Inclusive Employment for Canadians with Disabilities: Toward a New Policy Framework and Agenda

The federal government should foster real employment opportunities for persons with disabilities by connecting employers and people with disabilities and support employers in the provision of work accommodations and job-related supports.Le gouvernement federal doit permettre aux personnes handicapees de participer pleinement au marche du travail, en favorisant les contacts entre elles et les employeurs, et en aidant les employeurs a leur offrir du soutien et un travail adapte.Over 400,000 working-age adults in Canada with physical or mental disabilities are currently unemployed, despite being willing and able to participate in the paid labour force (Till et al. 2015). Canadians with disabilities face more unemployment and underemployment than almost any other group. Those with severe disabilities and low educational attainment face even more barriers to participating in the labour market. People with disabilities who do not have a high school degree are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as those with a university diploma (Statistics Canada 2008). As a result, Canadians with disabilities have not seen the promise of equality of opportunity in the labour market fulfilled.Disability affects people with a spectrum of conditions that includes developmental or intellectual limitations and mental health, as well as physical, visual or sensory limitations. Although the needs and the potential of Canadians with disabilities have largely been absent from the policy radar (Torjman 2015), we are entering an era of policy renewal and program innovation as policy-makers seek to create the conditions for inclusive growth. The new federal government is committed to introducing accessibility and inclusion legislation over the course of its mandate, with the overarching objective being to "eliminate systemic barriers and deliver equality of opportunity" (Office of the Prime Minister of Canada 2015a). The goal is to open opportunities for federal and provincial governments to collaborate and revise their policies on accessibility and inclusion. This could also help the country fulfill its duties as a signatory (2010) to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN Convention). Under the UN Convention, labour markets and work environments should be open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities on an equal basis with other people. As well, the federal government is committed to implementing a poverty-reduction strategy in coordination with provincial and municipal efforts already in place, which could support some of the objectives of the accessibility and inclusion legislation.The purpose of this study is to analyze the current employment situation for working-age adults with disabilities and to propose possible reforms to enhance their educational, training and employment opportunities. I believe that the priority in programming for people with disabilities across the country should be to ensure they have better access to gainful employment. In the first part, I examine the current situation of persons with disabilities in the labour market and point out important employment and income gaps. I then outline the evolution of disability policy in Canada's employment and labour market field since the 1970s and assess current federal and provincial programs. In the third part, I present the principles and reform options for a new policy framework that is intended to advance the labour force participation of Canadians with disabilities. Strong federal leadership is needed to ensure that more Canadians with disabilities have access to real work for real pay, and that their rights are protected by labour legislation and safety standards on an equal basis with other workers.My analysis and discussion draws on the work of academics and practitioners as well as on government reports. It is also the product of my research over the last three decades, in partnership with disability organizations across the country, on the issues of disability and employment. …