Accepting the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award

I am honoured to accept the Franklin Delano Roosevelt International Disability Award on behalf of Canada.

I do so in all humility. This award is not about our government -- or any government for that matter. It is about people and a fundamental commitment to equality. This commitment underpins the work of REACH, the sponsor of Canada's nomination for this award.

The best way I know to explain the Canadian experience on disability issues is to start with the delegation here from Canada. Seated in the audience are thirteen truly extraordinary people. But they are not our guests, they are our government's partners.

And we are but a small cross-section of a nationwide Canadian partnership. A partnership of voluntary organizations, of businesses and of governments. But at heart, a partnership of people. People dedicated to a simple proposition: that persons with disabilities have the right to enjoy and have access to any opportunity that life has to offer. Indeed, we believe it is a basic right of citizenship.

Canada enjoys many blessings as a nation. We are rich in resources -- both natural and human. A critical goal in Canada is ensuring that all Canadians get to share in what Canada has to offer and that they can contribute to making Canada even stronger. We believe that we simply cannot afford to exclude Canadians with disabilities from our social and economic development. We would short change them and, just as important, we would short change our society and its future economic prosperity and quality of life.

Inclusion is central to our Charter of Rights and Freedoms -- which I had the honour to help draft and implement as Minister of Justice in 1982. Section 15 is a constitutional prohibition of discrimination on the basis of mental and physical disability. It also specifically permits affirmative action programs to help Canadian with disabilities -- something our country is especially proud of.

In 1985, the Canadian Human Rights Act was amended to broaden the prohibition. And there is new legislation before our Parliament that broadens the concept of inclusion even further.

From these legal landmarks flow a host of initiatives designed to meet the challenges of broadening the participation of Canadians with disabilities in our national life: the challenge of access, the challenge of mobility and -- above all -- the challenge of attitude.

We seek to practice this ethic at home and abroad. Here at the UN. And in following up on the global landmine convention to ensure that landmine victims can return to meaningful, productive lives.

As I said, I am part of a national partnership. And Canadians with disabilities are not silent partners. They do not passively receive policy. They have -- and deserve -- an active voice in its creation and development.

During the first mandate of our government, we struck a Task Force on Disability Issues. It was made up of parliamentarians and guided by the disability community. And it made important recommendations that are already taking effect. Our 1997 Budget contained innovative new tax measures. It created a new Opportunities Fund, which will help Canadians with disabilities find and keep jobs. And our 1998 Budget took additional steps

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't want you to get the impression that our partnership is free of disagreement. In any good partnership there is always a diversity of views. And believe me, the disability community in Canada has not been shy about letting our government know when it is not happy with what we are doing. But our disagreements have been about means, not ends; about the pace of change; about the availability of resources.

All Canadians have made sacrifices to restore the fiscal health of our nation. And today, I want to say to my partners -- here in this room and beyond -- that as Canada begins moving into a post- deficit era -- as we make strategic investments that enhance opportunity for all -- Canadians with disabilities will be included.

As I accept this award on behalf of Canada, I realize that this is an opportunity to look in two directions. As we look to the past, we can savour the many achievements we have made as a nation to enable Canadians with disabilities to play a fuller role in our society. As we look to the future, it is with the knowledge that the full inclusion of Canadians with disabilities is a work in progress.

A work that we must have the will to complete.

At this time, I am pleased to announce that the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) has been chosen to receive the $50,000 FDR cash award. NEADS is run by and for Canadian post-secondary students with disabilities. It is about ensuring access to opportunity. This money will help young graduates make the transition from school to work, and to realize their full potential.

Canada is proud to receive the FDR Award. It says a lot about our accomplishments; about our values; about the strength of our partnership.

Nothing would make me prouder than to be here again in five years -- again in the company of my partners -- to accept another FDR Award for what we will have accomplished since today.