Compensation woefully inadequate

The chair of the Nova Scotia Human Rights board of inquiry, having found that three persons have been discriminated against, one for 19 years, “on account of physical disability or mental disability,” has now limited their compensation because of those same disabilities.

Following an extensive inquiry, chair J. Walter Thompson ruled last March that our province had discriminated against three complainants by subjecting them to years of “souldestroying” institutionalization (Thompson’s words) at the Nova Scotia Hospital, a setting medical professionals had agreed was inappropriate for them. Two of the complainants, Beth MacLean and Joey Delaney, survive. The third complainant, Sheila Livingstone, has died.

In his second written decision of Dec. 4, the chair awarded compensation to MacLean and Delaney. Once legal costs have been paid, each will receive $100,000 in trust.

It looks to me that the chair has based his decision on the amount of compensation on those physical and mental disabilities which were the basis of the original discrimination. Thompson declares that, as it will be difficult for these complainants to receive “substitute comforts and pleasures” from any compensation, a “measured” level of compensation is sufficient. (I describe his award instead as “modest.”) Thompson asks rhetorically, “What, besides seeing them safe, clean, warm, fed, clothed and healthy in a home, can one reasonably ask for them?”

The complainants and their supporters may well reply that they can “reasonably ask” to be able to participate fully in the life of the community from which they have long been excluded. After all, they were “safe, clean, warm, fed and clothed,” if not truly healthy, in the Nova Scotia Hospital. Yet they endured a lengthy process in order to get out.

Beth MacLean herself has outlined what she wants to ask for. Thompson included her list of needs in his first written decision in March. Her list includes these needs, which I’ve shortened: support for daily living; 24-hour supervision; a carefully-planned transition to the community; ongoing support in learning how to live in the community, travel and shop; and ongoing support to engage in recreational activities and hobbies that are meaningful to her.

That looks to me like a reasonable list to ask for. During my years of working in the Nova Scotia disability community, I learned that people with disabilities share many life goals with their able-bodied neighbours. They want to live independently in the community, engaging as family members and friends, as workers and learners, and as volunteers and participants in, as MacLean says, “recreational activities and hobbies that are meaningful.”

Just hours before writing this article, I attended a gala dinnerdance hosted by Independent Living Nova Scotia. At this annual event, persons with diverse abilities and disabilities enjoy an evening with fine food and entertainment, including the evening’s highlight: the dance. Everyone is included. I spoke with a man who uses a wheelchair and does not speak. He was joking and laughing with friends at his table before he left to twirl on the dance floor. I am sure that’s the kind of meaningful recreational activity MacLean and Delaney might want to put in their calendars for next year.

Trustees will be appointed to manage the compensation awards. Having served in similar roles in the past, I can imagine what I might do if I were a trustee appointed to manage one of the awards. I would immediately explore options that could enhance the person’s participation in the community. With sufficient funds, I could hire attendants to provide one-on-one support for independent living skills development, and for social and recreational activities that the person finds enjoyable and stimulating. I could also set up a Registered Disability Savings Plan to build a nest egg to cover additional support costs as the person gets older.

The current awards are pitifully inadequate to provide reasonable supports like these so that the complainants can enjoy good lives in the community, this year and in the future. They have a lot of missed experiences to make up.

Lois E. Miller retired in 2011 after serving since 1997 as executive director of Independent Living Nova Scotia. She was a member of the joint government-community advisory committee that guided preparation of a roadmap for transforming the services to persons with disabilities program. The roadmap was adopted by the Nova Scotia government in 2013.