1950’s-1970’s
The U.S.A-originated slogan “Hire the Handicapped” became widespread across Canada during the post-WW2 period as an attempt to help newly disabled veterans reintegrate into society.1 Despite the good intentions of the campaign, it left out disabled civilians, who, like disabled veterans, suffered from poverty and lack of opportunities. By the 1970s, the movement gained traction in the larger disability community and began to represent a larger section of the disabled population, aside from veterans.2 However, some organizations and government figures deemed the “Hire the Handicapped” campaign quite ineffective at changing popular attitudes and providing more employment opportunities for people with disabilities3. However, the movement was a starting point for the development of more initiatives and opportunities for all people with disabilities.4 One of these Initiatives was the 1951 Conference on the Rehabilitation of the Physically Disabled.
1. Justin Galer, “Employers, Disabled Workers, and the War on Attitudes in Late Twentieth-Century Canada,” in Disabling Barriers: Social Movements, Disability History, and the Law eds. Ravi Malhotra and Benjamin Isitt (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017), 28-34.
1. Justin Galer, “Employers, Disabled Workers, and the War on Attitudes in Late Twentieth-Century Canada,” in Disabling Barriers: Social Movements, Disability History, and the Law eds. Ravi Malhotra and Benjamin Isitt (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2017), 28-34.
1. Ibid., 28-34.
1. Ibid., 28-34.
