David Kron: "We're Not Going Away" - Rebuilding Manitoba's Broken Disability Support System
What does it mean to "age out" of a support system? For Manitobans with disabilities, it means renegotiating your entire life at 18, at 21, at 65 - arbitrary ages set by government departments that don't talk to each other.
David Kron, executive director of the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba, joins Stuart Murray to talk about “Equality, Dignity, and Belonging: Building a Better System for People with Disabilities in Manitoba” - the landmark report he helped steer through a five-year pilot project born from a human rights complaint that started a decade ago. The report's conclusion is blunt: Manitoba's disability support system is failing many of the people it was designed to serve.
David, who has cerebral palsy himself, doesn't frame this as a funding fight. It's an access fight - and a human rights problem.
In this episode, David shares:
• How an IQ score of 70 became the gatekeeper for support in Manitoba, and why David argues you shouldn't test for services based on IQ, period.
• The difference between a resource problem and an access problem - and why David refuses to have the funding conversation until people can even get on the list.
• Charity versus rights: what changes when disability supports stop being something you have to prove you deserve.
• What happens after December 16, 2026: the deadline that decides whether this report becomes generational change or a human rights hearing.
Nearly 29% of Manitobans identify as having a disability. As David puts it, if we all live long enough, we're all going to join the club - and services shouldn't depend on how well you or your parents can advocate.
Learn more about the Cerebral Palsy Association of Manitoba
