Thank you, Mr.
Speaker.
Disability Awareness Week is from June 1 to 7, 2008. This year’s theme is Disability Is Not a Choice…Your Attitude Is.
One of the priorities for the 16th Legislative
Assembly is to improve support for children and adults with special needs and disabilities. The week is an opportunity for us all to recognize the contributions that persons with disabilities make in our communities and to consider how persons with disabilities can contribute or participate in the
social, recreational and educational lives of communities across the Northwest Territories.
The July 2000 report Living with Disability… Living with Dignity told us that approximately 13 per cent of the population of the NWT has a disability and that many of these individuals have multiple disabilities. For many years the Government of the Northwest Territories has worked closely with the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living and the YWCA through the Disability Steering Committee Partnership to consider how we can best meet the needs of persons with disabilities in the NWT. This collaborative work has led to the completion of many of the actions in the 2004 NWT Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities and has been invaluable.
One of the greatest needs for persons with disabilities is the need for supported living options. For many years the GNWT has had to send many persons with disabilities to live in the south due to the limited housing options in the North. The Hay River Territorial Supported Living Initiative as a part of the Strategic Initiative Committee on Building Our Futures will enable us to offer additional supported living services to residents of the NWT. The cost of the facility operation will be offset by repatriating clients currently in the south. This initiative fulfills one of the action items in the NWT Action Plan for Persons with Disabilities, in which the GNWT committed to develop additional supported living options for persons with disabilities.
Mr. Speaker, I’d like to highlight the work of the staff of the NWT Council of Persons with Disabilities and their local committees across the NWT. The council has been an active and consistent advocacy group working on behalf of persons with disabilities for many years.
With support from the Department of Health and Social Services the council has been able to initiate such programs as the Disability Information Line, the successful Parking Placard Program and community outreach programs. With the support of the Department of Education, Culture and Employment and the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority the council operates the successful Early Childhood Intervention Program.
The executive director for the council, Ms. Cecily Hewitt, will soon be leaving her position with the council. Ms. Hewitt has been very dedicated to the work of the council and of bettering the lives of those with disabilities. I would like to personally thank her and wish her luck with her future endeavours.
There are many other vital organizations dedicated to working on behalf of persons with disabilities in the NWT. I would like to acknowledge the work of
the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Yellowknife Association for Community Living, the YWCA, the Autism Society, People First, the NWT Literacy Council and the Learning Disabilities Association. These organizations make a difference in the everyday lives of persons with disabilities and have a long-term commitment to enhancing the future quality of life of all persons with disabilities.
I encourage everyone to watch for activities that highlight Disability Awareness Week in their communities. We honour and thank persons with disabilities throughout the NWT for their contributions and strength that they provide to our friends, families and communities.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.