I will slow down a bit.
In fact, Canadians with disabilities are almost twice as likely to live in poverty compared to other Canadians. For Canada's aboriginal population, the rate of disability is more than one and a half times the rate of the non-aboriginal population. Women are more likely than men to have a disability, regardless of age. We're also seeing an increase in the needs of individuals aging with spinal cord injury. Not only are members with SCI developing more complex needs as they age, but more elderly people are having spinal cord injuries.
In Canada persons with a spinal cord injury and other disabilities are discriminated against on a daily basis and often face economic, social, and environmental barriers. Clearly government processes and programs in place to promote equal participation for Canadians with a disability are not working well. It is our respectful submission that poverty underpins these. It is through the creation of opportunities to employment, education, and other socio-economic participation that persons with a spinal cord injury will fully realize their contribution to Canadian society.
Statistics do not reveal the emotional and financial effect that barriers facing persons with a disability have on the community, their family members, loved ones, neighbours, and co-workers. Daily obstructions experienced by Canadians with a disability include accessible, manageable transportation; available, affordable, and accessible housing; accessible educational opportunities whether they be at the publicly funded elementary and secondary level or at higher levels of learning; attention to personal needs through attendant care and other such means; admission to leisure and entertainment facilities; recreational opportunities; physical education; and an underemployment rate that continues to be greater than 55% for this sector of the population.
For many years, Canada has been an international leader in the promotion of rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. More recently, this position has slipped as disability advocacy groups have been forced to jockey for government funding and support. Too frequently it is almost impossible to get a wheelchair-accessible taxi, while city buses often do not have accessible routes. I'm certain that Mr. Savage, Ms. Cadman, Mr. Martin, or Ms. Minna can already attest to the problems they have been faced with in making use of the special vans here on Parliament Hill, and their day in using a wheelchair is only half done. Many Canadians with a disability do not have higher education, making poverty among this group equal to third world populations.
Notwithstanding the fact that many Canadians with a disability live in poverty, in Ontario alone, the potential market for persons with a disability continues to be significant at the national level. One can only imagine how this buying power could be expanded to benefit all Canadians with a comprehensive investment in the alleviation of poverty experienced by the disabled community.
The time is now for a comprehensive investment by the Government of Canada in the alleviation of poverty experienced by Canadians living with a disability. While it is easy to see that the reduction in poverty within this community will be directly linked to a reduction in government social-support-related expenditures, this is not just a disability community issue. If poverty is reduced in this sector, all Canadians will benefit. As the Ontario government recently noted in its poverty reduction document Breaking the Cycle:
...we have another equally compelling rationale for reducing poverty. As a society, we can't afford it. An educated, healthy and employable workforce is critical to the economic future of this province. Our economy is changing before our eyes and we need everyone to be ready to contribute to our future prosperity. Economists agree that investments in reducing poverty would close the prosperity gap, benefiting individual Ontarians and their families, but also Ontario as a whole.
A federal investment targeted toward giving persons with disabilities the tools to remove themselves from a life cycle of poverty will make a critically important contribution toward a healthy, dynamic Canadian economy.
I want to turn it over to my colleague Courtney for final comments.