Bill C-81 (Historical)

Accessible Canada Act

An Act to ensure a barrier-free Canada

This enactment enacts the Accessible Canada Act in order to enhance the full and equal participation of all persons, especially persons with disabilities, in society. This is to be achieved through the realization, within the purview of matters coming within the legislative authority of Parliament, of a Canada without barriers, particularly by the identification, removal and prevention of barriers.
Part 1 of the Act establishes the Minister’s mandate, powers, duties and functions.
Part 2 of the Act establishes the Canadian Accessibility Standards Development Organization and provides for its mandate and structure and its powers, duties and functions.
Part 3 of the Act authorizes the Accessibility Commissioner to provide the Minister with information, advice and written reports in respect of the administration and enforcement of the Act. It also requires the Accessibility Commissioner to submit an annual report on his or her activities under the Act to the Minister for tabling in Parliament.
Part 4 of the Act imposes duties on regulated entities that include the duty to prepare accessibility plans and progress reports in consultation with persons with disabilities, the duty to publish those plans and reports and the duty to establish a feedback process and to publish a description of it.
Part 5 of the Act provides for the Accessibility Commissioner’s inspection and other powers, including the power to make production orders and compliance orders and the power to impose administrative monetary penalties.
Part 6 of the Act provides for a complaints process for, and the awarding of compensation to, individuals that have suffered physical or psychological harm, property damage or economic loss as the result of — or that have otherwise been adversely affected by — the contravention of provisions of the regulations.
Part 7 of the Act provides for the appointment of the Chief Accessibility Officer and sets out that officer’s duties and functions, including the duty to advise the Minister in respect of systemic or emerging accessibility issues.
Part 8 of the Act authorizes the Governor in Council to make regulations, including regulations to establish accessibility standards and to specify the form of accessibility plans and progress reports. It also provides, among other things, for the designation of the week starting on the last Sunday in May as National AccessAbility Week.
Part 9 of the Act provides for the application of certain provisions of the Act to parliamentary entities, without limiting the powers, privileges and immunities of the Senate, the House of Commons and the members of those Houses.
Parts 10 and 11 of the Act make related and consequential amendments to certain Acts.

[Carla Qualtrough]

Yes, we continue to work both with disability organizations and with senators to make Bill C-81 the best law it can be for Canadians with disabilities.

[John Barlow]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I appreciate that, but still you are taking away my opportunity to ask questions.

Minister Qualtrough, with Bill C-81, we had more than 200 amendments put forward, and we heard from disability groups that are extremely upset that none of those amendments were accepted, because they want to see some teeth in that legislation. Are you working with the Senate to put some teeth into Bill C-81?

[Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Accessibility]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Hello to members of the committee.

It's a pleasure to be here today with my colleagues to speak to the 2018-19 supplementary estimates funding, specifically for disability programs, and to give you an update on the progress that's been made with respect to my mandate as minister responsible for accessibility.

I'm going to try to provide a brief presentation, because I would like to give you as much time as possible to ask questions, and for me to reply to them.

Through supplementary estimates (B), we're making the following statutory authorities adjustments to the Canada disability savings program, which includes the registered disability savings plan. The first is a decrease of $44.2 million for the Canada disability savings grants. The second is an increase of $49.2 million for the Canada disability savings bonds. When combined, these result in a net increase of $5 million for the Canada disability savings program.

The Canada disability savings program is a long-term savings plan to help persons with disabilities and their families to save for the future. The increase of $5 million is due to continued growth in the program. This critical program supports long-term financial security for persons with disabilities. We're happy to see an increase in participation in this program, and we continue to explore ways in which we can improve its impact on supporting Canadians with disabilities.

Also, as per my Accessibility portfolio, ESDC is requesting additional funding for the administration of the proposed accessible Canada act, and to enhance the opportunities fund for persons with disabilities. This represents an increase of $6.2 million in the 2018-19 main estimates presented to this committee by Minister Duncan back in May.

As you know, one of my priorities over the past year has been to have Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act adopted as quickly as possible. To do so, we listened to comments from Canadians whom the bill directly affects, and we worked hard to respond to them.

Honourable members, thank you for your dedicated work in studying the proposed accessible Canada act last fall. I was very proud that this bill has passed the House with support from all parties. Thanks to your effort, the proposed accessible Canada act is now before the Senate, and I hope it will continue through the parliamentary process in a timely manner.

In addition, I'd like to acknowledge the difficult and emotional work you are doing on the private member's motion M-192 regarding the protection of the needs of people with episodic disabilities caused by multiple sclerosis, among other things. I'm looking forward to reading your report in the spring.

For Canada to become an even more accessible and inclusive country for everyone, we must continue to support people with disabilities. For decades, people with disabilities have worked hard to make Canada more inclusive and more accessible.

Bill C-81 is a catalyst for change and reflects their work, their commitment and their contributions. It further strengthens this important bill.

In terms of timelines and priorities for the application of Bill C-81, the government is committed to timely and meaningful progress on implementation. New entities, such as the proposed Canadian accessibility standards development organization, will be operational within six to 12 months of royal assent. Initial regulations will be based on recognized and established standards, and as now required by the proposed legislation, the first regulations under the act will be made by 2021. The establishment of these regulations ensures the legislation will be reviewed by Parliament by 2026.

Honourable members, as Minister of Accessibility, my objective is to establish a Canada where persons with disabilities can participate fully in our society and our economy, and where they have an equal chance to succeed.

Thank you for your help in making this happen.

We are happy to take your questions.

Persons with Disabilities

[Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility, Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, last month, with the unanimous consent of the House, we passed Bill C-81, the most significant advancement in disability rights since the charter. With Bill C-81, we are creating a system to identify and remove barriers proactively so that all Canadians, regardless of their disability, can fully participate in society. Canada also recently acceded to the optional protocol for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, further strengthening the rights of Canadians with disabilities. We are acting, we are working with the disability community and we are going to build a truly inclusive and accessible Canada.

[John Barlow, Foothills, CPC]

I appreciate the testimony today. It's really great that all of you have brought some good solutions and recommendations, which is certainly much appreciated.

Over the last couple of days, we have heard quite a bit of pretty heartfelt testimony, in terms of being able to navigate the EI system, whether that's CPP.... Even in Bill C-81, as we were going through that process, we had lots of people....

There are four different windows to go through. We were really trying to push for one door in. The response we had from the officials was that people can go to any of them, and we'll figure it out and make sure they get to the right place.

My feeling in regard to people with disabilities is that we shouldn't make it harder. Let's try to find a way to make it easier, so that they can access those programs.

I have only a couple of minutes, so I'll try to be quick. What is your vision in terms of making it easier to access the programs we have in place already? Tammy, you look as if you're ready. What is your suggestion to make that easier?

[Dan Ruimy, Liberal, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you, everybody, for being here today.

When I first looked at the motion, the first thing that popped into my head was, wow, we have a lot of work to do ahead of us, and trying to understand that three sessions—which is all this is—are not enough to change the world.

However, hearing the work that you folks are doing gives me great relief, knowing we're not starting from scratch. The conversations and dialogues have been happening. The awareness has been created. What we can expect from a three-session study is perhaps where we can focus more of our energies.

Tammy, you mentioned Bill C-81. We did a lot of work with that. I think that's a great starting point. Episodic disabilities are mentioned in there.

There are some questions that come up, though. We kept hearing earlier about the disability tax credit and that 90% of disabled people don't get it. It's one thing to say that we don't need to change our EI rates, but looking at the 90%, if you were to actually understand why, how and where, and that number were to change, you can see the magnitude of the impact that could have.

I'm curious to know your thoughts on that 90%. Where did that come from? Why is it 90% and not 85%? What are your thoughts on that?

[Tammy Yates]

Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.

Good morning to members of the committee. As the chair mentioned, my name is Tammy Yates, and I'm the Executive Director of Realize. I'm also originally from Trinidad and Tobago. If anyone knows Trinis, we talk very quickly. I'm going to do my best. I can't promise, but I'll do my best.

Realize currently holds the secretariat of the national Episodic Disabilities Forum, otherwise known as the EDF. On behalf of all of the members of the EDF—many of whom are actually here in the room, so it feels like a reunion—I would like to thank members of this committee for leading this important discussion, as well as for the private member's motion, M-192.

The term “episodic disabilities” was first coined about 15 years ago by former board members of our organization, namely Kelly O’Brien, Stephanie Nixon and the late Elisse Zack, who was the founding executive director of Realize, which was then known as the Canadian Working Group on HIV and Rehabilitation, or CWGHR.

It makes me smile to be back on the Hill. About five years ago, Elisse Zack and I—prior to her transitioning into the next life—were presenting to this committee. It looked very different at that time. When we spoke about episodic disabilities, everyone in the room had a very strange, querying look on their face. It is amazing to be in this room here. We're all discussing episodic disabilities and we're all on the same page.

I also have a little information about the definition of “episodic disabilities”. The episodic disability framework was created to reflect the lives of people living with HIV at that time, based on the social model of disability, to describe the conditions that many of my colleagues mentioned. As Canadians are living longer, an increasing number of people are living with lifelong chronic illnesses that include episodes of disability. These illnesses include arthritis, Crohn's disease, MS, cancer and mental health conditions.

When we apply a life course approach to the topic, we are cognizant that many young people are also living with episodic disabilities. I'm sure that most, if not all, of you in the room know people living with episodic disabilities. You can therefore appreciate how these fluctuating episodes wreak havoc with someone's life in terms of social inclusion and participation.

Very early on in our advocacy and awareness-raising around episodic disabilities, we were joined by organizations like the DisAbled Women's Network Canada, the MS Society and the Arthritis Society. They were some of the earliest cross-disability organizations that collaborated with us. We all recognized that these groups of people living with these conditions were living with similar trajectories. However, the trajectories were different, so we developed three broader definitions, which I'll share with you now.

Episodic stable conditions are characterized by periods of relative wellness, interspersed with unpredictable and fluctuating periods, like severe migraines and HIV—now that HIV is a chronic condition.

Episodic degenerating conditions are similar to episodic stable conditions early on, but over time are progressive in their decline, such as Parkinson's or even, unfortunately, MS at times.

Episodic remissive conditions may start as episodic stable, but in some instances the person may have a full recovery or remission, as in some forms of cancer or mental health illnesses.

It would be remiss of me not to note at this juncture, however, the fact that Bill C-81, once it becomes an act, will be the first federal act to officially include episodic disability in its wording. Let me tell you something: In my office, when we read that, we were high-fiving each other. It took us 20 years, but we're here.

Over the past decade, an increasing amount of research on episodic disabilities has been done across diseases and conditions, as many of our academic partners and organizations that have been testifying this entire week have shared. We've developed at least 20 conditions that may be defined as episodic in nature. Ladies and gentlemen, that represents a significant percentage of our population in Canada.

We have a number of recommendations that we will be submitting. However, I would like to articulate three long-term recommendations and three short-term recommendations.

The first of the three long-term recommendations is that nationally, we establish a body, whether it's a commission or a federal committee, to oversee and report on the coordination between the interjurisdictional disability support programs and employment services areas to establish clear options for people with episodic disabilities within these disability programs.

The second recommendation is to make employment insurance sickness benefits more flexible.

The third recommendation is to negotiate, develop, pilot, and eventually implement, in tandem with jurisdictional-level government partners, an individualized funding model for income and social supports. There are examples of these individual portable models in jurisdictions at the moment.

For these three recommendations, I did not say a five- or a 10-year time frame. It may be another 20 years, but these recommendations are what it's going to take for people living with episodic disabilities to remain in the workforce and have full social participation.

Now, I have three short-term recommendations. When I say “short-term”, I mean these three things can be done within the next year.

First, when Bill C-81 becomes law as the Accessible Canada Act, the definition of disability that's now included in that bill should be harmonized across jurisdictions and across policies and programs to reflect that harmonized definition.

Second, we all mentioned community-based research and academic research that has been happening over the last 20 years in a very piecemeal and puzzle-like approach. Our recommendation is that a dedicated part of funding be provided for community and academic researchers, since it is imperative that we explore program and policy issues for women, for youth and for new immigrants living with episodic disabilities and for indigenous and other racialized groups who we know, from an intersectional perspective, will be affected differently and inequitably.

Finally, as the secretariat of the Episodic Disabilities Forum, Realize has been raising awareness about episodic disabilities for almost 20 years, as I shared. It's our 20th anniversary this year. We're the only national organization that has a dedicated staff member on episodic disabilities. However, we have been doing this without operational funding for episodic disabilities. Along with partners like CCRW, DAWN Canada, the MS Society, the Arthritis Society, and so on, who are current members of the EDF, we have achieved so much in this area, so that we're all here today, 20 years later. Therefore, the final recommendation is that...if we could do that without operational funding, can you imagine what we could do with operational funding?

Life is unpredictable, ladies and gentlemen. While you and I may not be living with an episodic disability today, it does not mean that tomorrow our life circumstances may not change, and we may then be diagnosed with an illness that is episodic in nature. To this extent, policies and programs, or revisions to policies and programs, that we have all suggested will not only work for people living with episodic disabilities currently, but they will work for everyone in Canada.

I use the term “everyone in Canada”, and not just “Canadians”. In three days, I will celebrate my one-year anniversary as a Canadian. Prior to that, I was a permanent resident of Canada. If I was living with an episodic disability and saw in a document that it's only Canadians who are eligible, it would have totally left me and my taxpaying dollars out of it.

Canada has always been a country of innovators and an example to other countries. We are the world leader on episodic disabilities. As such, the Government of Canada and all of you have the opportunity to maintain that leadership on episodic disabilities. We look forward to supporting the government and all of you on this.

Thank you.

[Dr. Emile Tompa, Senior Scientist, Institute for Work and Health]

Thank you.

In addition to being at the Institute for Work and Health, I'm a co-director at the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy. I'm also an associate professor at the Department of Economics at McMaster University.

We've heard from the others here about the definition of episodic disability. There's no widely accepted definition that's easily operationalized. This is one of the things we found in our research: It can vary on a daily basis, on a weekly basis and over longer periods of time. Sometimes it really has a lot to do with the context. In this case, the context is the work environment and how accommodating it is. The key message we get from our stakeholders is that one size doesn't fit all. It's really important that the work environment be flexible and be tailored to meet the needs of different people with diverse types of episodic disabilities.

In my field research, one of the pieces we've been doing is a project for the Mental Health Commission of Canada on accommodation best practices for people from what they describe as “the aspiring workforce”, people with serious mental health conditions. What we found was that depending on the work culture and the quality of the work relationship, it may be very risky for workers from the aspiring workforce to disclose a need for workplace accommodations, particularly if the disability is stigmatized. In the case of mental health, it often is. They often rely on the supports available to all employees, such as flexible hours, the location of work and various kinds of leave. These are what we describe sometimes as universal supports that don't require disclosure of the individual to their supervisor or manager. Employers, including the public sector, can often provide universal supports as a way for people to self-accommodate.

Currently I'm developing, with the CSA Group, a Canadian standard for work disability management systems. What we find is that in general, employers lack the skills on how to accommodate workers with disabilities. They find it even more challenging to address invisible and episodic disabilities. There's really a need for skilling up employer abilities, and the standard is one way of doing that.

They often have fear, ignorance and an inability to see past irrelevant characteristics to focus on the talent and skills of the worker. We're building up disability confidence and creating a culture of inclusivity as a key aspect of the standard we're developing.

It's challenging for employers to deal with the multiplicity of programs as well. That's a really big problem with them. There are many programs that provide supports, but they're not very flexible and they're often not very conducive to supporting episodic disabilities.

I'm also undertaking a pan-Canadian partnership strategy on disability and work in Canada. Maureen is part of that. We recently had a two-day conference, yesterday and the day before, held here in Ottawa. Its launch pad is a UN convention and the federal legislation, Bill C-81.

We framed it around four pillars that we think are important for a pan-Canadian strategy.

The first of the four pillars is the strategy about disability confidence, much like our standard, which is focused on that as well.

The second of the four pillars is about comprehensive supports. One of the things that's really important is changes to existing income-support programs that might enable people with episodic disabilities to exit and re-enter the labour force as their work capacity fluctuates. It's really important to think about some of the definitions that restrict that ability to easily enter and exit, and to seek the supports when you need them.

Much of the policy arena on labour and disability supports, as you may know, is at the provincial level. That really limits the capacity at the federal level to make changes, but there are some efforts through the transfer payments from ESDC's opportunities fund. Possibly there's some way for those transfer funds to put more emphasis on employment supports for persons with disabilities.

Thank you.

[Deanna Groetzinger, Manager, Neurological Health Charities Canada]

Thank you very much.

Thank you for the opportunity to present on behalf of Neurological Health Charities Canada. NHCC is a coalition of organizations that represents millions of Canadians living with brain disease, disorders and injuries. I am sharing this time with Debbie Lovagi, who has an acquired brain injury.

I will make some overall comments and recommendations, and Debbie will speak about how a brain injury has affected her life and her ability to work.

Brain conditions are the largest cause of disability worldwide. One in three Canadians will be affected by a brain or nervous system illness, disorder or injury, including mental health conditions, within their lifetimes. Disabilities that develop as the result of a brain condition can occur at any point along the life course, and a number of them are episodic in nature. This means, as you've heard from all of the witnesses, that there are periods of worsening that can vary in severity and duration. Remissions can happen, but the periods of worsening and remission persist for the lifetime of the individual. Examples of brain conditions that are episodic are dystonia, epilepsy, migraine, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and conditions such as depression and other mental health disorders.

As you have heard from the other witnesses, current programs such as the Canada pension plan disability and the disability tax credit are not flexible enough to assist most individuals who have episodic conditions that worsen. In most cases, the language of “severe and prolonged” disqualifies those whose conditions may not be considered prolonged enough.

Some other jurisdictions have recognized that disability can be episodic. British Columbia’s disability eligibility definition states that “the person’s ability to perform daily living activities” can be restricted either continuously or “periodically for extended periods”. Ontario’s definition states that a disability is “a substantial mental or physical impairment that is continuous or recurrent, and is expected to last one year or more”. Sadly, Ontario appears to be moving away from this definition toward the more restrictive Government of Canada definition.

NHCC is encouraged that Bill C-81, the accessible Canada act, recognizes that a limitation can be permanent, temporary or episodic in nature. We applaud this language and hope that this will help ensure equity in government policy and programs that support Canadians living with all types of disabilities. I hope the committee's study today can help push that along.

More immediately, NHCC urges the committee to consider the following recommendations, some of which you have heard from the other witnesses. First, modify the eligibility definition for the Canada pension plan disability benefit to include disabilities that are episodic or recurrent in nature; modify the eligibility definition for the disability tax credit to make it clear that persons living with episodic disabilities can be eligible for the credit; increase EI sickness benefits from 15 weeks to 26 weeks, with expanded flexibility for partial work and partial benefits for individuals who can work episodically.

On a longer term, use the recommendations you heard from the witnesses so far—Michael Prince, John Stapleton and Lembi Buchanan—as well as an excellent report by the Institute for Research on Public Policy, “Leaving Some Behind: What Happens When Workers Get Sick”, to work with other governments, employers and insurance carriers to revisit definitions of eligibility and establish a comprehensive approach to address the needs of Canadians living with episodic disabilities.

I will now turn the remaining time over to Debbie.

[John Stapleton, Principal, Open Policy, As an Individual]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the opportunity to be here, Mr. Chairman, members, staff and fellow guests.

I'm going to talk about disability income programs this morning. I will look at 10 programs, or 10 systems. I'll say them slowly, in no particular order: one, the RDSP, with which you're all familiar; two, the Canada workers benefit; three, the disability tax credit; four, EI sickness; five, the Canada pension plan disability; six, social assistance in all the provinces, with special programs for people with disabilities; seven, workers' compensation; eight, veterans programs, for which there are large programs in place for veterans with disabilities; nine, workplace programs that are paid for by the private sector, so programs that are not government programs; and, finally, number 10, which is auto insurance.

If we look at the income security landscape from 10,000 feet, we see that there are 10 different systems. I wouldn't even call them programs. More and more—and I think we saw it just a couple of weeks ago—disability income programs have tended to reimburse or pay for a disability, as opposed to looking at the whole person and providing income support for people with disabilities.

It's a subtle distinction. We used to talk about “the disabled”. We no longer do that. We talk about “people with disabilities”. That's when we can start to think more comprehensively about the idea of episodic disabilities and how they fit. In other words, you may be asymptomatic one day, and you might be in a wheelchair and unable to walk the next day.

Disability income programs have had trouble with that over the years and over the decades. They want to see that permanent, significant disability that's in place for a prolonged period of time, for at least a period of several years. This means that a lot of people with episodic disabilities actually don't qualify for benefits, because they can't meet that standard.

That's particularly what I want to recommend today. We really need to look at it holistically. I wouldn't just restrict my comments to federal programs. Let's look at federal, provincial, and also at the private sector. Let's look at what they do. Rather than having 10 different complicated definitions of disability, let's look at trying to have some convergence so that we can bring coherence to these programs.

It's easily said, but not easily done. However, if we had the type of review of disability programs that I'm calling for, we would be able to look at those definitions that particularly leave out people with episodic disabilities.

There are three attractions for what we call a guaranteed annual income or a basic income for people with disabilities. The first is that programs would not be work-triggered. In other words, we would look at programs as a matter of right. Second, we would not place time limits on them. One of the attractions of a basic income is that it's not time-limited, regardless of how all these experiments have gone. Third, they would be adequate.

Right now, most disability income programs are not permanent. They have time limits, like employment insurance, as Michael just said. Workers' compensation generally restricts itself to two years. Veterans programs are not necessarily permanent, and certainly workplace programs that used to observe a much longer period of time generally restrict themselves to two years.

Disabilities are not on any schedule. They don't observe time limits, but our programs do, and that's where we need to be more flexible.

Most disability income programs are triggered by work. You have to get them based on work. That's EI, CPP, veterans, workplace programs and workers' compensation. They all get paid after you've worked. If you haven't worked, you don't get them.

Not everyone has worked, so they can't get these programs, and in many cases they must go on social assistance. Social assistance over the years and even now is becoming the largest single set of programs that people with disabilities have to rely on. In many cases, that's unfair. They have to deplete their asset; they have to deplete their incomes. You might hear a bit more of that this morning.

People who get work-triggered programs often get inadequate benefits, because if you're a person with a disability, you likely have not paid the maximum into that system over the years, so you're going to get much less money. That's why people are attracted to a basic income, as it's not work-triggered.

I know we've talked a lot about Bill C-81 for the last little while, but I am going to mention in closing Bill C-87, which has now received first reading, but I'm just going to mention it in closing. It targets 20% poverty reduction by 2020, and that's going to be done. I think the government will meet its targets by changes that have been put in place for seniors, with the guaranteed income supplement, and for children through the Canada child benefit.

Over the next 10 years, we have to reduce poverty by 50%. We use a swimming pool analogy. We talk about shallow poverty, and we talk about deep poverty. That's when we're going to have to get into the deep end. It seems to me that Bill C-87, as a poverty reduction act, is cause for a comprehensive review, which I would call for in terms of people with disabilities. We need to remove them from poverty by 2030 and be able to marshal the resources into all of the programs, all of those 10 systems, to bring about the sort of change that we could get. It would be inclusive of people with episodic disabilities. There's no way we're going to get to that 50% by 2030 without having that as a big part of the process.

Thanks very much.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

[Kate Young, Liberal, London West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, today is the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year's theme, “Empowering persons with disabilities and ensuring inclusiveness and equality”, is at the heart of the Government of Canada's commitment to build a Canada without barriers.

In June, our government introduced Bill C-81, the accessible Canada act, which if passed will address barriers to accessibility in the federal jurisdiction.

Earlier today, the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility announced that Canada has acceded to the optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. This means that Canadians will have additional recourse if they believe their rights under the convention have been violated.

These actions speak to our dedication to creating a truly inclusive and accessible Canada. Please join me in celebrating people with disabilities and the significant contributions they make to Canadian society.

Persons with Disabilities

[Kate Young, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Science and Sport and to the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility (Accessibility), Lib.]

Mr. Speaker, our goal is to make accessibility a reality across federal jurisdictions, so that all people, regardless of their abilities or disabilities, can fully participate and be included in society.

Bill C-81 will help us reach that goal. This legislation represents a significant, historic advancement in federal disability rights legislation. Our government will provide $290 million over six years to further the objectives of the new legislation once it is given royal assent.

I am proud that our government has delivered on this important mandate commitment.

[Cheryl Hardcastle, NDP, Windsor—Tecumseh, ON]

Mr. Speaker, what is the point of rushing through accessibility legislation if the government is not going to put its money where its mouth is? The Liberals keep failing Canadians who live with disabilities. In the fall economic update, there is no mention of new obligations, let alone funding for the CRTC to maintain its existing responsibilities. This is unfair, and it is insulting to Canadians who are waiting for implementation of Bill C-81.

Why will the Liberals not take their responsibilities seriously and ensure that institutions like the CRTC are accessible to everyone?

[Dan Ruimy, Liberal, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you, everybody, for being here today. It's interesting. From your opening remarks, it seems like we're already making some progress with some of the steps that we've implemented.

I'm a data guy. I'll be curious to see the data that comes out about episodic disabilities, which will be available in 2019.

This is the challenge. I'm an ops guy. When you want to fix something, you have to look at the whole program. You have to understand what the variables are and where you move from there. One of the big challenges, or dangers, is having knee-jerk reactions: Let's throw this in there and let's throw that in there.

Our world is changing. Episodic disabilities are becoming more the norm. The stigma is.... Because we're actually having these conversations now with Bill C-81—the accessibility legislation—that brings the norm there.

The question I have is on the current EI program. Canada pension disability is not a lot of money, so I don't know if that's a great answer to begin with. With all of these changes out there, can we work within the EI program or do you think it's time to do a major overhaul of the program?

[Krista Wilcox]

Thank you for the question.

Certainly, under Bill C-81, there will be federal leadership in terms of the federally regulated sector, but also, within the Government of Canada, there's a commitment to the hiring of 5,000 people with disabilities into the public service, for example. That will include people with episodic disabilities.

We will have a very inclusive definition of what “disability” means. The standards that will be set under the legislation will also provide really important protections for people with disabilities generally, and again, that includes people with episodic disabilities.