Community Living Manitoba is dedicated to the full inclusion of persons of all ages who live with an intellectual disability. Living, working and learning in an inclusive community means that all people including those with an intellectual disability have a variety of opportunities to contribute to their communities.
Community Living Manitoba is a provincial network of 11 Local Branches working together with partners, families and governments. They seek approaches to support the empowerment of people with intellectual disabilities in all aspects of their lives.
Our vision is a province where people with intellectual disabilities and their families see open doors and many possibilities for learning, working and contributing to their communities. We see the benefits when circles of support surround people with intellectual disabilities in communities that value diversity.
All people with an intellectual disability will live, work and learn in an inclusive community that has a variety of opportunities for them to contribute to their communities.
We believe that individuals, families and communities benefit from the full citizenship of all people in all aspects of society.
We listen to and honour individual choices made by people with intellectual disabilities and work with them to promote their individual rights and dignity.
We build relationships based on honesty and trust. We hold ourselves accountable to the people we serve, our funders, donors and the public at large.
We seek knowledge and feedback, learn from our experiences, and always strive to make wise decisions through collaboration.
In September 2006, CLMB filed a formal complaint with the Manitoba Human Rights Commission which stated that the Department of Families (Provincial Government) and the Public Trustee had systematically discriminated against persons living at the Manitoba Developmental Centre on the basis of age and disability.
In November 2009 the Commission affirmed that these organizations failed to provide a coordinated effort to plan for the transitions of MDC residents to the community and create community placement resource. CLMB continues to work towards the transition of all remaining residents and the closure of MDC by 2021.
In January of 2021 the government of Manitoba announced their 3-year transition plan for the closure of the Manitoba Developmental Centre, with a closure date of March 31, 2024. It was announced on December 8, 2023 that it is now "anticipated that the completion of resident transitions to community will occur by the end of summer 2024, with full closure of MDC expected by the fall 2024". Community Living Manitoba and community stakeholders have a watchful eye over the MDC transition and closure and have let the Department of Families know we expect to see no further delays of the Manitoba Developmental Centre closure.
Learn more about the closure of the Manitoba Developmental Centre and the Class Action law suit.
Building on a review of The Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Act, completed by the Public Interest Law Centre for CLMB in 2018, CLMB hosted The Vulnerable Person Act Think Tank in 2019. The attendees met to discuss possible solutions to shortcomings in the Act and its administration, and develop recommendations for changes. A formal submission of the resulting report was submitted to government and conversations continued.
Following the review of the report by government the Vulnerable Persons Living with a Mental Disability Task Force was appointed in September of 2020. After reviewing the policies and practices of services for adults living with an intellectual disability, the task force submitted their report to the Minister of Families in November 2021. The report was titled Pathways to Dignity:Rights, Safeguards, Planning, and Decision Making. The report outlined a series of recommendations that were broken down into 16 themes. Alongside the report the minister released a two year implementation plan to establish proper assignment and timelines for each recommendation to be implemented.
In March of 2022, Community Living Manitoba, alongside their 120 Maryland partners formed the collaboration, the 120 Maryland Group and submitted an Expression of interest to the Department of Families that would respond to a number of the recommendations listed in the Pathways to Dignity report. The project was titled the Community Based Assisted Decision-Making Pilot Project The goals of the project include developing peer support networks for families, increasing capacity for the use of support networks, motivating the use of community-based assisted decision makers and assisted making, and reducing reliance on the Public Guardian and Trustee.
Throughout 2022 the department of families engaged with community stakeholders through advisory committees that reviewed the amendments to the then Vulnerable Persons Act, now Adults Living with an Intellectual Disability Act and following standing committee in the spring of 2023 the amendments were passed. As noted, in passing of the amendments the Act was renamed "The Adults Living with an Intellectual Disability Act" or ALIDA. In turn Manitoba will now refer to the Vulnerable Persons Commissioners Office as the Commissioner of Adults Living with an Intellectual Disability Office or CALIDO.
Community Living Manitoba supports Inclusion Canada in its efforts to guard against the impact that expanded access to MAiD would have for the equality, dignity and inclusion of people with intellectual and other disabilities.
"We face the very real prospect in Canada of intellectual disability becoming a justifiable reason to terminate a person's life under the system for medical assistance in dying (MAiD). Families are already reporting pressure from health professionals to have family members with more significant intellectual and other disabilities apply for MAiD." Inclusion Canada
Update:
The final report of the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) has been released, and there are serious concerns of the discrimination woven through the report and ignoring of people with disabilities and their allies.
To shed light on this issue, Inclusion Canada has released a video showing the mistreatment of Canada’s disability community by the AMAD committee.
The video highlights the disrespectful and harmful behavior of committee members towards our community.
Community Living Manitoba is a strong supporter of the People First movement and has offered funding support to People First of Manitoba over the years. People First is a self-advocate run organization that stands up for the rights of people labelled with an intellectual disability. Community Living Manitoba continues to make self-advocacy advancements a priority.
Community Living Manitoba provides individualized advocacy to adults who have an intellectual or developmental disability, and to families of children who have an intellectual or developmental disability throughout Manitoba. You can call our office to get connected with someone who can offer advocacy support or connect you with the proper resources in your community.
Note: Community Living Manitoba works hard to remove acronyms from their content. However, we find it important to inform community of their meanings as others continue to use them. Please let us know if you find unnecessary acronyms in our content and we will work to remove them. You can email us at admin@aclmb.ca.
The Family Gathering (FG) grew out of a recognition of the importance for families to play a role in advancing inclusion in Manitoba and goals of re-vitalization and family-based leadership through engagement, breaking down isolation, and creating a vital community of parent/family member leadership in Manitoba. Through a grant from Federal Government, CLMB has been able to fund three Family Gatherings, in partnership with Innovative LIFE Options, Continuity Care, and Inclusion Winnipeg.
The 4th Family Gathering will be held April 17th and 18th, 2020, in Winnipeg (postponed due to COVID-19). It will again be rooted in the experience of parents/family members with two days of workshops organized around creating spaces that break down isolation and create solidarity. There will be sessions on creating a vision for the future of your child/family member as included citizen, the role of relationships in ensuring and safeguarding a positive future, and becoming an effective advocate.
On November 3rd and 4th 2023, in collaboration with the partners of the 120 Maryland Group, the 5th Family Gathering Retreat was held at Camp Manitou in Headingly, Manitoba. The event brought both peer to peer connection and self-care opportunities as well as various learning sessions interwoven throughout the weekend. Content for the weekend included speakers from the disability sector as well as parents and family members sharing their stories about building and sustaining support networks and how those networks benefit in practicing assisted decision-making.
CLMB helps to fund the Family Advocacy Network of Manitoba (FAN), a group of family members and support network members/friends of both children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, some of whom may have a physical disability. FAN advocates to government officials for systemic change and imparts awareness of the ongoing struggles and needs experienced by Manitoba families.
Families who contact FAN are provided peer support. They are informed of valuable resources and information and referred to disability specific organizations. FAN is continuing to reach out and grow their membership, particularly in rural Manitoba.
With the support of our donors, Community Living Manitoba continues to make a difference in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities. Together we are breaking down barriers and building the leadership of families, self-advocates and community supporters. This is only possible because of thoughtful contributions from people like you.
There are many ways in which you can get involved and help lend your support. We continue to change and adjust with emerging issues as resources allow.