Catherine Frazee is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

educator, activist, researcher, poet and writer. She is currently professor emerita in the School of Disability Studies at

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

(formerly Ryerson University). Prior to her retirement from Ryerson in 2010, she served for a decade as professor of distinction and as co-director of the Ryerson/RBC Institute for Disability Studies Research and Education. She is known for her role as Chief Commissioner of the Ontario Human Rights Commission from 1989 to 1992. Her father was prominent Canadian banker Rowland Cardwell Frazee.

Organizations

Frazee is a member of DAWN (

DisAbled Women's Network Canada DAWN Canada/Réseau d'action des femmes handicapées du Canada is a Canadian national feminist network controlled by and composed of people who self-identify as women with disabilities.Doucette, Joanne. ''The DisAbled Women's Network: A Fragile ...

)'s Equality Rights Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Abilities Foundation and the Canadian Association for Community Living, chairing that organization's Task Force on Values and Ethics. From 1989 to 1992, Frazee was the Chief Commissioner of the

Ontario Human Rights Commission The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961, to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code. The OHRC is an arm's length agency of government accountable to the legislature through ...

Honours

Frazee was awarded the Arnold Davidson Dunton Alumni Award of Distinction in 1990 by the

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Alumni Association An alumni association or alumnae association is an association of graduates or, more broadly, of former students (alumni). In the United Kingdom and the United States, alumni of universities, colleges, schools (especially independent schools), ...

. In 2014, Catherine Frazee was appointed Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

for her advancement of the rights of persons with disabilities, and as an advocate for social justice. Frazee has been awarded honorary Doctorate degrees from the following four Canadian Universities:

University of New Brunswick The University of New Brunswick (UNB) is a public university with two primary campuses in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick. It is the oldest English-language university in Canada, and among the oldest public universities in North Americ ...

in 2002,

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

in 2009, McMaster University in 2015 and

in 2018.

Media

Frazee, along with humourist David Roche, dancer, choreographer and impresario Geoff McMurchy, writer/artist Persimmon Blackbridge, and director and filmmaker

Bonnie Sherr Klein Bonnie Sherr Klein (born 1941) is a feminist filmmaker, author and disability rights activist. Early life and education Bonnie Sherr Klein was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1941 to working class Jewish parents. She attended public ...

is one of five Canadian artists with diverse disabilities profiled in Klein's 2006 NFB film '' Shameless: The ART of Disability''. In 1998, Frazee's lecture about the dangers of contemporary

eugenics Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...

was featured on Canada's

Vision TV VisionTV is a Canadian English language Category A specialty channel that broadcasts multi-faith, multicultural, and general entertainment programming aimed at the 45 and over demographic. VisionTV is currently owned by ZoomerMedia, a company ...

, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

. Her publications to date include numerous textbooks, academic journals, and magazine contributions, including articles in ''Abilities Magazine'', ''ARCHtype'', and ''The Womanist'' Frazee served as an external panel member in 2015, which conducted public consultations regarding physician-assisted dying in order to advise the Ministers of Justice and Health regarding the Government of Canada's response to the ''Carter v. Canada'' trial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frazee, Catherine Living people Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian disability rights activists Canadian people with disabilities Canadian women non-fiction writers Carleton University alumni Disability studies academics Officers of the Order of Canada Toronto Metropolitan University faculty Year of birth missing (living people)