Years
of Action 1980 - 1989
1980
Creation of a
small group called “Integration of Children with Disabilities.”
Its founders were three couples of Italian origin, including
Luciana Soave and Silvio Caddeo; all parents of children with
disabilities. Speranza Di Paola offered her services and would
remain one of the most loyal volunteers.
Ingrid
Caddeo designed the logo that would be used for the first
12 years.
1981
The United Nations
Organisation (UN) declared 1981 the “International Year for
Disabled Persons.” This led to a slew of integration and consultation
activities. Meanwhile, the organisation had already found
a new name that better represented its mission: “Multi-Ethnic
Association for the Integration of the Disabled.” Amidst all
the action within the community of persons with disabilities,
and despite its tender years, the Association was invited
everywhere. With incredible enthusiasm, it succeeded in delivering
individual services and participating in external events,
while obtaining its patent letters and recognition as a charitable
organisation.
The organisation’s
significance was recognised by the Secrétariat des
Conférences Socio-économiques (Socio-economic
Conference Secretariat). Consequently, it participated in
the first Summit on Persons with Disabilities, and in the
creation of the Co-ordinating Committee for Provincial Organisations
that would become
COPHAN
in 1985.
The Ministère
des Communautés Culturelles et de l’Immigration (M.C.C.I:
Québec Department of Cultural Communities and Immigration)
and the Office des personnes handicapées du Québec
(OPHQ
: Québec office for handicap people) began awarding
grants to the new Association, enabling it to rent its first
offices. The Rotary Club of Montréal helped adapt the
premises. The Association’s many activities at the time included
memorable ones such as a drawing contest, the Round Table
held at Ste-Justine Hospital, the Founding General Assembly,
and participation in the weekly television show “Telegente.”
1982
The
Association started to take its first steps in terms of publications,
organising community activities, and launching a television
career! March 1982 saw the premiere of “On est encore là”
(“We’re Still Here”), a television show that would be broadcasted
for 16 years, opening up a unique forum for persons with disabilities
where they could express themselves and have their own public
forum. It was also the year of the first francisation classes
for newcomers. Radio Québec did a story on the Association.
1983
The Association
received accreditation from the Université de Montréal
to participate in the “Agora” project, a pilot project aimed
at creating a computerised network of resources for persons
with disabilities.
Thanks to various
grants, the Association’s activities continued and diversified.
In the context of a grant to provide summer jobs for students,
the Association organised its first Day Camp for the integration
of children with disabilities from ethnocultural communities
with neighbourhood children. The activity took place for three
consecutive summers.
To highlight
the importance given to the dignity of its members, the Association
changed its legal name to the Multi-Ethnic Association for
the Integration of PERSONS with Disabilities of Québec.
1984
The demand for
services kept increasing and, with the assistance of the Saputo
Foundation, it was possible to rent adjacent offices and expand.
Centraide (United Way) and the Italian Canadian Community
Foundation respectively awarded their first grants to the
organisation.
The Association
published the report “La problématique d’adaptation
et d'intégration des personnes handicapées appartenant
aux différentes communautés ethnoculturelles”
. The document was launched at a Round Table in which
a number of celebrities participated.
The Association
became one of the founding organisations of the Confédération
des Organismes Provinciaux de Personnes Handicapées
(COPHAN:
Confederation of Provincial Organisations for Persons with
Disabilities).
1985
The Association
helped to prepare and participated in, the “À part…Égale”
(On Equal Terms) Conference. The Ste-Justine Hospital called
upon the Association to help organize a series of “intercultural
weeks”; the purpose of this activity was to raise hospital
staff’s awareness of differences in order to improve services
for parents of diverse origins. That is when the training
sessions for service providers in the health and social services
network began, which continue to this day.
Thanks to the
job creation project “Solidarité multi-ethnique” (Multi-Ethnic
Solidarity), the Association organised a campaign to raise
the awareness of the Centres Locaux de Services Communautaires
(CLSC: Local Community Service Centers) of the Montréal
Region on the issue of persons with disabilities from ethnocultural
communities.
The Association
was invited to Toronto to participate in the first conference
on persons with disabilities from ethnocultural communities.
In the area of protecting rights, the Association wrote its
first brief entitled “Article 15 of the Canadian Charter of
Human Rights and Freedoms vs the Canadian Law of Immigration.”
The document was submitted to the Committee on Equal Rights
in Ottawa.
Luciana Soave
received the Life-Style Canada Award (now called the Volunteer
Award), presented to her by Health and Welfare Canada for
her involvement in creating and developing the Multi-Ethnic
Association for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities.
1986
Access to health
and social services for ethnocultural communities started
to become a priority for government authorities. the Ministère
de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (Department of
Health and Social Services) set up a committee in charge of
reporting on the current situation and proposing recommendations.
Luciana Soave was appointed by the Minister to sit on the
“Comité Sirros” (Sirros Committee).
In order to draw attention to the issue of persons with disabilities
from ethnocultural communities, the Association organised
its first “Les Minorités inVISIBLES” (“InVISIBLE Minorities”)
conference. The name, proposed by Kor Kor Amartejo, became
an integral part of the Multi-Ethnic Association’s vocabulary
when referring to persons with disabilities from the immigrant
community.
Article 19 (1)a
of Canada’s Immigration Law discriminated against persons
with disabilities as a potential “excessive burden” on the
health and social services system. In an attempt to change
Immigration Canada’s medical approach to persons with disabilities,
the Multi-Ethnic Association created a working group that
would result in producing a paper on the state of the situation.
The television
show “We’re still here!”, celebrated its 5th anniversary.
With regard to
publications, the Association took a stance by publishing
a brief for the consultations of the “Rochon Commission” on
health and social services. It also submitted “Suggestions
de modifications du régime actuel de l'aide sociale”
(Suggestions for Changes to the Current Social Assistance
Program), to the Ministère de la Main d'Oeuvre et de
la Sécurité du Revenu (Department of Labour
and Income Security). The Association published the “Répertoire
d'associations et de regroupement des personnes handicapées
(Région de Montréal)” (Directory of Associations
and Groups for Persons with Disabilities (Montréal
Region) and the revised version of “Problématique
d'adaptation et d'intégration sociale des personnes
handicapées appartenant aux différentes communautés
culturelles” (The Issue of Adapatation and Social Integration
for Persons with Disabilities from Different Cultural Communities)
as well as the first version of the document in English.
A partnership
was set up with the Commission de la Santé et de la
Sécurité du Travail (C.S.S.T.: Worker’s Health
and Safety Board) and with the Ministère des Communautés
Culturelles et de l'Immigration (Department of Cultural Communities
and Immigration) to provide francization courses to persons
from ethnocultural communities who had work accidents, to
increase their chances of re-entering the labour market in
a job better suited to their physical condition. Unfortunately,
budget cuts led to cancellation of the project two years later,
despite interest and the number of participants.
1987
The Association
became one of the founding members of the Alliance des Communautés
Culturelles pour l’Égalité dans la Santé
et les Services Sociaux au Québec (ACCÉSSS:
Alliance of Cultural Communities for Equality in Health and
Social Services in Québec), a coalition of organisations
devoted to improving services for immigrants and persons from
ethnocultural communities. Luciana Soave was president of
the Alliance twice.
The Association,
in collaboration with ACCÉSSS,
produced a “Mémoire sur le projet de politique
en santé mentale pour le Québec” (Brief
on the Draft Mental Health Policy for Québec) and presented
its recommendations to the Commission des Affaires Sociales
(Social Affairs Commission) in Québec City.
Publication of
the report from the “Minorité inVISIBLES” (“inVISIBLE
Minorities”) conference organised in 1986.
1988
The Ministère
de l’Éducation du Québec (Québec Department
of Education) revised the Loi sur l’Instruction Publique (Education
Act). The Association produced a brief, which it presented
to the parliamentary commission; it also organised a symposium
on “L'intégration scolaire et les minorités
inVISIBLES” (School Integration and Invisible Minorities).
Luciana Soave
received further recognition for her hard work in the Citation
for Citizenship, awarded by the Secretary of State. When receiving
the Citation from then Secretary of State Mr. Lucien Bouchard,
Ms. Soave did not miss the opportunity to request his support
for amending Article 19(1)a of Canada’s immigration law.
1989
A various of
documents were published that year: production and launching
of the report of the symposium “L’intégration scolaire
et les minorités inVISIBLES” (School Integration and
Invisible Minorities); production of a communication tool,
“Contact Sheets”, aimed at facilitating communication between
the parents of children with disabilities from ethnocultural
communities and schools.
A grant from
Médiacom-Foundation Gannett made it possible to produce
a video entitled “Vers des horizons plus vastes”
(Toward Broader Horizons). As
part of its constant objective of visibility and awareness-raising,
the Association published the first issue of the “inVISIBLE
Minority” magazine.
