Canadian Disability Policies in a World of Inequalities

Abstract

Canadian disability-related policies are shaped within a global system of inequalities, including colonialism and neoliberalism. Using a critical theory framework, this article examines the complicated material inequalities experienced by people with disabilities and evident in the intersections of disability, gender, Indigenousness, race, and age. The collectively held ideas that give context to disability policies are at odds. Human rights protections are found in the foundational documents of Canadian society and part of its international commitments, yet these commitments often become window-dressing for a pervasive logic that it is better to be dead than disabled, and medical assistance in dying legislation supports this choice. While human rights protections are essential, they are not sufficient for decolonizing inclusion. Constructive actions between Indigenous peoples and settlers may help to find new ways of addressing disability and inclusion in Canada.

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