Access to supports at centre of human rights complaints

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This article was published 07/07/2021 (1553 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Three human rights complaints have been launched, claiming Ottawa is denying, disrupting or delaying First Nations adults’ access to support services and discriminating against them based on age, race and disability.

On Wednesday, the Public Interest Law Centre (an independent branch of Legal Aid Manitoba) filed the complaints to the Canada Human Rights Commission, naming Indigenous Services Canada as the federal government’s representative.

“Physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech language therapy — all of those allied health services that one would expect are available to you as a child but also an adult are just not available to First Nation adults with disabilities,” said Joëlle Pastora Sala, a lawyer and advocate for the centre.

“Part of the discrimination is that there are no services. So that denial of service, part of it is the delay of service and part of it is that disruption of services.”

The complaints allege denial of access to services runs contrary to section five of the Canadian Human Rights Act.

The centre filed the complaints on the behalf of Carly Sinclair, 30, Aidan Wilson, 19, and a coalition of First Nation adults with disabilities.

Aidan Wilson was born with heart conditions and was diagnosed with cancer shortly after. He later suffered a stroke, which, although he has regained the ability to speak and most of his physical movement, left him with memory loss, impulsiveness and inability to control emotions. At 10, he was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

Wilson is from Peguis First Nation, but has lived in Winnipeg for most of his life because the services he needs weren’t available in his home community.

“It’s definitely been ongoing for quite some time. First, as a child, especially prior to Jordan’s Principle (which enshrined the right of access to public services to children living on-and-off reserve),” said Joni Wilson, Aidan’s mother and primary caregiver.

“Now that he’s an adult, he’s no longer eligible for those services. We’re right back where to square one — having a lot of challenges trying to access disability services on reserve. Although we live in Winnipeg, we’ve been informed should we move back to our home community, our provincial services will be cut off,” she said in an interview.

“It’s terrible that we have to try to fight for services and supports that people like him should have as a human right.”

Pastora Sala said among the goals of the complaints is to have all First Nations adults with disabilities in Manitoba, and other provinces, gain equal access to supports wherever they live.

“(The federal) government says that the most important relationship to them is the relationship with Indigenous people. When your basic access to basic needs and supports and services to be included in society are not even addressed — we cannot even begin to think about… truth and reconciliation,” Pastora Sala said.

Indigenous Services Canada wasn’t able to provide a response to the allegations of discrimination Wednesday.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca