I thought I would be able to be a teacher of the blind, but I realized that's it's really one of the most challenging jobs that one can have, so I quickly went to what is called normal school and taught in the education system in Toronto.
So I know that you accomplished much. You overcame great odds. The struggle is there when you are disabled, a minority person, a woman, and a single mother. My goodness, what else have you faced? You faced all of the challenges, and I congratulate you, because I think this is really good stuff. I'm very pleased to be a part of what we are doing here.
The Chair: Thank you very much, Jean Augustine.
We have about four or five minutes left. We're going to go vote - you can hear the bell in the background - so if we leave as soon as John has finished his remarks, we will rejoin you in the Commonwealth Room immediately following the vote. The two speakers, the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Speaker of the Senate, will join us in celebrating your great accomplishments.
Mr. John Godfrey: First, I would like to say congratulations. Second, I would like to express the gratitude of the committee for the efforts you've put into this.
I have to say, in the case of Laurie, that my riding contains both the national headquarters of the CNIB on Bayview, where Jean was doing her business, and Voiceprint, which is a new kind of approach to the problems of disabled people. It cleverly takes advantage of cable technology and alphanumeric signals. I'm alert and sensitive to the issues that you raised in your account of Charles Crane, which is a great read apart from anything else, and I'm enjoying it.
I want to say to you, Lynda, that I think I have some particular appreciation of the odds you have overcome, and are overcoming, with regard to depression, simply because in my own family I've had some experience with this.
Thank you.
The Chair: Do you want to respond, Laurie or Lynda?
Ms Bellefontaine: Madam Chair, would you be so kind, when you table this report in the House of Commons, as to table the audio version also?
The Chair: Absolutely.
Ms Bellefontaine: I brought it for you.
The Chair: You brought the audio?
Ms Bellefontaine: I brought the audio.
The Chair: For our audience watching this on CPAC, this is the copy that will be printed in normal print form. You've been kind enough, although we were planning to do that, to already do the audio.
We will also have a Braille version. Don't tell me you have a Braille copy too?
Ms Bellefontaine: No.
The Chair: We'll make sure we have a Braille copy made.
Ms Bellefontaine: Yes. This was done by the Charles Crane Memorial Library.
The Chair: It certainly sounds like a wonderful library where knowledge did become empowerment. You're certainly perfect examples of this.
Please forgive us. We'll leave you now. Wayne Cole is our clerk, and there's Bill Young.Nancy Holmes, who's our research staff from the Library of Parliament, will keep you company there.
The meeting is adjourned.