Aboriginal People with Disabilities and Discrimination

For my fourth blog I am going to talk about the Indigenous ideological lens and physical disabilities within the aboriginal, first nations communities. It came to my attention when I came across an article that stated that recently aboriginal peoples have filed complaints against First Nations governments and the Federal Government. I think the article is very informative and therefore I am going to post a part of the article within my blog because I want to make this issue aware. Many people are not aware of the many hardships aboriginal people have to deal with.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has received more than 300 complaints from aboriginal people and First Nations groups since 2008, when legislation was changed to allow the commission to look at issues such as reserve housing and federal funding for reserve services.

"Aboriginal peoples, First Nations in particular, are looking at the Canadian Human Rights Commission as being a potential, as a catalyst for change of the living conditions on reserve," says David Langtry, the acting chief commissioner.

The Canadian Human Rights Act was amended in 2008 to include issues under the Indian Act, which had previously been excluded. The revised legislation applied immediately to the federal government, the commission says, while First Nations governments were given three years to prepare for the transition.

One of the complaints comes from the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, in southern Ontario, where two young boys with learning disabilities need special education, equipment and supervision at school.

The federal government provides a certain amount of money every year for education, but Chief Bryan LaForme says there's a ceiling, with no flexibility for unique cases.

"If we lived on the other side of the tracks, that would be open and our young people — the special ed students — there would be no issues as to cost. That would be provided by the province for those young people," LaForme says.

The chief filed a complaint about the issue with the commission and recently learned it's going to a tribunal.

"There was no other avenue to take our complaint to until the legislation was passed about human rights becoming effective for First Nations."

(Crawford, 2012)

A person with disabilities should not have to deal with these types of barriers that are issued within few of the complaints within this article. Aboriginal peoples face the same barriers every other citizen with disabilities has to face whether it means facing many different daily hardships to participate socially in activities. “Persons with disabilities can face many barriers and challenges, including accessing the tools that make it possible to participate in society” (Canadian Heritage, 2009). Every one faces different hardships in their every day life but people with disabilities face hardships participating in activities in every day life. The Canadian Human Rights Act states that “the idea behind the Act is that people should not be placed at a disadvantage simply because of their age, sex, race or any other ground covered by the Act. That is discrimination and is against the law” (Canadian Human Rights Commission, 2007). Throughout this article it is made aware to me that Canada passes the act that discrimination is against the law, but they are discriminating people with disabilities from many different daily activities if they are not given the proper tools needed to face every day life and this goes for every person in Canada living with a disability as well as the Aboriginal peoples within Canada.

Crawford, A. (2012, June 18). Aboriginal people file hundreds of human rights complaints. Retrieved from CBC News Canada website: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2012/06/18/aboriginal-human-rights-complaints.html

Canadian Heritage. (2009, September 11). Human Rights and Disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/pdp-hrp/canada/abl-eng.cfm

Canadian Human Rights Commision. (2007, October 25). Canadian Human Rights Act. Retrieved from http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/about/human_rights_act-eng.aspx

- Alysha