The 2024 Carol McGregor CLC Disability Rights Award

Nominations are now open!

Every year, on December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the Canadian Labour Congress recognizes a union member for their disability rights activism.

This award is named in honour of Carol McGregor, an outstanding disability rights activist, member of NUPGE and the CLC Disability Rights Working Group, and who was much loved by all those who worked with her. Carol passed away in 2006, and this award lives on in her name to recognize the incredible disability justice activism in our communities.

2024 marks the thirteenth anniversary of the Carol McGregor CLC Disability Rights Award.

In 2023, the award recognized OECTA disability justice activist Angelo Tocco. For three decades, Angelo has worked tirelessly to dismantle accessibility barriers in the education sector for students and workers by creating awareness and understanding. He facilitated a “connecting with members forum,” which offered a safe space for OECTA members with disabilities to connect. As a teacher, he helped a group of students create a short film titled “Exploring Speech to Text, Inclusion and Belonging,” for which they were awarded the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) School Program Difference Maker of the Year Award for the film.

Criteria for the 2024 award:

Award recipient will be a worker with a disability who is:

1. Active in the labour movement and/or community.
2. Has made a significant and lasting impact in the union and/or community by promoting and defending the rights of persons with disabilities.
3. Has manifested their activism in one or more of the following ways:
   
   
   • Strategized and mobilized others around workplace issues and lobbying for the full participation of Canadians with disabilities in all aspects of society.
   • Developed and/or practiced organizing strategies to include tactics aimed specifically at advancing disability justice in the workplace.
   • Represented members to ensure all activities and events are accessible to members with disabilities and promoting employment equity for people with disabilities within the workplace.
   • Educated members about disability justice issues in the workplace and in society.

Any union member or organization may nominate a candidate.

All nominations must be received by the deadline, November 4, 2024. Please complete the online nomination form linked here.