Thank you and good morning.
Mr. Chair, ladies and gentlemen of the committee, thank you for having us this morning.
The Conseil québécois des entreprises adaptées would like to share with you what adapted enterprises all over Quebec are doing to help people with disabilities contribute to the country's economic growth. We would especially like you to understand the importance and value of supporting us so that we can do even more.
Right off the bat, I'd like to make a minor correction to our brief. It should have referred to the Canada-Québec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities rather than the Canada-Quebec Agreement on the Labour Market for People with Disabilities, which is the former name. I just wanted to start by pointing that out.
The network of adapted enterprises in Quebec has a unique mission, promoting the creation of adapted jobs for persons with disabilities in quality workplaces. It is one of the largest networks of social economy enterprises in Quebec, with 43 adapted enterprises active in 59 different business locations across the province. It is also the largest employer of persons with disabilities in Quebec and Canada, with nearly 4, 000 jobs held by persons with disabilities. Adapted enterprises generate more than $225 million in total annual revenues and $140 million in salaries. They provide more than 200 quality products and services in a wide range of sectors. They are well-known companies, including Desjardins, Hydro-Québec, Loto-Québec, Vidéotron, and Gaz Métro. The network of adapted enterprises represents 40 years of history, recognition, and respect. It is a unique model in Canada that could be applied to the entire country.
These 43 adapted enterprises receive financial assistance through the Programme de subventions aux entreprises adaptées, or PSEA, a subsidy program for adapted enterprises that compensates for the low productivity of the disabled people they hire. They are people living with severe functional limitations who, although able to be productive, cannot compete in a regular work environment.
The PSEA budget for 2016-17 is $80.5 million, and is partly funded through the Canada-Québec Labour Market Agreement and the Canada-Québec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities. Unfortunately, the federal government has not increased the budget for the Canada-Québec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities for more than 10 years.
The economist Pierre Fortin, who has studied adapted enterprises, has repeatedly said that government investments in Quebec's adapted enterprises are both economically and socially sound.
These investments are economically beneficial because they result in significant social assistance savings for the government, given that the vast majority of persons with disabilities employed by adapted enterprises would be receiving social assistance or employment insurance benefits if they were not working. Of course, they also generate considerable sales tax and income tax revenues, because workers with disabilities have significantly higher net incomes and enhance the economic activities of the adapted enterprises.
In our view, the PSEA funds itself.
The program's social benefits stem mainly from the fact that it does much more than simply facilitate the creation of workplaces. It facilitates the creation of living environments where people with disabilities are not marginalized. Quite the contrary, they receive guidance, support, and training from the adapted enterprises, bringing new meaning to their lives.
The Government of Canada has clearly expressed its desire to reduce poverty, remove systemic barriers, and ensure persons with disabilities all over the country have access to equal opportunities. That is something Prime Minister Trudeau has said often. Getting there will take a lot of work.
We believe that Quebec's model of an adapted enterprise network could be part of the solution. The Government of Canada should enhance its support for our model so that more people with disabilities can integrate into the labour market and retain employment. That will help them contribute to society, come out of isolation, break their financial dependence, fulfill a meaningful role, participate in their community's development, thrive, and become full-fledged citizens.
In order to make that happen, we recommend that the Government of Canada increase its contribution to the Canada-Québec Labour Market Agreement for Persons with Disabilities beginning in 2017-18 and that the additional funding be specifically allocated to Quebec's adapted enterprises.
Thank you.