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In Brief

The Convention:

  • Is intended as a human rights instrument with an explicit, social development dimension.
  • Adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all persons with all types of disabilities must enjoy all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
  • Clarifies and qualifies how all categories of rights apply to persons with disabilities, and
  • Identifies areas where:
    • adaptations have to be made for persons with disabilities to effectively exercise their rights.
    • their rights have been violated, and where protection of rights must be reinforced.

Canada signed the Convention CRPD (but not the Protocol) on March 30, 2007. In May 2, 2008 a private members motion passed unanimously in Parliament that Canada should ratify the convention. Ratification by Canada is now pending. Ratification will bind both the federal and provincial levels of government (30 days after ratification) to a wide range of new and expanded obligations.