Centre for Independent Living in Toronto - CILT Inc.

10/10/2026

The Vic Willi Award for Youth honours Vic's leadership and supports developing young disabled leaders in Canada.

Paige Zaldin, this year's recipient, is a disability advocate, educator, and future teacher whose work spans education, healthcare, and community inclusion.

Check out the presentation on the CILToronto YouTube channel or link in bio: https://youtu.be/HV24lFchs-k?si=QdQuCb_wJpFaiX1L&t=1535

10/10/2026

We are only a few weeks away from election day for Toronto’s 2026 city election! We have created some factsheets to help with engaging with local candidates on our election resources page!

Check it out here: https://gtadc.ca/city-of-toronto-election-2026/

10/08/2026

The Helen Henderson Literary Award acknowledges disabled writers who published a piece of writing that raises social awareness of a disability issue or barrier.

This year's recipient was Annie Wu for her piece, "What a garbage bin taught me about building more accessible workplaces."

Check out the presentation on the CILToronto YouTube channel or link in bio: https://youtu.be/HV24lFchs-k?si=3UnWtymUMLkaMIPo&t=927

Here is a link to Annie's published piece: "What a garbage bin taught me about building more accessible workplaces." https://www.yorku.ca/career-ready/2026/08/24/what-a-garbage-bin-taught-me-about-building-more-accessible-workplaces/

10/06/2026

The CILT Founders' Award recognizes the significant contribution of individuals who both exemplify and have advanced IL philosophy in the spirit of its founders.

This year's recipient was John Mossa for embodying the Independent Living philosophy and being an integral part of CILT for over 26 years!

Check out the presentation on the CILToronto YouTube channel or link in bio: https://youtu.be/HV24lFchs-k?si=8Z4o26ljF1Nt3S-I&t=51

10/06/2026

Check out these disabled-centred resources for the upcoming Municipal election!

We are only a few weeks away from election day for Toronto’s 2026 city election! We have compiled some resources to help with voting and engaging with local candidates on our election resources page!

Check it out here: https://gtadc.ca/city-of-toronto-election-2026/

10/01/2026

Following last week's CILT AGM event, we presented the CILT 2026 Awards and launched the new Strategic Plan 2026-2031 that will guide the organization for the next five years.

If you missed it, check out the recording on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/HV24lFchs-k?si=kFbgzpNnYCFEe9V0

Following the CILT's 42nd AGM on September 25, 2026, we presented t...

09/30/2026

In honour of the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, we would like to share the work CILT has been doing over the last year.

Yesterday we held our monthly Indigenous Engagement and Solidarity staff group to discuss the lunch and learns held by the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

We discussed the ongoing journey towards Reconciliation and how we can continue doing this work. One major takeaway was the importance of relationship building with Indigenous organizations and disabled Indigenous individuals.

This is decolonizing work we are continuing to strive towards. Some ways we are doing this is through building new partnerships such as through the Knowledge Exchange with 2-Spirited People of the 1st Nations we had earlier this year.

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09/29/2026

KNOW YOUR VOTE T.O. A free, non-partisan guide from Toronto Public Library.

"Every voter picks a Mayor, a City Councillor and a School Trustee.

Find your ward, meet everyone running and compare how each candidate answered the same questions, side by side. Our balanced guides to the Big Issues shaping this election explain what each role is responsible for and what is really at stake."

The goal: To help you feel informed about every candidate before you cast your vote. https://knowyourvote.to/

2026. Toronto Public Library

See who's running for Mayor of Toronto, your ward's city councillor, and your school board trustee. Every candidate answers the same questions, in their own words. Advance voting Oct 6–11 · Election day Oct 26, 2026.

09/28/2026

CILT joins our community in marking the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day this week on September 30. We will be hosting our monthly staff learning engagement sessions and encourage people to wear orange in remembrance of Residential School Survivors and their families, as well as the many children who never returned home.

Last year during our Decolonizing Disability event, we reviewed our ongoing learning and highlighted the connections between disability and the legacy of colonialism.

"Indigenous people are among the disability community's most marginalized and oppressed populations."

https://youtu.be/kY5BozRVODA?si=7q4YZk7GIyrZPoe4

The National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation held Lunch and Learn sessions last week that touched on topics like honouring leadership, economic reconciliation, solidarity, youth perspectives, and more.

All sessions can be viewed on their website: https://trw-svr.nctr.ca/lunch-and-learns/

This online event was hosted by CILT on September 30, 2025.In hon...