January 2020
To ensure you stay up-to-date, please make sure to add inform@cacl.ca to your allowed emails list.


CACL Annual Report

At our 2019 Annual General Meeting in early December, we released our 2018-2019 Annual Report. This comprehensive document provides updates on work in each our strategic priority areas, financial records for the 2018-19 fiscal year, and information on how YOU can be a champion of inclusion and diversity in your community! We're proud of what we have accomplished this past year, but there still remains much more work to be done to build a more inclusive Canada for people with an intellectual disability and their families. 


End of Life, Equality, and Disability: A National Forum on Medical Assistance in Dying

On January 30th 2020, CACL and the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) will be hosting a public forum to bring together policy makers and the disability rights community to discuss the critical balance between the right to autonomy and the right to equality in Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) legislation.  If you are in the Ottawa area, please join us in this important conversation. The event is free; registration is required. 

Follow this link for more information, and to register for the forum.
CACL in Action!
Highlights of our recent national and international work. 
  • Ready, Willing & Able's relationship with Deloitte has been formalized into a national employer partnership, with a focus on connecting RWA candidates to roles in Deloitte's Business Operations. To launch the partnership, RWA will deliver a series of lunch and learn sessions to Deloitte management in British Columbia & the Prairies, Ontario, Quebec, and the Atlantic provinces.
  • Ready, Willing & Able Phase 2 is off to a successful start, helping to facilitate 63 new hires of people with an intellectual disability or autism within the September to December 2019 period.

Making the RDSP Work for Homeownership: Exploring New Options

My Home, My Community is exploring new ways to make Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs) more useful for people with disabilities and their families when it comes to housing security. We believe that giving people with a disability the opportunity to use the money saved in an RDSP to pay for safe, stable housing has amazing potential, but we need to be clear on what we're working with. We're envisioning the RDSP Home Ownership Plan as a set of initiatives that could offer greater flexibility, encourage more growth of RDSPs, and make it easier to access funds for homeownership or other long-term housing, and we've started exploring what this would look like practically.



CACL 2020 Board of Directors Elected at Ottawa AGM

CACL is pleased to welcome a new President, Vice- President, and several Directors and Directors-at-Large to our Board of Directors following an election in early December at the CACL Annual General Meeting. 

New Board members include: Robin Acton (President), Moira Wilson (Vice-President), Pooja Chugh ( Director - Northwest Territories), Dianne Cormier Northrup ( Director-at-Large), Dennis Gill ( Director - Newfoundland and Labrador), Carlos Sosa ( Director-at-Large), and Jill Teeple ( Director - Ontario).


New Resources for Canadians with Disabilities and their Families from ARCH

ARCH Disability Law Centre has produced several new resources for individuals with an intellectual disability and their families. These factsheets, guides, and toolkits cover a variety of topics, such as explaining the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), Service Rights in Attendant Services, and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol. 

Access the resources here.
CACL in the News
Upcoming Dates and Events
January 29 -  Bell Let's Talk Day for Mental Health Awareness 


Our work to strengthen families, defend rights, and transform communities could not be achieved without the financial support of our dedicated donors and partners.  If the stories in this newsletter resonate with you, we  hope you will continue to support CACL through your generous donations.  Thank you.
STAY CONNECTED: