Got out own server, got it all set up, moved all the stories over, even kept the same name

WE MOVED TO

NJN Network.com

That’s easy!

Click on over and change your bookmarks when you get there.

Oh give me land, lots of land under starry skies above, don’t fence me in…

Click her to our new site

NJN Network.com

October 16th, 2008

Thursday we passed our 50,000th viewer on YouTube.

The Disability Alert story has been seen by 9 million readers and viewers.

That doesn’t even touch the secondary sites that re-publish the videos and articles.

Those are both phenomenal achievements measured only in your interest and enjoyment. Thank you very much for your support for returning again and again to these pages.

Thanks to Michael LeClair and Trish Clarkin who help so much with the videos and many other things. Thanks to all the volunteers and those unnammed and unsung heros, to the media who cover our stories and to my family for putting up with me writing so much.

I do this to help those who cannot help themselves due to life’s little gift of disability and for no other reason or gain.

There is so much more to do and we’ll have fun doing it.

I am humbled and encouraged by your support. Thanks again.

Note: counts refer to story counts, clicks, and views not unique viewers and readers since many people return to our sites.

Kipling: Man Who Would Be King, sex, power and money lead to defeat, humility is called for

They say winners in politics only get what the incumbant party loses. This week’s election is proof of that.

There aren’t many Canadians in love with Stephen Harper but Stephane Dion gave him the win by bringing in complex new taxes based on obscure and complex principles before the election. What was he thinking? Obviously, he is not a man to be trusted in a crisis to come to the right conclusion. He had lots of good advice to drop it but his ego or stupidity kept him on the wrong course.

On PEI, Premier Robert Ghiz had the death wish in Prince County. He has been abusing West Prince since the election. Just to seal the loss for the Liberals, during the end of the campaign Ghiz sent Wes Sheridan to announce no support for Summerside Raceway.

Gail had a victory in that one dumb statement. Charlottetown can have a fancy Racino but Summerside can’t have anything. And what about taking away the slot machines from the Legion.

Even with that, Keith Milligan came close which is a testimony to the strength of the grass roots Liberals and Keith’s popularity. I bet he was blessing Robert the day after.

Premier Robert Ghiz, the boy who would be king?

There is a book by Rudyard Kipling called “The Man Who Would be King” about an adventurer who seeks fame and fortune and only finds defeat. He sucumbs to the three main vices of man: sex, money and power. It is an allegory, based on Alexander the Great to some extent, for those who seek fame and fortune only to lose their way to temptations.

Poor Robert is the boy who would be king. He has neither the intellectual nor moral courage to be a leader. We sort of knew that before the election. The talk was “he’s kinda young” We held our noses collectively and voted the boy-king in. What a mess he continues to make of the job.

The Immigrant Scandal is a perfect example of not enough depth to lead. Robert had several good opinions that the PNP scam was illegal and unethical. One was from a lawyer “from away” as we like to say. Greed and inexperience led him down the path to tempation, as it has many a man. I wonder what the sex angle is because there always is one where power and money are mixed.

Thanks for reading this blog during the election.

Gail Shea note – during the Provincial Election 2007, I followed the Tories and Liberals around doing information pickets in the rain and snow. At Athena School in Summerside one Friday night Gail asked me right gruff “What do you do for a job?” 

“Follow you around,” was the quick reply. “Why did you have something for me at Public Works.” She shook her head and went inside. That running joke went on for awhile. She seems to have a sense of humour.

Printed in the Guardian, Eastern Graphic and West Prince Graphic.

STEPHEN PATE
P.E.I. Disability Alert, Charlottetown
Wednesday October 8th, 2008
Editor:

The Green Party, Liberals and NDP would improve the lives of Islanders and Canadians with disabilities if elected on Oct. 14. We contacted all Island candidates for a local response. The Conservative Party did not reply.

It’s my understanding local Conservative candidates were told by the Prime Minister’s Office not to respond on campaign issues. Stephen Harper likes to control the media.

It appears the Conservatives plan nothing of substance to improve the lives of Islanders and their families living with disabilities after the election.

There are 22,000 Islanders with disabilities, which affect one-third of Island homes. They have lower incomes than non-disabled people, lack supports like wheelchairs or home care, have higher drug costs, and suffer discrimination in work and society generally. Many of the same issues are faced by seniors.

A disabled person who is unable to work will be living at 60 per cent of the poverty line on P.E.I. The Green Party and NDP would increase incomes for the disabled to at least the poverty line for those unable to work due to disability. The Liberal Party would partially move the disabled closer to the poverty line. The Conservatives have no announced plan.

Both the Green and NDP support forms of national pharmacare for those high drug costs. The Liberals have a $900-million commitment that lacks specifics. The Conservatives have no announced plan. Assistive devices like wheelchairs are expensive and 4,000 Islanders still need something. The Greens and the NDP promise coverage for all people needing supports. The Liberals will work with the provinces, which has created spotty results in the past. Again, the Conservatives have no announced plan.

The Green and NDP have promises to beef up Canada’s legal protection of the disabled. The Liberals and Conservatives did not respond on that question.

It’s pretty dry stuff but important. We have trouble getting politicians to change things based on election promises. Without a commitment before the election, there is rarely any change. Please talk to your candidate.

The Green Party, Liberals and NDP would improve the lives of Islanders and Canadians with disabilities if elected on October 14th. The Conservative Party did not reply. We contacted all Island candidates for a local response.

The Conservative Party platform released on October 7th contains no new initiatives for those living with disabilities.

Apparently local Conservative candidates were told by the Prime Minister’s office not to respond on campaign issues. Stephen Harper likes to control the media. Tom DeBlois promised me face to face he would reply but didn’t. It appears the Conservatives plan nothing of substance to improve the lives of Islanders and their families living with disabilities after the Election.

There are 22,000 Islanders with disabilities which affects one third of Island homes. The have lower incomes than non-disabled people, lack supports like wheelchairs or home care, have higher drug costs, and suffer discrimination in work and society generally. Many of the same issues are faced by seniors.

A disabled person who is unable to work will be living at 60% of the poverty line on PEI. The Green Party and NDP would increase incomes for the disabled to at least the poverty line for those unable to work due to disability. The Liberal Party would partially move the disabled closer to the poverty line. The Conservatives have no announced plan.

Both the Green and NDP support forms of National Pharmacare for those high drug costs. The Liberals have a $900 million commitment that lacks specifics. The Conservatives have no announced plan.

Assisted devices like wheelchairs are expensive and 4,000 Islanders still need something. The Green and NDP promise coverage for all people needing supports. The Liberals will work with the Provinces which has created spotty results in the past. Again, the Conservatives have no announced plan.

The Green and NDP have promises to beef up Canada’s legal protection of the disabled. The Liberals and Conservatives did not respond on that question.

It’s pretty dry stuff but important. We have trouble getting politicians to change things based on election promises. Without a commitment before the election, there is rarely any change.

Please talk to your candidate.

Brian Pollard, NDP candidate

Q- Will you support an increase in the CPP up to the single person LICO (low income cut off)? The disabled living on CP Disability are living below 60% of the LICO.

Absolutely. Every human being deserves a life of health and comfort, and free of pain and suffering. The federal NDP will also institute an Elimination of Poverty act, with a goal of eliminating poverty in Canada by 2020.

Q – Will you support a national drug program with a co-pay for the disabled of less than $1,000 per year. The current suggestion of $5,000 does not consider that the disabled poor are often living on $12,000 per year.

I would support such a plan and would fight for zero drug costs for every Canadian. The NDP plan will begin with catastrophic drug coverage, splitting costs 50/50 over $1500. the plan would evolve into an eventual cross the board free drug plan.

See below for details on NDP Pharmacare.

Q – Will you support a national program of disability supports to replace the current patchwork quilt of provincial supports? On PEI, only 11% of the disabled population is receiving supports.

I would support such a program. There should be absolutely 100% coverage.

Q – Will you support a Canadians with Disabilities Act similar to the US ADA as amended? Canadians with disabilities need protection not a Charter. The attached article contains a recent post on the ADA.

The federal NDP would implement a Canadian Disabilities Action Plan based on the vision of an inclusive and accessible Canada. Our goal is to ensure the full participation of all persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.

And Stephen here is a little more info re the federal NDP Persons With Disabilities policies:

Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:
Develop and implement accessibility standards and laws for all areas under federal jurisdiction.

• Use federal government funding to leverage improvements to employment, public transit and services. For example, we will use universal design principles in federally-funded infrastructure initiatives.
• Make the federal disability tax credit fully refundable and accessible to all CPP disability pensioners.
• Establish a Canadian Disability Employment Fund to assist employers under federal jurisdiction with the costs of providing reasonable accommodation.
• Establish specific targets within labour market agreements negotiated with the provinces and territories to assist those with disabilities.
• Create a Canadian Disability Accommodation Commissioner to advise Parliament and the responsible minister on issues affecting persons with disabilities.
• Support a pan-Canadian strategy to stop violence and abuse of disabled persons.
• Establish nation-wide goals to ensure that every Canadian in need of non-acute care will receive an appropriate level of care, including home care.
• Immediately implement the UN Covenant on the Rights of People with Disabilities, which Canada signed.

Pharmacare: Affordable Prescription Medicines
Jack Layton and the New Democrats will:

Establish a Canada-wide prescription drug program, phasing in drug coverage for all citizens, beginning with catastrophic drug costs, in cooperation with the provinces and territories.

Reduce the cost of prescription drugs for average Canadians and save billions of dollars from provincial health care budgets by implementing a bulk-purchasing plan, in agreement with the provinces and territories.

Introduce measures to ensure that new drugs are evaluated through evidence-based research to be more effective, before they are prescribed by doctors and paid for by Canadians.

Enforce a strict ban on all direct-to-consumer drug advertising, including closing loopholes created by the Conservatives’ new consumer legislation.

Fund an independent drug therapy advisory service for doctors across Canada, to share best practices.

Make necessary drugs more affordable by implementing measures to replace high-cost patent drugs with lower-cost generic drugs. We will phase out the “ever-greening” of patent drugs, no longer allowing large pharmaceutical corporations to continually renew their patents with little or no control.

Conservatives and NDP are no-shows

We heard back from the Green Party and the Liberal Party candidates in Election 2008. A chart of their responses is above.

There have been no responses from the Conservative Party and the NDP.

Rumour on the Conservatives is the candidates are on a short leash and not allowed to speak. I met Tom DeBlois at the Farmer’s Market and he pretended he never got my email. Shame Tom – aren’t you modern?

The NDP appear disorganized. Again at the Farmer’s Market, Brian Pollard admitted pondering a reply that hadn’t happened.

22,000 Islanders with disabilities, their families and caregivers deserve a reply.

Shawn Murphy MP Liberal

Q- Will you support an increase in the CPP up to the single person LICO (low income cut off)? The disabled living on CP Disability are living below 60% of the LICO.

Response – If elected, the Liberal Party will make the Disability Tax Credit refundable so if a disabled person does not pay taxes they will still receive the support, which could amount to as much as $1025 per year. I believe this can be a positive step in helping to raise the level of income for people with disabilities. There is still much more to be done though and with the Liberals 30/50 Poverty Plan, many of the systematic issues that place people in unfortunate situations will be addressed. It is becoming even clearer to me, especially in going door to door, that many people with disabilities are living in poverty and need more support

Q – Will you support a national drug program with a co-pay for the disabled of less than $1,000 per year. The current suggestion of $5,000 does not consider that the disabled poor are often living on $12,000 per year.

Response – In response to your concerns about drug coverage, last week the Liberal Party announced their Catastrophic Drug Coverage plan that will invest $900 million to ensure Canadians living with serious illnesses can focus on their health and not their finances.

 Q – Will you support a national program of disability supports to replace the current patchwork quilt of provincial supports? On PEI, only 11% of the disabled population is receiving supports.

Response – I support a national strategy but I recognize that many of the programs disabled persons utilize are administered by provincial jurisdictions but I am willing to continue to work with the provincial government to ensure that the level and access of support and programs are strengthened.

 Q – Will you support a Canadians with Disabilities Act similar to the US ADA as amended? Canadians with disabilities need protection not a Charter. The attached article contains a recent post on the ADA.

Response – No Comment

Thank you for contacting me again about disability issues. I have enjoyed working with the disabled community and I am committed to improving their situation here in Charlottetown,

Shawn Murphy, MP

Kate and Peter Bevan Baker

Peter Bevan Baker, candidate for the Green Party, replied to our questions. I placed the pre-amble to his reply at the end to keep the resonses clear.

Q – Will you support an increase in the CPP up to the single person LICO (low income cut off)? The disabled living on CP Disability are living below 60% of the LICO.

Reply – Yes.

Email

Hi Stephen,
It was good to meet you. Here are my answers to your questions:

Q- If you are elected, what will you and your party do for Islanders with disabilities?

Here is our policy on disabilities, taken from “Vision Green” – I’ll be referring to it in subsequent answers.

b) People with disabilities
Canadians with disabilities and their families live with disproportionate levels of poverty and exclusion. To better understand the underlying factors, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and the Canadian Association for Community Living (CACL) commissioned the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to study the situation and propose solutions. It concludes that:
1. Canadians with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than other Canadians. Poverty is both a result of exclusion and lack of supports, and it contributes to further exclusion and vulnerability in a ‘vicious cycle’;
2. Children with disabilities are twice as likely as other children to live in households that rely on social assistance as a main source of income;
3. Poverty rates of Canadians with disabilities result in large part from the lack of needed disability supports, which enable access to education, training, employment, and community participation;
4. Canadians with disabilities are too often exiled to inadequate, stigmatizing and ineffective systems of income support that were never designed to address the real income needs of Canadians with disabilities; and,
5. The federal government has a key role to play in addressing the poverty and income security needs of Canadians – they have done this through Employment Insurance, CPP/QPP, Old Age Security and the Guaranteed Income Supplement, the National Child Benefit, and Child Disability Benefit, and various tax measures.
The Caledon Institute propose that the federal government invest in a new initiative, which they have called the Basic Income Programme to best provide the support that Canadians with disabilities desperately need.
Our Vision
The Green Party of Canada believes that it is time to treat Canadians with disabilities with dignity. We endorse the Basic Income Programme proposed by the Caledon Institute, which asserts, when all factors are taken into account, will actually save the government money. We urge the adoption of this income security programme for people with disabilities as soon as possible as an interim measure to a full poverty eradication federal-provincial program is established to provide for income security for all Canadians.
Green Solutions
Green Party MPs will:
Institute a basic income for people living with disabilities so that none of them live in poverty by:
• The conversion of the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to a refundable credit as a first step in creating a national Basic Income program for working age adults with disabilities;
• Establish rigorous “needs based” eligibility standards for basic income to permit an affordable benefit system that provides adequate benefit levels; and,
• Use a redesigned Canada Pension Plan/Disability Benefit (CPP/D) test to incorporate the DTC definition of disability and permit employment, rather than the CPP/D definition that requires a ‘severe’ disability to be life-long and to be the cause of any incapacity to pursue ‘any gainful occupation.’ The revised definition allows individuals to work while retaining eligibility for basic income.

Thanks for this Stephen. Speak soon,Peter.

Social issues are almost non-existent from this year’s election campaign in Canada. So we asked local Island politicians what they will do if elected for Islanders with disabilities.

Canadians and Islanders with disabilities make up 16% of the population, or 22,000 people on PEI.

If you are elected, what will you and your party do for Islanders with disabilities?

Will you support an increase in the CPP up to the single person LICO (low income cut off)? The disabled living on CP Disability are living below 60% of the LICO.

Will you support a national drug program with a co-pay for the disabled of less than $1,000 per year. The current suggestion of $5,000 does not consider that the disabled poor are often living on $12,000 per year.

Will you support a national program of disability supports to replace the current patchwork quilt of provincial supports? On PEI, only 11% of the disabled population is receiving supports.

Will you support a Canadians with Disabilities Act similar to the US ADA as amended? Canadians with disabilities need protection not a Charter. The attached article contains a recent post on the ADA. ADA

Thank you,

Stephen Pate
PEI Disability Alert