Mr. Speaker, I wish to begin my comments on Motion No. 430 by sharing, in his own words, the personal challenges of my friend Rupan Sambasivam, an inspiring young Saskatchewan high school honour student.
There is a lot of issues concerning people who might have a disability and their chances of getting employment. Right now, am in grade 12, with Cerebral Palsy and I am taking a Career Exploration class. I cannot use my hands very well therefore this limits my career choices. That is one of many obstacles in my way, as I get older and look for a career that suits me. Transportation is also a big concern especially in the winter. I cannot drive so I need to look for different ways of getting where I need to go.
While I was a child, I had many support systems such as adaptive technology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and grants from children's charities. All my medications were paid for by the health care system. I have had terrific support at my schools. My transportation was supplied by the school. I cannot write so I need an Educational Assistant to help me. If it wasn't for them I would not be where I am today. All of my teachers, all through my public education have been wonderful and some of them have adapted assignments or activities for me. I have a laptop and adaptive hardware & software in my school. I also had specially built furniture to suit my needs. I didn't have to pay for any of this. Saskatchewan Abilities Council has also supported me and they continue to help me participate in their recreation services, all at little or no cost to me. I feel very grateful that I have all these resources for me to succeed.
When I turn 18 this month, some of these services will no longer be available to me--at least not for free. I will be considered an adult and will have to find and pay for services like transportation, medications, some of my therapies and the technologies I need. Some day I will have to live away from home. If I don't have a job I don't know how I will pay for basic needs as I get older.
Employers have to be accommodating to employees with disabilities. Depending on the job, I would need special hardware & software to allow me to access a computer. This is something an employer could do to make it possible for me to work. They need to understand that I have a right to work even though I am disabled. They should not pay me less because I have a disability. Employers & co-workers might need training to learn how to adapt to working with a disabled person.
Governments should see that everyone should be treated equally. If we need special equipment or resources to do a job, they could help by providing an allowance for transportation if we can't drive. They could help employers with the cost of job adaptations and equipment. Governments can provide funding to run training for employers & workers that could help them to understand special needs.
I hope I have a bright future ahead of me. I want to be a journalist and I know that I will have to attend post-secondary. When I am done my schooling I hope there will be sufficient resources to allow me to join the workplace. Thank you.
Rupan Sambasivam
Clearly we have an obligation to reach out to more people with disabilities to improve their employment outcomes and enable them to contribute fully to their communities and to the economy.
For example, one of my constituents who will be 50 this year remained unemployed for many years until he was able to receive funding to obtain employment skills. After far too many years desiring useful employment, he finally found a job with training where he remained a contributing employee for 14 years, a remarkable achievement for him and the dedicated staff who support him.
Employment outcomes for people with disabilities would be far more bleak were it not for non-profit organizations, including in my riding AdaptAbilities and EmployAbilities.
AdaptAbilities provides day programming to help youth develop employable skills. However, similar to other not-for-profit groups whose goal is assisting those marginalized, they struggle to find funding. I have participated in its annual fundraising games and walks where it cheerfully organize and supported the events through the staff, volunteers and parents to ensure that these children benefit from the programming.
EmployAbilities is another Edmonton non-profit organization that has served people with disabilities and barriers to employment and employers since 1974. Its goal is inclusion and opportunity for Albertans with disabilities through career information and job placement services.
We should applaud the dedicated work of these volunteers in our communities, who are filling a void left by both government and the private sector.
The government has lauded its skills training programs, but we have heard little mention in the budget of intensified government investment in enabling disabled Canadians with policies ensuring greater flexibility, training, transport or accommodation for the disabled.
Where, for example, can we find, in the reforms to employment insurance, the consideration to the supports and services required by a disabled woman living in an isolated community, or on a reserve, who has lost her job and is now expected to travel 30 kilometres to work?
The question before us is this: does this motion fully address the critical remaining roadblocks to equality and access to training opportunities and the workplace? Is this just another public program we should be downloading to the private sector?
The motion is well-meaning, and the volunteer efforts of the member are absolutely laudable. It is almost entirely focused on the private sector and what it should be doing alone or in partnership with governments. Yes, business does have a role to play, and those who invested in special training for disabled workers should be lauded.
Studies and reports have already been funded on what the private sector can do. What about government? Why no call for the government to finally step up and deliver on its languishing domestic and international commitments? Why no call for action by the government on the myriad recommendations in the 2008 standing committee report, including new tax incentives to employ disabled, school-to-work transition plans for disabled youth and special attention to disabled aboriginal Canadians?
As the motion mentions, Canada did ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, ratifying delivers nothing concrete, and the government's record on implementation is dismal. Its follow-up report is over a year delayed. It has failed to appoint an internal monitoring agency. It has refused to sign the Optional Protocol. It has failed to institute any basic indicators of progress.
In 2006, Statistics Canada reported that 2.5 million, or 11.5%, of Canadians age 15 to 64 report some form of disability. They also forecast that as our population ages, the percentage will rise. Sadly, the highest rate of disability is among aboriginal Canadians, 31%. It is not clear if those figures include challenges faced by those suffering mental conditions or homelessness as well.
It is reported that adults with disabilities without higher education are the least likely to be able to find employment, certainly that provides a living wage. Even those able to achieve higher education have almost half the chance to be employed.
These inequities in access to education and training and employment were revealed to the House as far back as 2008, and the response was that another study was under way.
The call in this motion is for a youth employment strategy. It echoes repeated calls by the New Democrats. I would support it, presuming it included targeted attention to the disabled, but the call for greater accountability must also be extended to the government for deeper action on its promises and commitments.