Mr. Speaker, today we mark International Day for Disabled Persons with a theme of “Full Participation and Equality”.
The Canadian Labour Congress and the International Labour Organization have done pioneering work to help people with disabilities.
Today the CLC launched a national education campaign to stop discrimination at work. The ILO has developed an international code of practice to accommodate current and potential employees with disabilities in the workplace.
Our federal government, however, has failing grades in the duty to accommodate our citizens with disabilities. We have seen cuts to eligibility to CPP, cuts to the Canada assistance plan, cuts to acceptable housing, cuts to training programs and recently 90,000 people have been forced to reapply for the disability tax credit.
Today I call on the government to finally bring in adequate income support, remove physical and policy barriers and create real employment opportunities for the millions of Canadians who live with disabilities. Equal citizenship now.