DABC will be closed on Monday, September 30th, to acknowledge the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. While September 30th has held this designation for years, this is only the second year it is being recognized as a statutory holiday in BC.

The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation honours the children who never made it home from residential schools as well as the Survivors of those “schools,” and acknowledges both this terrible history as well as the ongoing impacts of residential schools and the challenges and injustices that Indigenous communities continue to face. It also encourages the celebration of Indigenous cultures.

It is based on Orange Shirt Day, which was founded by Phyllis Webstad, a Survivor of residential school. You can learn more about Phyllis and this movement here: https://orangeshirtday.org/phyllis-story/.

We encourage you to take this day to reflect, learn, and have conversations with people you know.

Vancouver Blog Miss604 has compiled a list of events that are happening for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation this weekend.

Here are the events on September 30th:

– Place des Arts: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
– Create and Connect: Truth and Reconciliation Day at MONOVA
– Noons Creek Hatchery Reconciliation Event in Port Moody
– Intergenerational March to commemorate Orange Shirt Day (UBC)
– Free Admission at the Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre
– Walk for Truth and Reconciliation (Tsawwassen)
– Honouring Residential School Thrivers and Survivors – Stó:lō Nation
– Learning Opportunity: Downstream Where the Waters Mix Exhibition
– National Day of Truth and Reconciliation Teaching Pow Wow

DABC has prepared a document that aims to highlight key election issues within the disability community and advocates for a provincial government that actively includes people with disabilities in shaping the future of our province. You can download it here: https://disabilityalliancebc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/DABC-Key-Election-Priorities.docx.

Within the document, we have identified our election asks and categorized them into 5 key priority areas. The election priorities have been distributed to each political party. DABC will publish to our network any party responses we may receive.

In addition to our election asks, as a member of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition (BC PRC), Disability Alliance BC supports the election advocacy presented by the BC PRC in their factsheet, which can be found here.

When first announced in September 2020’s throne speech, the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) held the promise of lifting people with disabilities out of poverty.

The CDB as proposed underdelivers on this promise; people with disabilities will only be able to receive a maximum of $2,400 a year. For most, this is not enough to cover higher costs of living or exorbitant medical costs associated with living with a disability.

Regulations published in June 2024 reveal restrictive policies around eligibility criteria, income thresholds, and earning caps that may further entrench people with disabilities in cycles of poverty. DABC has published an in depth review of the proposed regulations, with 20 recommendations for change. This review has been submitted to the federal government during the consultation period.

You can read our review here:
https://disabilityalliancebc.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Canada-Disability-Benefit-In-Depth-Review-by-DABC.docx.