equal employment opportunity

People with mental disabilities are the most discriminated group. In British Columbia, the public sector and educational institutions would usually severely demoted or fired employees that are founded to have a mental disability. How do I know – this has happened to me and many of my friends. We could have taken our employers to court and maybe even won back our jobs. This victory is usually very short-lived though as the employer would find another reason for firing us.

You may suggest we not disclose our disability to our employers. Speaking just for myself - I cannot hide it. I have ADHD and anxiety problems. Despite how hard I try, everyone can see my shortcomings or limitations. But with accommodation I could be an invaluable contributor to an organization.

Anything short of an affirmative action policy is no guarantee to equal employment opportunities.

It should not be the responsibility of people with mental disabilites to fight for their right to meaningful and gainful employment. Nor is it a fight a person with a mental disability could easily win. There needs to be an affirmative action policy in place to help even the playing field. A policy where there are consequences if an employer discriminates against and refuses to accommodate people with mental disabilities. This is the responsibility of the government. And it is long overdue.

I have a petition which I have included with this email. As there is an election coming up, we may have the ear of people who can help us. With signed petitions in hand, I will be visiting the candidates’ office in the greater Vancouver area. Will you please help me ask your area’s candidates to fight for us with mental disabilities? Will you please help pass this petition around and get signatures? Will you please help anyway you can?

If you have any suggestions, I love to hear them.




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Petition
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We, the undersigned, find that many public sector employers and organizations receiving government funding need to give people with mental disabilities fair employment opportunities.

The charter of rights guarantees that all Canadians have a right to gainful and meaningful employment. People with mental disabilities can enrich an organization by bringing a different perspective into the workplace. It is to society’s best interest that everyone gets to work. Canada is loosing a very valuable part of her workforce. To move ahead, we need to help all people live up to their true potential and not be blinded by their differences.

We demand that the government enforce an affirmative action policy for public sector organizations and organizations that receive government funding. The policy ensures the employer’s percentage of employees with mental disability in meaningful and gainful employment matches the percentage of people with mental disability in the general population. If there is a shortfall, the employer will loose its government funding according to the level of its deficit.

Name(please print) Signature Address

I won't sign your petition because you’re barking up the wrong tree. Psychiatrists are the cause of discrimination! In their attempts to make psychiatry a legitimate specialty of medicine psychiatrists has falsely and without one shred of scientific/medical evidence, has medicalised the human condition. Psychiatry does not know the cause of a single mental illness yet they have joined forces with the drug companies in this multi-billion dollar fraud of medicalising human behavior.

Your petition furthers this myth that human behavior has a medical etiology.

If you wish to stop discrimination take on the American Psychiatric Association and demand they provide proof that "mental illness" has a biological cause and is a real medical disease.

This crap that mental illness is caused by chemical imbalances has never been proved. Psychiatrists have no means to measure or monitor neurochemistry so how the hell are they supposed to be able to correct it???

This rubbish that we must treat people with "mental illness" like people with other real diseases because it politically correct is just a clever marketing tool dreamt up by the drug companies to further expand their market and profits that makes them look like good guys. What a con!

If you want to end discrimination you need to destroy the source of that discrimination which is the DSM IV and the psychopharmacology industry.