Human Resources committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair. It's a pleasure to be here. Let me just read some opening remarks. Members of this standing committee will hear from a variety of witnesses on a wide range of issues regarding this bill and the vision of a barrier-free Canada. There is much to applaud in this historic bill, which seeks to advance the principles of full and equal participation of Canadians with disabilities in all areas of society, whatever a person's abilities and disabilities.

Human Resources committee  Right.

Human Resources committee  The concept of progressive realization, which is identified earlier on as one of the guiding principles of this bill, certainly reflects international practice at the UN, and thinking in other jurisdictions. I think what we need to do is flesh out what that actually means. I'm of the school of thought that, as we have seen in some provincial laws on accessibility—whether that's Ontario, Manitoba, or Nova Scotia now—there be an aspirational statement.

Human Resources committee  I used to teach at Carleton in the school of public administration. I lived here for many years. Both of my daughters were born here. I now live on the west coast, in Victoria. This bill, to me, with respect, reflects that it was written in the bubble of Ottawa. This is written from the point of view of traditional management focus, organizational focus.

Human Resources committee  I believe in enforcement. We need a strong law, but we also need to send message of support and education and persuasion as well.

Human Resources committee  In a few countries.... I think it's Peru where they actually in the legislation enumerate by disability or types of impairment. They have broad categories, but they do that. Another thing you might want to consider specifying in the bill is that the vice-chair or the chair be designated, or that they rotate.

Human Resources committee  The remarks about the employment equity plan are a really important reminder of what we already have within Canada at the national level, and similarly with the court challenges program, connected with the Charter of Rights. When the charter was brought in, there was a debate. There was the famous “Obstacles” report of 1980-81, looking at disability.

Human Resources committee  The way I would answer is to say that my own university has an employment equity plan. It probably wouldn't without the federal legislation. We briefly had employment equity laws in B.C., as did Ontario, briefly. Both had governments that removed those laws. In my opinion, we only have employment equity in my university because of the federal contractors program.

Human Resources committee  There's always a potential for charter issues. In B.C. many years ago—Mr. Hogg will remember this—we had a court case around the right to have interpreters in hospitals. That became a charter case. That perhaps has not been as well implemented as it ought to have been, but different groups have tended it....

Human Resources committee  There's only so much you can push for in legislation. I think what I'm hearing from my colleagues, particularly from People First, is...and I know the minister has talked about this briefly before. Again, on day one if this is passed and gets royal assent, what I think Canadians with disabilities are looking for in the larger context is an agenda of accessibility and inclusion that would be around programming and services and investments.

Human Resources committee  Well, there are costs to everything. There are the opportunity costs of all that talent and energy that's been lost over the years of the people who haven't been able to participate. We need to recognize that part of the reason for the perpetuation of systemic barriers and obstacles is that there are real concerns....

Human Resources committee  Thank you, sir. Good morning, everyone. It's nice to be back, although I say that somewhat ambivalently, coming from Victoria. The weather is a bit of a waker-upper. I'm going to focus in my opening remarks specifically on the employment insurance sickness benefit program. I'm happy to talk about other programs and other issues later on.

Human Resources committee  I don't think we really know, to be honest. First of all, the category of episodic disability is a very multi-dimensional one, a very complicated one. There are a variety of trajectories. For some people with episodic disability, their experiences of progressive trajectory have declined.

Human Resources committee  The EI sickness benefit is probably the most flexible of the ones we're talking about, because it's focused on the short term. It probably has the least onerous medical assessment procedure, compared to the disability tax credit. It is certainly far less onerous than the Canada pension plan disability program.

Human Resources committee  Yes. That's a pretty traditional definition of social insurance program premiums or contributions. What's interesting is that often Canadians themselves don't see them as taxes but as contributions or premiums like those to a life insurance program, but in social insurance. If I can be very specific on the idea of expanding EI sickness benefits from 15 to 26 weeks, we're looking perhaps at a financial cost of somewhere between $50 million a year and $100 million a year.