Given that you now know that the number of Canadians being killed by MAID has grown at a speed that outpaces every other country in the world, it would seem a good time to listen to those who warned you of this years ago - as in since 90's for most of us. But apparently not. See, if I was a person who was just realizing something I previously had not realized, I would probably think that those who realized this long ago also were realizing things about this moment that I was not. As in you are not caught up. You're still behind but think 'leading'

This inspires me to share the story of one my fave ever grocery store clerks.💜
Back when I was first a wheelchair user there was no delivery. Grocery shopping was a maze of inaccessibility. People would push me out of their way like I was a cart when I was looking at shelves. 🧵

https://twitter.com/cdpsolutions1/status/1748656131243999671

First of all let me disabuse you of any illusions you may have about people being helpful or kind in these situations. Absolutely not my experience. They would pretend not to see me in case I was going to ask them for help.

All these hot takes about housing that blame older homeowners of what, at the time they were purchased, were modest working class homes, ignore a lot of important aspects of ageing and changing families, but most significantly divert from those with real power and wealth. To simply quote the value of a home at this point in Vancouver is so ridiculously misleading. I have a friend who owns a very small home - less than 1,000 sq feet, one bathroom, 2 bedrooms - I'm sure it's valued over a million at this point.

*For people living in poverty only*
Please don’t reply if you aren’t poor but do RT for visibility.

Too often poverty is described only in numbers. Let’s try something.

Please finish this sentence in replies.

Poverty is______ I’ll start.

Poverty is dangerous.

It causes and fuels immediate and long term danger to those of us living in poverty. Because of how society works, it can also have a broader social impact. But by far the biggest danger poverty poses is to those of us who are poor.

One summer I had a summer student job with a non-profit. Myself & a grad student were hired to write policy analysis & set priorities. I lived in an unfurnished room I rented. Slept on floor. Shared bathroom. Grad student & I often disagreed. She invited me over to her place… It was a downtown apartment, low-rise. Really nice but not luxurious - certainly beyond my means tho. Still our understanding of poverty & even working class policy need was so far apart. So next weekend we agreed to work outside office again at her parent’s home.

This is a CNN headline and the country being referred to is Singapore.
Now I want you to imagine them running the same headline about Canada and indoor heating. What people have a love affair with is staying alive and not being made physically & mentally ill from heat. I am really fed up with this incessant attack on ordinary people daring to have air conditioning. We have been air conditioning the stock exchange, corporate offices, malls, theatres, cars and mansions for close to a century. Dock your cruise ships. Recycle your private jets.

I’m reading this thread and it occurs to me it’s a way to help explain some of the impact of prolonged poverty. In my home when things break they don’t get replaced. Consider that impact over time. Even things that are funded aren’t allowed to break for set periods - but ofc do.

https://twitter.com/ivacheung/status/1611215957971849218

My false teeth fit badly because as I’ve said before they were fitted for me while sitting on sidewalk (office had stairs) by a dentist who refused to wear gloves & I was a benefit rate patient so he didn’t care. They fell out a lot. Once I didn’t catch them in time & hit floor.

I don't claim expertise - I'm sure there are those with PhD's on this issue - but what I learned in university & have read since suggests that Binet never intended his IQ tests to be used as they were/are & blaming him deflects from US racism, eugenics.
owlcation.com/social-science… What we were taught was he wanted a way to ensure students who required extra help in school received it and he was aware of the flaws and outspoken about how it should not be abused to compare populations or suggest "ability" to learn.
via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewconten…

Do you live in non-profit housing in BC? Does your building *not* have an operating agreement with BC Housing? There may be funding for cooling for your building if it meets this criteria. Check out this program from @BCNPHA

bcnpha.informz.ca/informzdataser… If your building has current operating agreement with BCH you can ask they contact them.
This link is designed for housing operators but if you live in one you can pass it along to NP. Of course BC unlike US decides to keep power with operators not with tenants of social housing

This man is explaining his history & survival & that of neighbourhood are intertwined. Gentrification isn't like white heritage preservation. This is about the history & survival of people and his community. Some actual manners would have gone a long way on her part.

https://twitter.com/ScarletMarxist/status/1666825213865066497

I was recently invited to speak in DTES Oppenheimer Park by VANDU.
I view this neighbourhood as different from most others in this city. It & the people there are under attack. The people there have specific local knowledge & have developed tools for surviving. It is a community

Financial privilege does not become less significant if you are disabled, it becomes even more so. You are not honouring the spirit of "nothing about us without us" if you are speaking about the lived experience or policy demands of disabled poor people when you are not one.

Bill C22 was written by and for disabled people who are not poor. It doesn’t mean some crumbs may not be scattered to some but it wasn’t the political motivation. Nor are key demands of poor people ever articulated - like marriage equality - in it. Bill c22 was also written by and for non-disabled people who are not poor. The goal is to derail support for our opposition to MAiD. Because some people have such a superficial grasp of what the basis to opposition is, they think it can be addressed this way.

Yes. But fwiw disabled people - of *all* ages - are front lines of being traded right now from climate crisis as well as pandemic. We disproportionately - BY A LOT - die in extreme weather and disaster events.

https://twitter.com/JoyAndDefiance/status/1657483003101167617

I know everyone is pained to acknowledge this but disabled people are literally being targeted by everything on all sides - police violence, institutionalization, climate crisis, drug toxicity crisis, pandemic and in Canada, straight up eugenics of MAID.

Choosing to write a story about heat using only government sanctioned stories is a choice. But glad to see Isabel Mackenzie, BC Seniors Advocate who was extremely hostile to my recommendations & presence in BC Coroners panel now semi-agrees with me.

theglobeandmail.com/canada/british… The only person in this article I have any respect for is Dr. Sarah Henderson. She was very...let's call it unsupportive of my recommendations & presence at BC Coroners panel but to her credit she decided to realize that was because I was challenging her bias.

This piece presents Robert Latimer - who murdered his disabled daughter - as a loving parent. It repeats lies, doesn't mention he was anti-medicine extremist who refused to allow surgery that might have left her pain-free. It's also full of tone-policing
theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl… If you see people sharing this uncritically - or positively - please be aware this is exactly why disabled people keep asking you to lift up the voices of actual disabled people with actual knowledge of disability history and actual analysis. Not just relatives with 'feelings'

cakes should not look like non-edible things. food should be a feast for the eyes that entices taste buds not reminds you of your favourite handbag.

https://twitter.com/ellegist/status/1655914390372118533

I'm also super judge about how you hang your art.

Very welcome and long overdue. This pseudo theory's been used by abusers for decades.

https://twitter.com/UNSRVAW/status/1656931896914333697

"The report examines ways in which family courts in different regions refer to “parental alienation” or similar pseudo-concepts in custody cases, ignoring histories of domestic violence, which may lead to the double victimization of victims of such violence."

You’re the one who started quote tweeting me with false accusations of encouraging physical harassment. Mocking you is the kindest response & better than you deserve

https://twitter.com/pfthurley/status/1657156170128187395

In all seriousness folks what he’s doing is not funny. I’m a disabled poor person that many with power would like an excuse to silence. And he is inviting actual harm into my life.

619 people died in one week in BC in 2021, directly as a result of not being able to escape the heat. Some died waiting for help that came too late.
This is your reminder that the two years later the BC Govt has done nothing to prevent the same happening again. This is not rocket science. This is not a yet to be solved maths problem. This is quite simple. Air conditioners need to be distributed to low income people. Heat pumps should have been going in everywhere. People need cool, clean air to live.

So apparently a new public warning I have to issue is that if a journalist or member of the media tells you they have spoken to me you should check with me to confirm before believing them.

Way to really fight back against that fake news narrative Canadian media. /s
JFC It makes sense that the person would believe them because their article is based off of my work, but this "extensive" interview literally never happened.

Ableism towards disabled people remains largely unexamined & thus still perceived as 'scientific' & 'common sense' but not only are other oppressions still upheld, it's important to remember ableism is ideological & rhetorical tool used in creating & maintaining other oppressions

https://twitter.com/AlexanderRaikin/status/1656126431171166209

So it's not useful to discuss disabled people as the 'acceptable' discrimination because the basis for our oppression is ableism and modern western ableism in particular, which is a creation of colonialism, Enlightenment, white supremacy, eugenics...