Madam Speaker, I thank the member for Nanaimo—Ladysmith for his advocacy on behalf of the constituents in his riding.
As the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have the opportunity to work together to ensure that our recovery efforts are disability inclusive and leave no one behind.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we quickly created the COVID-19 disability advisory group, which ensured that the interests and needs of persons with disabilities were taken into account in all aspects of our decision-making and emergency response plan.
The Government of Canada implemented broad inclusive economic measures to insulate individuals, families and businesses from the economic shock. We also focused targeted investments in populations that were highly vulnerable during the crisis, including Canadians with disabilities. These included additional income supports for students with disabilities and a one-time payment for persons with disabilities to help offset extraordinary expenses. We also made investments in a new national workplace accessibility program to support employment opportunities and in an accessible technology program to support access to technological supports.
We know that our support systems were challenged and stretched. Significant systematic gaps were revealed and long-overdue conversations on systemic discrimination were centre stage. We are now taking significant action to address these gaps through Canada's first-ever disability inclusion action plan. Our disability inclusion action plan will have a new Canadian disability benefit, which is direct income support for Canadians with disabilities; a better process to determine eligibility for government disability programs; and benefits based on a modern and inclusive understanding of disability and a robust employment strategy.
Persons with disabilities in Canada are under-represented in the labour market and continue to face significant barriers to employment. Many are unemployed, underemployed or precariously employed.
Canada's disability employment strategy is the next step forward. This strategy will include a significant investment in training and will support individuals looking to enter the workforce, to re-enter the workforce after injury or illness or to advance in their current employment. It will support entrepreneurs with disabilities, as well as employers looking to build confidence, by providing inclusive workplaces. It will also promote the business case for disability inclusion and champion the innovation, creativity and problem-solving capabilities of the untapped labour pool that is our citizens with disabilities.
The Government of Canada is committed to ensuring that all Canadians can live in dignity, including persons with disabilities.