Video available for Countering Policy Exclusions: Canada, disability, and international commitments Part 2

The video recording has now been released for the LWWRC’s virtual panel on May 12, 2025, co-hosted with Dr. Leah Levac’s Canada Research Chair in Critical Community Engagement and Public Policy. The panel on “Canada, disability, and international commitments Part 2” was the third session in a series titled “Countering Policy Exclusions.” The videos for the first and second sessions held on February 27 and April 10 are also available on our YouTube channel.   

At the May 12 event, with the election of a new federal government, we invited leaders in civil society organizations to discuss what will and should be key priorities for action around ensuring rights and justice of and with women and girls with disabilities. We examined how the Global Disability Summit declaration to ensure 15% of development assistance funding to people with disabilities can be addressed in Canada. We considered whether Canada’s leadership of the G7 in 2025 offers openings to move forward on gender, disability, and inclusion. We explored how the recently released recommendations for action by Canada from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Medical Assistance in Dying Track 2 legislation, arms exports, and the representation of women with disabilities can be effectively addressed by the government. The panel also highlighted how women and gender-diverse people with disabilities are playing a leadership role in these areas. 

The panel was hosted by Deborah Stienstra and Leah Levac. The panelists included Neil Belanger, the Chief Executive of Indigenous Disability Canada/British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (IDC/BCANDS); Bonnie Brayton, the Chief Executive Officer of the Disabled Women’s Network (DAWN) of Canada; Marijke De Pauw, Humanity & Inclusion (HI) Canada’s Specialist in inclusive governance; and Maureen Haan, the President and CEO of the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW). The panelists discussed with the new federal government what will and should be key priorities for action around ensuring rights and justice of and with women, girls, and gender-diverse people with disabilities. 

The panel was recorded and captioned in English, and the video is available on YouTube.   

In the description below the YouTube video, you can also access a summary of the event, the anonymized transcript of the Q&A, and the resources shared by the panelists. 

Watch our upcoming events for details on the next event in the Countering Policy Exclusions series on November 10, 2025.