‘A way of life’: Advocate retires after almost 40 years

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The trajectory of Ken Pike’s career changed when a file landed on the young lawyer’s desk back in 1985.

A group of Saint John parents wanted to challenge provincial legislation keeping their children with intellectual disabilities out of regular classes. They hoped to use the newly minted Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms to challenge the Schools Act.

“(My colleague and fellow Saint John lawyer John Barry) came into my office one day and put this file on my desk and said, ‘This might be something you might be interested in,’” Pike recalled almost 40 years later.

Turns out Barry was right – and the fight for those with intellectual disabilities would become Pike’s passion.

“I never considered doing anything else when I started doing this work,” said the 66-year-old Rothesay resident, who retired this week after a long and distinguished career with Inclusion NB (formerly the New Brunswick Association for Community Living).

The work has been neither quick nor easy. In fact, New Brunswick’s “supported decision-making” legislation for those with intellectual disabilities took about three decades to get over the finish line, according to Pike, who can recall first meeting to discuss the topic back in the early 1990s.

That legislation, which came into effect this January, empowers adults with intellectual disabilities to make their own decisions, with support if needed, through a court-recognized process.

“Ken has made life-changing differences in people’s lives,” said Danny Soucy, a former provincial cabinet minister and now program advisor with Inclusion NB.

Soucy has worked alongside Pike for decades in advocating for those with intellectual disabilities. Soucy started off his career with the Grand Falls community living office, while Pike started at the Fundy office before eventually becoming the policy director of Inclusion NB.

Pike has helped shepherd in significant programming and policy changes in support of New Brunswickers with intellectual disabilities. These changes have allowed young people with disabilities to pursue post-secondary education, secure jobs with fair wages and have autonomy over their housing.

In order to make those changes, Pike – who Soucy described as “very humble” and “very patient” – often had to convince politicians and other stakeholders to think differently about those with intellectual disabilities.

“(Ken) has a way of working with people in a way that people want to continue working with him even though they totally don’t agree,” Soucy said.

“He has a way of getting people to come around – and it may take time – but he also knows that change takes time.”

Pike’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed across the province. In 2008, Pike received the New Brunswick Human Rights Award. In 2020, he received the Order of New Brunswick. And next month, he’ll receive the Dr. David Jory award – an honour named after one of the six Saint John parents involved in the Charter challenge back in 1985.

“Ken has been a small lighthouse in the Maritimes here but whose light has shone across Canada,” Soucy said. “We’ve had people from all over the world come to New Brunswick and some of the policies Ken has worked on they were coming to see.”

Pike credits that 1985 Charter case for changing the course of his life. His late brother John, who had Down syndrome, was his “mentor” in the field, showing him “what could be possible” for those with disabilities.

Even in his newfound retirement, Pike is thinking of the policy changes still needed for those with disabilities. He regrets he couldn’t do more to help those living in poverty, but he plans to be involved in advocacy work where he’s needed.

“This has obviously been more than a job for me – it’s been a way of life – and I don’t think I’m going to be going too, too far.”