2022-2023: Lessons from the Past Fifteen Years: Accessibility and Disability Rights

The Initiative 

The CHRLP is pleased to present the 2022-2023 Disability and Human Rights Initiative. Building on work dating back to 2012 and inspired by the fifteenth anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Initiative’s events this year focus around taking a look back at the last decade and a half with a critical and analytical lens. We ask: What advances have been made? What are some of the lessons learnt? What we should draw from experiences of disability policy, accessibility implementation, and social advocacy moving forward? 

Background 

Many shifts have occurred over the past fifteen years. While COVID-19 is an incredibly significant global event in sheer scale, and certainly contributes heavily to our examination, it is hardly the only thing that has affected or been affected by disability issues within our period of study. There have been great strides in accessible policy and technology and incredible adaptation in the face of adversity (COVID-related and otherwise), but also tense reminders of how tenuous disability rights are when they become costly or inconvenient in practice. The pandemic exacerbated existing disparities but also accelerated the practical implementation of many technological innovations, some of which helped create new paths of accessibility and inclusion. Through scholarship and discussion from people with disabilities, legal scholars, legal practitioners, and activists within and outside the legal profession, we seek to illustrate exactly how far we’ve come and what remains to be worked on in fighting social, financial, and institutional barriers. 

Objectives 

In a collaborative effort from the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism (CHRLP), the Disability-Inclusive Climate Action Research Program (DICARP) and the Institute for Health and Social Policy’s (IHSP) Disability Working Group, the 2022-2023 Disability Initiative aims to explore opportunities and challenges to our practical and theoretical conceptions of “accessibility”. While the theme is to be understood broadly, the Disability Initiative aims to highlight learnings from COVID-19 that can be implemented in a post COVID-19 context. 

This year’s theme of “Lessons from the Past Fifteen Years: Accessibility and Disability Rights” hopes to create a conversation on what accessibility looks like in practice and in theory, what can be learned across jurisdictions within and outside of Canada, shortcomings in contemporary disability rights, and future steps. The 2022-2023 Series builds on previous efforts to engage with disability  

Page Breakrights with a focus on accessibility. The Series aims to be as accessible as possible by operating in a hybrid format. It is expected to bring together perspectives from people with disabilities, academics, policy makers and civil society organizations from a Canadian/North American perspective.   

Events 

• Fall event for students
  • What: A hybrid panel titled “Lessons from the Past Fifteen Years: Accessibility and Disability Rights”. Panelists from diverse backgrounds will be invited: legal academics; social advocates; practitioners. Lights refreshments will be served.
    • Preliminary questions:

    1. What lessons have been learned from COVID-19 in terms of accessibility? 

    2. What can we learn from other jurisdictions? 

    3. How has your work evolved in the past fifteen years?  

    4. What challenges do you anticipate going forth? 

    5. Where would you like to see your field going? 

  • When: October 31, 2022 at 1-2:30 ET
  • Where: New Chancellor Day Hall, 3644 Peel Street, Room 202 + online
• International Day of Persons with Disabilities
  • What: International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPWD) is a day which promotes equality for people with disabilities in all areas of society. This day was first announced by the UN in 1992 with the aim of advancing disability rights and protecting the wellbeing of people with disabilities.1 Coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and donuts (gluten-free and vegan options will be offered) will be served in the atrium. We will advertise the student colloquium taking place in the Winter term and discuss some topics on the theme.
  • When: December 2, 2022, at 1-2:30 PM EST
  • Where: New Chancellor Day Hall, Atrium
• Winter Student colloquium
  • What: Students conducting work in the areas of disability and accessibility will be invited to present their work (longer ~10min and shorter ~3min presentations will be accepted). An invited speaker will make a keynote address. There will be a prize for the best presenter/paper. Papers and presentations will be accepted from law schools other than McGill University and outside of Montreal. This event will take place in a hybrid format.
  • When: March 24, at 4:30-6/6:30 PM ET followed by a networking happy hour where light refreshments will be served
  • Where: TBC