Thank you very much for the question.
I would pose this as the first example. Who would have thought four years ago that there would be a quadriplegic member of Parliament? I think that has made a huge statement.
As to the reverse discrimination, I speak for the Paraplegic Association, but I believe that all people with disabilities want to be considered as mainstream, rather than separate and apart. Yes, there are accommodations that do need to be made. Employers need more education and awareness. The government itself needs some more education and awareness. But trying to set up a separate or reverse discrimination, I think, brings more embarrassment to the people with disabilities. I feel that they want to be involved as members.
Moving towards a disability act can cover some of those issues. Employers who are willing and able to hire people with disabilities have to face certain accommodations in the workplace, and some of them can be expensive. It can be everything from access to the building, to certain hours of operation, to the recognition of health requirements. When employers are willing to go that far and that much beyond what is required, then I feel there should be something in the way of government assistance for those agencies or employers. I believe that would tend to level the field a lot more.
It starts right with education, and goes from there. For people with disabilities, opportunity to get into universities, opportunity to complete post-secondary education, is much more expensive, is much more problematic. So I think it starts right from education upwards.
Thank you.