Human Resources committee  I don't know that I could comment fairly on that. I don't see any attitudinal differences from province to province. I think all our communities are open, and we don't have more employers per se who are more interested in one area than the other. So I would say no.

Human Resources committee  We are recipients of opportunities fund dollars, and we at March of Dimes serve all persons with all disabilities, regardless of type or severity, so we're a generalist provider. I do know agencies out there that are disability specific and I think, especially when it comes to accommodations in the workplace and/or job carving, which is looking at a job and perhaps taking a piece of it that the person's abilities are suited to, that could be very helpful.

Human Resources committee  Yes, and I think it was noted in the report which the panel created just a few months ago. It is a mechanism to support peer-to-peer discussion, business-to-business discussion about the successes that have occurred when an employer—not just the large corporate employers; I'm talking about SMEs here—has hired an individual and it has been successful and, in fact, created a more nimble company, created a more open environment within the company.

Human Resources committee  We see it as absolutely critical. When we work with individuals to determine their suitable occupation or job goal, if they're suitably motivated, I firmly believe we can pretty much find anybody a job. We have to work with employers to encourage them to hire, and then once that job match is made, on-the-job support is critical for success.

Human Resources committee  Yes, certainly. We certainly advocate the clients coming through the program. We are looking for legitimate jobs in a competitive job market, so any client who comes through a March of Dimes program will be matched with a job that is open to all at a competitive wage. What we may do, perhaps, through HRSDC's opportunities fund, is provide a wage subsidy for the employer for a period of time, while our client is learning the skills of the job, to support the employer perhaps through a longer training period for that job, but at the end of that time, we expect the employer to hire at a competitive wage.

Human Resources committee  I think with any program of this nature there can be abuse of the situation. I think that's where our approach and that of many of our colleagues is really approaching the employer on a needs basis. We're not looking at creating a job for someone with a disability; we're looking for a legitimate job that is open because someone has quit, or there's an expansion in the company, so it's a vacancy that needs to be filled anyway.

Human Resources committee  I believe the first question was about employment agencies and what these agencies, similar to ours, can do to increase the number of individuals that achieve employment. In terms of the employment or vocational rehabilitation stream, there are two parts to it. The first part is the assessment of the individual's skills and capabilities.

Human Resources committee  I'll start with the question on the training. I think what comes first is an assessment of the individual's capabilities and skills. Once we have determined what transferable skills the individual has, then we can determine where they should go from there. In some cases, as our colleague over here said, it's really training for the essential skills of the job they're interested in, and we use the HRSDC essential skills program to support that.

Human Resources committee  One of the advantages of appearing at a later meeting of this committee is the opportunity to review the submissions of both HRSDC staff and my sector colleagues. The HRSDC staff provided a comprehensive overview of the state of employment for persons with disabilities and the programs the department offers to respond to the current reality.