Human Resources Committee on Nov. 28th, 2013

[Jacques Paquette]

Exactly.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Very good.

Is there a breakdown by province of the money used from that fund? Do we have an idea of the way in which those funds were used by the provinces? For example, does it appear that some provinces underuse them compared to others?

Can you give us an idea of the status there?

[Jacques Paquette]

There are two points to make.

First, the fund is administered nationally. There is no allocation by province. It operates on the basis of a call for proposals reflecting certain specific themes.

The proposals submitted are then evaluated against the criteria and the funds are distributed to the best projects selected.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Alright, since it is national, can you assess whether certain provinces submit fewer proposals, and, if so, which ones?

[Jacques Paquette]

I do not have the details here. However, there are a number of projects. For example, in the last three years, more than 700 projects were approved. It can also vary with the nature of the proposals requested.

Ontario, for example, has its Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. We have noticed a greater awareness by organizations. As a result, a lot of projects are submitted.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Could we get those documents so that we can look at it a little more closely and see the breakdown?

[Jacques Paquette]

The list of approved projects is on the department's website.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

Very good, thank you. I will check out the site.

Will the fund continue to focus on small and mid-size projects, as it has in the past?

[Jacques Paquette]

Yes, it will. The renewal changes nothing, but it adds an element. We have a project broadly aimed at making workplaces more accessible. That is a new element that takes nothing away from the rest. In terms of present projects, our call for proposals will target small businesses in order to increase their ability to integrate persons with disabilities.

[Sadia Groguhé, NDP, Saint-Lambert, QC]

But the site is blocked. You cannot apply at the moment. Is that the intention?

[Jacques Paquette]

Yes, calls for proposals are made on fixed dates. On those dates, you have access to the submission information and all the criteria.

When you go on the site and get nothing, it is because the application period is over. That means that we are currently analyzing the projects. The site will reopen when there is another call for proposals.

[The Chair, Conservative, Phil McColeman]

Thank you. It's a little over time.

Let's move on to Mr. Daniel.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

And thank you, witnesses, for being here.

I'm going to take the same kind of line in terms of disabilities. Our government has shown time and again that it cares greatly about the livelihoods of Canadians, and I was hoping that one of the departmental officials could update the committee on what the federal government and the Department of Employment and Social Development are doing for Canadians with disabilities.

We've heard previously at the committee that people with disabilities are seriously disadvantaged when it comes to employment. Perhaps somebody can make a comment on that.

[Jacques Paquette]

I would say that there are several things the department is doing. In the supplementary estimates you will find some of these initiatives. The first one, of course, is the enabling accessibility fund, which was renewed on an ongoing basis. Before that, it was limited, and now it's on an ongoing basis of $15 million per year. That's really to increase the accessibility of buildings for people with disabilities.

In the supplementary estimates we also have the announcement of the creation of a forum for employers, as a result of the recommendation of the panel that worked on the question of people with disabilities in the labour market. It was realized that there's a lot of willingness on the part of employers to hire more people with disabilities, but they needed to get better tools and share best practices amongst themselves. This is what the forum will do. It will bring employers together to allow them to work together to be able to increase their capacity to integrate people with disabilities.

We have other programs within the department, such as the social development partnerships program, which has a component on disability that helps organizations to support the integration of people with disabilities, and there's a series of programs that are specifically related to the integration of people with disabilities in the labour market.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Sorry, go ahead.

[Ian Shugart]

I was just going to add, Chair, that I met recently with my provincial counterparts of deputy ministers of social services, and we had visiting us and speaking to us the members of the panel the minister referred to earlier. One of the members of that panel, Mark Wafer, was describing his extensive visits across the country with colleagues in business. He will go and meet and talk with just about any business or other group that invites him, and his analysis was that the continuing disadvantage or blockage, if you like, to the increased take-up of persons with disabilities in business is the continuing mythology and fear about the costs to the business of recruiting persons with disabilities of all kinds.

He has made the case extensively—and that's what the forum is intended to facilitate—about the kind of productivity increases to businesses as a result of the employees they recruit; the improvements, the advantages to the brand of the business; and the potential for engagement with customers when they see, behind the counter or on the floor, individuals working for the company who have been recruited notwithstanding their disabilities.

It was a very impressive presentation, and those are the kind of advances that we need to see in the marketplace.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

To follow up on that, that sounds great for all the younger folks, but obviously we have an aging community with more and more older folks becoming disabled. Are there any programs or support for those sorts of activities to support the seniors in our communities who have disabilities?

[Jacques Paquette]

Yes, I can say a few things. Of course, programs like the enabling accessibility fund can apply. Its purpose is to make buildings accessible, so that would also benefit seniors. There are other programs that look after seniors, such as the new horizons for seniors program, which has many elements. Among other things, the program aims to support seniors and keep them from becoming isolated, for example, and to make sure that they are supported so that they can remain committed and involved in their communities and so on.

That's a way to make sure that the community keeps in touch with the seniors and vice versa, so that seniors continue to contribute to their communities.

[The Chair, Conservative, Phil McColeman]

Thank you for that.

We'll move on to Mr. Cuzner for five minutes.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Thanks very much.

I appreciate everybody being here today.

I'd like to get a question in on the social security tribunal appeal. Who would be best to handle that? Both of you. Okay.

This may seem like a trivial point, but it's right out of my constituency office, a couple of files. Most claimants are self-represented, but in the decisions that are rendered by the tribunal, there is no mention of appeals rights.They refer you to the tribunal website. Is that by design or is it an oversight? Do you see that as a shortcoming, given the fact that most claimants are self-represented, and it would be of benefit to them to have more information there on the rendering of those decisions?

[Paul Thompson, Assistant Deputy Minister, Processing and Payment Services Branch, Service Canada]

We can certainly take that suggestion on. We've implemented a new reconsideration phase, as you may know, within EI, where we do that initial review and we give the client the result of that review.

We can certainly undertake to look at the quality of the instructions around the next steps in the appeal process—

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Yes. I think there are some who are very intimidated by the process now, or who are concerned, I guess, about the process now, so I would think that would be a worthwhile undertaking.

Youth unemployment obviously remains a major concern, with the youth unemployment rate up over 13%. There are about 50,000 fewer youth jobs now than eight years ago. The funding in the YES program eight years ago was funding 115,000 to 118,000 young people each year. Last year it was down to about 60,000.

What are we looking at this year in terms of the number that would benefit from that program? Could you share with me why it's been heading in this direction? And what can we do to reverse the trend? The funding's the same, I think, isn't it?

[Frank Vermaeten, Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Skills and Employment Branch, Department of Human Resources and Skills Development]

The funding's the same. There has been a mix of supports, and there certainly have been changes over time.

The youth employment strategy is around $300 million a year. The government's certainly invested in youth. For example, they announced in the economic action plan $70 million for career focus, which is part of the youth employment strategy, to provide internships for youth. That's certainly an important part.

There are other supports that have been out there, such as the labour market agreements the government introduced, which increased the amount of funding that's going to youth. There's a whole range of programming out there. The youth employment strategy is certainly an important one.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

But with the transfers, would they be hived off? Would they be identified in the transfers to the provinces as particularly for youth?

[Frank Vermaeten]

The labour market agreements and the labour market development agreements are there for multiple purposes, and certainly they're a big part of the supports we provide for provinces to help youth enter into the labour markets.