Thread by @NewDemoChat

We received this e-mail from Jay Woodruff, elected by members to be their voice on disability and accessibility within the NDP.

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To whom it may concern,

Let this letter serve as my resignation from the many positions I hold within the ONDP and the federal NDP, as well as a warning to other members of the Party.

Ableism runs deep in this party, and the efforts of disabled members to hold the

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Party and individuals accountable and to better the party have been met with either hostility or outright indifference.

As a member of the disabled community , I am impacted by the ableism in almost every internal and external policy and experience it in most

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social interactions. This is why, in 2018, I began fighting against the ableist policies of the Ontario and federal governments.

It was during these fights I met many NDP members who told me of the “amazing” party that existed for social justice.

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This left me hopeful for realizing the policies the disabled community needs to survive.

As a global pandemic was declared and the disabled community was continuously left out of any aid, I launched a House of Commons petition sponsored by NDP MP Matthew Green.

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My work on #ODSPoverty led me to meet many ONDP MPPs as well.

I never expected I would suffer more harm inside the same Party where many amazing people existed.

But the more time and energy I dedicated to the NDP and the more positions I filled, the more barriers were

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needlessly put in front of me and other disabled advocates in the Party. These were barriers that have nothing to do with a lack of resources, but of informed choices to prevent internal reforms around ableism.

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After being elected as Disability Co-Chair of the NDP, I began to do what I had been tasked to do, fight back from within to remove these barriers. This only led to instances of abuse, harassment, ostracizing, gaslighting, threats, attacks, and even more

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barriers specifically targeting disabled members. Much of this was on display during both the last federal and provincial conventions and the absence of disability related policies during the elections.

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It has only gotten worse for the disabled community internally and externally.

Many disabled members, including myself, endure extreme mental health issues as a result of MPP Joel Harden, with the assistance of ONDP Provincial Director Lucy Watson,

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ambushing a Disability Committee in 2021, attacking an otherwise safe space. Harassment complaints have been lodged in response to this instance, as well as other examples of systemic ableism, none of them have gone anywhere.

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You see, the only people in positions to deal with these issues are the main perpetrators of the abuse.

The party has now also used a petition I created, in my name, to intimidate other members through guilt by association.

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I’ve been prevented from tabling motions, investigated for emailing member-elected Executives, targeted in private and public by party officers and staff, ignored in my roles as Disability Committee Co-Chair, Accessibility Committee co-chair, acting Policy Committee Chair,

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Provincial and federal Council Delegate, and as President of my Riding Associations.

I joined this party, as many do, to fight for a better world, only to have ableism and hyper partisanship from within cause more harm than I had ever experienced before.

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My physical and mental health have all declined drastically because of the unchecked years of abuse and targeting by staff, officers, and members, much of which occurred in public forums like Executive and Council meetings

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Every email, phone call, meeting, or event from or related to the NDP causes anxiety and panic attacks.

And I am not alone.

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Because of my roles I’ve been on the receiving end of countless other victims of ableism inside the Party. Some of which hold resentment towards me for bringing them into such a toxic, partisan space that clearly doesn’t care about the disabled community, members or not.

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We have already lost so many members as a result of this treatment.

The level to which the general membership seems willing to allow these abuses of power to happen is a part of the reason I no longer want to spend time and energy inside the Party,

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it has left trauma that will follow me for the rest of my life.

I, effective immediately, am removing my membership from the Ontario and Federal NDP. I will no longer enable an organization that protects abusers and has caused me and many others severe harm,

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all while continually drawing in more people to face the same treatment.

I am sorry for the efforts I put towards a Party that preys on the marginalized, and sacrifices its members, and am forever grateful to the people who fought alongside me...

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and supported the many things I have accomplished within.

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