An International Call for Action and Canada‘s Long and Winding Road to Inclusion: The Canadian Experience

Both China and Canada are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. By examining the right to education guaranteed in the Convention and domestic Canadian law, the article examines Canada’s implementation of that right. To be meaningful, a right to education must be inclusive. Inclusion is achieved on two levels: individual accommodation and systemic changes that challenge established procedures that may result in discrimination. Systemic changes are often seen as more difficult or expensive, and Canadian courts have been reluctant to impose them. However, inclusive education requires a dual focus to combat discrimination on an individual and systemic level, and to uphold international commitments that both China and Canada have made.