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Advancing the Inclusion of People with Disabilities 2006

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Chapter Three: Learning, Skills, and Employment

As a group, people with disabilities have lower levels of education than those without disabilities. They also have lower levels of employment. The rate of employment is higher for those with higher levels of education, which suggests that attaining higher levels of education can improve employment opportunities for people with disabilities as it does for the rest of the Canadian population. However, education alone does not explain all of the differences in employment status. Even with education, people with disabilities do not achieve the same general labour market outcomes as those without. Other serious barriers include negative attitudes, inaccessible infrastructure, and the lack of various supports.

Post-secondary students with disabilities face an array of compounding barriers, which might help to explain the relatively low rates of entry into and completion of post-secondary education. A lack of supports, accommodation, and accessible physical infrastructure can mean that students are not able to participate in their classes, move around and live on campus, use the cafeteria and bathrooms, do research, or use the library and computer labs. Even when supports and accommodations are available, students are not always told how to access them. As well, students with disabilities sometimes are not able to access adequate career and employment guidance services, which can lead to weak employment outcomes. Also, student with disabilities often face financial barriers to attending universities and colleges.

Many people with disabilities have difficulty finding jobs after completing their post-secondary education. They often do not obtain work experience within their program of study, and may not feel adequately prepared for the transition to the workplace. Career and employment services offered in universities and colleges can help students access internships, prepare résumés, and provide career assessments. However, many students with disabilities do not access these services, often because the services are inadequate or because the students don't know they exist.⁵¹

People with disabilities are an untapped resource; many are available to address labour shortages. Annual labour supply per capita is projected to decline beginning around 2012. New entrants into the labour market, such as people with disabilities, youth, and immigrants, could help to offset this situation.

In the Western provinces, where labour shortage is felt more acutely in the context of a booming economy, people with disabilities have more employment opportunities than their counterparts in other Canadian provinces. For example, the employment rate of people with disabilities in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta increased from 48.9%, 50.3%, and 49.4% respectively in 1999 to 56.3%, 55.6%, and 54.4% in 2004. These increases in employment rates indicate that people with disabilities are increasingly recognized as a valuable labour force.

In the provinces with weaker economies, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed, despite noticeable improvements in the last six years. For example, the employment rate for people with disabilities in Newfoundland and Labrador increased from 20.6% in 1999 to 28.3% in 2004, while in Prince Edward Island it increased from 32.6% to 36.3% in the same period.

This also means that improvement in the overall economy can also result in improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities and other groups.

Based on data from the Participation and Activities Limitation Survey of 2001, we know that of the 52% of people with disabilities not in the labour market, 28% want to work and indicate that it is environmental barriers—not their functional limitations—that prevent them from working. To minimize these types of barriers, the federal government, in collaboration with other levels of government and with disability organizations and the private sector, put in place a number of programs and policies that are discussed below.

1. Learning and Skills

Overview of the educational attainment of people with disabilities

Data from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) shows that between 1999 and 2004, the number of people with a post-secondary education increased. Despite this improvement, important gaps remain in comparison to people without disabilities.

For example, the number of people with disabilities with high school education or less decreased from 60.2% in 1999 to 49.1% in 2004 (compared to a decrease from 51.9% to 43.6%, in the same period for those without disabilities).

With respect to post-secondary education, the rate at which people with disabilities complete university degrees has increased steadily from about 10% in 1999 to about 13% in 2004. This increase has come at the same pace as for those without disabilities for whom there was an increase from about 17% in 1999 to about 21% in 2004, as shown in figure 4.

It is against this background that the Government of Canada invests its efforts to encourage and help people with disabilities enter into and graduate from post-secondary education institutions across Canada.

a. Financial aid for students

Canada Student Loans Program

The mission of the Canada Student Loans Program (CSLP) is to promote accessibility to post-secondary education for students with a demonstrated financial need. The program lowers financial barriers by providing loans and grants to ensure Canadians have an opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to participate in the economy and society.

Financial assistance to students with disabilities

The Government of Canada recognizes the financial challenges faced by students with permanent disabilities in their pursuit of a post-secondary education.

Under the CSLP, post-secondary students with permanent disabilities receive assistance with relaxed eligibility criteria for full-time education and an extended lifetime limit of 520 weeks of loan assistance. Students without permanent disabilities are eligible for only 340 weeks.⁵²

The CSLP offers a permanent disability benefit, in the form of loan forgiveness, for students who as a result of their permanent disability cannot repay their loans without undue hardship. Before June 29, 2005, this benefit was limited to direct-loan, full-time borrowers whose permanent disability began before the six months following completion of studies. It is expected in the 2005-06 loan year that about 5,000 students with permanent disabilities will qualify for this permanent disability forgiveness at an estimated cost of $2.7 million.  

On August 1, 2005, a new up-front grant for students with permanent disabilities of up to $2,000 a year was introduced. The Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities replaced the former Canada Study Grant for High-Need Students with Permanent Disabilities. Previously, students had to have the maximum amount of loans, penalizing those with low assessed needs. It is expected in the 2005-06 loan year that over 9,500 students with permanent disabilities will benefit from this new grant at an estimated cost of $18 million. This represents a significant increase from the previous year where only 6,000 students with disabilities benefited from this grant, at an estimated cost of $15 million.  

Table 3: Canada Student Loans Program expenditures

Program/Initiative	Amount ($ millions/year 2004-05)53	Recipients
Canada Study Grant for High Need Students with Permanent Disabilities54	$4.6	2,914
Canada Study Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities55	$17.4	7,470
Permanent Disability Benefit (2005-06 loan year estimate)	$2.7	5,000

Internal evaluation/audit

The Office of the Auditor General is conducting a performance audit of federal support to students in post-secondary education to be tabled in Parliament in April 2007. The objective of the audit is to determine whether the federal government's programs to support students in post-secondary education meet intended objectives, while ensuring that the necessary controls are in place. Grants for people with disabilities are being included in this audit. A performance audit is a systematic and objective examination of government activities that provides Parliament with an assessment of how those activities perform. Its scope can include an examination of economy, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental effects of government activities; procedures to measure effectiveness; accountability relationships; protection of public assets; and compliance with authorities.

b. Promoting learning

National Office of Literacy and Learning

The National Literacy Program promoted literacy as an essential component of a learning society and seeks to make Canada's social, economic, and political life more accessible to people with low literacy skills. These people include the non-employed or under-employed, Aboriginal people, new Canadians, and people with disabilities such as deafness, blindness, or learning disabilities.

Among the projects that the National Literacy Program funded in 2005-06, six were aimed at organizations that deal primarily with people with disabilities. These projects received a total of $905,614 in funding.

The Office of Learning Technologies Program acted as a catalyst for innovation in the area of technology-enabled learning and skills development and promotes innovative, lifelong learning opportunities for Canadians by creating Community Learning Networks. The networks' projects take place in areas with high unemployment rates or within groups that have a low attachment to the labour market. The groups include residents of rural and remote areas, the unemployed or underemployed, new immigrants and aboriginals, and people with disabilities.

The Office of Learning Technologies provided financial support to 16 projects that provide learning opportunities primarily to people with disabilities. In 2005-06, these projects received $1,612,498 in funding.

On April 1, 2006, the National Literacy Program, the Office of Learning Technologies Program, and the Learning Initiatives Program were integrated into a single cohesive program: the Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program. This integrated program is administered by the National Office of Literacy and Learning.

By integrating these three closely related programs, Human Resources and Social Development Canada has created a more coherent approach to delivering its adult learning and literacy activities.

In future years, inputs to the Federal Disability Reports will be submitted under the program name of Adult Learning, Literacy and Essential Skills Program within the National Office of Literacy and Learning.

c. First Nations and Inuit

Indian and Northern Affairs Canada's (INAC) primary role is to support First Nations and Inuit in developing healthy, sustainable communities and in achieving their economic and social aspirations. It is responsible for delivering services such as education, housing, and community infrastructure to Status Indians on reserve, and for delivering social assistance and social support services to residents on reserve with the goal of ensuring access to services comparable to those available to other Canadian residents.⁵⁶

INAC's programs therefore encompass more than one area. In terms of education, its Special Education Program delivers the support described below.⁵⁷

The Special Education Program was created in 2002-03 to provide critical programs and supports to First Nations children residing on reserve who are affected with severe to profound behavioural or physical challenges. Such services are fundamental components of every elementary and secondary education program in Canada.

Special education programming is provided by all provinces and territories, usually as a matter of education law or regulation. This type of programming is intended to meet the unique needs of students suffering the effects of moderate-to-severe and severe-to-profound physical, emotional, behavioural, communication, cognitive, or learning disabilities or disorders.

Objectives and services of the Special Education Program

The objective of the Special Education Program is to help First Nations on-reserve special education students to improve their achievement levels. It does this by providing access to special education programs and services that are culturally sensitive and meet the provincial standards in the locality of the First Nation. Resources are targeted for those students assessed as having high-costs special needs.

The Special Education Program is an investment in programs and services for on-reserve First Nations children with identified special needs. First Nations children, including those in grades K4 and K5 who have been screened by educators as having special needs, are assessed by specialists who formally identify their special needs. Once those needs have been identified, program and services available to the children generally include, but are not limited to, providing support such as hiring additional teaching staff, teaching assistants, personal attendants, speech-language pathologists, counsellors, specialized programs, and assistive technology to meet the child's special needs and enhance their quality of education.

Program impact and results

The number of students enrolled in kindergarten, primary, and secondary school who were identified as requiring high-cost special education was almost three times higher in 2004-05 than in 1998-99, growing from 3,955 students in 1998-99 to 10,535 students in 2004-05. There has been an average increase of more than 15% per year since 1998. In total, 16,238 assessments were completed. Of these, 10,535 were identified as requiring high-cost services.

Budget

The 2006-07 budget for the Special Education Program is $118 million.  

2. Employment

a. Overview of the employment situation of people with disabilities

Overall, the employment situation of people with disabilities has improved over the last six years. The percentage of people with disabilities who were employed full-time, full-year increased from 42.4% in 1999 to 46.4% in 2004, compared to an increase from 62.8% to 65.3% for people without disabilities in the same period. As Figure 5 shows, while an important gap remains between those with disabilities and those without, the increase in the employment rate was greater for people with disabilities than for people without disabilities (4.0% vs. 2.5%) between 1999 and 2004.

People with disabilities are also somewhat less likely to be employed part-time or part-year than are people without disabilities (18.4% vs. 21%).⁵⁸ However, the gap is much smaller than in relation to full-time, full-year employment. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 6, people with disabilities are much more likely to be unemployed or out of the labour force than are people without disabilities (35.2% vs. 13.7%).

b. Support for general employment programs

Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities

Under the Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities, the Government of Canada shares costs with provinces' programs and services to improve the employment situation of Canadians with disabilities by enhancing their employability, increasing the employment opportunities available to them, and building on the existing knowledge base.

Provincial labour market programs and services funded under the Agreements are consistent with one or more of the following priority areas:

• education and training,
• employment participation,
• employment opportunities,
• connecting employers and people with disabilities; and
• building knowledge.

Through this approach, provincial governments have the flexibility to determine their own priorities and approaches to address the needs of people with disabilities in their jurisdictions. Examples of interventions that provinces may choose to jointly fund under this initiative include:

• job coaching and mentoring;
• pre-employment training and skills upgrading;
• post-secondary education;
• assistive aids and devices;
• wage subsidies;
• accessible job placement networks;
• self-employment; and
• other workplace supports.

Reporting under this initiative includes objectives, descriptions, target populations, and expenditures for programs and services funded. Reporting also includes the following indicators:

• number of participants in programs and services;
• number of participants who complete a program or service where there is a specific start and end point to the intervention; and
• number of participants who obtained or were maintained in employment where the program or service supports this activity.

The provincial Ministers agreed to report on societal indicators of labour market participation for their jurisdiction or at the national level, subject to the data available. They agreed on the following common indicators:

• employment rate of working-age people with disabilities;
• employment income; and
• level of education attained.

In addition, efforts are under way to formally evaluate the Agreements through a joint partnership with the Government of Canada in three jurisdictions: Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Work has begun on all three, but Manitoba's is the most advanced. Evaluations are both costly and time-consuming to complete. The Manitoba evaluation was conceived in 2003-04 and its expected completion date is June 2007. Its total estimated cost is $300,000. These three jurisdictions are currently discussing their next steps and timing for moving these evaluations forward.

The Government of Canada contributes 50% of the costs that provinces incur for funded programs and services, up to the amount of the federal allocation identified in each bilateral agreement.

Table 4: 2005-06 Federal contribution for Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities

Province	Federal Contribution
Newfoundland and Labrador	$4,578,367
Prince Edward Island	$1,375,659
Nova Scotia	$8,290,346
New Brunswick	$5,950,848
Quebec	$45,892,915
Ontario	$76,411,477
Manitoba	$8,964,971
Saskatchewan	$10,852,608
Alberta	$25,190,332
British Columbia	$30,744,084
Total Contribution	$218,251,607

Source of fund: Consolidated Revenue Fund

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities

The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities program is designed to assist people with disabilities return to work if they are otherwise ineligible for employment programs through the Employment Insurance program.

The objectives of the Opportunities Fund are:

• To assist eligible people with disabilities to prepare for and obtain employment or self-employment, as well as to develop the skills necessary to maintain it.
• To support effective and innovative activities such as, but not limited to:
  • encouraging employers to provide individuals with work opportunities and experience;
  • assisting individuals to increase their employment skill level; and
  • helping individuals to start their own business.
• To work in partnership with organizations for people with disabilities, including the private sector, to support innovative approaches to integrate individuals with disabilities into employment or self-employment; and to address barriers to an individual's labour market participation.

Outcomes focus on the degree to which the program helped people with disabilities achieve greater employability, attain employment, or return to school.

Fund recipients

The Opportunities Fund serves businesses, organizations such as public health and educational institutions, tribal/band councils, municipal governments, and individuals. Provincial/territorial government departments and agencies require Ministerial approval to be included in the class of recipients.

Summary of activities

Between 300 and 350 agreements a year that provide direct financial assistance to individuals with disabilities to obtain skills for employment, to establish a new business or to obtain the necessary supports and services to become employed.

About 400 to 450 agreements a year with employers and non-governmental organizations, including seven to nine projects a year delivered under the Opportunities Fund National Projects option.

On average, about 4,800 clients have been served each year since the program was established in 1997. This number has increased over the last two years and it is expected that over 5,000 clients will be served in 2006. Approximately 33% of clients served have gained employment. The remainder of the clients continue to work with service providers on their return-to-work action plans. Some clients return to school, some are referred to a more appropriate resource, and some drop out for health reasons.

Evaluations

The results from the 2001 Summative Evaluation indicated that the program offers a broad and flexible variety of interventions for clients who are not job-ready; participants improved their employability, self-esteem and overall quality of life; and employers accessed skilled employees and increased their understanding of barriers faced by people with disabilities. Key findings suggested a more comprehensive and cohesive labour market strategy for people with disabilities was needed.

The Opportunities Fund is now subject to a second summative evaluation of the program for 2003. The first phase of this evaluation is now complete. It involved interviews with key informants, surveys of employers, service providers, community coordinators and program participants, case studies, and a literature review. Six technical reports were produced, with each report representing a separate line of evidence. Key findings from the technical reports will be summarized and reported in the Phase I Final Evaluation Report, which will be released in December 2006.  

Preliminary findings based on the first phase of this evaluation suggest positive impacts. Overall, 71% of clients surveyed were satisfied and only 14% were dissatisfied with the programs and services received. Most notable is that the objectives of the Opportunities Fund continue to be relevant, and that the program fills a service gap in helping people with disabilities who are not well served by other federal or provincial government programs. In general, flexibility has emerged as one of the strongest characteristics of the program. The program also continues to forge strong partnerships and provide holistic/comprehensive approaches to assisting people with disabilities.

The second phase of this evaluation will involve comparing Opportunities Fund client data with provincial data to determine whether the Fund's clients were also served by programming under the former Employment Assistance Programs for Persons with Disabilities. Information-sharing agreements must be secured with each province/territory in order to proceed. These agreements are currently being negotiated with five provinces that will serve as the sample group for this phase of the evaluation. The goal is for the agreements to be in place early in 2007 and then begin the process of preparing for the data matching. This phase of the evaluation will address the issue of overlap and duplication in services for people with disabilities, although preliminary findings suggest that the Opportunities Fund fills a service gap in this area. The final report of the evaluation is expected in late fall of 2007.

International recognition of the Opportunities Fund

The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission published its final report, Workability II: Solutions - People with Disabilities in the Open Workplace in December 2005. The report identifies practical ways of improving the employment of people with disabilities and, therefore, focuses on ways of addressing barriers (the first report, Workability I, focused on identifying barriers to employment). Recommendation 4 of the report said there were only two international programs to emulate: one was the Opportunities Fund.

c. Rehabilitation and Vocational Assistance Services

The new Veterans Charter Rehabilitation Program aims to help Canadian Forces Veterans who have been recently released from medical care, and those with disabilities who need support to re-enter civilian life. Rehabilitation and vocational assistance services at Veterans Affairs Canada will support independence and wellness and are designed to ensure that Veterans participate to the best of their ability at home, at work, and in their community. These services include:

• Medical - health care experts will work to stabilize and restore health, make it easier to cope with health problems, and help body and mind functioning.
• Psycho-social - will help restore independence and facilitate the adjustment to a Veteran's current situation.
• Vocational - will help with learning if it is possible to transfer skills and education from a military job to a similar civilian job. If not, the Veteran may qualify for training for another kind of job.

d. Self-employment

Western Economic Diversification assists individuals with disabilities through a targeted program, as well as by funding projects within each of the Department's strategic priorities.

• The Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program provides business services and access to capital to entrepreneurs with disabilities in rural and urban areas.
• Support is also available for individual economic development projects that benefit people with disabilities.

In 2005-06, the Agency spent more than $1.5 million on projects and activities aimed at supporting individuals with disabilities.

Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program

Western Economic Diversification's Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP)⁵⁹ provides a range of services to entrepreneurs in western Canadian urban and rural communities who are seeking to start up or expand small and medium-sized businesses. Some of the services include:

• assistance with developing business plans;
• mentoring and counselling services;
• training in business management;
• access to business loans; and
• referral to other government resources.

Delivery channels

The EDP is delivered through the four provincial Community Futures Associations (cumulative funding of $250,000 for operations in 2005-06) and seven urban partners located in key urban centres (cumulative funding of $525,000 in 2005-06).

Loan provisions

The rural EDP loan funds initially totalled $18 million and, as of March 31, 2005, the net value of the fund was $14.5 million. The $3.5 million decline results from loan write-offs and approved transfers to provide additional operating funding to the delivering organizations. The urban EDP loan funds initially totalled $2.3 million and as of March 31, 2005, the net value of the funds was approximately $1.1 million. The decline is due to a combination of loan write-offs (approximately $600,000) and approved transfers to provide additional operating funding to the deliver organizations.

Background

The EDP and the former Urban Entrepreneurs Disabilities Initiative were created in 1997-98 in response to the Access to Business Opportunities project and the 1996 report of the Federal Task Force on Disabilities, which identified employment as a major element that can alleviate the high incidence of poverty among people with disabilities.

Since inception:

• 765 loans totalling $16.2 million have been issued to clients under both programs.
• 65% of the clients are currently operating businesses, up 54% before approaching the programs.
• Among the 89% of clients who were not in business, 69% subsequently started up operations and, of those, 55% are still operating.

Over a five-year period, the loan program resulted in:

• 3,400 person-years of incremental employment, and
• $145 million in incremental revenues ($9.16 for every dollar in loans).

Support through other initiatives that align with Western Economic Diversification's strategic priorities

The Department also supports individual projects that benefit people with disabilities by enhancing economic well-being through activities that assist entrepreneurial growth, improve quality of life through research and development, increase access to community facilities, and enhance the capacity or organizations that serve the disability community. Since April 1, 2004, some $7 million has been provided to 38 such projects under various programs.

The funding has generated additional investments of $16 million from other sources. Examples of these projects include the First Nations Disability Association of Manitoba. As part of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy, Western Economic Diversification has committed $50,000 toward a $346,316 project to expand this organization's services. This project will establish three positions within the First Nations Disability Association to enhance the its capacity to provide peer support, advocacy, and referral services designed to improve the quality of life for Aboriginal persons living with disabilities in Winnipeg. The Department also committed $400,000 under the Western Economic Diversification Program toward a $1,451,088 magnetoencephalography neurological research facility in Vancouver.  The research facility is expected to result in increased health research and clinical capacity and activities, retain and attract leading researchers, enhance linkages among innovation organizations, develop suppliers in the West, and will ultimately benefit people with Down Syndrome and other developmental disabilities.

e. Aboriginal people with disabilities

Since April 1999, the Aboriginal Human Resources Development Strategy (AHRDS) has been helping Aboriginal communities strengthen the ability of Aboriginal people to compete in the Canadian job market. Delivered through 80 Aboriginal Human Resources Development Agreement holders, the Strategy has been designed with flexibility to meet the needs of individual Aboriginal communities and to respect the wide-ranging cultural diversity of those communities while ensuring accountability measures are in place. The Strategy is aimed at helping Aboriginal people increase self-sufficiency, build stronger communities, and develop long-term employment. The largest share of the total funding goes to creating employment programs and services.

There is a disability component in the Strategy. Moreover, wherever possible, HRSDC encourages Agreement holders, national Aboriginal organizations, and other labour market partners to include people with disabilities in all services and activities, including the AHRDS. To that end, the collective challenge is to ensure that Aboriginal people with disabilities benefit fully from all aspects of the Strategy, including funds under other components of the Strategy (labour market, urban, and youth).

Key issues on disability data and knowledge

Statistics are poor overall because of different definitions and a highly varied population. Depending on the source, definition of disability, and variables used, Aboriginal rates of disability typically run between 1.7 and 3 times that of the Canadian population. Given that nearly one million (976,000) Canadians identified themselves as Aboriginal in the 2001 Census and it is estimated that some 31% of Aboriginal people have a disability, there could be about 300,000 Aboriginal people with disabilities in Canada.

f. Employment within the Public Service

The Public Service Commission (PSC) is dedicated to building a public service that strives for excellence. We protect merit, non-partisanship, representativeness, and the use of both official languages. The PSC safeguards the integrity of staffing in the Public Service and the political impartiality of public servants. It develops policies and guidance for public service managers and holds them accountable for their staffing decisions. It conducts audits and investigations to confirm the effectiveness of the staffing system and to make improvements. As an independent agency, the PSC reports its results to Parliament.

Programs and initiatives of the PSC

In preparation for the coming-into-force of the Public Service Employment Act on December 31, 2005, the PSC developed and established an appointment policy framework that included an overarching policy on employment equity. In addition, the PSC developed tools to provide guidance and support to departments in applying the new provisions in the Act, including how to integrate employment equity into the appointment process.⁶⁰

To this end, the PSC has integrated the duty-to-accommodate requirements pertaining to staffing into the Commission's Appointment Framework policies, guides, and tools developed under the new Act.⁶¹ The PSC also provided guidance to sensitize public service managers to the complex issues surrounding the recruitment and self-identification of people with disabilities.⁶²

Public Service Employee Survey

The Public Service Employee Survey is a government-wide survey that asks employees for their opinions on such issues as service delivery, organizational effectiveness, well-being, and overall climate across the public service. Statistics Canada administered the survey on behalf of the departments and agencies and the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada. The 2005 survey was the third such survey. It is possible to measure progress on the areas that were examined in the earlier (1999 and 2002) surveys. As one of the questions asks people with disabilities to self-identify, it has been possible to look at the results for people with disabilities.⁶⁶ Unless otherwise noted, figures refer to the 2005 survey.

Overall, employees' perceptions of equality in the workplace have remained stable since the previous survey. As in 2002, a large majority of respondents (90%) believed that every individual in their work unit was accepted as an equal member of the team, regardless of race, colour, gender, or disability. Nonetheless, there were some areas in which the responses of people with disabilities differed from those without disabilities. Following a pattern consistent throughout the surveys, people with disabilities were less likely to strongly agree with the statement: "In my work unit, every individual, regardless of race, colour, gender or disability would be / is accepted as an equal member of the team" (54% vs. 65%). However, the percentage of respondents who strongly agreed increased significantly between the 1999 survey and the 2005 survey (44% of people with disabilities and 51% of people without disabilities).⁶⁷

People with disabilities were much more likely to strongly disagree with the statement "I am classified fairly (my current group and level) compared with others doing similar work in my organization or elsewhere in the Public Service" (32% vs. 24%). This pattern was consistent throughout all three surveys.

As a group, people with disabilities report a less favourable environment in terms of supports that can help them to succeed in their present job and that can make it possible to advance. They were less likely to strongly agree with the statement "I have the material and equipment I need to do my job" than those without disabilities (24% vs. 32%). People with disabilities were also less likely to strongly agree or mostly agree that they get the training needed to do their job, that they get on-the job coaching to help improve the way work is done, that they have opportunities to develop and apply the skills they need to enhance their career, that their immediate supervisor does a good job of helping them develop their career, and that they have opportunities for promotion within their department or agency, given their education, skills, and experience.

In a question aimed specifically at people with disabilities, respondents were asked whether they are provided with the supports or alternative media resources that are critical in performing their work. Forty-nine percent said yes and 31% said it was not applicable.

The survey provides valuable information about how to make the federal public service a better place to work. While it shows a reduced gap in some areas related to the accommodation of disabilities in the workplace, it also identifies areas for improvement.

All departments within the federal government work to build an inclusive work environment. The measures one department took are described below. Other examples are included in Appendix C.

g. The National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities

The National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities (NCFED) represents the interests of federal public servants with any type of physical or mental disability by raising awareness and getting involved in all employment processes, from recruitment and retention to training, career development, accommodation, and accessibility. The NCFED provides information, advice, analysis, and recommendations on relevant issues, as well as the actions required to address them, to federal public service management and other key players. The ultimate goal is to ensure a respectful and inclusive work environment.

Easy access to appropriate accommodations is only the most obvious component of inclusiveness for employees with disabilities. The NCFED's vision also focuses on subtler and more profound changes to the corporate culture of federal departments and agencies. The work environment is much more than a workplace. As the workplace must be accessible, so too must be the work environment, which includes the rapport of NCFED constituents with co-workers, supervisors, line managers, and senior managers.

The NCFED is made up of nine federal public servants with disabilities, three from the National Capital Region, six from the regions, and two full-time office workers. The NCFED Board members are all people with disabilities who have been elected by federal public servants and their voluntary work through the Council is in addition to their everyday job.⁶⁸

Review of the Employment Equity Act

The year 2006 is the tenth anniversary of the coming into effect of the amended Employment Equity Act. As the legislation requires a Parliamentary review every five years, it is expected that the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities will initiate a second review of the current Act in 2006. Should the Committee decide to review the Act, it would likely focus on examining its impact on members of designated groups as well as on employers and workplaces.

To assist in developing its report for the Minister of Labour to present to the Committee, the Labour Program sought the views of individual Canadians, employment equity specialists, employers, employer associations, unions, as well as organizations representing designated groups, including people with disabilities. An issue paper, Ten Years of Experience, was prepared to assist in the discussion.⁶⁹

Over the spring and summer of 2006, representatives of the Labour Program met with a number of organizations representing both designated groups and employers, sent letters requesting written comments, and placed an announcement on the HRSDC website inviting written responses.

The following pages describe the employment situation of people with disabilities and the progress that employers made toward achieving employment equity from 1987 to 2004.

Overall Workforce

In 2004, at the collective workforce level for all employers covered under the Employment Equity Act (data are not available for the federal contractors), people with disabilities were under-represented at 3.1%. When compared to labour market availability of 5.0%, based on the 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS),⁷⁰ the representation of people with disabilities was 61.8% of their availability.

Table 5: Employers covered by the Employment Equity Act (2004)*

Employers	All Employees	People with Disabilities
		Representation		Availability**
Federally regulated private sector and Crown corporations	650,987	16,554	2.5%	5.3%
Federal public service	165,976	9,452	5.7%	3.6%
Separate	67,259	3,195	4.8%	5.3%
Other public sector	130,136	2,282	1.8%	5.3%
Total	1,014,358	31,483	3.1%	5.0%

* Data on people with disabilities are not available for federal contractors.

** Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 PALS.

Federally Regulated Private Sector and Crown Corporations Workforce

In the federally regulated private sector and Crown corporations workforce the number and representation of people with disabilities increased from 9,440 (1.6%) in 1987 to 16,554 (2.5%) in 2004, but remained significantly below their availability of 5.3% based on the 2001 PALS. The representation rate of people with disabilities was 29.6% of their labour market availability in 1987 and increased to 48.0% in 2004.

Figure 7 illustrates the little progress that people with disabilities made in private workplaces under federal jurisdiction over the 18 years from 1987 to 2004.

* The data on Canadian labour market availability of people with disabilities are obtained from surveys conducted by Statistics Canada. Note that since 1987, only two surveys were conducted. The Health and Activity Limitation Survey was conducted in 1991, followed by the PALS in 2001.

Table 6: Summary statistics - Representation in federally regulated private sector and Crown rorporations workforce

Summary Statistics	1987	2003	2004
Total	9,440	14,425	16,554
Representation	1.6%	2.3%	2.5%
Labour market availability	5.4%	5.3%	5.3%
Utilization rate	29.6%	43.4%	48.0%

Sectors

The number and representation of people with disabilities increased in all sectors from 1987 to 2004, except in the "Other" sector, where representation remained relatively constant. In 2004, their highest representation was in the banking sector, followed by communications, transportation, and other.

Table 7: Representation of people with disabilities in private sectors

Sector	1987		2003		2004
Banking	3,053	1.8%	3,978	2.2%	5,250	2.8%
Communications	2,512	1.4%	4,854	2.3%	5,553	2.5%
Transportation	2,892	1.4%	4,366	2.4%	4,448	2.4%
Other	983	2.3%	1,227	2.6%	1,303	2.2%
Total	9,440	1.6%	14,425	2.3%	16,554	2.5%

Occupational Groups⁷¹

In 1987, the highest concentration of people with disabilities in the workforce was in clerical then manual and trade occupations (39.6% and 28.3% respectively). In 2004, their highest numbers were still in clerical (41.9%), followed by manual and trade (22.4%) and professional occupations (16.2%). In terms of their distribution, the most significant increase was among the professionals and semi-professionals.

Table 8: Distribution by occupational group

Occupational Group	1987		2003		2004
Managers	1,220	12.9%	1,427	9.9%	1,539	9.3%
Professionals and semi-professionals	909	9.6%	2,222	15.4%	2,688	16.2%
Supervisors	634	6.7%	715	5.0%	878	5.3%
Clerical occupations	3,734	39.6%	5,606	38.9%	6,941	41.9%
Sales and service personnel	271	2.9%	791	5.5%	808	4.9%
Manual and trade workers	2,672	28.3%	3,664	25.4%	3,700	22.4%
Total	9,440	100.0%	14,425	100.0%	16,554	100.0%

Geographical Regions

Figure 8 shows how, in each of the provinces in 2004, the representation of people with disabilities was below their respective availability.

Workforce Mobility

Although the number and share of people with disabilities hired into the combined workforce increased from 442 (0.6%) in 1987 to 1,102 (1.1%) in 2004, they were significantly below availability of 5.3%.

The number of people with disabilities promoted dropped from 981 in 1987 to 816 in 2004. However, their share of promotions rose from 1.4% to 2.0% and was below their availability within the workforce.

The number and share of people with disabilities whose employment terminated increased from 767 (1.0%) in 1987 to 1,636 (1.9%) in 2004. However, this designated group's share of terminations was below their availability within the workforce.

In 1987, 2003, and 2004, the number of people with disabilities who left the workforce exceeded the number hired, leading to serious erosion of this designated group. The problem may be related to the retention of people with disabilities and the unmet need for work-related accommodations.

Table 9: Workforce mobility

Mobility	1987		2003		2004
Hires	442	0.6%	840	1.1%	1,102	1.1%
Promotions	981	1.4%	784	1.9%	816	2.0%
Terminations	767	1.0%	1,569	1.9%	1,636	1.9%
Net effect of hires and terminations	-325		-729		-534

These data and others from national surveys presented earlier in this chapter are clear indications that much remains to be done if working-age adults with disabilities are to participate to their fullest potential in the Canadian labour market.

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• [51] Students with Disabilities: Transitions from Post-Secondary Education to Work, Canadian Centre on Disability Studies, 2003.
• [52] Information on the CSLP can be found at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/learning/canada_student_loan/index.shtml
• [53] These figures are for “loan year”, not fiscal year.
• [54] This grant was replaced on August 1, 2005, by the Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities.
• [55] This grant was renamed on August 1, 2005, to the Canada Study Grant for the Accommodation of Students with Permanent Disabilities.
• [56] More information on INAC can be found at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/index-eng.asp.
• [57] More information on the Special Education Program can be found at http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/edu/ep/sep-eng.asp.
• [58] This category also includes responses not elsewhere classified.
• [59] In April 2006, Western Economic Diversification consolidated its Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program with the former Urban Entrepreneurs Disabilities Initiative and undertook a five-year commitment to provide funding of up to $1.5 million every two years. Previous funding for the two programs was $775,000 per year. Funding increases are based on delivery partners submitting an acceptable business plan.
• [60] The PSC published guidelines for making decisions about the kinds of modifications to assessment tools and procedures that are appropriate to accommodate candidates with a variety of disabilities. The guidelines are available at www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/centres/priority_e.htm.
• [61] More information on the Public Service Employment Act and the Appointment Framework can be found at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/index-eng.htm.
• [62] Employment equity information for human resources professionals and employees with disabilities can be found at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/eead-eeed/index-eng.htm.
• [63] First Nations Regional Longitudinal Health Survey 2002-03 (2005). Results for Adults, Youth and Children Living in First Nations Communities, p. 55.
• [64] Other studies include Women with Disabilities: Accessing Trade, which can be consulted at http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/index-eng.html
• [65] More information on the Indeterminate Recruitment Program for Persons with Disabilities can be found at http://www.psc-cfp.gc.ca/plcy-pltq/eead-eeed/index-eng.htm.
• [66] Results for people with disabilities are available at http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/chro-dprh/default.asp.
• [67] The percentage that mostly agreed decreased in the same period. The total percentage that either mostly disagreed or strongly disagreed was 18% in both 1999 and 2005.
• [68] Further information about the NCFED and its sub-committees is available at: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/ee/ncpf-eng.asp.
• [69] This document can be consulted at http://www.hrsdc.gc.ca/eng/lp/lo/lswe/we/review/2006/issues-paper.doc.
• [70] To measure the progress of people with disabilities covered by the Act, representation is compared to availability in the workforce population. Availability data are obtained from surveys conducted by Statistics Canada which are gathered every five or ten years. There is therefore a time lag in measuring representation gaps, as for example, 2004 representation is being compared to 2001 PALS availability data.
• [71] To facilitate and allow occupational comparisons, the Employment Equity Occupational Groups have been combined into six groups (e.g., the Upper-level/Senior Managers have been combined with Middle and Other Managers to form the Managers occupational group).

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Date Modified:

2011-07-28