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The Freedom Tour"An institution is any place where people who have been labeled as having an intellectual disability are isolated, segregated, and /or congregated.” “An institution is any place in which people do not have, or are not allowed to exercise control over their lives and their day to day decisions.” “An institution is not defined merely by its size." People First of Canada / Canadian Association for Community Living Joint Task Force on Deinstitutionalization Definition of Institution The Freedom Tour is a documentary created by People First of Canada, The National Film Board and the provincial People First organizations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. The idea for the film came about when the government of Manitoba announced that it would be investing $40 million dollars into re-development of the Manitoba Development Centre - one of the remaining large-scale institutions designed to house people who have a disability. People First organizations protested the government's decision and decided to travel across the Prairie Provinces to raise awareness about the continuing institutionalization of people who have a disability. The film documents this tour and provides a glimpse of what life was like inside the institutions through archival pictures, video footage, and powerful first-hand accounts from survivors and their families. The Freedom Tour provides a powerful tool to reflect on our history, to recognize the harm that people experienced and to remember those who died in institutions. This is a time for rejoicing. But it is also a time to be sad when we think of the lives of thousands of people (most still young children) who were needlessly separated from their families, friends, homes, pets, familiar places, neighbours and the larger community where they belonged. Instead of being able to live normal lives like everyone else, these our fellow citizens were forced to spend their days, most of them to the end of their days, knowing nothing but the company of others who knew the same pain of abandonment, exclusion and segregation, and of those who were paid to care for them. Their basic needs were met by staff who were often compassionate, but who also suffered the effects of institutionalization. Some residents of the institutions were the victims of physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, in addition to the mental suffering they had to endure just by being forced to live in those facilities. We know that we cannot assume that the closure of these last large institutions means that everyone who used to live in them will now enjoy a full and meaningful life in the community. There is still work to be done, and there always will be, to make community living a reality for everyone. As long as some children are not welcomed into the same schools and classrooms as other children, they will be faced with a very difficult struggle to gain a place in the communities where they will live when they grow up. As long as there are still places where people with intellectual disabilities are forced to live that do not treat them as "people first", but congregate them and set them apart from the rest of us, the goal of true community living will still be only partially achieved. We must make every effort we can to ensure that those who have left the institutions are genuinely welcomed and included in the communities to which they have returned. We live in a society where at least half of our citizens admit that they are uncomfortable in the presence of a person who has an intellectual disability. We need to commit ourselves to take every opportunity to welcome people who have an intellectual disability into our presence, into our circles, and into our neighbourhoods, our schools, and wider communities, and to encourage others to do the same. Yellow and Black are the colours that symbolize the People First of Canada campaign. “We wear these ribbons to let Canadians know that too many people are still locked in institutions.” “The black ribbon is because people in institutions are not safe. Many have died. We mourn their death.” All people regardless of the severity of their disabilities should live in the community with the support they need. People First of Canada Tel. 204-784-7362 |
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