GTA Disability Coalition

04/07/2026

Book and poetry lovers! We have some exciting news!

We are pleased to share that our CILT colleague Rebecca Wood's first book, Multimorbid, is available for pre-order and will be out on May 28th!

Multimorbid is about the overwhelm of navigating multiple diagnoses, multiple doctors, multiple medications while immunocompromised and isolated.

Pre-order here: www.kithbooks.com/shop/p/multimorbid

Image descriptions:

IMAGE 1:

Multimorbid
by Rebecca Wood

The book's cover is a photograph of an embroidered wreath of flowers surrounding the title. The piece is held in a wooden hoop set on a background of aida cloth embroidered directly with text reading 'by Rebecca Wood'. This cover image is set in a frame and overlayed over two framed wreath sections breaking the corners.

IMAGE 2:

The following text appears on a background of aida cloth scattered with embroidery floss bobbins wrapped in the the colours of the front cover piece

"Rich in metaphor, with a beautiful
sense of rhythm, Multimorbid promises
to be a relatable read for some and
illuminating for others. A deeply moving
poetic expression of embodied experience."
Audrey T. Carroll, author of The Gaia Hypothesis
and In My Next Q***r Life, I Want to Be

“I am trying to cultivate desire for my own body. I’m curious if it might be a lifeline to feeling well.” In this multi form, mixed genre collection, Rebecca Wood wrestles the body—both fact and idea—in an attempt to fold illness and expectation into one sense of self. Honest at times to the point of discomfort, Wood takes us into the headspace and heartspace of the chronically ill. What does it take to seek care in a pathologised body. What does it take to receive it when you’ve been stripped of your worth. Steeped in the medical, the merciful, the harsh light of grief, Woods words offer grace for the knowing and truth for the rest.”

03/25/2026

The National Housing Council will be holding a hearing on the lack of accessible housing in Canada. The review panel will be collecting submissions from individuals and organizations through an online form.

When: March 26-June 5, 2026
Where: Online (see link below)

The review panel will examine three questions:

1. How is the lack of accessible housing affecting people in Canada?

2. What system-wide gaps, and what government actions and inactions, are getting in the way of Canada's progress on the right to housing and the rights of persons with disabilities?

3. What actions and solutions should governments and communities lead to make better progress on the right to accessible housing for people with disabilities in Canada?

You can find more info on the review panel here: https://nhc-cnl.ca/review-panels/review-5

03/20/2026

Are you new to Wheel-Trans and the Family of Service program or thinking about applying? Check out this workshop series by Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc. and TTCriders.ca to learn more about the application process and your rights as a Wheel-Trans user!

See the shared post for more details and the link to register!

Are you new to Wheel-Trans or thinking about applying? Join us for a 2-part workshop series about the application process and your rights as a Wheel-Trans user.

The first workshop is called “Wheel-Trans 101”, and the second workshop is called “Wheel-Trans: Know Your Rights”.

When: Wednesday April 22nd 1:00-3:00PM (first workshop)

When: Wednesday April 29th 1:00-3:00PM (second workshop)

Access Supports: ASL-English interpretation and CART Captioning will be provided.

Register in advance for these events at (you can come to both or just one):

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/FuAYFPT_RL64EP9wjuU_3Q #/registration

If you require any access accommodations, please let us know in the Access Accommodation section of the registration by April 16th 2026.

For more information, check out the full event details on the CILT website: https://cilt.ca/event/wheel-trans-and-family-of-service-fos-workshop-series-first-workshop/

03/06/2026

The National Housing Council will be holding a hearing on the lack of accessible housing. From March 26-June 5, the review panel will be collecting submissions through an online form.

The review panel will examine three questions:

1. How is the lack of accessible housing affecting people in Canada?

2. What system-wide gaps, and what government actions and inactions, are getting in the way of Canada's progress on the right to housing and the rights of persons with disabilities?

3. What actions and solutions should governments and communities lead to make better progress on the right to accessible housing for people with disabilities in Canada?

You can find more info on the review panel here:

02/27/2026

An important reminder of how the disability rights movement is interwoven with the civil rights movement that inspired it!

02/24/2026

Earlier this month Toronto City Council made their final vote on the 2026-2027 budget. While there were some wins for initiatives like EPIC and Rent Bank, there is still more work to do in advocating for better funding for disabled residents.

David Meyers from Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc. shared what we should continue to ask from the city.

Learn more about the GTA Disability Coalition at GTADC.ca

Description: David Meyers speaks into a microphone with a group of people in front of a barrier at the doors of City Hall.

02/20/2026

Last week Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc. and other GTADC partners attended the Budget Rally at City Hall and had the honour of speaking. Here's a clip of what David Meyers, CILT's Senior Manager of Independent Living Programs, had to say.

Learn more about the GTA Disability Coalition at GTADC.ca

Description: A video of David speaking into a microphone in front of a group of people

02/13/2026

What a powerful moment to be a part of! While the weather may have been cold, we're grateful to everyone who was able to show up and demand better housing, services and lives for Torontonians with disabilities!

02/06/2026

“It is urgent that the city direct additional investment into primary prevention by increasing the number of new units that are deeply affordable AND accessible so disabled Torontonians are justly housed! It is troublesome that many of the city’s housing announcements include mention of affordable units but rarely, if ever, do you clearly state how many accessible units there will be.”

Kim Adlard, the coordinator of the GTA Disability Coalition at Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc., spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at Etobicoke Civic Centre about Toronto’s crisis of deeply affordable and accessible housing.

Watch her full deputation here:

Kim Adlard, the coordinator of the GTA Disability Coalition, spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at Etobicoke Civic Centre about Toronto’s crisis of dee...

02/06/2026

“While homelessness is a mass disabling crisis, our partners at Toronto Shelter and Support Services and Toronto Alliance to End Homelessness tell us that day by day, disabled folks are still routinely refused shelter spaces in our city’s shelters and provided no alternative options once they are refused because inaccessibility is a structural problem in our city. And so there’s no place for them to go.”

David Meyers, Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc.'s Senior Manager of Independent Living Programs, spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at City Hall about Toronto’s rising disabled unhoused population and the urgent need for accessible shelter stock across the city’s shelter system.

Watch his full deputation here:

David Meyers, CILT's Senior Manager of Independent Living Programs, spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at City Hall about Toronto’s rising disabled unh...

02/06/2026

“Over 87% of Women with Disabilities risk being trapped in abuse due to legislated poverty & lack of accessible airborne-safe affordable housing. Likewise, housing insecurity is skyrocketing for many across Tkaronto.”

Aasiya Hussain, CEO and Executive Director of Ecohesian, spoke virtually at the Budget Subcommittee at Scarborough Civic Centre about increasing funding for strategies to protect Disabled People during disasters (including extreme weather climate crises), AC & heating, snow removal, health and safety, safe air & water, and accessible affordable housing.

Watch her full deputation here:

Aasiya Hussain, CEO and Executive Director of Ecohesian, spoke virtually at the Budget Subcommittee at Scarborough Civic Centre about increasing funding for ...

02/06/2026

“According to the Wellesley Institute’s report on ‘Thriving in the City with a Disability,’ it is more expensive to live with a disability than without one. Every day I log onto social media, I see members of the disability community crowdfunding online for their rent, for food, for repairs to their mobility aids and more.”

Dev Ramsawakh, a program assistant at Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc., spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at Scarborough Civic Centre about how poverty impacts disabled people in Toronto, stressing the need for improved poverty reduction and social participation strategies specifically for disabled communities.

Wellesley Institutes's Thriving in the City with a Disability Report:https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Wellesley-Institute_ThrivingwithaDisability_Framework_Final_Sept-24-1.pdf

Watch their full deputation here: https://youtu.be/-p7mchT88jo

Dev Ramsawakh, a program assistant at CILT, spoke at the Budget Subcommittee meeting at Scarborough Civic Centre about how poverty impacts disabled people in...