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Bloc Québécois dissenting report on Reflecting Interdependence: Disability, Parliament, Government and the Community produced by the Sub-Committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

First of all, we want to say that we share the concerns of the majority report, concerns that are also important to the people in the disabled community from whom we heard at the Forum on May 6, 1999. We believe it is imperative that governments take action to promote full participation by persons with disabilities in the development of our society.

It is in this perspective that we support the analysis and recommendations in the majority report, with the exception of Part Five dealing with the Social Union. The Quebec government, it will be recalled, has not signed the Social Union umbrella agreement, in particular:

• because the agreement does not provide for opting-out with full compensation;
• because it accepts that the federal government has a right to intervene in areas of provincial jurisdiction through its power to spend directly on individuals and/or organizations; and
• because it would enable the federal government to develop national programs in the social sector, to the detriment of exclusive provincial jurisdiction in this area.

It should be noted that Quebec did not endorse the document In Unison either, even though it shares the concerns raised, or participate in the drafting of the document, because it wishes to control its own programs for people with disabilities in Quebec (see In Unison, page 5, footnote).

The Bloc Québécois supports this position because there is no reason at all for the federal government to invade areas of jurisdiction that do not belong to it, unless it wishes to create frequent duplication and exacerbate a confusion that is contrary to the stated objectives, by increasing the number of government fingers in the pie.

The majority report notes quite rightly that co-operation among the different federal departments is sadly lacking when it comes to people with disabilities. These uncoordinated departmental actions do not foster progress for the rights of people with disabilities, quite the contrary: when everybody is responsible, nobody does anything. It is therefore important for the federal government to put its own affairs in order and co-ordinate the activities of its various departments with regard to persons with disabilities, in its own areas of jurisdiction. Quebec's Office des personnes handicapées could serve as a model for the federal government. The creation of such a body would certainly promote respect for the rights of persons with disabilities in areas under federal jurisdiction. It is not in the best interests of persons with disabilities for the federal government to export its muddle to Quebec; it is people with disabilities who would suffer as a result.

We sincerely hope that the Sub-Committee's other proposals become a reality as soon as possible.

Madeleine Dalphond-Guiral, MP
Laval Centre