On Thursday, June the eighth a forum was conducted at the Canadian Institute for the Blind in Halifax. Representatives of the four parties who are currently running for office in the upcoming provincial election attended it. Each one spoke on their party’s policies regarding the disabled in this province. They were asked a general question about poverty, and a more specific question regarding three policies the Teamwork Cooperative would like to see instated in this province. Teamwork is a non-profit organization consisting of people with disabilities who were the host for this discussion.

The first policy mentioned was an increase of the money those on long term disability pensions need to return to the province if they find paying employment. This is important because the existing policy penalize those on assistance for finding employment, making it very difficult for those on assistance to join the workforce. The next was about continuing people’s pharmacare assistance after they find work. People who need expensive medications would otherwise not be able to afford their treatment, another barrier to finding employment. It would save the province a great deal of revenue if more people on assistance were able to find work than by saving in short term by imposing these limits on people would otherwise be working and paying taxes. The third policy was financial assistance for post-secondary education.

Howard Epstein, the NDP candidate, seemed to be the only one that had a clear understanding of the policies in question even though these issues were not his department, and stressed that his party knew the importance of these issues and that they would act on them. He spoke of actions he took in his district to create curb ramps for people in wheelchairs, be has recently come to realization that these issues go far beyond accessibility.

Jim Hoskins, the Liberal candidate, spoke eloquently about some of the disabled persons he had encountered during his work as a police officer, but showed no real knowledge about the issues in question. When asked about the three policies he pled ignorance and added that it was “all about the money”.

Shelia Richardson, the Green Party candidate, also spoke of her work with disabled people, both in her personal life and for a number of non-profit groups, but said nothing about what she felt should be done. The Green party, being relatively new to this province, seemed to still be in the process of developing a complete platform to address other issues besides the environment .

Andrew Black, The PC candidate, stressed the need for a balanced budget and spoke of measures that sounded like they were too little, too late. He promised we wouldn’t be left to starve in the streets, he said that we would still be able to feed and clothe ourselves and our families, but it appears that is all we are going to get from a PC government.

It goes without saying that many of the disabled in this province have some sort of mental illness, making these issues very important ones, and also such things as de-institutionalization and community treatment orders. We must continue our pressure on our elected officials to address these very important issues.

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