OTTAWA, Oct 5, 2017 /CNW/ - This October, the Government of Canada joins organizations across the country to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month. During this important month, employers are encouraged to think about how they can make their business practices more inclusive and accessible for Canadians with all abilities.
People with disabilities have a great deal to contribute to our society. While the Government of Canada is continuing to support initiatives that improve accessibility and the participation of people with disabilities, there is still work to be done. According to a study from Statistics Canada released in 2014, the employment rate of Canadians aged 25 to 64 with disabilities was 49 percent in 2011, compared with 79 percent for Canadians without a disability.
Through government programs such as the Opportunities Fund for People with Disabilities and the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, Canadians have better access to skills and training needed to find and keep good jobs. More opportunities for people with disabilities to save for their future are made available through the Registered Disability Savings Plan. The Enabling Accessibility Fund helps employers to improve workplace accessibility and safety for people with disabilities. The Government of Canada is also developing new accessibility legislation to create a truly accessible and inclusive Canada.
Let's make finding, hiring and supporting employees with disabilities part of the everyday.
Quotes
"National Disability Employment Awareness Month encourages us to think about and celebrate the positive contributions that people with disabilities make to our workplaces and to Canada. I'm looking forward to introducing new accessibility legislation which will improve accessibility and increase quality opportunities for Canadians with disabilities."
– The Honourable Kent Hehr, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities
"Our government is focused on growing the economy in a way that doesn't leave anyone behind. When our workforce is more representative of our society, our economy thrives and our country prospers. An inclusive and equitable Canada is good for workers and good for business."
– The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour
"It gives me great pleasure to see employers coming together to strengthen areas of social inclusion for people with disabilities. All Canadians should be given the right tools and resources to succeed and embracing inclusion is a step in the right direction to help more Canadians to join the middle class and stay there."
– The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development
Quick Facts
- Approximately 14 percent of Canadians aged 15 years or older reported having a disability that limited them in their daily activities. There are approximately 411,600 working-aged Canadians with disabilities who are not working but whose disability does not prevent them from doing so; almost half of these potential workers are post-secondary graduates.
- In 2015–16, the Opportunities Fund served 4,509 Canadians with disabilities; helped 1,950 find work; supported 289 to return to school; and helped 3,133 enhance their employability.
- The Government of Canada provides $222 million each year through Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities to improve the employment situation for Canadians with disabilities.
- Since the creation of the Enabling Accessibility Fund, the Government of Canada has funded over 2,890 projects, helping thousands of Canadians gain access to employment opportunities and their communities' programs, services and workplaces.
Associated Links
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities
Enabling Accessibility Fund
Registered Disability Savings Plan
Employment Equity Program
Creating new federal accessibility legislation: What we learned
Twitter: @AccessibleGC
Facebook: AccessibleGC
Backgrounder
National Disability Employment Awareness Month
National Disability Employment Awareness Month, held in October, was established to increase awareness of the positive outcomes of hiring persons with disabilities in Canada. This October, employers are encouraged to take part in a nationwide campaign that highlights the positive contributions that employees with disabilities make to Canadian workplaces.
Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities was introduced in 1997 and provides $40 million annually in funding to organizations to assist persons with disabilities to prepare for, obtain and maintain employment, thereby increasing their economic independence and participation in the labour force. The program is designed to help Canadians with disabilities who have little or no labour market attachment and, therefore, would not normally be eligible for the programs offered under Employment Insurance Part II. The program has both national and regional streams.
Employment Equity Program
The Labour Program administers and enforces the mandatory Legislated Employment Equity Program (LEEP) under the Employment Equity Act. LEEP's mandate is to promote, support and enhance employment equity for the four designated groups (women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities) in federally regulated private-sector employers, Crown corporations and other federal organizations that have 100 or more employees and fall under the Employment Equity Act.
The goal is to ensure that federally regulated employers—which include about 500 private-sector employers, 30 Crown corporations and 5 other federal organizations with a combined workforce of over 760 000 employees—reflect the composition of the general labour force in Canada.
Enabling Accessibility Fund
The Enabling Accessibility Fund is a federal grants and contributions program that supports capital costs of construction and renovations related to improving physical accessibility and safety for people with disabilities in Canadian communities and workplaces.
From initiatives such as installing screen reader devices, hearing induction loop systems or automated door openers, to constructing a universally designed office or retrofitting a washroom with an accessible toilet, grab bars and taps, the Enabling Accessibility Fund works to enable Canadians with disabilities to participate in their community and the economy.
Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities
The Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD) represent a federal investment of $222 million per year in the provinces and territories. The LMAPDs are the single largest federal government investment to help Canadians with disabilities to get jobs. With increased employer engagement and a stronger focus on demonstrating the best possible results for Canadians, the new generation of agreements will better connect Canadians with disabilities with available jobs. Under the LMAPDs, provinces and territories have the flexibility to determine how to best address the needs of Canadians with disabilities, while helping Canadian businesses benefit from their skills and talent.
Registered Disability Savings Plan
A Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) is a savings plan intended to help parents and others save for the long-term financial security of a person who is eligible for the disability tax credit.
Contributions to an RDSP are not tax deductible and can be made until the end of the year in which the beneficiary turns 59. Contributions that are withdrawn are not included in income for the beneficiary when they are paid out of an RDSP. However, the Canada Disability Savings Grant, the Canada Disability Savings Bond, investment income earned in the plan and rollover amounts are included in the beneficiary's income for tax purposes when they are paid out of the RDSP.
Creating new federal accessibility legislation: What we learned
In November 2015, the Government of Canada engaged with Canadians directly about what is needed in the new legislation that would help to remove barriers for people with disabilities.
In June 2016, a new website was launched, Accessible Canada. All Canadians were encourage to share their ideas and think about what accessibility means to them and what it could mean for their communities. Between June 2016 and February 2017, over 6,000 Canadians and over 90 organizations shared their ideas about an accessible Canada, marking the largest and most accessible consultation on disability issues that Canada has ever seen.
SOURCE Employment and Social Development Canada
For media enquiries: Ashley Michnowski, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities, 819-934-1122 / TTY: 1-866-702-6967; Media Relations Office, Employment and Social Development Canada, 819-994-5559, [email protected].
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