Court Challenges: Mary's story
Dad tells how axing program will hurt disabled Canadians

Winnipeg Free Press
Wed Sep 27 2006

By Kevin Rollason

WE'RE not gay, and my nine-year-old daughter and I have never been jailed in a federal prison. We're ordinary Canadians who have been helped by a federally funded legal program the Harper government now wants to axe.

The Harper government's spin on shutting down the Court Challenges Program of Canada, to save $5.6 million, is that this is the organization that has been part of controversial cases including funding the advocates for gay marriage and the right of prisoners to vote.

In announcing the axing of Court Challenges, along with numerous other programs as part of $1 billion in spending cuts yesterday, Treasury Board president John Baird said those initiatives "weren't meeting the priorities of Canadians" or providing "value for money."

Scarier still, Baird went on to say about Court Challenges that the federal government is no longer interested in funding opposition to legislation it believes is right.

But if not for Court Challenges, I would not have been able to fight the government when our family was discriminated against by the federal employment insurance program.

And there are hundreds of other ordinary Canadians who have been aided by the program and who brought forth numerous issues that would easily be supported by Joe and Jane Canadian.

My own case began after our daughter, Mary Rollason-MacAulay, was born in June 1997 with Down syndrome. Because of other disabilities and illnesses -- including a cardiac and respiratory arrest -- she spent the first 10 and a
half months of her life in hospital.

Knowing from experience the amount of support Mary would need once she was released from hospital, caregivers recommended I save my employment insurance leave until then.

Little did I know my decision would spark a constitutional battle against the federal government and its employment insurance laws.

In brief, under the former unemployment insurance program, I had to apply for employment leave benefits within a year of my baby being released from hospital, which I did for our first child.

Little more than a year later, unbeknownst to me, the law was changed. Parents now had to apply for leave within a year of a baby being born.

It took six years, but with the aid of a Court Challenges-funded lawyer, we won our fight. A federal umpire ruled that the existing employment insurance rules discriminated against parents of disabled children.

Ironically, as a result of the legal challenge being launched and even before the victory came, the federal government itself changed the law to aid families like ours, even though it didn't drop its fight against us.

A cynic might say our prime minister has a long memory and holds grudges. A few years ago, Court Challenges funded Democracy Watch, which joined with the National Anti-Poverty Organization to intervene at the Supreme Court against Harper when he was head of the National Citizens' Coalition challenging the constitutionality of third-party election spending limits.

The Supreme Court decided that while the spending limits violated a section of the constitution, they were justified under another section to prevent wealthy third parties from dominating elections.

Cutting Court Challenges also should make one wonder what future laws and programs the government may decide to put in without fear of being challenged by the public in court.

And it's not just me that's expressing concern about the planned demise of the program.

Advocates for issues as wide-ranging as disability, gender, labour, and language are also expressing fears about the planned demise of the program.

Court Challenges has funded challenges in cases involving pension benefits, aboriginal job training, compassionate care benefits for siblings, and funding of sign language interpreters for deaf people.

Laurie Beachell, national coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said he doesn't know how his national organization or individuals with disabilities will be able to afford future discrimination challenges.

Beachell said funding from Court Challenges helped pay legal costs for cases that led to the right to vote for people with intellectual disabilities living in institutions, to challenge the federal immigration act -- which prevented people with disabilities from emigrating to Canada with other family members -- and to fight VIA Rail's decision to buy used rail cars from Britain that were inaccessible to people with disabilities.

"The government has to fully understand Canadians with disabilities benefit from this," he said.

"The greatest number of plaintiffs at human rights hearings are people with disabilities. People with disabilities see discrimination on a daily basis."

Allison Fenske, president of the Manitoba Law Students' Association and co-author of the report Has the Charter Made a Difference to Manitoba Women?, said the cut of the program is a blow to women's issues across the
country.

"It often funds issues that aren't on the main public agenda, but it doesn't make it any less important if it only affects 10 per cent of the Canadian population," she said.

Noel Badiou, Court Challenges' executive director, said, "Our program helps many Canadians, so by cutting the program it's almost saying the only people who will access the courts will be those with deep pockets.

"It's Charter challenges for the rich."

As for my family, we're not rich, but we were discriminated against and Court Challenges helped us fight the federal government and change a law.

It's sad to know others won't have that benefit.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Some programs being affected

* Improved Targeting of Investments for Youth Employment -- $55.6 million.

Youth employment agencies across the province rely on federal funding for as much as 25 per cent of their budgets.

For instance, Winnipeg's Youth Employment Service in Winnipeg, which works with at-risk youth, receives about $150,000 per year in federal funding for a three-year program to assist young people who have multiple barriers to entry into the job market.

* Reduced Funding for Industrial Programs including Technology Partnerships Canada -- $42.2 million.

Manitoba's aerospace sector has taken advantage of loans from the TPC program for many years. Industry officials said they knew it was going to be wound down at the end of this year. In a speech to an aerospace industry event in Ottawa yesterday, federal Industry Minister Maxime Bernier said a new program will be created to assist Canadian industry to invest in innovative technology so that they can remain competitive internationally.

* Elimination of Medical Marijuana Research Program -- $4 million.

According to Brent Zettl, president and CEO of Prairie Plant Systems Inc., this will not have any impact on his company's medicinal marijuana production operation in Flin Flon. Although his contract to supply Health Canada with medicinal pot runs out at the end of this month, he is hopeful he will be able to get a renewal. No Manitoba researchers have used this federal money in the past.

* Improved Targeting of Adult Learning and Literacy Skills Program -- $17.7 million.

Literacy classes are funded provincially, but local non-profit organizations rely on federal funding for long-term development programs and research.

* Elimination of Court Challenges Program -- $5.6 million.

The Court Challenges Program of Canada was the only means for ordinary Canadians to receive funding to launch constitutional challenges against federal laws or programs. Its main office is in Winnipeg and its closure will mean the elimination of eight jobs.

 

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Take Action

Hon. Vic Toews, MP
Minister of Justice
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Email: Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

Find your local MP's contact info at this link:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/house/mpscur.asp?Language=E

 

Sample Letters

September 23, 2006

The Hon. Vic Toews, MP
Minister of Justice
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Toews:

Re: Funding the Court Challenges Program

The Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians / L'Alliance pour l'Egale des Personnes Aveugles du Canada (AEBC) is writing to you to express our grave concerns over press reports that the Court Challenges Program (CCP) is being reviewed, and in jeopardy of being de-funded by your Government.

The AEBC believes achieving coverage under Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms represented an important milestone for all equality-seeking groups and individuals. Nevertheless, Canadians with a disability still face numerous barriers to the achievement of our goal of full participation and equality in all aspects of Canadian society. Today, people with disabilities remain among the poorest of the poor living in Canada.

Going to court is expensive. It is critical that groups such as ours have the resources to enforce our hard-won rights under the Charter. The Court Challenges Program plays a critical role in providing resources to our community to make needed litigation under the Charter possible. This litigation has also provided our community the opportunity to clarify for governments their obligation to protect such rights.

A right which does not include recourse to a legal remedy amounts to no right at all. Having rights without the resources to enforce them will inevitably result in serious setbacks to the progress made by people with disabilities in Canada.

The AEBC strongly recommends the Court Challenges program continue to receive funding from the Government of Canada.

Yours sincerely,

John Rae
President

_______________________________________________

22 September 2006

Hon. Vic Toews, MP
Minister of Justice
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON
K1A 0A6

Email: Toews.V@parl.gc.ca

Dear Minister Toews:

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) is writing to you to
express our grave concerns regarding recent comments made in the media about
the work of the Court Challenges Program. While litigation is certainly not
our first choice of action, we have found it necessary to call upon the
courts to ensure that Canadian legislation and policy reflects and upholds
the equality rights of Canadians with disabilities.

For example, because of the government's refusal to provide sign language
interpreters, a deaf mother was unable to communicate with her care-givers
when complications arose during the birth of her twins. People with
disabilities were forced to challenge the government's inaction and were
successful in obtaining a ruling in their favour from the Supreme Court of
Canada. As a result of this challenge, governments now understand that they
are legally required to ensure that deaf persons are able to communicate
effectively with their health care provider.

Similarly, despite extensive discussions and negotiations, Via Rail has
proceeded to purchase new rail cars which are inaccessible to people with
disabilities. Once again, we felt our only choice was to appeal for justice
through the courts.

Until recently, persons with intellectual disabilities living in
institutions were denied the most fundamental Canadian right; that being the
right to vote in federal elections. This law was not changed until people
with disabilities obtained a ruling from the court which declared that to
deny people with disabilities the right to vote was a violation of their
equality rights.

CCD could certainly provide you with further examples of circumstances where
it has been forced to resort to the courts for assistance and justice. Most
of the cases involving disability rights have been determined under Section
15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and require significant
resources to mount. Canada is one of a few countries to guarantee
specifically the equality rights of people with disabilities. Such
recognition is something we should be very proud of, however, these rights
are meaningless if we do not have access to the resources to exercise these
rights.

People with disabilities living in Canada are largely poor and marginalized,
which means that without some form of support, we are unable to seek the
type of justice and legal remedies available to wealthier members of
Canadian society. The Court Challenges Program has played a critical role
in assisting Canadians with disabilities to promote their right to equality
and to clarify for governments their obligation to protect such rights.

We believe that democracy means that everyone, regardless of financial
status, has the opportunity to take advantage of Canada's institutions for
seeking justice. Without the Court Challenges Program to assist in defining
and clarifying rights and responsibilities, we believe that the progress
made by people with disabilities in Canada will suffer a serious set back.
A right which does not include recourse to a legal remedy amounts to no
right at all. The equality rights guaranteed by the Charter require the
support of the Court Challenges program to ensure that barriers will be
removed within Canadian society and that we will build an Inclusive and
Accessible Canada.

We would be most willing to meet with you and share in greater depth our
understanding
and value of the Court Challenges Program to people with disabilities.

Yours sincerely,

Yvonne Peters
Chairperson
CCD Human Rights Committee

Marie White
Chairperson
CCD National Council of Representatives

 

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