Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good morning, everyone. My name is Bruce Drewett, and I have the privilege of serving as the president of the Canadian Paraplegic Association. With me today is Mr. Courtney Keenan, our vice-president.
The Canadian Paraplegic Association would like to thank the standing committee for the opportunity to present today.
I would also like to point out, as did Mr. Savage, that on this day, May 7, we have a number of members of Parliament who are taking part in an awareness event on Parliament Hill. I would like to thank specific members of this committee for their involvement in this event. They include Mr. Savage, Ms. Cadman, Mr. Martin, and Ms. Minna, all easily recognizable around this table as using wheelchairs.
We believe the ideas we generate through forums such as these are invaluable, as they contribute to broadening the understanding of the issues facing Canadians with disabilities. It is our hope that our presentation and further discussion to this forum with regard to key decision-makers will help to serve and highlight the needs of the most vulnerable in our community, people with disabilities living in poverty, and that our recommendations will be considered within a broader strategy for meeting those needs.
I would like to begin with a short description of the CPA and its work with people with disabilities.
At CPA, which was formed almost 65 years ago, we are dedicated to assisting persons with spinal cord injury and other physical disabilities to achieve independence, self-reliance, and full community participation. We create direct links with Canadians with spinal cord injury, as well as with their families and caregivers, through our member services and peer networking programs.
The CPA maintains its relationship with Canadians with disabilities throughout their lives. We meet newly injured people with spinal cord injury and their families in hospitals, provide counselling services during rehabilitation, and continue to advise and assist them as they learn to navigate the community in new ways and become productive members of society once again.
While our client services remain the centrepiece of our activities, we have also been successful in bringing peers together to socialize and participate in recreational opportunities. Based on the principle that lived experience will allow people with spinal cord injury to jointly devise strategies for greater community participation, our members find improved health outcomes and empowerment through new friendships.
It is through this one-on-one and group interaction that we're able to speak to the evolving needs of people living with spinal cord injury in Canada. In working to improve the lives of people with disabilities, we also provide an important contribution to Canadian society by helping such persons overcome barriers to participation and by providing services and information to reduce health and social service costs.
More than 4.4 million Canadians have a disability of one type or another. Poverty and isolation are a shared reality for the majority of this community. In fact--