Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-24-2022

Publisher

Institute for Research and Development on Inclusion and Society

City

Oshawa, ON

Abstract

Many Canadians with disabilities have long been discriminated against in the enjoyment and exercise of their legal capacity, especially people with developmental, cognitive, or psychosocial disabilities.

The United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) seeks to correct this pervasive discrimination. It recognizes the right to equality in the exercise of legal capacity without discrimination based on disability.

This study was motivated by two primary issues: 1) longstanding concerns in the disability rights community about this discrimination; and 2) the findings and recommendations made by the United Nations “Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,” (UN Committee) which is the independent body of experts monitoring implementation of the Convention. In its April 2017 concluding observations to Canada’s first report on its progress in implementing the CRPD, the Committee found that Canada should take “leadership in collaborating with provinces and territories to create a consistent framework for recognizing legal capacity and to enable access to the support needed to exercise legal capacity.”

There is an immense array of law, policy, and program provisions regulating legal capacity in Canada. The research team examined a broad range of these provisions. Given the available time frame and resources for the study, the team chose a representative selection of provisions to analyze in depth. The goal was to uncover themes and commonalities upon which to base an analytic approach to reform.

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