Author: Becky Goodwin

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Calling all human rights defenders! The Governor in Council is seeking applications from diverse and talented people in Canada from across the country who are interested in being appointed on a full  or part time basis as Commissioners of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The Governor in Council is committed to filling this position following an open, inclusive, transparent and merit based selection process.
 
Full- and Part Time Members (Commissioners) are responsible for reviewing and making decisions on human rights complaints.
 
Further information regarding this appointment opportunity is available on the Governor in Council Appointments website. If you are interested in applying, please do so via the Governor in Council Appointments website. 
 
If you require accommodation to submit your application or to consult information about this appointment opportunity, please contact the Privy Council Office.
 
Review of applications will begin on August 25, 2021.

Canadian Council of the Blind along with 20 other health charities, patient organizations, and research networks, and led by Clinical Trials Ontario, submitted this input to Health Canada on its consultation paper related to its Regulatory Modernization Initiative. Health Canada is proposing to modernize the regulatory framework for clinical trials related to human drugs, medical devices, non-prescription drugs, and natural health products as part of the Health and Biosciences Sector Regulatory Review Roadmap. We felt that this was an important opportunity to provide input based on our community’s perspective especially related to patient engagement with Health Canada and within the clinical trials environment in Canada, transparency of clinical trial results, and ways for Canadians to find clinical trials if they are interested in participating in a clinical trial, to name a few areas.

Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD)

Founded in 1976, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) is a national human rights organization of people with disabilities.  CCD’s mission and mandate are as follows:

Mission -CCD is a social justice organization of people with all disabilities that champions the voices of people with disabilities, advocating an inclusive and accessible Canada, where people with disabilities have full realization of their human rights, as described in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Mandate – CCD unites advocacy organizations of people with disabilities to defend and extend human rights for persons with disabilities through public education, advocacy, intervention in litigation, research, consultation and partnerships. CCD amplifies the expertise of our partners by acting as a convening body and consensus builder.

CCD’s members are provincial/territorial cross-disability, consumer-controlled, human rights organizations and national uni- and cross-disability, consumer-controlled, human rights organizations. CCD’s members are:

• Disability Alliance BC
• Voice of Albertans with Disabilities (VAD)
• Saskatchewan Voice of People with Disabilities (SVOPD)
• Manitoba League of Persons with Disabilities (MLPD)
• Citizens with Disabilities — Ontario
• Confédération des Organismes de Personnes Handicapées du Québec (COPHAN)
• Nova Scotia League for Equal Opportunities (NSLEO)
• PEI Council of People with Disabilities
• Coalition of Persons with Disabilities–NFLD and Labrador (CODNL)
• NWT Disabilities Council
• Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD)
• Canadian Council of the Blind (CCB)
• National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS)
• National Coalition of People who use Guide and Service Dogs of Canada
• National Network for Mental Health (NNMH)
• Thalidomide Victims Association of Canada

CCD’s governance body is the National Council.  Each member appoints a representative to the National Council and there are also five seats for members-at-large from communities pushed to the margins.  The National Council meets regularly, providing an opportunity to exchange information about disability rights, public education initiatives, advocacy campaigns, legal interventions, research, consultation and partnerships occurring across Canada.  Members can contribute to policy development by participating on working groups and committees.

During this past year, CCD’s advocacy work has been focused on amplifying the concerns of people with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping disability poverty and the promised Canada Disability Benefit on the federal government’s agenda, drawing attention to how Medical Aid in Dying puts people with disabilities in harm’s way, and monitoring Canada’s implementation of the CRPD. Also during the past year, CCD has been modernizing the organization by reviewing and updating its policies and procedures and committee structure, so that we remain an effective advocate for an accessible and inclusive Canada.