Happy Disability Pride Month!
We’ve developed a timeline of key events, initiatives, and legislation by the decade to help our community reflect on Canada’s rich – but often forgotten – disability history.
?1800s
With widespread trust in state and church-run institutions and unchallenged ableist discrimination, disabled people are institutionalized in segregated residential settings without their consent – leading to mass human rights violations including forced sterilization, abuse, and murder
- 1839: The British Government passes An Act to Authorize the Erection of an Asylum within its Province for the Reception of Insane and Lunatic persons
- 1850: The Provincial Lunatic Asylum is opened in Toronto, becoming the first Canadian mental institution
- 1876: The Asylum for Idiots and Feeble-Minded (later renamed the Huronia Regional Centre) is opened in Ontario - there are now 1440 unmarked graves and 571 numbered graves on this site alone
1950s?
Following WWII, disabled veterans and civilians band together to demand improved disability services, mainstream inclusion of disability, and the end of institutionalization
- 1955: The Saskatchewan Association for Community Living forms and becomes the first organization to call for deinstitutionalization
- 1958: The Canadian Association for R*tarded Children (now the Canadian Association for Community Living) is formed to advocate for improved education and services for children with intellectual disabilities
1970s
Thanks to the advocacy work of growing grassroots disability organizations, the 1970s saw governments slowly introduce legislation to cement progress
- 1974: Nova Scotia amends its Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against the physically disabled
- 1975: The Ontario Government creates the disabled-led Ontario Advisory Council for the Physically Handicapped
- 1976: Provincial disability groups band together to create the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped (COPOH) – now known as the Council of Canadians with Disabilities
- 1977: The Canadian Human Rights Act passes to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability and other minority groups
- 1978: The Quebec Act to Secure Handicapped Persons in the Exercise of Their Rights with a View to Achieving Social, School and Workplace Integration passes – becoming the first comprehensive provincial disability law
1980s?
Disability issues rapidly build momentum to become a significant federal priority – but legislative progress is threatened by neoliberalism’s cuts to social services
- 1981: Thanks to COPOH’s advocacy efforts, the Parliamentary Committee drafting the Charter finally agrees to include disability under Section 15
- 1981: The federal government releases The Obstacles Report – advancing 130 recommendations for improving accessibility and inclusion with emphasis on disability leadership and supporting self-help
- 1985: The Canadian Human Rights Act bans discrimination on the basis of disability, and requires federally regulated employers to provide accommodations
- 1986: The Employment Equity Act comes into force to address employment barriers faced by women, visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities
- 1987: The House of Commons establishes a Standing Committee on the Status of Disabled Persons
1990s
Under an increasingly neoliberal and globalized economy, the Federal Government introduces several initiatives to mainstream disability
- 1991: The federal government publishes the National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, a 5-year plan to integrate disabled people into society and the economy
- 1996: The federal government appoints a Federal Task Force on Disability Issues
- 1997: The federal government establishes the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities to their (self) employment
- 1998: The federal government publishes In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues that largely focuses on disability supports, employment, and income
2000s?
The disability rights landscape explodes under landmark Supreme Court rulings, the introduction of further accessibility legislation, and the signing of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - but fades from federal agendas
- 2001: The federal Office for Disability Issues is established to coordinate policies and programs across federal jurisdiction
- 2005: The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act comes into force to develop accessibility standards around goods, services, employment, and the built environment.
- 2006: The federal government releases the Federal Disability Report and announces plans to create a National Disability Act
- 2008: The Canadian Transportation Agency orders air carriers to adopt a 1 person 1 fare policy for persons with severe disabilities requiring a support person to travel with them
- 2009: The final three institutions for persons with intellectual disabilities are finally closed – including the Huronia Regional Centre
2010s
The CRPD renews efforts towards mainstreaming disability, and more provinces join Quebec and Ontario in enacting accessibility legislation
- 2010: Canada ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities as it enters into force
- 2013: Manitoba passes the Accessibility for Manitobans Act, and later implements a series of accessibility regulations around employment, transportation, outdoor spaces, and more
- 2017: Nova Scotia passes An Act Respecting Accessibility in Nova Scotia
- 2019: The Accessible Canada Act passes, introducing requirements for federally-regulated bodies
2020s
Despite significant setbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic, provinces continued to enact legislation as the federal government continues mainstreaming efforts
- 2021: British Columbia passes the Accessible British Columbia Act
- 2021: Newfoundland and Labrador pass An Act Respecting Accessibility in the Province
- 2022: The Disability Inclusion Action Plan is published, emphasizing finance, employment, and communities
- 2023: Saskatchewan passes The Accessible Saskatchewan Act
Sources
The “Unfit” in Canada: A History of Disability Rights and Justice, Shanthiya Baheerathan and the DJNO Youth Action Council (2019) (Link)
People with Disabilities Significant Historical Events, Inclusion Canada (Link)
Disability Rights Movement in Canada, The Canadian Encyclopedia (2015) (Link)
Council of Canadians with Disabilities: 48 years strong and “On The Road to 50 Years”, Council of Canadians with Disabilities (2011) (Link)
Accessibility legislation, standards, and regulations in Canada (2024), BDO Canada (Link)
