Disability White Paper

Engagement Summary

British Columbians were invited to share their thoughts about how government, businesses and communities can better support people with disabilities to fully participate in our communities. Everyone was invited to participate, whether he or she was someone living with a disability, a friend, family member, neighbour, employer or co-worker.

There were many different ways British Columbians could participate. Citizens could join one of six online conversations, participate in an in-person community consultation, host and submit their own discussions using our Conversation Toolkit, tweet ideas on Twitter using the hashtag #disabilitybc, or submit feedback by email, ASL video, mail, or phone.

Timeframe:

December 3, 2013 – March 11, 2014

Input Received:

• 23 in-person sessions in 15 communities
• 27,965 visits to site
• >4,500 in-person suggestions
• 1,103 blog comments
• 405 email or handwritten submissions, including 65 submissions from organizations
• 1281 uses of #disabilitybc hashtag

Input Leads to Action:

On May 15, 2014, the Disability Consultation Report was released which provided a summary of the feedback and ideas received from the submissions collected through the consultation process.

On June 16, 2014, B.C. hosted the B.C. Accessibility Summit, where the Premier released Accessibility 2024: Making B.C. the most progressive province in Canada for people with disabilities by 2024.  Leaders from the disability community, business, government and communities discussed actions and strategies to make B.C. a leader in reducing barriers and increasing accessibility for people living with disabilities.

The full transcript and video can be accessed here.

Accessibility 2024 is a 10-year action plan, designed around 12 building blocks that represent the themes that emerged through the disability consultation process..

Since June 2014, government, business and the disability community have worked together on the actions identified in the plan. Throughout B.C. there is a growing awareness and commitment to building communities that are welcoming to all.

Many of the short term actions have been completed, and good progress is being made on some of the mid-term and long-term goals. Some of the completed actions include:

• A modernized Guide Dog and Service Dog Act
• Introduction of Annual Earnings Exemptions for people receiving disability assistance
• Launch of a $3 million per year Technology@Work program to provide assistive technologies that support employment for people with disabilities
• Release of ‘How to Start and Manage a Registered Disability Savings Plan in B.C.’ guide for people with disabilities and their families
• BC became the first province to fully exempt child-support payments for families receiving income or disability assistance
• Launch of Work-Able, an internship program for new graduates with disabilities to enter the BC Public Service

Regular updates on the other key actions are posted to the Accessibility 2024 Web site.