Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship

Research with relevance.
Informing policy and practice to promote the full inclusion and citizenship of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

Please connect with us on LinkedIn at Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship. We’ll be building our content as we enter 2026.

[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

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Conclusions: Community-based policies could benefit from person-centered approaches when providing employment-related planning for youth with IDD in preparation for transitions from school into employment environments.

Thank you to our community partners.

[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

New Publication: Vocational training for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities: a program evaluation of the Impact Project
https://t.co/FX4qnGtfaT
#InclusiveEmployment #SummerJobs
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[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

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Results: Participating in the Impact Project led to an increase in soft skills and unpaid and paid employment experiences for youth with IDD, aged 15–19 years.

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

As students w/ disabilities graduate high school, they lack vital supports to succesfully transition into the workforce / further education. They have vastly fewer opportunities. While some transition programs exist, we need more of them across Canada.

https://t.co/gXnkeMgQaD

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

“If you don’t have a disability, you get suicide prevention. If you do — they treat you like your life isn’t worth living.”

We see a strikingly similar story unfolding in Colorado, where MAiD laws are putting people with disabilities at risk. We hope that lawmakers do the right thing: repeal this discriminatory law.

https://t.co/1vvoTtKKtx

[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

We are pleased to share our 2024-2025 Annual Report and are grateful for the ongoing connections with community, government and university partners who are important members of our research community.
Read the report at https://t.co/wI6oQgwcZE
Visit us at https://t.co/GXAUvK5fmn

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

In a few short weeks, Parliament will be in session. Inclusion Canada extends congratulations to all MPs on their successful election.

As you transition into your new role, we want to remind you that the #disability community’s priorities do not go away because the election is over.

We look forward to meeting with all MPs, both returning and new, to get back to work on building an #inclusive Canada.

Please review our election priority document and commit to improving the lives of #pwd and their families when you return to Ottawa: https://t.co/YKz9k8PAML

[Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship @CIICUBC]

New Canadian Journal of Disability Studies includes Decolonizing Disability: Teachings from Tx̱eemsim and Voices From the Lands of the Nisg̱a’a Nation by
@UNBC Associate Professor of First Nations Studies &
@CIICUBC researcher Dr. Rheanna Robinson.
https://t.co/EAhonq6N8S

[Sonu Gaind @Psych_MD]

In the latest @UofTmagazine, w/@TrudoLemmens - The Hidden Risks of Expanding Medical Assistance in Dying https://t.co/0w3BQzJC8o
(timely...given @UN CRPD recently entreating 🇨🇦 to repeal Track 2 expansion (and not euthanize ppl just for mental illness and addictions))

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

https://t.co/kE0LOLBqJE
Barriers to accessing the DTC.

New Liberal Government has committed to ' review and broaden eligibility' of the DTC. We will be reminding them of this and the urgent nature to get this fixed.

Excerpt from G&M article below:

""Even if people meet the Disability Tax Credit‘s medical criteria, there are other barriers.

“Probably one of the biggest hurdles that most people have is that they don’t have access to the medical practitioner to complete the form,” said Mr. Oakey.

Kory Earle-Morrow lives with an intellectual disability characterized by challenges with learning and communication. He spent years working for as little as $10 a week doing a range of jobs from washing windows to working in bookstores as part of sheltered workshops, and lived on the Ontario Disability Support Program.

During the height of COVID-19, he was able to get a job at an assisted living facility − his first job that paid a living wage − where he eventually trained for his current job as a personal support worker. He lives with his husband in Carleton Place, Ont.

Mr. Earle-Morrow tried to apply for the tax credit with the assistance of a friend at People First of Canada, a national organization representing people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, but he was unable to find a doctor to complete his medical form.
“Then I pretty much just gave up, right?” Mr. Earle-Morrow said. “Because it was frustrating, it was becoming overwhelming. It felt like the system set me up to be a failure on that aspect. It was way too much.”

Kathleen Ross, a family physician and past president of the Canadian Medical Association, said there are a “large number” of Canadians living with disabilities who don’t meet the DTC criteria.

Dr. Ross added that the “long and onerous” medical forms are taking a toll on physicians as well as patients, and burdening the already overwhelmed health care system.

“It can take, depending on how much you put into that piece of paper, up to 45 minutes to complete that form,” Dr. Ross said. “In 2023, there were 280,070 Disability Tax Credit forms processed in Canada. If you kind of back that up by the number of minutes that it takes to complete the form, that’s 600,000 lost patient visits.”

While Dr. Ross said there are ways the form could be simplified, she also said the government could alternatively allow applicants to self-declare their disability to receive the credit, and rely on spot checks and audits for verification.

“My experience after 30 years of dealing with patients with disability is that they know when their life is being significantly impacted, and I think that we can provide patients with the dignity to acknowledge when something is significantly altering their life,” Dr. Ross said.

“It’s not just about decreasing the paperwork. These are real people in real need of support.”""

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

🗳 Today's the day!! Please make sure you vote.

People with disabilities should not be ignored. We need to ensure disability issues are prioritized in federal policies. To do this, our community needs to vote. Please exercise your right to and have a say.

If you need information on each party's disability-related commitments, see our infographic below!

#Elxn45 #CdnPoli #CanadaVotes

[Trudo Lemmens @TrudoLemmens]

“Parties offer few details on plans for #MAID, despite UN criticisms” @meagangillmore reports on an issue parties remain remarkably silent about #disabilityjustice https://t.co/dtNnqI9L1a via @CDNAffairs

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

Alberta's decision to claw back the Canada Disability Benefit (#CDB) from vulnerable #PWD, after they've been forced to paid to apply, is unjust.

We've partnered with the National Disability Network in a joint letter to @ABDanielleSmith demanding a complete reversal of this harmful policy.

The #CDB is designed to support individuals, not to bolster Alberta's finances. Shame!

See our letter below👇

https://t.co/6w3HYBoasF

[Isabel Grant @igrantubc]

Whatever your thoughts on assisted suicide, this article should frighten you. Denied care, given death: Ontario report details concerns over same-day MAID https://t.co/gLqqNOl4vU via @CDNAffairs

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

"Canadians deserve to know that our political party leaders will take seriously the report calling for reforms to the medical assistance in dying regime as we head to the polls."

Inclusion Canada echoes @CatherineFrazee's op-ed in asking party leaders to clarify their position on the #CRPD committee's concluding observations report.

The committee was clear in its rejection of Track 2 #MAiD - our elected officials owe Canadians an answer.

Read the full op-ed here: https://t.co/8BKZXBRaBt

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

When Canadians choose suicide, we intervene... unless that person has a #disability.
Track 2 MAiD is blatantly discriminatory and must be repealed.

We are calling on all political parties to:

✅Repeal Track 2 MAiD
✅Interrupt the expansion of MAiD to people with a mental illness
✅Respond to root causes of suffering, like #isolation and #incomeinsecurity
✅Ensure Track 1 MAiD is properly safeguarded
✅Defend these actions to Canada’s Supreme Court

Read more about our election priorities here: https://t.co/E3pJGqnXlX

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

Did you know the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) can unlock even more than tax relief?
It’s also the gateway to the new Canada Disability Benefit and other financial supports.

Join Partners for Planning for a free webinar on April 15 at 7PM EST to learn:

✅ How to apply for the DTC
✅ Common eligibility challenges
✅ Tips for completing the T2201 form
✅ How the DTC connects to the RDSP
��and more!

👉 Register here: https://t.co/TrQeOJO3IZ

[Inclusion Canada @InclusionCA]

PRESS RELEASE: “Do Better” – Inclusion Canada Welcomes UN Committee’s Concluding Observations on Canada’s Disability Rights Record

Click here to read the full release: https://t.co/I64y9g2Zdg

[Kurt Goddard @kurtgoddard]

BREAKING THREAD:
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)—the global authority on disability rights—just released crucial observations on Canada’s compliance. Here's why this matters and what it says about MAiD.
#DisabilityRights #CRPD #MAiD
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