A Brief History of
The Canadian Centre on Disability Studies

Incorporation of CCDS took place in April 1995 under the official name, The Canadian Centre on Disability Studies Incorporated. The Centre came into being through a unique set of circumstances.

In October 1993 a Steering Committee was established to develop the concept of a disability studies centre. Members of this steering committee included people from the disability and university communities. Dr. Don Fuchs from the Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba, coordinated the activities and Henry Enns who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree at that year's fall convocation chaired the committee. Discussions had taken place for many years regarding the idea of such a centre. The conferring of the Honorary Doctorate provided the catalyst to bring people together.

The Steering Committee worked for over a year to develop a mission statement and set of principles.

During the summer of 1994, the centre (still unnamed) received a grant to hire a summer student to consult with the disability community regarding the concept on which to build the centre. Some forty letters of support were received from various organizations. A formal proposal was developed and work began on a set of by-laws. This work was done by what was later known as the Governance Committee, Art Braid, Al Simpson and Laurie Ringaert.

Meetings took place in January 1995 with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, to discuss an Endowment Fund, which would assist the financial viability of the Centre. The initial response was supportive for the centre's concept, but funding for an endowment did not look likely. In March of the same year, Dr. Don Fuchs visited Ottawa and was informed by Minister Axworthy that the centre would receive $65,000.00. The pendulum had begun to swing. In Ottawa two weeks later, Henry Enns was given the news that the centre would receive $1 million for the establishment of its Endowment Fund.

Achievements

2003

• CCDS appointed Ms. Cassandra Phillips as its second Executive Director and Dr. Michelle Owen as its third Royal Bank Research Chair
• CCDS and Captus Press published two books; In Pursuit of Equal Participation: Canada and Disability at Home and Abroad by Henry Enns and Aldred H. Neufeldt and Making Equality: History of Advocacy and Persons with Disabilities in Canada by Deborah Stienstra and Aileen Wight Felske.
• The "Introduction to Disability Studies I" course was introduced on-line and on television through the University of Winnipeg with the generous support of the Office of Learning Technologies
• CIDA provided $4 Million in funding for the new Canada Russia Disability Program

2002

• In a joint initiative with CCDS, the University of Manitoba launched the first Interdisciplinary Masters Degree in Disability Studies in Canada
• The Province of Manitoba received the CCDS "Award of Achievement" for leadership in support of persons with disabilities
• The "Henry Enns International Scholarship Fund on Disability Studies" was established
• Inclusion and Disability in World Bank Activities consulting/research initiative was completed
• The Donner Canadian Foundation funded a CCDS project to improve access to mainstream education for the disabled in Stavropol, Russia
• CCDS celebrated the successful conclusion of the Winnipeg (Canada)-Stavropol (Russia) Social Development Project, begun in 1998 with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
• Major consulting/research project with World Bank was awarded to CCDS
• University of Manitoba Board of Governors approval of the Interdisciplinary Masters Program in Disability Studies, to be launched in September 2003
• Partnership with a number of agencies allowed CCDS to hire a director for the Disability Information Network
• The CCDS Small Grants Program funded The Will to Live Template Project: a discussion among people with disabilities in Manitoba bout the right to medical care
• The publication of Best Practices in the Home-Based Employment of People with Disabilities, a handbook of guidelines and best practices for successful home-based telework arrangements involving workers with disabilities

2001

• CCDS hosts the 14th Annual Society for Disability Studies Conference, "Democracy, Diversity & Disability", welcoming 350 persons from 20 countries to Winnipeg
• Building Bridges Research Project completed and posted on the CCDS Website, identifying the corporate sector as becoming an essential partner in identifying opportunities to enhance the economic participation of people with disabilities

2000

• Finding Solutions Forum was held in Winnipeg, providing opportunity for 100 entrepreneurs and service providers to share knowledge, resources and solutions regarding the issues and concerns of Canadians with disabilities who aspire to entrepreneurship
• Round Table event in Ukraine was held in conjunction with training sessions organized by the Reforming Social Services-Ukraine project in partnership with the University of Manitoba
• CCDS organized the Canada - Russia Conference Around Disability Issues in Russia in Moscow May 11 - 13.

1999

• CCDS and the University of Winnipeg signed an agreement to promote collaboration on research and education on disability issues
• CCDS launched the Small Grants Program, which funds community-based disability-related research
• The Province of Manitoba commited $500,000 to the CCDS Endowment Fund
• Reforming Social Services in Ukraine, a project of the University of Manitoba and CCDS, received funding from CIDA with CCDS co-ordinating the Disability component

1998

• CCDS organized and sponsored the first Canadian National Symposium on Disability Studies at the University of Manitoba
• The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded the Winnipeg (Canada)-Stavropol (Russia) Social Development Project "to promote democratic development in Russia and enhance the lives of Russians with an emphasis on persons with disabilities".
• CCDS launched its Website http://www.disabilitystudies.ca

1997

• A $350,000 funding commitment from Royal Bank Financial Group established the Royal Bank Research Chair in Disability Studies for seven years
• The Access to Business Opportunities Project (ABOP) was instrumental in the formation of an $18 Million entrepreneurship program for persons with disabilities

1996

• The University of Manitoba and CCDS signed an agreement which stated that to work collaboratively to promote the mission of the Canadian Centre on Disability Studies

1995

• In September 1995, an office was established in shared space with Disabled Peoples' International.
• Research work at the Centre was initiated by an entrepreneurship project known as Access to Business Opportunities (ABOP) that received funding in October 1995.