Speaking notes
for
the Honourable Diane Finley
Minister of Human Resources and
Skills Development
at the release of the
Report of the
Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
January 16, 2013
Ottawa, Ontario
Good morning everyone — and happy new year!
As my first public event in 2013, it’s a pleasure to be sharing the podium with my colleague and friend the Honourable Jim Flaherty, Minister of Finance…and a heartfelt champion for the cause of people with disabilities.
Thank you, Ken, for doing such a top-notch job of chairing the Panel on Labour Market Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
As some of you may know, Ken Fredeen is General Counsel and Secretary to the Board at Deloitte & Touche.
His fellow panel members are Kathy Martin, Senior VP, Human Resources, with Loblaw Companies Limited; Mark Wafer, owner of Megleen Incorporated, which operates six Tim Hortons franchises in Toronto; and Gary Birch, Executive Director of the Neil Squire Society.
I’m very impressed by the tremendous job the Panel has done in putting together this report – and very pleased that it was delivered on time, as promised.
Thank you, sincerely, for the contribution you’ve made.
These members came together and combined their wealth of knowledge and experience in helping us, as a Government, tackle the issue of improving participation of people with disabilities in the labour market.
They got into the “business trenches” all across this country…by interviewing employers from businesses of all sizes and from a broad range of industry sectors.
Leveraging their own networks and leaning on their own experiences, they asked employers about the realities of hiring people with disabilities: what works, what doesn’t, what they’ve learned along the way – and what can make a difference.
This report — Rethinking disAbility in the Private Sector — tells the story of those important conversations and consultations.
Upon reading this report, it is apparent that Canadian companies have a great deal of enthusiasm when it comes to hiring people with disabilities.
They “get it” – because they’ve seen positive results both in terms of company culture and in terms of their bottom line.
As Minister responsible for the office of disabilities, I’m all too familiar with the myth that people with disabilities can’t perform as well as other workers.
And let me tell you that I’ve long been an advocate — personally and professionally — of turning that myth upside down.
This report takes another definitive step in doing just that.
You will read in this report that employers in Canada told the panel members, unequivocally, that employing people with disabilities is good for business.
Take the example of the Toronto Tim Hortons, where employees with disabilities have proven to be a tremendous asset… not only because they can do the work well…but because their reliability also gives the business a competitive advantage.
Here’s why.
The fast food industry has an average annual turnover rate of 75 percent. But this Tim Hortons, which has people with disabilities in every area of the business, has a turnover rate of only 35 percent.
Reading the report, I was also surprised to learn that many workplace accommodations required for employees with disabilities cost absolutely nothing.
Where individual accommodations did have a cost, it was, on average, only $500.
That’s certainly a modest sum when you think of all of the benefits that these workers bring to their employers.
Speaking more generally for a moment though, the release of this report couldn’t be more timely.
We are at a pivotal moment in Canada when it comes to our workforce. With the baby boomers starting to retire, we need to ensure that all of our talent is at work, contributing to our continued prosperity.
Part of addressing this issue involves investing dollars and energy so that Canadians have the skills and training that employers need.
And an equally important part of tackling the upcoming labour and skills shortage – which already exists in some parts of Canada, by the way – is by further encouraging underrepresented groups to be in the workforce, or at greater capacity.
The overall participation rate for working age adults with disabilities is just under 60%, compared with other working-age Canadians at 80%.
That’s a statistic that has to change and we want to help it change.
Any vision of future growth and prosperity for Canada would be incomplete… without making sure that we harness all of the potential that people with disabilities can bring to the labour force.
And of course, achieving that result means that we make efforts in a variety of ways.
It is my hope that this report will further encourage employers to hire more people with disabilities — and learn about ideas for accommodation and accessibility.
In addition to this though, the Harper Government is undertaking a number of initiatives to help Canadians with disabilities realize their full potential.
To highlight just a few examples:
- We’ve invested $45 million over three years in the Enabling Accessibility Fund to improve accessibility and remove barriers for people with disabilities.
- Then, there’s the federal Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities which provides $30 million a year to help people with disabilities prepare for jobs and stay employed. We topped this Fund up in the last Budget by adding another $30 million over three years.
- We’re also giving $218 million a year to the provinces for Labour Market Agreements to help Canadians with disabilities develop skills and find employment.
While the government is playing an important role in helping people with disabilities…we can’t, and shouldn’t, do everything.
The private sector must also step up to the plate, collaborating with Government and not-for-profits and communities at large.
We must all ask…
What are other ideas to help encourage the employment, retention and promotion of employees with disabilities?
What steps can we take to best use the skills and talents of Canadians of all abilities?
How can we better work together to reduce barriers and stigmas?
With this report now completed and available, we will continue to work collaboratively with our partners in advancing this cause and achieving results.
Thank you once again Ken – and all of you on the panel — for all of your hard work.
I think all of us indeed will be “rethinking disability” in many ways as a result of your report.
Thank you.
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