Core Principles

The following Core Principles for CALD-ACJSH have been carefully written, reviewed, and adopted by the Founding Board. They guide the organization in our work as we move forward. Please have a look and share your thoughts with us. Volunteers to assist with French translation are welcome.

1. We value intersectional identities. We bring together a diverse group of members with a range of disabilities. We aim to forefront the needs of our disabled members while recognizing the social context and inherent value of each member’s other intersectional identities. We intend to remain cognizant of the many forms of systemic oppression we face.
2. We are committed to working from an anti-racism, anti-oppression, decolonization and trauma-informed approach. We commit to ongoing efforts to challenge intersectional forms of anti-Black racism, to be aware of unconscious bias in decision-making, and to contribute to the revitalization of Indigenous communities. It is our intention to avoid narratives that fail to recognize Indigeneity as a value. In recognizing the ongoing harms caused by White supremacy, and oppression on Indigenous, Black, racialized, and marginalized communities, we strive to apply a culturally responsive, trauma-informed lens in our approach.
3. We value a relational/social model of disability. While we recognize that people relate to and identify with disability in a number of ways, our focus is on the challenges created by systemic ableism both within legal institutions and society more generally.
4. We value diversity of legal background and practice. We aim to create a community for a wide range of people working within legal institutions and from all practice areas. As such, we welcome lawyers, judges, legal academics and scholars, law students, paralegals, and other community members in the field of law. We welcome those who practice in a diversity of legal systems, including Indigenous forms of law.  
5. We take a cross-disability approach to community building. We hope to bring together members with a wide range of disabilities and needs in the belief that we are ultimately stronger together.
6. We prioritize disability community leadership. We are a space designed for, and will be led by, those who identify as disabled or are impacted by ableism. We recognize that not all disabled people can publicly identify as such and may still wish to participate in community building. While we welcome the participation of allies, we prioritize the empowerment of disabled people in leadership.
7. We intend to be responsive to emerging issues. As we grow and evolve, we will adapt as needed in order to respond to emerging issues of concern for our members.
8. We strive to be inclusive and accessible. Our community is one that works to create welcoming spaces for our members. We take time to consider the access needs of our members but recognize that this is always a work in progress. As such, we appreciate learning about how we can improve.
9. We have an expansive scope. Our goal is to create a networked community that is national and multi-jurisdictional in scope.
10. We bring voice and visibility. By working collectively, we will bring attention to issues of ableism in the practice of law and legal work. We will also work to highlight the strengths and valuable contributions of our members.
11. We foster advocacy and change. Collectively, we will work to foster and build advocacy and related skills for our members and work towards making sustainable and multi-generational change in a range of related legal and policy settings.
12. We are member driven. We take direction from our membership. While we may work with other organizations, professional bodies, firms, schools, etc., we will remain independent to best prioritize the needs of our members.

Adopted by the Founding Board on March 1, 2021 (in English)