The Charter Bond
Per the Articles of Incorporation of Genesis Glass Foundation / Fondation Genèse Cristal, all residual assets upon dissolution or liquidation are directed to the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. This ensures that the Foundation's mission, creating verifiable digital infrastructure that serves human dignity, ultimately flows to the organization that has fought longest and most consistently for the equality of persons with disabilities in Canada.
A Light Kindled in 1976
In 1976, provincial disability organizations banded together to create the Coalition of Provincial Organizations of the Handicapped, COPOH, now known as the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. It was a radical act of self-determination: people with disabilities speaking for themselves, rejecting the charity and medical models that had defined them as objects of pity or patients to be cured.
CCD is a national human rights organization of people with all disabilities, championing 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.
Human Rights Guidance
CCD's litigation focuses on the human rights of persons with disabilities. Through interventions and test-case litigation, they use both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and human rights legislation to change laws, policies, and systems.
Their Disability Justice Litigation Initiative, comprised of human rights lawyers and people with lived disability experience, selects cases with the broadest possible impact. They do not represent individuals; they represent the principle that disability rights are human rights.
Milestones on the Road
COPOH is formed from provincial disability groups across Canada, creating the first national, consumer-led disability rights movement.
After being told disability was "too vague" to include in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, CCD organizes demonstrations on Parliament Hill. On January 28, 1981, the government reverses its position. Disability is enshrined as a protected ground under Section 15.
The Charter of Rights and Freedoms comes into force, giving CCD a constitutional instrument to challenge discrimination.
The Supreme Court of Canada sides with CCD in a landmark challenge against the purchase of inaccessible railway cars, affirming that equality requires proactive accommodation.
CCD representatives accompany Canadian officials to the United Nations as Canada ratifies the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
CCD marks 48 years of continuous advocacy and enters its march toward 50, still litigating, still educating, still building an accessible Canada.
Voices of the Movement
"Inclusion of disability under the Canadian Human Rights Act was no easy matter: and it was a pivotal moment in the history of our movement. The Charter is a significant and valuable tool in the struggle for equality rights."
"Over the years it has been my honour to serve CCD as its legal counsel. I have seen CCD challenged aggressively and not back down. I have seen CCD threatened and subjected to financial duress, but carry on regardless. Without the vision, courage and determination CCD has demonstrated over the last 30 years Canadians with disabilities would have few if any of the rights they currently enjoy."
"CCD has been instrumental in convening meeting places where people with disabilities and other experts have been able to have important discussions, sharing insights, brainstorming and strategizing around how to secure the citizenship, human rights and well-being of people with disabilities."
Learn More
The Council of Canadians with Disabilities continues its work as a national voice for disability rights and human dignity in Canada.
Visit ccdonline.ca