Broadcaster, 10/24/2006
Ontario Government Helps Boost Profile Of People With Disabilities In Canadian Media
The Government of Ontario today launched a new
partnership aimed at raising the profile of people with disabilities in the Canadian movie, television and radio industry, announced Madeleine Meilleur,
Minister of Community and Social Services.
"Seeing more people with disabilities portrayed in Canadian television shows and movies would go a long way towards changing attitudes about people
with disabilities," said Meilleur. "Today, approximately 12 per cent of Canadians are living with some kind of disability. And that number is likely to rise dramatically as our population ages."
The new project, called the Media Access and Participation Initiative (MAP), will make tools and resources available to Canadian broadcasters and
producers to encourage and help them to make the media industry more inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities.
Despite the growing number of people with disabilities in Canada, research by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters shows that this is a
community that lags far behind in employment and portrayal within the Canadian media industry. The MAP initiative is designed to increase the presence of people with disabilities both in front of the camera, and behind it.
The project is the result of a partnership between the government and Innoversity, a non-profit organization that connects the mainstream Canadian
media with minority communities in an effort to foster a more diverse media landscape.
"One of the major barriers that people with a disability face is that of the attitude of those around them," said Meilleur. "The media industry has an important role to play when it comes to promoting inclusion and breaking down stereotypes about minority communities."
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