Do we live in
- a representative democracy;
- or an inclusive democracy?
Do we value diversity for
- the new perspectives it brings;
- or for some feel-good campfire stunt?
As evidenced by the makeup of the Nova Scotia Health Authority Board, the answers are “neither” and “campfire”.
That board has 13 members. 6 women, 7 men, all white. 4 executives, 2 lawyers, 3 in Finances, 3 medicos, 1 small businessperson.
Average age 57, according to Bill Gates at how-old.net (worth a visit).
No people with disabilities and probably
- no one without a family physician;
- no one with an income under $100,000;
- no one dependent on public transportation;
- no one without a shower in the last ten days;
- no one with a spouse for a primary caregiver;
- no one without high speed internet;
- no one living in a pharmacy desert.
How will they ever know:
- That people with disabilities don’t understand why they beg for mobility equipment while most Nova Scotians get new hips for free?
- What it’s like waiting 9 hours in the ER to get your Disability Tax Credit form filled out?
- How to get the ICD to work with dial-up?
- What it is like being sick for a week while waiting for Access-a-Bus?
- How your spouse balances his job at McDonalds with your bathroom schedule?
I’m sure the board is 100% nice people, but the evidence is that they fail at most things. Let’s encourage them to do some divergent thinking through a selective resignation or twelve. Then on to some useful recruiting by Laura Lee Langley
See this report for a completely fictional account of the province’s approach to diversity.
Warren (Gus) Reed writes about accessibility issues on the website of the James McGregor Stewart Society.
See also: Letter: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities – Nova Scotia’s midterm grade
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Gus Reed’s report above is brilliant. What a great idea to profile the members of the NS Health Board! The NS Government’s report he cites, “RAISING THE BAR A strategy to build diversity and inclusion in the public service
2014–2018” is pure fiction as he points out. The report upfront says it’s to support the collaborative implementation of the Diversity and Inclusion Strategy!! Thank God it’s a year out of date (2018) — gives the government a change to pull up its socks –LOL.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority is a Train Wreck and it has been like that for quite awhile now. My first clue on this was when I watch the Public Accounts Committee taking them to task on things about health here in Nova Scotia. I think this was about two years ago. I never seen such an ill prepared or lost on knowledge about what their job involves in my life….never. It was like the Public Accounts had called them and said be here in five minutes we have questions to ask. Piles of binders on their desks and every time a question was asked…”oh we don’t have that with us” or ” Perhaps if you gave us questions ahead of time, we could have the answers for you”. No, notta …noway…you should know the answers and you should have been prepared….if they worked for anyone else…I think they would have all been fired on the spot. Hospital staff, nurse, doctors, the whole lot are drowning in forms and rivers of paperwork and whats the point as it appears no one reads it or analyzes it, it just continues to pile up in offices and filing cabinets somewhere. Time to push this mess off the tracks and start a brand new train. Load the cars with some honest, knowledgeable and experienced people, not friends of friends who fly on false credentials…lets build a work train, not a luxury train and lets do it now. Otherwise we might as well kiss all our unhealthy asses goodbye..as their is no hope for health care in this Province and I don’t think that day is all that too far away.
Indeed, White well off and banking on their Privilege.
Toxic whiteness at it’s worst.