- Member of Parliament
- Member of the panel of chairs for the legislative committees
- Bloc Québécois
- Thérèse-De Blainville
- Quebec
- Voting Attendance: 68%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $122,743.44
- Government Page
- May/10/23 5:35:10 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, I too would like to recognize and thank my colleague from Edmonton—Wetaskiwin.
It is to his credit that he has moved this important motion. As the member said, although the motion is not binding, it does give meaning to our action, and particularly to the action that Canada needs to take with respect to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Canada signed in 2007 and ratified in 2010.
Part of the motion reads as follows:
Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities...states that signatories “shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning directed to enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society”.
The convention is a human rights treaty that aims to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities, to ensure they are treated without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. This convention has three key principles. The first is equality and non-discrimination. The second is accessibility, and the third key principle is participation and inclusion.
As my colleague pointed out, according to a 2021 UNICEF report on children with disabilities, there are nearly 240 million children around the world with disabilities. These children may seem to be at a disadvantage compared to children without disabilities when it comes to education because they are 49% more likely to have never attended school.
Of course, the Bloc Québécois is in favour of the motion. We are also in favour of the full and equitable inclusion of people with disabilities in Quebec and Canada. We are aware of the challenges that people with disabilities face and we stand in solidarity with them, whatever their disability may be. People with disabilities are not a homogenous group. All types of disabilities must be considered. I think that we need to put targeted solutions in place for each of them.
Everyone must have access to a quality education under the principle of equality of opportunity in our societies. An inclusive education system takes into consideration not only accessibility but also the need to provide reasonable accommodation and individual support.
Although this was already mentioned, I want to remind members that, in Canada, elementary and secondary education fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces and that Ottawa should only intervene in areas under its own jurisdiction. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities falls under its jurisdiction.
I would also like to remind members that non-visible disabilities are often identified by health care professionals and social services workers. That is invaluable, actually. There too, the government could play a role. It takes dedicated and professional personnel to support these persons with disabilities.
I will talk about our schools. Ideally, these young people, these students with disabilities would be included in regular classrooms as much as possible because diversity in school is an asset for education. We also have special schools and classes, but support is required, as is the capacity to make the right diagnosis to get some follow-up. Health care professionals and psychologists play a major role. On that, we take issue with the federal underfunding of health through the Canada health transfer to the provinces and Quebec. This is a serious problem.
That being said, internationally, the government has the full authority and legitimacy to impose standards and conditions on international aid.
We recognize that a greater global effort must be made to better integrate people with disabilities into education systems around the world, in line with the UNESCO and UNICEF findings in this regard.
Global efforts in favour of inclusive education are consistent with advocating for the rights of other groups, such as the rights of women and girls in general and the right of girls and women with disabilities to education, specifically. According to a UNESCO study, there are approximately 130 million girls between the ages of six and 17 who are not in school.
The government needs to recognize this motion—it is good that it has been fully welcomed—and come up with a concrete plan to ensure that the money it distributes internationally will help improve education around the world, particularly in poorer or low-income countries.
Compared to Canada's international aid to improve women's rights, according to a report by the Auditor General, this is pretty significant. The 2023 report was lackluster with respect to Canada's international feminist strategy.
The audit sought to determine whether Global Affairs Canada had implemented Canada's feminist international assistance policy by funding projects that supported gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in low- and middle-income countries and by demonstrating that the projects were producing the intended results.
Unfortunately, although objectives were set for Canada's feminist international assistance policy, it did not yield tangible results. Global Affairs Canada was unable to show how the policy contributed to improving gender equality in the country.
If we want Canada to pay special attention to the new criteria for helping children with disabilities access education, then Global Affairs Canada must absolutely come up with new processes and new ways of working to achieve measurable results.
We have an obligation to ensure that education is a reality both in fact and in law for all children with disabilities, whatever that disability may be, and their loved ones.
We know that some countries in the world need this assistance. In that sense, the last part of the motion, which invites Canada to do more, is consistent with the convention that was signed. We think that is important.
Once again, I thank my colleague for this motion.
959 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
Mr. Speaker, of course we took the time to review it. I wonder whether my colleague took the time to listen carefully to my speech.
We know that this targets people of working age, but the point we are trying to make when we talk about who is eligible is that the concepts of disability and impairment do not have the same linguistic and cultural scope. That is an important point.
I would like to remind my colleague that, according to the September 23, 2020, throne speech, the disability inclusion plan includes a new inclusive process for determining eligibility for benefits that reflects a modern understanding of disability. We have questions about that, and I think I was very clear.
121 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/6/22 2:02:35 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Speaker, I would like to highlight Quebec's disability awareness week, which is being held from June 1 to 7. The theme this year is “Give 100%”.
In Quebec, more than one million people have a significant, persistent disability. People with disabilities represent 16% of the population aged 15 and over. These people can and want to give 100% of themselves to society. Whether at school, at work, in the arts, in culture, or elsewhere, there is room for people with disabilities, and they must have the opportunity to develop their full potential. This is why it is important to give them all the tools they need, in order to offer them an accessible and inclusive environment.
I applaud all the organizations, such as Quebec's Regroupement pour la concertation des personnes handicapées, that have been working for years to build a more inclusive world.
150 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- May/31/22 4:39:25 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Speaker, Quebec is proud of its equal access employment programs, which applies to our universities. These programs make reference to diversity, for example, for women and persons with disabilities.
Affirmative action policies are already applied in hiring processes within health care facilities, municipalities and universities, in the case of equivalent qualifications. That is to our credit. I do not know how it works elsewhere, but that is how it works in Quebec.
Our motion is not designed to exclude. It is designed to ensure that the rules and criteria for research chairs imposed by the federal government are inclusive. It is serious to impose criteria that do not even reflect our universities' academic freedom.
Does my colleague agree?
119 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
