Thank you for inviting Human Resources and Skills Development Canada to today's hearings. We are very pleased to be here this morning to discuss employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
I will begin by speaking to the current situation of persons with disabilities and the current labour market conditions in Canada. Then, I will provide an overview of HRSDC's programs.
[English]
It is estimated that currently more than three million working-age Canadians have a disability. Disability is much more common among older Canadians. As Canada's population ages, we can expect the number of people in the workplace who are confronting disabilities to grow. Canada's labour force growth will continue to slow down in the next years as a result of demographic changes. Therefore, further efforts to assist persons with disabilities in finding and keeping jobs will help address skill shortages and support economic growth.
At present, about one-third of employers report problems finding workers with the right skills, and shortages in some regions and sectors already exist. There are more than 240,000 job vacancies in Canada as of November 2012. Vacancies have been an ongoing upward trend in the last year, with close to 10,000 more vacancies reported by employers in November 2012 compared to a year earlier. Not surprisingly, growth in jobs that go unfilled was strongest in the prairie provinces.
People with disabilities represent an untapped pool of qualified labour and, while their situation has improved over time, their employment rate remains low compared to that of other Canadians. For example, in 2010 it was about 51%, compared to 75% for persons without disabilities. There are approximately 800,000 individuals with disabilities in Canada who are not currently employed yet are capable of working. Almost half of them have some post-secondary education.
Moreover, the average total income for persons with a disability is about $27,000, compared to nearly $38,000 for those without a disability. Women with disabilities earn even less, an average of about $22,000, compared to $31,000 for men with disabilities.
Education has a huge impact on levelling the playing field for persons with disabilities, and while it has been on the rise, it still lags behind those without disabilities. An estimated 14% of working-age adults with disabilities have a university degree, compared to 24% for those without disabilities.
Improving labour market outcomes for persons with disabilities is a priority for the government. However, the federal government is only one of many partners that have an impact on their labour market outcomes. Employers in the private sector have an important role to play in employing Canadians with disabilities.
[Translation]
The recent report of the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities showed that, while there are several private sector successes in Canada in the employment of persons with disabilities, many businesses still have misconceptions about how to hire persons with disabilities and what it costs to accommodate them in the workplace.
The panel found a proven business case for hiring persons with disabilities. Often, accommodation costs are low and returns on these small investments can be very high. The report calls for employer leadership and employer-driven approaches to improve labour market outcomes for persons with disabilities.
[English]
Our department also supports the inclusion of people with disabilities in the economy through several targeted programs.
Labour market agreements for persons with disabilities make up the government's single largest source of support to help persons with disabilities enter and stay in the labour market. Through these agreements, the government transfers $218 million annually to the provinces, delivering close to 300,000 interventions.
The opportunities fund for persons with disabilities provides $30 million each year to assist individuals who have little or no labour force attachment to prepare for, obtain, and keep employment, or become self-employed. In 2011-12 approximately 5,400 clients were served, 1,400 found employment, 300 returned to school, and 3,300 enhanced their employability.
Economic action plan 2012 invested an additional $30 million over three years in the fund to help more persons with disabilities get work experience with small and medium-sized businesses and ensure that employers are aware of the invaluable contribution people with disabilities can make.
In addition to these targeted programs, we also help persons with disabilities enter the labour market through the labour market agreements and the youth employment strategy.
Through the labour market agreements, the government transfers $500 million annually to provinces and territories, providing approximately 400,000 interventions in 2009-10. The interventions assist Canadians who are under-represented in the labour force in enhancing employability and skills. This includes persons with disabilities.
The youth employment strategy provides over $300 million annually, which in 2011-12 supported about 60,000 young Canadians, including those with disabilities. In particular, the skills link component is targeted to youth facing barriers to employment, including youth with disabilities.
The Canada pension plan disability program, which is the largest federal income security program for working-age people with disabilities, supports labour market re-entry by providing beneficiaries support in their efforts to re-engage in paid employment through a variety of program and policy measures.
[Translation]
The government has also moved on a number of other fronts. In 2010, it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It provides Canada Student Grants and related supports to students with permanent disabilities. It provides funding to the Mental Health Commission of Canada to develop Canada's first National Standard for Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace. The government also funds stakeholder efforts to improve inclusion of Canadians with disabilities through the Social Development Partnerships Program. It funds improvements to the built environment through the Enabling Accessibility Fund, with over 800 projects funded so far.
In conclusion, people with disabilities represent a valuable source of potential labour, and we want to give them every opportunity to get the development and training they need to join the workforce. HRSDC continues to be mindful of the critical need to address labour market challenges of persons with disabilities. We look forward to seeing the results of your work and any recommendations for future policy directions.
Thank you.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
It's a rather exciting day for me personally because, as you may know, yesterday for private member's business I submitted my motion which deals with this very subject because of the importance not only to the community of persons with disabilities, but also to communities in general.
This is an area where I think there's much going on, as you've put forward today. I really think, too, that it can be a non-partisan effort to up the game, especially in the area of the private sector, to help companies realize the great asset that persons with disabilities can provide to their business. The business case was made, as you know, in the report that was just tabled. For those of us who've taken a look at that report, there are some shining examples in the country. So I preface my questions with that.
In terms of upping that game, and for all members of Parliament to be able to get on the same page, what are some of the innovations you've noticed in the time you've been working on this file? What has actually been happening in terms of the private sector? There has been some progress, as mentioned in your opening remarks, but can you give us some first-hand examples?
:
The panel heard from quite a wide spectrum. They consulted across the country with employers, all sizes of businesses from all sectors, but you can certainly put them under different themes.
There were questions along the same lines as Monika's. In addition there were questions such as what does it mean for them to integrate into the culture of the company. Will it slow the company's productivity? Where do they go if they want to hire a person with a disability? What tools do they have if they need help to assist the person, whether it's physical or whether it's coaching? There were all these spheres of questioning.
The interesting thing that came out of some of those consultations was the fact that most employers were quite willing and interested in finding out more and in being able to address it, either because of shortages in their company or their spheres of activities. Also, they saw the benefit of hiring persons with disabilities, to have them on their staff, and integrate them into the company. Those were some of the questions that came out and some of the concerns that were addressed.
They were also able to identify some good practices that some companies have come up with. Some are leaders, and there was a lot of discussion about enterprise and how leadership must come from the top. Some of the businesses, some of the private sector companies, need to have a champion at the top. Then it goes down from there.
There are lots of barriers, but also lots of good practices.
:
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. I'm going to split my time with Madame Boutin-Sweet.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.
I have two quick questions. I'll ask both at the front end and leave you the time to respond.
The first one is that my colleague is quite right in that we've been studying this since 1981, in a formal way, anyway. All committees in the past have been able to put partisanship aside on this issue. They've made some really solid recommendations. I think it would be in our interest not to waste time in this committee by revisiting work that's already been done. So I wonder if you could provide us with a report card on the recommendations that have been made in the past and tell us which ones have already been implemented, so that we don't go back over old work.
My second question is.... I suppose it's a question, but it will start with a comment. If we want to be serious about having a comprehensive economic strategy to deal with challenges experienced by people with disabilities, I don't think it's good enough to just talk about the training and assistance that we're providing. It would be really helpful if we could also broaden that conversation to talk about systemic barriers to that participation. I'm thinking about things such as access to housing, access to transportation, income supports, and all of the broader range of issues that, obviously, would have an impact on somebody's participation both in the economy and in society. I wonder if there's a point person, either in your department or at HRSDC, who coordinates with other ministries to develop that comprehensive approach, and if we could perhaps get that person to appear before the committee.
I'll just leave it at that.