SOCIAL JUSTICE TORONTO-BASED PROJECT
ABOUT ODSP AND OW
August 2019

2 main directions for definitions of disability: medical and social

narrow medical definition: severe and prolonged impairment (CPP-D)
medical: impairment of the body-mind is reason for disability
narrow social, more medical: impairment that in interaction with people or with barriers hinders full participation in society (CRPD, ODSP, federal in new Act)
largely social: Stella Young’s definition
purely social: ableist interactions between people decide what disability is (WHO) 

World Health Organization (WHO)
https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/disability/arc/reference-guide.html#h2.3-h3.1

The Government of Canada does not have a single, official definition of disability . However, it is advisable to consult the definitions of disability used by the World Health Organization (WHO) and by the United Nations (UN) in its Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
According to the WHO, disabilities are not defined in terms of specific categories of individuals, but rather as the interactions between people and the societies in which they live. For a complete explanation of the WHO's approach to disability, please consult the following link:
http://www.who.int/classifications/icf/en/index.html.

Stella Young’s definition

“I subscribe to what’s called the social model of disability, which tells us that we are more disabled by society than by our bodies and our diagnoses.” - by Stella Young

	Stella could be saying that she is disabled because society’s standards traumatize her or stress her or make her different or sick
	Stella could be saying that her body and mind are quite unique and that that uniqueness is understood as a disability by society
	Stella could be talking about a mix of these

An Act to Ensure a Barrier-Free Canada (2019)/ Bill C-81
https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-81/royal-assent#ID0EC2AG

disability means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment — or a functional limitation — whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society. (handicap)

	here is what is important: “any impairment” means that it includes more situations; “episodic” means that it includes people who can work full-time or regularly, “evident or not” means that it includes all invisible disabilities; “equal” here is very interesting because it implies a lot more than only full.

ODSP current
https://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/odsp/income_support/IS_Eligibility.aspx

Meeting the defintion means that:
		- you have a substantial mental or physical impairment that is continuous or recurrent and is expected to last one year or more AND
		- your impairment directly results in a substantial restriction in your ability to work, care for yourself, or take part in community life AND
		- your impairment, its duration and restrictions have been verified by an approved health care professional”

here is what makes the definition more inclusive, i.e. allows people with disabilities to get the ODSP allowance rather than to live on the meager OW: “recurrent” means it allows for episodic disabiity, “one year or more” means that the impairment does not have to appear to be for ever, “take part in community life” means that somebody who can work, care for themselves but has an invisible disability can qualify 

here is what limits access: “substantial”, “verified by health care professional”, 

United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability 2006 (CRPD)
https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-2.html

Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

	surprisingly quite limiting…. with “long-term”, “impairments”; but mentions “equal”

CPP-D current
https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/cpp/cpp-disability-benefit/eligibility.html
this is the model that ODSP is considering for us or possibly has already decided to apply to us this fall

To qualify for a Canada Pension Plan (CPP) disability benefit, you must
	have a severe and prolonged disability
	and fit other requirements, such as having contributed because CPP-D is an insurance, NOT an income security program	

very medical; “severe and prolonged” means that somebody who can work or somebody with an invisible disability would not quality for the benefit

Act for Ontarians with Disability Act, 2005 (AODA)
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/05a11

(a) any degree of physical disability, infirmity, malformation or disfigurement that is caused by bodily injury, birth defect or illness and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes diabetes mellitus, epilepsy, a brain injury, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical co-ordination, blindness or visual impediment, deafness or hearing impediment, muteness or speech impediment, or physical reliance on a guide dog or other animal or on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device,
(b) a condition of mental impairment or a developmental disability,
(c) a learning disability, or a dysfunction in one or more of the processes involved in understanding or using symbols or spoken language,
(d) a mental disorder, or
(e) an injury or disability for which benefits were claimed or received under the insurance plan established under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, 1997; (“handicap”)

	very sadly medical, i.e. very limiting

David Onley’s review of the AODA (2019)
https://www.ontario.ca/page/2019-legislative-review-accessibility-ontarians-disabilities-act-2005

Recommendation 2: 	Reduce the uncertainty surrounding basic concepts in the AODA. 
Recommendation 2C:	Update the definition of “disability”.  
Excerpt: “From consultations and research, the Review learned that the trend internationally has been to shift from the medical model of disability to a social model that focuses on environmental barriers rather than individual health. The Review also heard that people with non-visible disabilities feel left out of the AODA.

I am confident that the current definition of disability in the AODA is comprehensive and does in fact cover non-visible disabilities, or invisible or non-evident disabilities, as they are sometimes called. However, I also believe that the law should serve as an educational tool and it would be helpful to mention non-visible disabilities explicitly in the definition. I would suggest that Ontario consider adopting the definition in the pending Accessible Canada Act, which does this. The federal definition also aligns with the international emphasis on the social model of disability. It reads as follows:

disability means any impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment – or a functional limitation – whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not, that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders a person’s full and equal participation in society.

As well, adopting the federal definition would be a positive gesture toward federal-provincial cooperation on accessibility.”