The Timeline

The Disability Support Program is pleased to invite applications for membership on four new disability regional advisory councils.

A regional advisory council will be established in each of the four regions around the province. These councils will be interim councils for the first year and members will be asked to review the draft terms of reference and innovation fund guidelines, propose ways to monitor he progress of the Remedy implementation at the community level, and provide advice on ways to create inclusive communities.

These councils will be interim councils for the first year and members will be asked to review the draft terms of reference and innovation fund guidelines, propose ways to monitor he progress of the Remedy implementation at the community level, and provide advice on ways to create inclusive communities.

Council membership will reflect the communities it represents and at least half the seats filled by first voice representatives with the remaining seats filled by other interested parties (e.g., family, service providers and/or community leaders). 

If you are interested, or know of someone who may be interested, in being part of the new regional advisory councils, please apply online. Applications close on March 11, 2025. 

If you would like help to apply, please email DSP and a regional hub manager will respond to assist you through the application process.

Registration is now open for our second Rebuilding HOPE conference. 

Come together, share insights, and take part in conversations that will shape the future of Nova Scotia's disability community. 

Saturday, March 29, 2025 | 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 

• Pier 21, Halifax
• Nova Scotia Community College, Middleton 
• Membertou Trade and Convention Centre, Sydney, Cape Breton 
• Pictou Wellness Centre, Pictou 
• Virtual option also available

In-Person tickets are limited, and will be first come, first serve. Register now!

More info + register now

Submitted to the expert monitor on January 15, in accordance with the Remedy, government reports that it is on track to achieve exact or substantial compliance on all 28 measures in Year 2 of the Remedy. The report highlights progress including regional teams, training and development for staff, and new policies to guide facility closures, individualized funding, and other foundational pieces of the Remedy.

• Interim Progress Report Cover Letter Introduction 
• Appendix B Metrics Report 15 Jan 2025
• Y1 April 2023 to March 2024 Targets and Compliance Final 15 Jan 2025
• Y1 Feb to June 2023 Targets and Compliance Final 15 Jan 2025 
• Y2 April 2024 to March 2025 Targets and Compliance Final 15 Jan 2025
• Public Supporting Documents (.zip)

The new workforce strategy outlines key actions to modernize and strengthen the disability support workforce in our four focus areas: awareness and recruitment, learning and development, health and safety, and growth and stability. 

These include increased access to disability-specific post-secondary programs, more professional development and workplace training opportunities, and new pathways to employment for internationally trained professionals and underrepresented groups.

• About this milestone 
• Nova Scotia's Disability Support Workforce Strategy 

The policy ending all new admissions to adult residential centres, regional rehabilitation centres, and residential care facilities comes into effect. As part of the Remedy, these facilities will close by March 31, 2028, and residents will be supported to move into their community of choice.

Individualized funding is one of the Remedy’s six key directions. Phased rollout of a new individualized funding model begins in 2025 and will continue over the next three years as access to community-based services and supports for people with disabilities grows. By March 31, 2028, all DSP participants will be funded under this model.

Facility closure agreements are shared with operators. They include timelines and expectations over the next three years as government closes ARCs, RRCs and RCFs by March 31, 2028. Operators also receive facility closure guides which were created with input from service providers, DSP staff and technical experts.

Maria Medioli, Executive Director, Disability Support Program, delivers the keynote presentation at the 8th annual Ability Banquet in Antigonish. Her remarks focus on the Remedy, what communities should expect, and how to support the work. 

Government launched the Service Evolution Fund to support service providers as they transition to offering community-based supports for people with disabilities. There is $1 million in funding available in each of the next three years. 

• About this milestone
• About the fund and how to apply

In partnership with Inclusion Nova Scotia, hosted six information sessions across the province and online for families of people living in institutionalized settings. These sessions provided families and caregivers an overview of government’s plan to close institutions and what to expect as DSP participants transition to community-based living.

Job postings open for new community-based roles in four regional hub sites, including Local Area Coordinators, Intensive Planning and Support Coordinators, Community Living Facilitators and Eligibility Funding and Assessment Coordinators. 

Community Services welcomes 20 new team members in key leadership roles, including Regional Hub Managers, Team Leads and Facility Closure Specialists. The team completes two weeks of intensive training on disability support, the Remedy, system transformation, and the local area coordination approach.  

The new website is a one-stop shop for information about government’s work to transform disability support in Nova Scotia. It includes updated information for people with disabilities, their families and support networks, service providers, partners and anyone who wants to follow our work. 

Through a two-year pilot project, Inclusion Nova Scotia, a not-for-profit organization, has hired two people dedicated to working with Nova Scotians with disabilities and their families to better understand how the Nova Scotia Human Rights Remedy impacts them. Their work includes helping clients navigate funding, supports and services. Government committed $500,000 over two years to help fund two new dedicated positions.  

A new public procurement process begins to find a long-term partner to work with government, Disability Support Program participants, services providers and more. The organization will help clients manage their individualized funding and choose programs and services to meet their needs. The organization will also assist clients in setting financial goals, creating budgets, tracking expenses, and making informed financial decisions. The service will launch in 2025.

The new Independent Living Support Plus program provides up to 84 hours of community-based support per week to Nova Scotians with disabilities as they transition out of institutions or hospitals.

In its first annual report to the Independent Monitor, government reported compliance or substantial progress on all 90 targets for the time period. Highlights include: 

• supporting more Nova Scotians with disabilities through government programs, reducing the wait list for disability support programs by 13.3 per cent
• supporting 144 people with disabilities to transition from institutions to community living
• supporting 304 more people through the Independent Living Support program, which provides up to 31 hours of support time per week
   
• About this milestone

Recruitment kicks off for key leadership positions on new regional closure teams. Regional closure teams will the needs and experiences of Nova Scotians with disabilities are prioritized as facilities close across the province. 

Dr. Prince is a Canadian expert in federal-provincial relations, disability issues, social discrimination, income security and more. Dr. Prince was jointly selected by the Province and the Disability Rights Coalition. He has been contracted by the Human Rights Commission. The expert monitor role was established to provide unbiased and public facing reporting on government’s progress under the Human Rights Remedy. 

Initiated support for young people with disabilities to leave long-term care facilities to live in community. Over 100 people were identified as eligible; to date, more than 25 have indicated their interest in moving. After an assessment of support needs, the next step will be connecting eligible participants with service providers who can meet their needs. Participants will then begin the transition into their community with the support of their care coordinators and their chosen service providers.

This new policy ends all new admissions to large congregate facilities effective January 1, 2025, for adult residential centres, regional rehabilitation centres, and residential care facilities. Admission to group homes and developmental residences will end by January 1, 2026. Additional supports will be available through regional hubs to ensure successful, supported transition to community living. 

Developed in consultation with the Disability Support Program Advisory Committee, Remedy authors, staff and Diverse Abilities NS, this strategy guides the closure of large institutions in Nova Scotia over five years. The approach prioritizes the voices and choices of people with disabilities as they transition from large institutional facilities to community living. The strategy promotes coordination across the system, ensuring supports are in place for individuals, communities and service providers.

About 60 per cent of income assistance clients began receiving an additional $300 per month. This new funding stream provides additional support to income assistance clients with a disability or serious medical condition who are not currently in the Disability Support Program. People on the waitlist for the Disability Support Program also get the supplement. The new funding stream represents an annual government investment of $53.3 million.

As part of its 2024-25 budget, government committed $102.3 million to advance the work of the Remedy -- a 20 per cent increase over the previous year’s budget. Government also approved 120 new full-time equivalent positions. These are brand new roles in the provincial government with new job descriptions and classifications, a critical step to ensure new roles don’t replicate existing structures and mindsets.

• About this milestone

In its first interim update, submitted January 15, 2024, government reported compliance with or progress on all 21 measures for the time period of the report, including policy changes, planning initiatives and technical resources and supports.

• About this milestone

Led by the executive deputy minister for communities and social impact, the intergovernmental roundtable includes senior leaders from 10 government departments, offices, and agencies. The roundtable meets regularly to coordinate work across government, address barriers, and oversee progress. Examples of collaboration include: 

• a partnership with Health and Wellness and the Office of Addictions and Mental Health to identify gaps in existing primary care and mental health supports for persons with disabilities; 
• a joint procurement with Seniors and Long-term Care for an individualized funding “backbone” support; and 
• a partnership between DSP staff and health system partners to support people with disabilities to transition from hospital to community living.   

The first province-wide Rebuilding HOPE Conference is held in four communities -- Dartmouth, Truro, Port Hawkesbury and Lunenburg -- and online. At the conference, participants learn more about the Human Rights Remedy and share thoughts, experiences, and ideas. During his opening remarks, Premier Tim Houston offers an unreserved apology for the historic systemic discrimination that persons with disabilities have experienced in Nova Scotia and reaffirms the province’s commitment to remedying that discrimination.  

• About this milestone

Harbourside Lodge becomes the first large-scale institutional facility to close in the province. In total, 40 people were supported to move from institutional settings, including Harbourside, to community living situations that meet their personal, social and medical needs. 

Mr.  Murray’s decision includes an interim consent order, which is a legally binding agreement outlining what government is required to do over the five-year period from 2023 to 2028 to remedy the discrimination against persons with disabilities in Nova Scotia. The Province is assessed on its progress to meet yearly targets outlined in this order.  

• About this milestone 

More than 50 people participate in a series of planning workshops held over a five-day period across Nova Scotia. Participants include first voice, international disability experts, service providers, government staff and the authors of the Remedy. Post-workshop technical reports are prepared by experts and provided to participants. A plain language summary, developed with People First Nova Scotia, is also prepared.

Government works with People First Nova Scotia to develop and deliver a series of information sessions across the province. More than 600 people participate in 16 sessions to learn more about the Remedy. 

The Province shared details of a new $3.5 million investment to support families caring for children with disabilities at home. The funding provides up to $200 per month more in support to each participating family’s household. This increase is part of a suite of new supports for families, including a new inclusion benefit, which provides an extra $115 per month per child, an increase in summer respite funding, and a change in policy that allows families to carry their funding from month to month within the same fiscal year.

• About this milestone 

The technical report includes six key directions with supporting action plans and implementation timelines and will help guide the Province’s work to remedy the discrimination against Nova Scotians with disabilities. It was prepared by Eddie Bartnik, an internationally recognized expert in disability, mental health and community services from Australia, and Tim Stainton, a professor in the school of social work and Director of the Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship at University of British Columbia. The report was jointly commissioned by the Disability Rights Coalition and the Province of Nova Scotia and prepared following five months of consultation, systems review, and workshops. 

• About this milestone
• Technical Report of the Independent Experts to the Disability Rights Coalition and the Province of Nova Scotia