Thank you, Mr. Chair. My first question is for ESDC.
Thank you for being here.
In Ontario, the government has made a decision to phase out sheltered workshops for disabled people. These are facilities where disabled people work at performing often repetitious but important tasks, and they are remunerated with below-minimum-wage honoraria. There is a good rationale for doing this, for phasing out these kinds of facilities, but not unless we have an alternative to ensure that these people have other opportunities to work and contribute. ESDC had something called the opportunities fund, which was designed to provide people with disabilities the chance to work and contribute in our labour market.
What is the department's strategy, in Ontario in particular, to ensure that people who are no longer being given placements in sheltered workshops are given opportunities to work and earn market wages through private sector employers in the province?