Debates of Feb. 5th, 2014

Election of Committee Chairs

[The Acting Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

It being 5:30 p.m., the House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on Motion No. 431 under private members' business.

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #50

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion carried.

The House resumed from January 30 consideration of the motion that Bill C-201, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (travel and accommodation deduction for tradespersons), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Income Tax Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-201 under private members' business.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #51

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion defeated.

The House resumed from February 3 consideration of the motion that Bill C-473, An Act to amend the Financial Administration Act (balanced representation), be read the second time and referred to a committee.

Financial Administration Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the motion at second reading stage of Bill C-473. The question is on the motion.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #52

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion defeated.

The House resumed from February 4 consideration of the motion.

Navigation Restrictions

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

The House will now proceed to the taking of the deferred recorded division on Motion No. 441 under private members' business.

(The House divided on the motion, which was negatived on the following division:)

Vote #53

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

I declare the motion defeated.

[Jim Hillyer, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want the record to show that we wish Don Cherry a happy 80th birthday.

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

That is not a point of order.

It being 6:35 p.m., the House will now proceed to the consideration of private members' business as listed on today's order paper.

The House resumed from November 28, 2013, consideration of the motion.

Persons with Disabilities

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for York South—Weston has three minutes left to conclude his remarks.

I will ask hon. members to take their conversations outside the chamber so that we can finish up with private members' business.

The hon. member for York South—Weston.

[Mike Sullivan, NDP, York South—Weston, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to finish my remarks.

As members will recall, the member for Brant's motion asks the government to endorse the recommendations of a panel that recommended changes in the way the government deals with private sector employers and recommended that these private sector employers be encouraged to change the way they hire persons with disabilities.

In his motion, he suggested that we look at government initiatives. That is one of the areas where, in fact, the government has failed persons with disabilities.

Persons with disabilities have depended on the fact that the government ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in March 2010. That ratification required the government to actually do things to make persons with disabilities have easier lives, better lives, and more employable lives. At the end of two years, the government was to have given the UN a report card on just what it had done in providing these additional supports to persons with disabilities.

March 2012 came and went. March 2013 came and went. We are now approaching March 2014, and there has been no report card. That speaks volumes about the government's real commitment to persons with disabilities.

In addition, in the last budget, the Conservative government made it much more difficult for agencies that deal with persons with disabilities by granting them access to employment and by employing them directly. Some of those agencies are now going to fold. They are now going to close, losing the employment of hundreds of persons with disabilities at the same time. These agencies actually directly employ these people, and now they are being forced to close.

The government claims that the money is still there, but these agencies now have to compete with universities, with hospitals, and with agencies that have huge and deep pockets and the ability to prepare the applications for funding in a much more systematic way than the smaller agencies can. As a result, those agencies are losing their funding, and persons with disabilities are actually losing their jobs.

That is something the government needs to pay attention to. The current government has not paid attention to persons with disabilities in the way it should have. That is but one of the examples.

There are also other examples. The government has heard testimony from persons with disabilities who have said that the income support structures and the disability support structures that exist in this country are not conducive to their working. The EI system cannot deal with disabilities that are not continuous. The health benefits system, in all of the provinces, fails persons with disabilities, and the federal government has not stepped up to the plate to fix that system.

While we applaud and encourage this particular panel's report, and we encourage the government to endorse it, there is so much more the government should and can be doing to support persons with disabilities being employed.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken to the motion before, and I am supportive of the motion, because people who have disabilities need to be accommodated. That is extremely important.

I will not speak for my full time. I will just say that from my perspective, because I do not have the motion in front of me, I am supporting the member in his quest to pass the motion.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to rise in the House. I know there may not be too many occasions when my colleague from Malpeque and I will agree. However, on such an auspicious motion as was brought forward by the member for Brant, I certainly appreciate his support.

It is with pleasure that I rise tonight to speak to Motion No. 430 on strengthening employment for Canadians with disabilities. This motion hits very close to home for me in the fact that my son, Tim, has a disability in regard to mobility as well. He and my colleague, the member for Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia, have become very good friends, having met at my swearing-in just a week ago. Therefore it is with some personal experience that I speak in the House in regard to the situation that has arisen in our own home.

My son is now employed, part-time at least, with a company in Alberta, and he had an opportunity to teach flight aviation in the simulator program at Mount Royal University after his initial accident, which took place over nine years ago.

This motion could not come at a better time, given the skills mismatch looming in many sectors of our economy today. Too many employers are having a hard time finding enough employees, given the candidates for the high-paying, high-quality jobs that are out there today. Something is seriously out of whack when we have people without jobs at the same time as we have jobs without people. Employers in my riding are telling me that the skills mismatch is their number one challenge in many areas. Employment in southwest Manitoba now is at a very minimal level. It is certainly an issue we have dealt with in our community colleges and universities by trying to upgrade in the trades. People should be able to fill the jobs that are there.

This is not just an abstract statistical problem. Not being able to find enough skilled people is holding many businesses back from growth. All too often, applicants for available jobs cannot meet the necessary skill requirements, which means that jobs go unfilled, projects do not get off the ground, and Canada's economy suffers.

This problem is exacerbated by the aging of our population. Older workers are retiring in greater numbers, and that will leave a void in our labour force.

The supply of skills in the workforce is not enough to meet the demand, and this situation is only going to continue to grow. The inability of companies to find the qualified workers they need obviously has a huge impact on their ability to innovate and compete globally. If we do not find a solution, we will miss out on many rich opportunities, and our standard of living will inevitably suffer.

This brings me to the motion before us today. People with disabilities are one of the largest untapped sources of talent in the country. Not too many people know this, but more than 4.4 million people in Canada are defined as having disabilities. That is one out of every seven Canadians, fully 14% of the population. With an aging population, this number will continue to grow.

There are approximately 800,000 working Canadians with disabilities who are employable but are still jobless. Almost half of them have a post-secondary education. In an economy in which some sectors are experiencing skills shortages, and we have people without jobs and jobs without people, this just does not make sense. What does make sense is encouraging businesses to hire more people with disabilities and ensuring that the training programs lead to guaranteed jobs for persons with disabilities.

We know that people with disabilities are significantly under-represented in the workforce. I can affirm that. Just under 60% of people with disabilities are in the workforce compared to 80% of other working-age Canadians. These are statistics members from all parties must work hard to change. First and foremost, people's mindsets, including those in the private sector, have to change.

I am proud to be part of a Conservative government that has delivered results in encouraging the hiring of persons with disabilities. We have seen that it many of the communities I represent, where work programs have taken place and where they have been encouraged to find more work for persons with disabilities in local communities.

We will negotiate an improved version of our flagship training program, the labour market agreements for persons with disabilities, worth $222 million a year, in conjunction with the provinces and territories. That is just one of the ways the government is starting to improve. Current agreements will be replaced by reformed agreements that will be demand-driven to better meet the skills and labour needs of Canadian businesses. They will improve the job opportunities for persons with disabilities.

The opportunities fund for persons with disabilities is being extended, with a budget of $40 million per year, starting in 2015-16. More importantly, it is being improved to provide more demand-driven solutions for persons with disabilities and to provide even better outcomes for persons with disabilities so that they have the skills needed for the jobs that are available.

It is our Conservative government's goal to ensure that all Canadians have the opportunity to have good-quality, well-paying jobs so that they can achieve long-term prosperity. I am proud of our government's record of supporting programs and supports that help persons with disabilities receive training and support to improve their outcomes in the labour market. That is why it is so easy for me to stand in support of such a well-thought-out and important motion regarding improving opportunities for persons with disabilities, as brought forward by my colleague, the member for Brant, and seconded by the member for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke.

I have only been in the House a short time, but I am proud of the leadership the member for Brant has taken on this important issue. I am very much looking forward to working with him and the Minister of Employment and Social Development on continuing our government's strong record of improving the lives of persons with disabilities.

[Christine Moore, NDP, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Motion No. 430 regarding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. This motion refers to measures that are needed in order to give persons with disabilities improved access to stable employment. This means considering constraints related to their disability and recognizing their skills.

It is particularly important that we take the time to discuss this motion because it is related to what is happening in certain areas of my riding where it is increasingly difficult to fill available jobs. For example, there was a mining boom in my region recently, although there has been somewhat of a downturn as of late. Sometimes there are too many jobs available for the number of people who live in these areas. It is sometimes very difficult to fill certain jobs, so companies look to immigration.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we need to look to non-traditional pools of workers, including persons with disabilities, if we want to address this economic challenge in my riding. If we are successful at integrating persons with disabilities into the labour market, perhaps we will overcome the economic challenges in my region.

Integrating persons with a disability into the labour market requires a pan-Canadian strategy and therefore the collaboration of the provinces, territories and first nations. Unfortunately, the government did not include the collaborative approach in its proposals, depriving us of expertise that would help us integrate persons with disabilities into the labour market.

Many community organizations help persons with disabilities. For example, in the city next to mine, the Club de l'amitié des handicapés works to integrate persons with disabilities by organizing activities. It has built up expertise. However, since these community organizations fall under provincial jurisdiction, we are missing out on their expertise.

Still, these organizations can help us by sharing what works for them in their region. By getting involved in information sharing between the provinces and territories, we could have come up with a much better approach to integrating persons with disabilities into the labour market. The refusal to work with the provinces is hindering our overall objective. It is too bad.

Furthermore, the panel's report does not take a close enough look at the employability constraints that prevent disabled people from finding work, for example, inflexible schedules or the quality of the job. These criteria, which can deter people from working, are not mentioned in this report. It does not consider specific constraints related to a person's disability.

For example, if a disabled person's accessible transportation is not available before 9 a.m., they will obviously not be able to work a 9 to 5 job, since they would be late for work every day. There are constraints to that job. When there is a very strict schedule, that person loses a job opportunity.

We need to look at these specific constraints, which sometimes have simple solutions. There are people who would like to work, who feel able to work and who have the intellectual ability and the energy to work, but who cannot do so because of technicalities such as lack of transportation. If these simple issues had been addressed through consultations with disabled people, this could have been much more effective.

The analyses published by Statistics Canada clearly show the correlation between disability and low income.

Persons with disabilities are sometimes unable to find work because of constraints that are essentially easy to handle. As a result, they have low incomes. When you have a low income, it is often more difficult to acquire additional skills to find another job later. When you have a hard time making ends meet because you do not have a job, you obviously cannot afford to get additional training at university to improve your job prospects.

When we talk about persons with disabilities, we must look at the big picture and take a collaborative approach.

Unfortunately, although this motion contains some improvements and tackles the issue, some parts are not quite complete and could be improved. That does not mean that we have to oppose the motion. However, I think that if we really want to improve the job prospects of persons with disabilities, we must do better. The motion leaves something to be desired.

The participation rate of people with a temporary disability is lower than during times when they have no disability. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 55% of men and 39% of women without a disability worked the equivalent of a full-time schedule all year, compared with 21% and 14% of those with six years of disability.

These figures clearly show just how much a disability, even a temporary one, can affect a person's ability to remain active in the labour market. Accordingly, people with a disability are at a greater risk of having a low income, especially when their labour force participation is interrupted.

Canadians with a disability are affected in two ways. The disability hinders them physically or mentally, but it also makes them more likely to live in precarious circumstances. It often becomes more and more difficult to break such an impasse.

If I may digress for just a moment, I would point out that workplace mental health problems cost the Canadian economy $20.7 billion. It is an important issue. Mental illness is usually a temporary disability, but unfortunately, it can sometimes be permanent.

According to another statistic, every week almost 500,000 wage earners miss work because of mental illness. It seems to me we have a lot to think about. We have to do a better job of protecting the health and safety of our workers.

Gender inequality that is, unfortunately, already widespread within the labour market is even more marked when we compare the hours worked by women and men with disabilities. I think that is another point to consider.

Maybe we should pay special attention to what is happening to women with disabilities, who, sadly, struggle with tremendous instability. Women already have a hard time earning as much as men, and when a disability is thrown into the mix, they often end up in very unstable situations.

I would like to close by suggesting that the member who moved the motion should really think about women with disabilities, who are facing instability on both of these fronts.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

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.

[Cheryl Gallant, Conservative, Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, ON]

Mr. Speaker, as the member of Parliament for Renfrew—Nipissing—Pembroke, I am pleased to support my colleague, the member of Parliament for Brant, regarding his motion to endorse rethinking disability in the private sector and encourage greater private-public partnerships to increase job opportunities for persons with disabilities.

The member of Parliament for Brant has a sincere interest in assisting people with disabilities. I am pleased to acknowledge his efforts as chair of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons With Disabilities.

I was also delighted with the support he gave me with respect to my private member's bill, Bill C-462, An Act restricting the fees charged by promoters of the disability tax credit and making consequential amendments to the Tax Court of Canada Act. Bill C-462 was passed unanimously by all members of the House of Commons and for that, on behalf of persons with disabilities, I thank everyone.

The motion before us is very timely as it fits in with our Conservative government's focus on jobs, growth, and long-term prosperity.

We have all heard of the skills mismatch in this country. Businesses all across the country are calling it the greatest obstacle to their continued growth. Our Prime Minister has called it the most serious economic issue of our time.

We have hundreds of thousands of jobs going unfilled, and yet we have about 800,000 working-age Canadians with disabilities who are unemployed even though they are capable and want to work. About half of this group have college or university education.

Just under 60% of people with disabilities are in the workforce, compared to 80% of other working-age Canadians. There is a clear mismatch here. Businesses are telling us they cannot find workers with the right skills. At the same time, people with these particular skills, who just happen to be disabled, cannot find work. Here is the crux of the matter: we are ignoring an important source of talent.

People with disabilities can be part of the answer to our skill shortage. When the panel on labour market opportunities for persons with disabilities interviewed employers across the country, it found that there was considerable openness to the idea of hiring people with disabilities. It received positive reactions from businesses of all sizes and from a broad range of industry sectors.

Those employers who already had employees with disabilities were more open to hiring more people with disabilities. In fact, they were enthusiastic. They had seen how much people with disabilities contribute to their businesses. People with disabilities are just like all workers. They are highly motivated to do well and they work hard. They make excellent employees.

The cost of accommodating a person with a disability is often quite low or even nonexistent. As I said before, the panel's report makes it clear that accommodation costs are usually so manageable that they should not be a barrier to hiring a person with a disability.

For a small investment, employers get very good value. For one thing, businesses with employees with disabilities have less turnover. People with disabilities can give businesses a competitive advantage. Why then are employers not hiring more people with disabilities? It must be that these workers currently do not have the skills for the jobs that are available. That is why our government is responding to this motion directly by investing in programs that will equip people with disabilities with the skills they need for the jobs that are available.

In economic action plan 2013, we announced that the Government of Canada would work with the provinces and the territories on a new generation of labour market agreements for persons with disabilities, to more effectively connect Canadians with disabilities with employers and with jobs. These new agreements will be negotiated this year and will deliver better results by being driven by demand and have more employer involvement.

We provide $222 million a year for these agreements, which support approximately 300,000 interventions every year for people with disabilities through more than 100 programs designed and delivered by the provinces. We have rewritten these agreements to better meet the labour needs—the particular skills employers need—and Canadian businesses will improve the employment prospects of people with disabilities through these programs.

Economic action plan 2013 also maintained funding of $40 million per year for the opportunities fund for persons with disabilities starting in 2015-16. The opportunities fund is a subsidized job program that will help Canadians with disabilities gain the hands-on experience they need to fully participate in the labour market. Since 2006-07, the opportunities fund has helped more than 34,000 clients develop skills and gain work experience.

Economic action plan 2013 proposed that employers and community organizations be more involved in local project design and delivery to ensure a stronger link to the labour market needs. This will improve the outcomes for people with disabilities.

Some of the other measures that were announced in the action plan include additional funding for the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, some of which will support research related to the labour market participation of people with disabilities; support for the creation of the Canadian employers disability forum, now officially incorporated under the name Canadian Business SensAbility, as recommended by the panel; and the extension on an ongoing basis of the $15-million-per-year enabling accessibility fund, which defrays the costs of construction and renovations related to improving physical accessibility, including the addition of a workplace accessibility stream.

We want to see the private sector do more. According to a Conference Board survey, in the last 20 years employer investment in workplace training has declined by nearly 40%. This has hit persons with disabilities harder than most, for they often require more training.

Canadian businesses spend about 35% less on workplace training than their U.S. counterparts do. This is why, if we are going to tackle the problem of skill shortages, we are all going to have to pull together. Governments at all levels, employers, institutions, and yes, even individual job seekers are going to have to co-operate for the common good.

In conclusion, I would like to commend the hon. member for Brant for introducing the motion, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak today in support of his efforts.