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News
Huntington's Drop In! Please join us for our Huntington's Drop In. We bring in guest speakers based on your interest. Topics to come include: yoga, naturopathy, and the ODSP Special Diet Allowance. We always provide a light meal, our famous smoothies, and good company!
PACE IL entered into a partnership with Fred Victor Mission (as the lead) and Loft Community Services to bid on obtaining some of affordable, mixed-use residential units built originally for the Athletes' Village during Pan and Parapan Games 2015 in Toronto. PACE IL and its partners were the successful candidates along with Wigwamen Housing Inc., who is partnered with Ontario March of Dimes. For further information, read http://news.ontario.ca/mah/en/2012/10/pan-and-parapan-am-games-to-create-affordable-housing-legacy.html, and http://www.citytv.com/toronto/citynews/news/local/article/230718--pan-am-games-athletes-village-to-be-converted-into-affordable-housing. Also see http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=781410.
28 September 2012 The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities today concluded its eighth session, issuing its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial reports of Argentina, China (including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao) and Hungary.
In closing remarks, Ronald McCallum, the Committee Chairperson, said that the session – the first to have a two week duration – had been a very productive one that allowed the Committee to complete three country dialogues. The Chairperson emphasized the need for the United Nations General Assembly to grant more meeting time, adding that it was heartbreaking to see that States parties had to wait a very long time before the Committee could consider their initial reports, and informed the Committee that he would travel to New York on 23 October to make that request to the General Assembly. The Chairperson thanked Committee Members whose mandates expired at the end of the year for their valuable contributions, and said that he looked forward to welcoming five new Committee members next year.
In its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Argentina, the Committee welcomed efforts made by Argentina to implement the Convention through the adoption of legislation, plans and programmes but expressed deep concern at the high number of children with disabilities attending special schools and urged Argentina to formulate public policies that promoted inclusive education. The Committee urged Argentina to adopt a specific strategy for the protection of the rights of women and girls with disabilities.
Turning to the initial report of China, the Committee supported the legal protection of workers with disabilities from exploitation, violence and abuse and welcomed the efforts made by China to implement the rights of children with disabilities. It expressed concern about China’s policy of actively developing special schools and was especially worried that in practice only students with mild physical and visual disabilities were able to attend mainstream education. The Committee also expressed its utmost concern about the reported abduction of thousands of persons with intellectual disabilities and about the staging of “mining accidents” in Hebei, Fujian, Liaoning and Sichuan. Regarding the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, the Committee expressed concern about the lack of action of the government to reduce the occurrence of domestic violence and discrimination against women and girls with disabilities and urged enhancement of the active participation of persons with disabilities in politics through affirmative action. Regarding the Special Administrative Region of Macao, the Committee welcomed the establishment of the Commission against Corruption, which had Ombudsman functions for the rights of persons with disabilities but urged the authorities to prioritize a move from institutionalization to in-home or residential living for persons with disabilities.
In its concluding observations and recommendations on the initial report of Hungary, the Committee welcomed the State Party’s support in promotion and implementation of the Convention at global and regional levels. It called upon Hungary to adopt effective and specific measures to ensure equality and to prevent multiple forms of discrimination of women and girls with disabilities in its policies. The Committee urged Hungary to develop programs to ensure that Roma children with disabilities were included in mainstream education programs.
The concluding observations will be available to read in full on the Committee’s webpage from Monday 1 October 2012. The ninth session of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will take place from Monday 15 to Friday 19 April 2013, during which the report of Paraguay will be reviewed, and a Day of General Discussion on women with disabilities would be held.
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, July 11, 2012 “Strengthening protection of women and girls with disabilities from violence continues to be a priority”, said Mona Rishmawi, the Chief of the Rule of Law, Equality and Non Discrimination Branch in the UN Human Rights Office in Geneva during a side event hosted during the 20th session of the Human Rights Council. Surveys and studies have shown that women and girls with disabilities experience a high rate of violence by a variety of actors within a range of situations and that this violence remains largely hidden.
PACE Independent Living ensures full inclusion of persons with disabilities
PACE Independent Living has established an Accessibility Policy to ensure the full inclusion of persons with disabilities. The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) provides a way for Ontario to become barrier-free.
Accessible customer service came into effect starting January 1, 2012. The Accessibility Standard for Customer Service applies to all organizations (public, private and non-profit) that provide goods or services either directly to the public or to other organizations in Ontario and that have one or more employees in Ontario.