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.
New Survey: measuring progress on the transition from sheltered work to inclusive employment
IRIS is pleased to be working with People First of Canada and Chronicle Analytics to launch an important and timely survey. The survey’s aim is to gain insights about the transition from sheltered work to inclusive employment in communities across Canada. Background to this Survey: People with a developmental disability have among the lowest employment rates of any population group in Canada – only 30% of working-age adults … Continued
Solidarity is the Basis of Social Change: Highlights from our Solidarity Symposium
Reflections on a Gathering of Indigenous, Refugee and People with Disabilities in Ottawa to End Violence and Poverty It occurred to us, as we put together our Solidarity Symposium bringing together activists and advocates working with diverse marginalized populations, that solidarity will require breaking silos and borders of exclusion, oppression and exploitation. However, the Symposium held … Continued
Highlights: IRIS Hosts Victims Week Events Across Canada
IRIS received a grant to participate in and help organize nationwide events for Justice Canada’s Victims and Survivors of Crime Week which took place May 28 to June 3, 2017. IRIS worked with their partners in Vancouver, Regina, Toronto, Moncton, and Saint John to organize four community meetings in each city that brought together key … Continued
Nationwide Stakeholder Meetings for IRIS’ Working Together Initiative
As part of IRIS’ Working Together initiative, IRIS and its local project partners across the country organized stakeholder meetings in Vancouver, Saint John, and Toronto. Representatives from relevant violence prevention and response sectors in each city (e.g. law enforcement, VAW and shelter services, mental health services) came together to work with community workers, advocates and … Continued
Working Together Meetings Bring Together Marginalized Women
The Working Together initiative national team met on October 4 and 5 in Toronto after the first year of implementation to ensure that we are taking the time to review, reflect and refine project activities as they pertain to our goal – to practically address the root causes of violence against some of the most … Continued
Community Town Halls for Working Together Initiative
As part of IRIS’ Working Together initiative, Community Town Halls are being held in four cities across Canada: Regina, Saint John, Vancouver, and Toronto. Community Town Hall Dates and Times: Regina, SK – March 21, 2016 at 5pm Saint John, NB – March 30, 2016 at 6-8pm Toronto, ON – April 13, 2016 at 6-9pm Vancouver, BC – April … Continued
Working Together – Combating Structural Violence: Video
IRIS has started an exciting new initiative that brings together migrant, indigenous and women with disabilities in four communities in Canada; Saint John, New Brunswick; Toronto, Ontario; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Vancouver, B.C. to work together in addressing structural violence in the communities in which they live. In November 2015 IRIS held a national meeting in … Continued
IRIS Launches New Project: Working Together – Combating Structural Violence
Women in Canada come from many diverse backgrounds and live with multiple experiences of marginalization and with each layer of exclusion, whether that is migrant, indigenous or disability status – other barriers to their safety are added. Consequently, particular populations of women experience higher rates of abuse than other women’s communities due to structural violence … 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.
