Evidence of meeting #130 for Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was disabilities.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:10 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Adele Furrie Consulting Inc., As an Individual
What I heard from the 953 people who responded to that questionnaire was that they go to the organizations that represent their particular health conditions.
Episodic disabilities are different from developmental disabilities and from learning disabilities. If you have Crohn's disease, you go to other people who are living with Crohn's disease or to the organization to find out what helped them, what the supports are, how they navigated the system, etc. That's what we found in the surveys.
10:10 a.m.
Associate Scientific Director and Senior Scientist, Institute for Work and Health
I would say that health charities are an untapped resource; they are very willing and able to help.
10:10 a.m.
Conservative
Rosemarie Falk Conservative Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK
For sure. Thank you.
Quickly, Ms. Furrie, I know you mentioned working with stats, questions and that type of thing. Do we know if more people are being diagnosed now with episodic disabilities than before? Do we have an idea of what we're at even in the last 10 years?
10:10 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Adele Furrie Consulting Inc., As an Individual
It's not that more people are being diagnosed with the conditions or are identifying as having an episodic disability; it's that the social media, the press and initiatives such as this one are bringing it to the forefront. People are stopping and saying, “Hey, that's me.” Between the 2012 and 2017 surveys that used slightly different questions—we could get into that if necessary—we saw that the number of people with disabilities in Canada increased from 3.7 million to 6.2 million. It isn't that all of a sudden everybody became disabled; it's that more people are saying, “Yes, that is me. I do have a disability. I need support, and I'm experiencing barriers.”
10:15 a.m.
Associate Scientific Director and Senior Scientist, Institute for Work and Health
There are better treatments for people, so working is a possibility now. That's where I think we're really seeing the work in disability. It's the better treatments that allow people to work.
10:15 a.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I see that you would like to add something, Ms. Haan. Go ahead.
10:15 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
Are you sure?
10:15 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
I think that working with employers is different. BDC came out with a stat from a survey they hosted saying that 40% of small businesses are having problems finding employees and that this stat is going to stay with us for the next 10 years. That means that forward-thinking employers are having to think about where their workforce is coming from and making those types of adjustments within their workplace as well.
10:15 a.m.
NDP
Brigitte Sansoucy NDP Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, QC
Ms. Furrie, my questions will be in the same vein as those of my colleague and will focus on data.
I would first like to thank you for reminding us not to reinvent the wheel, as recommendations have already been issued in a number of reports and our role is more about bringing them back to the forefront.
You have already provided us with a chart, but I would still like you to tell us about your analysis of that data. I would also like to know how that data can give us insight into future developments. You said that more and more people are recognizing themselves in this, and our recommendations should take that into account. Will the situation evolve over the coming years?
You can both answer.
10:15 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Adele Furrie Consulting Inc., As an Individual
I don't know. It's as simple as that.
As I said, over the years since the first survey I was responsible for in 1986, I've seen a change in the definition of “disability”. It's becoming much more inclusive. The definition in the accessible act is much more inclusive. I think if we run this survey again, which we're hoping to do in 2022, the number could very well increase—perhaps not as dramatically, but for sure it will continue.
Also, we talk here only about work disability, but we have to remember that disability occurs over all ages, and with our aging population we're going to see many more people age 65 and older identifying as having a disability.
10:15 a.m.
NDP
10:15 a.m.
President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work
I don't have the stats that Adele has, but the only thing I wanted to add anecdotally is that we're seeing a growing population of young people as well self-identifying a little more and a little more strongly each time.
My son, who's 18 years old, has been diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, which has been explained to him as if he has a pebble in his shoe all the time and he just has to figure out how to walk with that pebble in his shoe.
When we talk about mental health and when I brought the stats back to him and told him this is how many kids are identifying with mental health issues, he can't believe it's so small.
I don't think we have an epidemic. I don't know what's coming down the pipes, but I think mental health is a concern with our youth. It's an episodic disability.
10:15 a.m.
NDP
10:15 a.m.
Executive Director, Realize
To echo and emphasize, in my remarks I think I mentioned taking a life course approach. Again, we are here five years from the time that Elisse and I first came to HUMA and spoke about episodic disabilities, and no one knew what we were talking about; this entire session is about episodic disabilities.
In terms of self-identification, even if the staff doesn't speak to awareness, the awareness is out there when you take a life course approach. For example, Maureen mentioned youth and post-secondary education. We are seeing that across the life course, across disciplines, across social participation activities, we have to look at the wraparound approach to episodic disabilities.
10:20 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Bryan May
Thank you so much.
I'm afraid I have to step in here. I want to thank all of you for coming here today to contribute to this study.
We have to suspend for a moment so we can discuss the drafting instructions.
We'll be coming back in camera momentarily. Thank you.
The meeting is suspended.
[Proceedings continue in camera]