I hope I understand your question, Mr. MacKinnon.
When I was speaking earlier, I said that we see the adapted enterprise subsidy program as self-funding.
In fact, the study done by the economist Pierre Fortin and a few of his colleagues showed that, if the vast majority of persons with disabilities employed in our adapted enterprises were not working there, those individuals would most likely be recipients of social assistance for life.
What we have seen in Quebec—and I imagine the same is more or less true in the rest of the country—is that, even when youth with disabilities complete specialized training designed to support access to the workplace, they still have tremendous difficulty transitioning from the educational realm to the workplace.
They often wind up feeling marginalized and singled out. It's a very difficult time in their lives. What we've observed is that the vast majority of those young people with disabilities, or at least a good many of them—and, unfortunately, I don't have those numbers—end up living on social assistance even when they received training and education. It stems from the difficulty they have accessing the labour market. Just to clarify, I am referring to persons with disabilities considered to have severe functional limitations that prevent them from integrating into the labour market. It's important to understand what we are talking about, after all.
Obviously, a large number of persons with disabilities are able to access the regular job market given that their limitations are not too severe. The people we hire have severe employment limitations and, therefore, have a very hard time finding employment in so-called regular businesses. In some cases, they have no such opportunity. These individuals would otherwise be receiving social assistance benefits for life.
By hiring these people to work in our adapted enterprises, we put them on a path of social inclusion. They become consumers, taxpayers, and more active members of society because they find new communities in the companies they are placed in. They participate in society in a much more normal way, fulfilling meaningful roles that allow them to thrive and become fully contributing members.
As a result, a number of things happen. The government spends less on social assistance benefits and takes in more tax revenue, given that these workers have larger incomes, generate sales taxes, and contribute to the commercial activities of the adapted enterprises overall. Consequently, when you compare the amount the government is spending with the spinoff for society, it is clear that the program funds itself.
It has other equally important benefits, as well. They are harder to quantify, but include reduced health care costs and a lower demand for health care services, supportive care and attention, and follow up associated with this group of individuals. They find what they need in these adapted enterprises, in terms of support, training, and so forth.