The Freedom Tour

THE FREEDOM TOUR

The Freedom Tour is a powerful documentary that has been raising awareness about institutions both nationally and internationally.

The film documents the incredible journey of 16 self-advocates and friends who travelled across the Prairie Provinces to raise awareness about life in an institution. The documentary portrays compelling stories told by survivors of institutions who had moved into communities across the Prairies. Produced in partnership with the National Film Board, The making of the Freedom Tour was very unique as it involved people labeled with an intellectual disability who worked behind the camera from development to the big screen.

The film premiered in 2008 and is still in use in universities, colleges, training programs, and government and community groups in Canada and around the world.

On December 2, 2018, People First of Canada and over 100 guests celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the film and looked back at the impact it has had.

Today, People First of Canada is pleased to release the full film online. It is available below or through the PFC You Tube channel.

“It was like living in a prison.”

David – 18 years spent in an institution because he has a disability

The Freedom Tour documents the efforts and the journey of several people with intellectual disabilities who traveled the Canadian Prairie provinces in August 2007 to raise awareness about people living in deplorable conditions in institutions in this country. The reason for their incarceration is simple – they have been labelled with an intellectual disability. The goal of the journey was also simple – to free our people from institutions and support them in community living.

The 52 minute documentary portrays compelling stories told by survivors of institutions who are now living in communities across the Prairies. The Freedom Tour grew from the disability community’s rejection of the Government of Manitoba’s decision to invest $40 million dollars into the Manitoba Developmental Centre, in Portage la Prairie. Across Canada, people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters think this money should be devoted to getting people out of institutions. They want the money invested in the supports needed so those individuals can live in the community. The three institutions portrayed in this documentary are still in operation as of 2009.

The strength of this film lies in its message and the emotional, and often painful, stories of those who lived in institutions. The uniqueness of this film lies in the process, as it involved people labelled with an intellectual disability working behind the camera from development to the big screen. The stories they collected are crafted in this expressive and sometimes disturbing documentary. The film presents an opportunity to raise awareness about life in an institution, and to confront the stereotypes held that, for some people, institutions are an acceptable place to live. The film challenges Canadians to think about how we treat our citizens with intellectual disabilities.

It is our privilege to share remarks made by Dr. Catherine Frazee following a showing of The Freedom Tour. Dr. Frazee is a Professor of Distinction in the School of Disability Studies at Ryerson University, and Co-Director of the Ryerson RBC Institute for Disability Studies Research and Education.

REMARKS ON THE FREEDOM TOUR BY CATHERINE FRAZEE

What can you say at a time like this?

What can you say in a moment that is heavy with the honour and fierce conviction of the men and women who have brought us this mighty film? What can you say when you are breathless from what you have just witnessed, not breathless from the crimes and degradations of these dark and ugly places, but breathless from the sheer force of so much survival, so much resistance, so much humanity.

What can we say except thank you, thank you to each and every person who contributed to the making of this monumental film. Thank you for your fearless tellings of truth, for your fearless singing of strength, for your fearless knowing of right from wrong. Thank you for the grace of your showing us what it means to be People, First.

What can you say when the steel doors close on a dark era, when you are safely outside but your history is in shards, when the bleeding stops but the pain does not, when the buildings that housed this ugly history stand, finally, empty and silent. What can you say except never again, never again will our people be warehoused, never again abandoned, never again humiliated on such a massive scale.

What can we say except that never again will we turn away, for we have learned that the indifference of many is precisely what permits the ravages of institutional abuse. What can we say except that we know better, and we demand better.

What can we say except that we will not rest until the promise of decent lives in real communities is made real for each and every disabled Canadian.

– Dr. Catherine Frazee