National Executive Director of DAWN-RAFH Canada, Bonnie Brayton, spoke to journalist Fiona Buchanan from Postmedia News  Ottawa about who she thinks should be represented on Canadian bills in light of the United Kingdom’s recent decision to feature author Jane Austen on its ten pound note. She emphasized the importance of representing women with disabilities as they represent 1 in 5 women in Canada, and highlighted a woman with a disability who paved the way for disability rights in Canada:

A lesser known Canadian hero, Maria Barile – an advocate for disabled women who recently died, would be a welcome addition to the country’s bills according to Bonnie Brayton, the national executive director of DisAbled Women’s Network Canada.

“She was one of the first people to look at breast-cancer screening for women with disabilities,” said Brayton, who said Barile was an advocate for disabled women’s health because she saw a number of her friends die from the disease because they were not properly screened. Barile was a founder of DAWN Canada who also made significant contributions to the prevention of violence against women with disabilities, said Brayton.

Read the rest of the article here.