Ableism is “a system of negative attitudes, stereotypes and stigma towards persons with disabilities that devalue and limit them from fully participating in society and their potential as persons with disabilities (Ontario Human Rights Commission). Ableism may be conscious or unconscious, and may be embedded in institutions, systems or the broader culture of a society.
Because attitudes and stereotypes may take different forms with different disabilities, ableism may manifest differently with respect to different types of disabilities, such as physical, mental, or sensory disabilities.
From: TMU Dimensions Action Plan
A general term for the degree of ease that something (e.g., devices, services, physical environments and information, opportunities) can be accessed. It refers to a combination of factors that influence a person's ability to participate completely, safely, and comfortably within an environment. More specifically, accessibility is the foundational principle underpinning the removal of barriers to equitable participation in all aspects of university life by people living with diverse visual, motor, auditory, learning and cognitive abilities.
It requires designing environments, programs, services and products from the outset so they are accessible to people living with various abilities. Accessibility is grounded in the recognition that what constitutes a disability barrier varies across visible and invisible disabilities. As an approach, it enables equitable access to, and success within, the university for persons living with disabilities, as well as for low-income people and first-generationstudents.
As an ameliorative measure, it requires proactive assessments, resources and the adoption of concrete measures to identify and removevisible and invisible barriers that impede access to full participation by everyone in the university community. Reasonable accommodation ensures access to, and success within, the university, and is enabled by providing the resources and tools necessary to reduce isolation, eliminate obstacles and stigma, and combat discrimination that impede equitable opportunities forpersons with disabilities.
Sources: Ontario Human Rights Commission, University of Calgary, Dimensions EDI in Research Action Plan)
From:TMU Dimensions Action Plan
Accommodations / adaptive measures refer to necessary and appropriate modification and adjustments, where needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. The term “adaptive measures” may be preferable as it carries less stigma and fewer implications of accessibility as burdensome.
The definition and explanation of accommodations and adaptive measures you provided are consistent with language and principles from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), particularly Article 2, which defines "reasonable accommodation." It emphasizes necessary adjustments to ensure persons with disabilities can equally enjoy all human rights and freedoms
Prejudice, attitudes, beliefs, stereotyping and discrimination directed at people of African descent and rooted in their unique history and experience of enslavement. Anti-Black racism is deeply entrenched in Canadian institutions, policies and practices, such that anti-Black racism is either functionally normalized or rendered invisible to the larger white society. Anti-Black racism is manifested in the legacy of the current social, economic and political marginalization of African Canadians in society, such as the lack of opportunities, lower socio-economic status, higher unemployment, significant poverty rates and overrepresentation in the criminal justice system.
From: SSHRC-CRSH. "Appendix A—Definitions, Best practices in equity, diversity and inclusion in research practice and design.