Mr. Speaker, next Friday, the Team Work Cooperative and Work-Bridge Association will celebrate the first anniversary of their partnership in Halifax. This important partnership brings together two organizations to offer a wide range of services, including career counselling and an on-site resource facility to assist individuals in their search for work.
Nova Scotia has the largest per capita population of persons with disabilities. Some 180,000 of us have a disability. That is one out of every five Nova Scotians. Persons with disabilities are an untapped component of our labour force. It is organizations like these that make a true difference in the community.
By encouraging companies to hire persons with disabilities, we offer them the opportunity to explore their own abilities, to gain more independence, to reduce poverty levels and to provide them an opportunity to make a contribution to their community.
I congratulate Janice Ainsworth, executive director of Team Work and Judy Turner, executive director of Work-Bridge, for their hard work and that of their staff and volunteers for the wonderful and vital work they do in the community.