Dear supporters: Our petition will be sent to Prime Minister Trudeau and key Cabinet Ministers this week. In addition, the following Press Release will be widely distributed to build public awareness, inform you of strategic developments, and generate more support. Please check future updates for progress reports, and thank you for continuing to promote our petition. Salvatore (Sal) Amenta -------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 18, 2016 IT'S TIME TO ADOPT THE UN PROTOCOL PROTECTING THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES! Stouffville, Ontario, Canada A nation-wide petition is calling on Prime Minister Trudeau to honour a convention signed by his predecessor to safeguard the rights of vulnerable Canadians. The Harper Government signed The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007, but never proceeded to fulfill the terms of Article 33 or to the sign the Protocol. These actions would have provided a system to monitor Canada's performance, and a means of reporting violations to the UN for investigation. After raising expectations in the disability community, and establishing an "Office of Disability Issues", the Harper government did not follow through with these two important steps. According to the petition's originator, Salvatore Amenta, "There is little to show for Canada's noble intentions, so many thousands of citizens want to know that Parliament takes seriously its obligations to persons with disabilities as required by the UN convention it adopted almost nine years ago." Amenta suggests that the Prime Minister Trudeau's meeting with provincial premiers and territorial leaers, occurring within 90 days of the climate change accord, could be the first opportunity to obtain the necessary consensus from the federation to adopt the Protocol. Furthermore, as Ministers Qualtrough and Duclos prepare legislation for the promised "National Disabilities Act", it might well include a monitoring and reporting system. "Tens of thousands of Canadian families caring for loved ones with disabilities," says Amenta, "want to see these tasks added to the Prime Minister's ambitious agenda, and without further delay." The petition's originator is the father of an adult son with a disability who is employed and included in the community. He is a former teacher and professor, and a family advocate in retirement. Critical of social services that focus almost exclusively on the needs of individuals with disabilities, he launched a family network "to help parents help each other when no-one else will. They need additional help in coping with the stresses of acquiring the appropriate supports for their loved ones." Contact: Salvatore (Sal) Amenta, PhD, 14788 Kennedy Road, Stouffville, Ontario, Canada L4A 7X5 T: (905) 888-5285, C: (416) 799-9392, email: samenta03@gmail.com Link for the online Change.org petition, "Canada still needs to sign and ratify the UN Protocol on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities": https://www.change.org/p/canada-s-adoption-of-the-un-protocol-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities-is-long-overdue?recruiter=20360004&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink