Op-ed : For Canada’s immigration detainees with disabilities, even fewer rights are afforded
“The Trudeau government should shine a cold, hard light on how structural ableism, compounded by legacies of colonialism and systemic racism, are at the root of the immigration and asylum system.”An op-ed by IRIS Managing director, Michael Bach, and Carlos Ríos Espinosa, Senior Researcher and Advocate at Human Rights Watch.
Policy Brief: The Equal Right to Decide in Canada – Closing the Gap
May 2020 Over 50,000 Canadians are currently under guardianship – a system that takes away their power, choice, and control over their own lives. Many more Canadians who rely on decision-making supports and accommodations are vulnerable to losing their equal right to decide because assisted approaches are not supported in law and public policy. This policy brief outlines findings … Continued
Supported Decision Making in Johannesburg
Michael Bach, Managing Director, and Doris Rajan, Director of Development, travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa to continue their work on the issue of legal capacity for people with mental health and intellectual disabilities. Here are some highlights from the workshops: The Open Society Initiative of Southern African brought many countries from southern Africa together to tackle the issue of … Continued
Legal Capacity, A Fundamental Right
Open Society Fellow, and Managing Director of the Institutes for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society Michael Bach, talks about how “supported decision making” can allow those of us with disabilities to contribute to and participate more fully in society. The full story can be found here and in the video below.
IRIS’ International Work on Legal Capacity – Zambia
The following blog post was written by Doris Rajan, Director of Social Development for IRIS Institute, on her most recent return from Zambia where she and others from IRIS are involved in social policy work. The above video documents some of the highlight from the most recent trip. I was sitting in Nairobi airport last … Continued
The Right to Decide Forum – October 25, 2013
“The Right to Decide: Lived Experience of People with Disabilities, Older Persons and HIV/AIDS” is a forum to share experiences and perspectives on the right to make decisions, which will be held on Friday, October 25, 2013. People with intellectual disabilities, psychiatric consumer/survivors, older persons, and those living HIV/AIDS often have had their right to make … Continued
