Six Degrees of Dignity: Disability in an Age of Freedom

The right to dignity for all is explicitly recognized in Canadian law. In practice however, a variety of individuals and groups have been excluded from the concern and respect that their nature as persons demands. Prominent among these excluded groups are members of the disabled community who are marginalized by a society that regularly neglects to recognize their needs, capacities, and merits as individuals. In Six Degrees of Dignity, David Shannon examines the issues of equality and the promotion of dignity for persons with a disability. As a person with quadriplegia, the result of a spinal cord injury at age 18, David offers much more than a legal and academics perspective to the issues. He identifies the social and attitudinal barriers still present in Canadian society today, and cites the factors needed to reverse the process of exclusion. Now internationally recognized as the program that will bring true inclusion into society of all persons with a disability, Six Degrees of Dignity is essential reading for professors and students in the areas of laws and social sciences, persons with disabilities, disability group leaders, lawyers, advocates and policy advisors. It is profound reading also for each of us interested in the dignity of all human beings.

As a person with quadriplegia, the result of spinal cord injury at the age of 18, David Shannon has used a wheelchair for the past 25 years. During this time, he has been committed to policy development and legal advocacy for the protection of human rights and community integration for persons with a disability. David received his undergraduate degree from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay and law degree from Dalhousie University in Halifax. He later attended the London School of Economics and Political Science for his LL.M. studies, where he focused on the advancement of second generation human rights norms. In 1997, at the age of 34, David took his wheelchair 9,000 kilometres across Canada to promote empowerment for disenfranchised communities and greater social inclusion for all Canadians. David Shannon's Cross Canada Tour took two years to plan, 197 days to complete, and involved 5,000 volunteers and participants. During the tour, David wheeled for 10 hour days and spoke directly to 20,000 people. David is the recipient of many awards and honours, including the Queen's Jubilee Medal for his commitment to human rights and community service. He was the founding chair of the Accessibility Advisory Council of Ontario, and a member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal. He continues to sit on numerous boards and committees, among them, the Canadian Association of Independent Living Centres, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, and the Tetra Society of Ontario. The Shannon Law office, located in Thunder Bay, Ontario, practices primarily in administrative law and civil litigation. David's advocacy and academic interests have centred on civil rights mechanisms that promote freedoms for persons who face medico legal forms of incarceration, and do not have community based supports.