Barrier Free Manitoba and Education Solutions Manitoba is lobbying
the government to establish an Accessible Education standard under
the new Accessibility for Manitobans Act.
If you believe Manitoba should set up a
standard that ensures accessible education for ALL, click on the link below and
sign your name. SHARE AWAY! We need as many “signatures” as possible!
The letter to
Minister Fielding, along with a quick and easy to use way for individuals and
organizations to 'sign on' as an undersigned, has been posted online at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/lettertominister
This site
also provides basic background info on why the letter was developed for visitors
who may not have had an extensive involvement in this particular issue. The
site also encourages organizations and individuals to ‘sign on’ before June
30th when the letter and the first list of undersigneds will be delivered to
the Minister. As some organizations and individuals, who are generally
supportive of improving accessibility in our educational systems, will require
additional time to make the decision to support the letter and its request, we
will continue gathering support over the coming months.
Help lever
the power of social media by ‘liking' and ‘sharing' FaceBook posts about the
letter on BFM’s FaceBook page (https://www.facebook.com/barrierfreemb/)
and retweeting tweets BFM makes about the letter on our Twitter account (http://twitter.com/barrierfreemb).
)Our posts and tweets started last week and will continue through to the end of
next week. As David Lepofsky said, social media is an increasingly powerful
tool that can support change processes.)
As value
added, I also wanted to draw your attention to two additional resources. First,
BFM has posted information about the letter and the request for an accessible
education standard on our web site at: http://www.barrierfreemb.com/whatsnew/173/380.
If you find
this information helpful, please feel free to share it with others. At the very
least, it may provide some comfort to those who are unfamiliar with BFM’s
strong and effective non-partisan work over the last 8+ years in advancing
disability and human rights.
Second, I
have attached a recent national study conducted by the Canadian Human Rights
Commission that was released earlier this year. The study focused only students
with disabilities in high schools, colleges and universities. The report, Left
Out: Challenges faced by persons with disabilities in Canada’s schools,
concludes that:
The results
of this study show that significant proportions of Canadians with disabilities
are facing systemic social and institutional barriers to a quality education.
These barriers are having a negative impact on the educational attainment,
training, employment, career path and overall well-being of Canadians with
disabilities.
Here’s what
Marie-Claude Landry, Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights
Commission, had to say in reference to the study's key findings.
“In a
knowledge-based economy, where education is paramount, it is shocking that
still today so many students with disabilities end their education because
of the sheer difficulty they experience in getting an education. How can our
society support all students in realizing their full potential when
getting an education is a daily battle against social exclusion, avoidance and
bullying?” (excerpted from http://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/eng/content/bullying-barriers-exclusion-often-part-curriculum-students-disabilities)
In closing,
I know that the end of June is a very busy time for lots of people. But we have
a very time limited opportunity before us to promote positive and lasting
change.
So PLEASE
do all that you can to help move this critically important agenda ahead.
Regards,
Patrick Falconer
Consultant to the Barrier-Free
Manitoba Steering Committee
