Human Resources committee  Thank you so much for accommodating my time issues. The Council of Canadians with Disabilities together with CACL has been looking at the issue of a national disability act for probably two or three years, in tandem with the announcement that was in the Conservative platform so

Human Resources committee  I do, yes. Thank you.

Human Resources committee  That's fine.

Human Resources committee  Does that work?

Human Resources committee  Thank you for providing me an opportunity to come here today on behalf of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities. I will make an effort to speak slowly, but, coming from the east, it's very difficult for me. You've heard that people with disabilities are especially susceptib

Status of Women committee  If I could be so bold, I suggest that when policies are made, sometimes it's the implementation and the practice that we find lacking. It's not just one lens but many lenses that are required. It is not just the gender lens; I will say quite clearly that it is a disability lens,

Status of Women committee  I have worked on housing and homelessness in St. John's for the last eight years, since the homelessness program was created. For women with disabilities, the issue stems from the fact that most of them would never be able to afford their own house because they can't work and the

Status of Women committee  Thank you very much. Many of the issues I will bring forward have been raised already; however, the context of disability always adds an additional layer of difficulty to it. I will say that I echo Lucille Harper's comments around women in rural areas. I come from Newfoundland,

Human Resources committee  Is this a test of my memory? In terms of a culture of exclusion, I believe we do, and in many cases it's not purposeful. I just don't think people think about us. But as Sean has so well articulated, they have to think about us now, and I'm pleased that our economy is in such a

Human Resources committee  We lose what Canadians have always felt is the right to mobility. Not only can I not move from my neighbourhood to another neighbourhood and be faced with different challenges, but I then have difficulty moving from one province to another. With a federal government role, at le

Human Resources committee  I promise to be brief. I don't like to take over the conversation. In unison, in 1996-97, a document was developed by the federal government that articulated three building blocks for people with disabilities: education, employment, and disability-related supports. Disability-

Human Resources committee  This is a question that doesn't have an easy answer, because the complexities of the different income security programs, provincial and federal, and how they don't interrelate is probably one of the areas that needs to be investigated. Let's look at the model. You have CPPD. You

Human Resources committee  I'd comment on everything, but I think I should at least provide my colleagues an opportunity to talk.

Human Resources committee  I'm sorry, but I didn't mention EI. Most of the programming available to people is for those who are eligible for EI. If you don't work, you're not eligible for EI. Until those initiatives can include all, including those who are on limited incomes and those who are on social ass

Human Resources committee  I don't know if I could provide you with an exact percentage of the numbers who could work. The point was made that 75% are unemployed or out of the labour market. Many are out of the labour market because they've given up. Across this country, we have a significant number of un