Congratulations to friend of the BCCPD Simon Cox! Simon has been awarded the Hal Rogers Fellow Award by the Kin Canada Foundation in recognition of the more than 30 years of important work he has done to improve the lives of people with physical disabilities. Simon is currently the Executive Director of the BC Association for Individualized Technology and Supports for People with Disabilities (BCITS).

To read more about Simon, please visit this link:
http://kincanadafoundation.ca/hal-rogers-fellow/simon-cox-hrf-may-2014/

Dear Community Partner,

On June 16, 2014, the B.C. government is hosting a summit that will bring together representatives from the disability community, government and the business community to discuss short–, mid–, and long–term strategies to support the goal of B.C. becoming the most progressive place in Canada for people with disabilities.

The summit will take place from 10:00am until noon on June 16, 2014 at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

Summit invitees will include ministers, senior officials involved in supporting accessibility, leaders of disability groups who took the time to submit a written submission and key members from local government, First Nations and the business community.

Government is also making an additional 100 spots available to disability community members, through a random selection process.

The BC Coalition of People with Disabilities has agreed to administer the selection process to ensure a fair and transparent process around the allotment of the 100 spots. The summit will also be webcast province-wide. More details about how to log on and watch the summit will be made widely available prior to June 16th on the government’s consultation website http://engage.gov.bc.ca/disabilitywhitepaper/

If you would like to attend the summit, please go to this link and complete all the questions: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FJJBNC5

Please be sure to submit your application by 4:30 pm on May 29th. We cannot accept applications after that time. Please note that only one person per application may attend, unless the applicant needs an attendant to accompany them.

If you have a question about the summit invitation, please email summitinvite@bccpd.bc.ca.

If you have a question about the White Paper consultation please email disabilitywhitepaper@gov.bc.ca.

Best regards,

Jane Dyson
Robin Loxton

On May 15th, the BC Auditor General released a report entitled Disability Assistance: An Audit of Program Access, Integrity and Results. The report found that “disability assistance clients may be at risk of not having their basic needs met.” The report makes 10 recommendations and notes that financial support rates for shelter and other basic necessities have not increased since 2007.

BC Coalition of People with Disabilities and its partners in the Disability Without Poverty Network have long been urging the province to increase benefits to $1200/month.

Link to report: OAG Disability Assistance-FINAL