BCANDS is a duly registered non-profit society (#S-27869) with a charitable tax status. We currently have over 6100 members. The mandate of the BC Aboriginal Network on Disability Society is: To Promote the Betterment of Aboriginal People with Disabilities. The organization was founded in July 1991, to deal specifically with the issues of Aboriginal People with special needs. Quote from the Honourable Ethel Blondin-Andrew, Minister of Secretary of State, Children and Youth (in an address to the BCANDS General Assembly Oct. 1995): There are few situations more challenging or more pressing than the plight of Aboriginal people living with disabilities. According to Stats Canada, about 15% of the general population are people with disabilities. We have to double that figure to get a measure of how much more serious the issues are in Aboriginal communities. Thirty-one percent of our community members live with a disability - almost a third of our population are leading lives of quiet desperation. This reality influences the life of the entire community. In Canada, we are a democracy and we are judged not only how we treat everyone but on how we treat the people who need the help the most. The weakest, and the people that are most marginalized. more... See more text