It’s a trend that keeps being muted when provincial and federal elections roll by, and very few Canadians seem to voice their concerns.
Personally, I have been fortunate enough to have a front row seat professionally and personally to hear and see the issues pertaining to people with disabilities for decades.
If we make an analogy to a television series, the reruns have been running for years. Perhaps, a soap opera might be a better comparison: things repeat themselves, often to the cause of nausea, and the story is agonizing in its progress.
Or lack of progress.
It is, indeed, perplexing.
The core issues — housing, income support, education, transportation, employment, personal care support and access to medical services — remain as reverent as they did 40 years ago.
Moreover, and just as puzzling, is the today’s population of aging Canadians who may lose mobility … but have a fundamental right to continue to be participating citizens, with programs and services.
Yet, these issues have, repeatedly, been non-campaign hot topics.
We have new federal legislation for accessibility in Canada.
Where is it headed?
What are some of the challenges?
Has there been any pushback?
What part of this new legislation has been embraced and has made significant changes for Canadians with disabilities?
And this assisted suicide moral mess: we seem, at times, to have exhausted our resources — financial and emotion — on providing methods to allow people to medically and legally end their own lives.
Yet, allowing some Canadians with disabilities to continue to live in poverty, to live in sub-standard living conditions, to be unable to retain gainful employment because of unreliable public transportation and so many other situations continues.
One has to seriously consider if Canadians with disabilities were provided with improved programs and services, would assisted suicide have even made it as an agenda item — never mind legislated?
How can we even hope to gain international respect as a nation that takes care of its most fragile citizens?
That should be an election issue. No if, ands or buts.
Instead of discussing such issues with informed and out-of-the-box-thinking we are fed heaping helpings of stories, many with the sole purpose of discrediting candidates with things from years — even decades ago — which paint them as less credible people and unworthy to hold office.
Further, with the revolving news cycles we now pedal ourselves with, such personal attacks grow with the ease of a mouse click.
As such, the clock is ticking. Time is running out to present such pressing subjects in a well-informed fashion.
And, so, like so many elections, issues — important issues — for Canadian with disabilities will be forgotten.
It’s a sad commentary for a first-world country. We should all be concerned and, dammit, demand better.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
