Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario
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Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario Members' Update
March 31, 2009
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in this update...
Citizens With Disabilities - Ontario (CWDO) actively promotes the rights, freedoms and responsibilities of persons with disabilities through community development, social action, and member support and referral.  Our primary activity is public education and awareness about the social and physical barriers that prevent the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in Ontario.
 
 New on CWDO's website!
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After April 1, we will have three committees on line:
  • Fundraising Committee
  • Creative Arts & Recreation Committee
  • Service Quality Committee
Check them out through our Committees link.  Find out what they are doing and how you can get involved.  Our other committees will be on line in the coming weeks.

The Service Quality Committee is meeting with MPP Sylvia Jones on March 31, 2009 to discuss the proposed legislation Attendant Care Services Protection Act.  We would like to hear your views about this proposed legislation.  Please email [email protected] with your comments, and write ACT in the subject line.

Stay tuned for more developments!


Visit often.  Get involved.  Together we are stronger.
 
Membership Survey - $100 PRIZE!
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CWDO wants your input and we are even willing to reward your feedback!

If you fill in our short survey we are giving you the chance to win a prize of $100 in COLD, HARD, CASH! In these economic times, every extra dollar counts!

By filling in this survey you are helping CWDO grow stronger and to provide services to people with disabilities that are effective and relevant.

Click here to answer our survey.

 
Upcoming Webinars
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Confirmed Webinars
  • "Gateways to Cancer Screening Project" April 6th, 1 p.m to 3.pm Toronto time.  Join Nancy Barry from the Centre for Independent Living in Toronto and Linda Muraca from Toronto's Mount Sinai Hospital, as they present their award winning participatory action research on barriers to preventive cancer screening treatments.
  • Lessons Learned from the Americans with Disabilities Act
Click here to register.   Click here to learn how to participate through the IDEAL conference centre.

Planned Webinars


More Webinars are currently being planned:
  • The proposed new Accessibility Standard for Employment in Ontario 
  • Series on the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  • Improving Attendant Services through Effective Communication - Help shape this content by emailing us at [email protected] and writing ATTENDANT in the subject line.
  • Riding Wheel-Trans - Write us to share the tips & tricks that make accessible transit work for you, and put WHEEL-TRANS in the subject line.
Stay tuned for more information and opportunities to register.
 
Nomination Deadline Extended!
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Our nomination deadline for nominating Directors to the board of CWDO has been extended to April 14, 2009.

For 2009-10, Directors will be appointed to fill vacancies. A minimum of seven (7) three-year-terms will be filled this year.

Members may nominate individuals to the board of CWDO.  Self-nominations are also most welcome. Please visit our AGM page by clicking this link

Our online nomination form can be accessed at http://fd8.formdesk.com/odell/cwdonomform.

All CWDO members may attend our 3rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on June 11, 2009, starting at 7:00 pm EDT. in our virtual space at the IDEAL Conference Centre.


2009 Ontario Budget
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The 2009 Ontario Budget announced March 26th included a recommendation put forward by CWDO. 

Recipients leaving the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) for employment will now receive health benefits indefinitely or until employer health benefits become available.  Before, people could keep their benefits for only three months. 

This new rule will help people on ODSP to enter the workforce, knowing there is no longer a risk of losing important health benefits. 

Go to this link to see the 2009 provincial budget.

 
The "R" Word 
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Watch The "R" Word, in Ontario only, April 5th 7 pm EST on OMNI (Cable 4)

From the promotional poster:  "They have been called 'village idiots', 'imbeciles', 'fools', 'sub-humans' and 'retards'.  They have been incarcerated and abused in prisons and institutions.  They have been feared and misunderstood for centuries.  They are people with intellectual disabilities.

"Directed by Pierre T�trault, The 'R' Word tells the stories of three generations of families and individuals, their incredible stories of courage, vulnerability and love.  We come out of these stories with a new understanding of the urgency to create conditions where all people can maximize their potential without fear of discrimination and dehumanization and how that process in turn makes us all more fully human." 


 
Quick Links...
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Council of Canadians with Disabilities
AODA Alliance
Contact Information
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Email us at [email protected] or call 807-473-0909 (voice)
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