Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise and address Motion No. 430. I know that we got off to a rocky start, but I was hoping to speak to this motion because it is an important issue and in our best interests to see stronger leadership on this file. The more successful we are in acting on the issue of disabilities in general, the more we will improve the quality of life of those with disabilities.
Disabilities come in all different forms. We heard some of the numbers from previous speakers. A lot of people are surprised at how many Canadians are impacted by disabilities, whether mental or physical. We would do a great service by having more dialogue in the House of Commons on this important issue.
We are not alone. There are many organizations throughout our country that deal specifically with advocacy, supply, and support for people with disabilities. In my home province, the Society for Manitobans with Disabilities and the Learning Disabilities Association of Manitoba are two examples of great organizations. The Learning Disabilities Association has enabled people to better understand disabilities over the years. The Society of Manitobans with Disabilities has become an advocate for those with disabilities and is there for them.
If we were to canvass what needs to be done, there are a number of specifics involved. However, I want to pick up on a point the previous speaker referred to, the idea of working with the provincial government. I would go further and suggest that we need to take a much more holistic approach to dealing with the issue of disabilities.
What role does Ottawa play? One is leadership. Ottawa and the Government of Canada is in the best position to ensure there is some sort of a strategic approach across Canada dealing with this important issue. That means we need to start looking at who the stakeholders are while ensuring that a dialogue is taking place.
The previous speaker referred to the provinces. Yes, provinces do play a very important role. In Manitoba we have seen legislation passed and the department of family services getting directly involved. As many members might be aware, I was a member of the Manitoba legislature for just under 20 years. There is no doubt that the province has a critical role to play. I would suggest that the local municipalities also have a critical role to play. One could even go beyond that and talk about how important education is in being able to deal with the issue of disabilities and some of the stereotypes there are. We can also talk about school divisions.
In my opening remarks I referred two great organizations in Manitoba. We can talk about some of the people with disabilities who are directly impacted. There is no shortage whatsoever of strong advocates within that community who know and understand the issue because they live with it every day.
If we want to deal with this issue, we need to take more of that holistic approach. What role can Ottawa play? We can pass legislation. We can look at what our national civil service does today. We can look at accessibility, whether it is to the House of Commons or to the smaller federal offices scattered throughout our country, from the one-office locations in municipalities to our larger federal buildings across Canada. Accessibility is a critical aspect in dealing with individuals with disabilities.
We do not get that appreciation unless we are affected first-hand or directly. Maybe we have a disabled sibling, a son, a daughter, a parent, or whoever it might be, someone who is close to us who has been profoundly impacted by disability. I would argue that not only those individuals but the broader community, all of us, have a vested interest.
What do I mean by a vested interest? What expectation do we have to provide a certain quality of life for all Canadians, whether they are disabled or not. We need to strive wherever we can to improve the quality of life.
There are significant challenges for those with disabilities: everything from the workplace, on which we are focusing a great deal of our time this evening, to living accommodation, which does tie in directly to the workplace. Accommodation is very important.
So is transportation. The best volunteer I have had at my constituency office for a long time is a wonderful individual who is disabled. He has done an outstanding job. Transportation is critically important. Where individuals are employed, for example, in the Province of Manitoba, they are given a higher priority in terms of access to transportation. I can understand and appreciate why they need access to transportation. Transportation is absolutely critical.
What about individuals who want to continue volunteering? Through volunteering, individuals often establish the networking that enables them to land the type of employment they hope to achieve.
We need to ensure that there are adequate resources that provide the opportunity for those individuals to gain employment. Whether someone is in a wheelchair or has a form of disability with another requirement, whether it is a piece of machinery or computer technology, there is a wide variety of things that could be provided.
I would ultimately argue that, if we made this a higher priority, not only would we improve the quality of life of thousands of Canadians from coast to coast to coast but we would also improve the economics of our country, as has been pointed out. There are many jobs out there that individuals with disabilities could be filling if they were provided the legitimate opportunity to engage in a particular occupation or job.
We have to really start thinking of it right from our elementary students all the way up to those individuals in their 50s and 60s who have disabilities and who still want to be engaged in a working environment, let alone everyone who wants to be engaged, generally speaking.
I appreciate the opportunity to speak tonight. I will obviously be supporting the motion.