Medically assisted death in Canada: Reflections on the process

January 31st, 2019 by Celia Chandler

Celia Chandler with her partner Jack Sikorski in 2018. Photo: Kate O’Connor/Sweetheart Empire

Iler Campbell’s Pro Bono column for rabble.ca (where this article was first published in three parts) is no stranger to the issue of medical assistance in death (MAID). We have contributed to the discussion a number of times in the last four years.

What is new is that I can now provide a firsthand account of a medically assisted death. At 6 p.m. on Monday, November 19, 2018, surrounded by his closest family, my husband, Jack Sikorski, consented to a medically assisted death. Jack’s cancer had progressed and his quality of life was greatly diminished; he was grateful for the choice to prevent further suffering and die on his own terms, as he had lived. And I am profoundly grateful, too.

Continue reading “Medically assisted death in Canada: Reflections on the process”

When there’s a will, there is a way!
Supreme Court declares Henson Trusts not to be considered assets… for now

January 28th, 2019 by Celia Chandler

On Friday, January 25, 2019, the Supreme Court of Canada released a very important decision for:

  1. people with disabilities who have or will inherit money;
  2. people who are leaving money to people with disabilities; and
  3. housing providers which calculate rent subsidies.

In a decision referred to as S.A. v. Metro Vancouver Housing, the Supreme Court decided that the money left for SA in a Henson Trust is not considered an asset for the purposes of determining eligibility for Metro Vancouver Housing Corporation (MVHC) rental subsidy.

Continue reading “When there’s a will, there <em><u>is</u></em> a way! <br/> Supreme Court declares Henson Trusts not to be considered assets… for now”

Client Profile: Tangled Art + Disability

January 22nd, 2019 by Iler Campbell
Cripping the Arts. January 24-26, 2019 at Harbourfront Centre. Cripping the Arts is co-hosted by British Counciel, Creative Users Projects, Tangled Art + Disability, Ryerson University and Harbourfront Centre.

Poster for Cripping the Arts: a three day festival of panel discussions, co-creative workshops, exhibitions and performances animating how Deaf and Disability arts and activism changes how we experience art and culture as well as the ways the sector contributes, and leads to, the achievements of disability rights and justice movements.

Tangled Art + Disability occupies an important space in  Toronto’s arts landscape, dedicated to enhancing opportunities for Deaf, Mad, and Disability-identified artists. Since 2003, it has produced annual festivals, gallery exhibitions, performances, and more, employing hundreds of artists and attracting audiences in the thousands from all parts of the community.

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Iler Campbell in 2018 – look back with us!

December 29th, 2018 by Iler Campbell

As we ring in 2019, we’re looking back on the year just past.

We’ve put together a website with memories from the year.

Take a look here!

Happy New Year from all of us at Iler Campbell!

Ontario rollbacks to sex-ed curriculum prompt legal challenges

December 20th, 2018 by Safia Lakhani

This article was first published on rabble.ca

Though the election was only six months ago, the array of changes (or “rollbacks”) ushered in by the Ford regime is dizzying: from backtracking on the cap-and-trade program to cancelling the basic income pilot project, the government has wasted little time in cracking down on the initiatives undertaken by its predecessor. The government’s announcement in July 2018 that the province would be scrapping the modernized sexual education curriculum developed by the Liberal government in 2015 and returning to the 1998 curriculum pending further consultations falls squarely in line with this trend.

The government’s decision to revert back to the 1998 curriculum has prompted considerable backlash from educators, parents, and students, and has also prompted four separate legal challenges.

Continue reading “Ontario rollbacks to sex-ed curriculum prompt legal challenges”

Do efforts to protect Canada’s electoral system from foreign interference go far enough?

November 29th, 2018 by Shelina Ali

This article was first published on rabble.ca

The federal government’s efforts to address foreign interference in next year’s federal election came into the spotlight recently after it was reported that the Minister of Democratic Institutions, Karina Gould, told the Senate’s legal and constitutional affairs committee that it would be “virtually impossible” to prevent foreign interference in the upcoming election.

In response to the threat of foreign interference in the Canadian democratic process, the government has proposed a variety of amendments to the Canada Elections Act, through Bill C-76, the Elections Modernization Act. Bill C‑76 undoes many of the amendments passed by the Harper government through the Fair Elections Act (which were widely criticized as undemocratic at the time), and attempts to address foreign interference by prohibiting the use of funds from foreign entities for political advertising or election surveys and by amending the prohibition in the Canada Elections Act against making false statements about political candidates. Despite these efforts, the amendments, particularly around making false statements, do not go far enough in addressing the problem of “fake news” and the use of social media to spread it. Continue reading “Do efforts to protect Canada’s electoral system from foreign interference go far enough?”