New Brunswick faces wake-up call on disabilities

Our province is awash in a virtual tsunami of disability, and yet, from public debate, you would barely know it.

The New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities (NBCPD) aims to change that.

As a person who ended up housebound with a disability after repeated chemical exposures as a teacher, the treatment of disabled communities in Canada, and especially in New Brunswick, is just deplorable.

In New Brunswick, 26.7 per cent of residents and 22 per cent of the Canadian population 15 and over have one or more disabilities. We are not talking about a small group here. So why is it that so many still know so little about life with a disability?

Overnight in 2019, I went from being an able-bodied teacher, volunteer, coach and Girl Guide leader to a person with an invisible and little understood disability. It can happen like this to anyone, and the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing the number of people who are facing life with new disabilities—diagnosed or undiagnosed.

The reaction and subsequent treatment I received from friends, co-workers and the government was, and still is, simply unacceptable. I am now treated as a second-class, unintelligible citizen, one who needs to be talked down to on a regular basis. And yes, although some persons with disabilities have suffered Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) that may have led to intellectual disabilities or may have been born that way, demographically, we are no less intelligent than the average person out there.

In fact, circumstances have forced many of us to be more creative and intelligent because we must always have a plan B, C and D. We are a community that must always “think outside the box” to survive the current disability system. We are, without a doubt, some of the greatest problem solvers in society, a skill sorely needed right now.

Unfortunately, our numbers continue to grow by leaps and bounds. With new disability statistics from the 2022 census being released in October, these percentages (26.7 and 22 per cent) are bound to rise, especially due to the extreme number of Canadians now suffering from Long COVID, and subsequently are unable to work. And even if the New Brunswick government does not so much as mention Long COVID as a disability on their site, it is indisputable that Long COVID fits the definition of disability under the social model. The social model of disability accounts for society’s failure to provide adequate services that meet all the needs of all disabled people.

By not addressing the social model, there will be a significant growth in the number of persons in New Brunswick with a disability. These folks will require a lot of assistance navigating the disability networks.

I realize there are a lot, and I mean a lot of issues in New Brunswick to be concerned about, but 26.7 per cent of us have a disability. We are the single largest demographic in the province, with seniors over 65 coming in second at 22.5 per cent. Yet, until now, our voices have mostly been marginalized.
Many people with a disability cannot get adequate medical treatment; cannot get life saving prescriptions renewed; cannot afford to eat. Moreover, the few of us who can work struggle to get a job because misinformed people fear hiring us. Housing is next to impossible to find, especially accessible housing. Too many of us live in squalor, provided by the government.

We know of ample NB Housing units left empty, while over 7,000 households wait on the social housing list. If you think tenants in New Brunswick lack rights (and they do), tenants in social housing have no rights at all: the Residential Tenancies Act does not apply to provincial-owned housing, which especially hurts people with disabilities on low incomes.

We also know that many municipal councils refuse to follow accessibility by-laws, and both approve and subsidize inadequate buildings such as apartments and public venues. When it goes to a tribunal, taxpayers then pay to fix projects that developers cut corners on in the first place.

It is far past time for everyone to stand with us and say enough! Remember anyone can wake up disabled tomorrow like me and so many others. Waiting until then to demand change is far too late. If you are at a loss about where to start, there is good news.

Coast to coast, persons with disabilities are mobilizing. Not only will we hold our MPs to their promise of a Federal Disability Benefit, but provincially we must do better. Even Premier Higgs admitted at the coalition’s Coffee Chat on April 24 that “he had no idea on how we could survive on $832/month.”
We are calling for better assistance rates and better services, especially preventative care. We know that we are forced to let health issues fester, they become an even greater public expense.

26.7 per cent of the population can make these changes happen. The current system does not work for anyone, but especially not for those who are marginalized. By coming together and making our interests visible to the public and to political parties, we will push through changes that will help us all.

If you want to join us in this battle, we are always welcoming new members and allies.

We are aware that the next person with questions trying to navigate the system could be you, for yourself, your parents or child.

The New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities is a true grassroots movement, representing all forms of disabilities (visible, invisible, and mental health) and is run solely by volunteers, all with a disability. We are not funded by the government. Come see what one voice, your voice, can do!

Shelley Petit is the Chair of New Brunswick Coalition of Persons with Disabilities.