Principles
As noted in our Bylaws, the mission of the DJNO is to create a world where Disabled People are free to be.
We work towards our mission by:
- promoting and advancing the best interests of Disabled People across the province of Ontario;
- helping disabled people build personal and political agency;
- developing an aligned network of individuals and organizations to support disabled people and achieve systemic change;
- acknowledging and supporting challenges related to the complications of intersecting identities and systems of oppression, including but not limited to racism, ableism, sanism, cisheteropatriarchy and settler colonialism; and
- such other complementary purposes consistent with the above.
Additionally, our vision of Disability Justice is built on the groundwork of Sins Invalid's 10 Principles of Disability Justice which remains a core part of our mission:
- Intersectionality: 'We do not live single issue lives' -Audre Lorde. Ableism, coupled with white supremacy, supported by capitalism, underscored by heteropatriarchy, has rendered the vast majority of the world 'invalid.'
- Leadership of Those Most Impacted: 'We are led by those who most know these systems." -Aurora Levins Morales
- Anti-Capitalist Politic: In an economy that sees land and humans as components of profit, we are anti-capitalist by the nature of having non-conforming body/minds.
- Commitment to Cross-Movement Organizing: Shifting how social justice movements understand disability and contextualize ableism, disability justice lends itself to politics of alliance.
- Recognizing Wholeness: People have inherent worth outside of commodity relations and capitalist notions of productivity. Each person is full of history and life experience.
- Sustainability: We pace ourselves, individually and collectively, to be sustained long term. Our embodied experiences guide us toward ongoing justice and liberation.
- Commitment to Cross-Disability Solidarity: We honor the insights and participation of all of our community members, knowing that isolation undermines collective liberation.
- Interdependence: We meet each others' needs as we build toward liberation, knowing that state solutions inevitably extend into further control over lives. Collective Access: As brown, black and queer-bodied disabled people we bring flexibility and creative nuance that go beyond able-bodied/minded normativity, to be in community with each other.
- Collective Liberation: No body or mind can be left behind-only moving together can we accomplish the revolution we require.
To these ends, we have further articulated our positions on colonialism, imperialism, and anti-Zionism which are lockstep in line with the above articulation of disability justice (full policy statement: link) Together, these documents form the core of our political and social vision of Disability Justice.
As a member, you agree to uphold these values and the furthering of our wider mission.