Rachel A. LaFortune

“Poverty initiatives in @cityoftoronto don't name disabled people. Again and again and again we hear that disabled people do not see themselves represented in the needs of our city. These are not data gaps..these are budget choices.” @WendyPorch

📢Young people need abortion care. Some have to go before a judge to get it. Our new @hrw @ifwhenhow report "Whose Abortion Is It?" shows how laws requiring healthcare providers to notify a parent before a young person’s abortion cause harm. 🧵⬇️ hrw.org/news/2025/10/2…

All of us rely on care & support every day. Transforming care and support systems is how we build equality and make human rights real in everyday life. Find the full post here: instagram.com/p/DQZcq3IApp8/… #CareAndSupportForAll #CareAndSupportDay

"When you are navigating your own access needs, it adds a whole level of complexity to caregiving." Many caregivers, like Elizabeth Mohler, both give + receive care. It's time to #ActOnCare and ensure care systems are designed with and for all caregivers. bit.ly/4pFIcdt

The evidence is clear: National pharmacare for contraception can’t wait theconversation.com/the-evidence-i… via @ConversationCA

The @UNHumanRights chief presented his report on #reparations for legacies of colonialism & enslavement in Geneva yesterday. @hrw welcomes his call for a transformative, context-specific & rights-based approach to reparations led by affected communities. hrw.org/news/2025/10/0…

The internet is back on in Afghanistan, but for how long? How far will the Taliban go before the world stands with the Afghan women demanding their rights? #RightsNotFavors

What does accessible housing mean, really? It isn't just door widths and lighting—it's about making sure we have access to care resources as we need/want it, making sure we can afford it, making sure all of us can live in those spaces, and making sure we *run* those spaces. 1/4

It’s still the case that Canada has one of the largest pay gaps in the OECD. Women in Canada working full-time earn 84 cents for every dollar men earn—and for Indigenous women, women with disabilities and racialized women, the gap is much larger still.

In the 1950s, the false “refrigerator mother” theory fueled stigma & denied children with autism support. Today, Trump & Kennedy repeat unfounded claims linking vaccines or Tylenol to autism—risking more fear, blame & discrimination. hrw.org/news/2025/09/2…

2.5 million Ontarians don't have a family doctor, meaning PWD already can't find support to apply for ODSP. Reiterating this process with the Disability Tax Credit ensures that people with disabilities will continue to be excluded from crucial support. thestar.com/politics/feder…

The escalating women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan demonstrates a gap in international protection of rights of women and girls. The international community should fill this gap by making gender apartheid a crime against humanity under international law. gjia.georgetown.edu/2025/09/02/gen…

The Liberal government has invoked Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end a strike by Air Canada flight attendants fighting to end unpaid work and poverty wages.

New! CDB article in @CDNAffairs. ISAC Staff Lawyer Robin Nobleman: "[The benefit’s design] really forces them to choose between accessing the full benefit or having access to companionship. …That’s not a choice the government should be forcing on people.” canadianaffairs.news/2025/08/01/not…

WAGE Canada is facing massive cuts to programs that support gender equality orgs across the country. Up to 80%. 1/4 #canpoli #canfem

The federal government is planning to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the Department of Women and Gender Equality: a reduction of 80%. These devastating cuts would harm women’s health, safety, and economic security during an affordability crisis. #DemandBetterToday 1/4

Every country that cares about women, girls, and their rights should do more to stand with Afghan women, including supporting their call for the creation of an international crime of gender apartheid. hrw.org/news/2025/07/2…

Is the new Liberal govt committed to gender equality? Apparently not according to the new 2025-26 Departmental Plan. WAGE Canada’s budget is set to decline by 80% by 2028, a much larger cut than the 15% in the expenditure review. Here’s a breakdown. 1/8 #cdnpoli

“No one tells millionaires to be grateful for tax breaks. No one asks oil companies to be thankful for subsidies. But people with disabilities? They’re told to smile while the social safety net is exchanged for a trampoline with a hole in it.” People with disabilities are often told to "just be grateful." But this is just a distraction from a social support system that keeps them below the poverty line and choosing between rent and medication. Canada must do better. calgaryherald.com/opinion/column…

Israel has for months deliberately starved Gaza's 2+ million ppl. They could end this nightmare at any time & yet they watch as kids die. States must all their leverage—including sanctions & an arms embargo—to stop Israel's extermination & acts of genocide