Question Period Note: Bringing forward a Disability Inclusion Action Plan

What is the Government doing to advance the inclusion of persons with disabilities? What is included in the Disability Inclusion Action Plan?

• The inclusion of persons with disabilities benefits everyone. Canadians with disabilities need to have equal opportunities to contribute to their communities in order to build a stronger economy and country.

• That is why the Government released Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan (Action Plan) in October 2022, with four pillars:
o financial security,
o employment,
o accessible and inclusive communities, and
o adopting a modern approach to disability.
• The Action Plan is developed in the spirit of Nothing without Us, through engagement with the disability community.
• The Government has made significant progress:
o The Canada Disability Benefit Act came into force in June 2024. It is an important step towards increasing the financial and social security of working age persons with disabilities;
o Launched a new Equitable Access to Reading Program in April 2024 to support the production of alternate format reading materials for persons with print disabilities;
o Made significant investments in the Opportunities Fund to support employment for persons with disabilities;
o Made significant investments in the Enabling Accessibility Fund to improve the accessibility of shelters, childcare spaces, communities and workplaces;
o Published new standards under the Accessible Canada Act;
o Launched the Disability Inclusion Business Council to champion and advance accessibility and inclusion in the workplace
• The first DIAP annual update was released on December 8, 2023, and highlights the actions accomplished so far. The full progress update is available online.
• The Action Plan will evolve over time to respond to ongoing engagement and will reflect the realities of persons with disabilities in an ever-changing world.

The government has involved persons with disabilities in developing, implementing and monitoring the Action Plan by providing funding to support disability organizations and National Indigenous Organizations to engage their communities. So far we have heard:
• The need for a broader agenda to increase financial security among persons with disabilities beyond the Canada Disability Benefit;
• That the Canada Disability Benefit should be for those aged 65+;
• Staff shortages is leading to less training and on-boarding of persons with disabilities;
• More funding for job coaches is needed to keep up with demand as more persons with disabilities enter the labour market;
• More “disability confident” employers are needed to commit to hiring persons with disabilities;
• The need to address longer standing architectural barriers such as retrofitting hospitals, parking centres and office buildings;
• The need for technological upgrades in public spaces;
• Measures to reduce the application burden to qualify and/or re-quality for benefits;
• Navigators support is needed in all steps of an application, review and appeals process; and,
• The use of the Accessible Canada Act definition of disability.

The government is also providing funding to National Indigenous Organizations to engage on the design and implementation of the Action Plan. To date the following recommendations were received from two National Indigenous Organizations:
• a need for culturally relevant supports, services, programming, and education; and,
• a need to strengthen existing services and safe spaces to make them more accessible.

Engagement work is still ongoing with three National Indigenous Organizations (NIO). In Fall 2022, five NIOs signed amendments to Engagement Protocol Agreements (EPA) to support engagement on the design and implementation of the DIAP, and three additional NIOs recently signed EPAs in early 2024. To date, two recommendation reports have been received and six more are expected by Spring 2025.

The government committed to implementing the Action plan through such actions as:
• Moving forward with the implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit for low-income working age persons with disabilities;
• Launching an employment strategy for Canadians with disabilities;
• Undertaking a comprehensive review of access to federal disability programs;
• Supporting national disability organizations to build capacity and partner in efforts to eliminate systemic barriers;
• Funding support services that ensure equitable access to reading and other published works for Canadians with print disabilities; and
• Implementing the Accessible Canada Act and the harmonization of accessibility standards across Canada.

Other commitments include:

Budget 2024

• Budget 2024 provided funding of $6.1B over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $1.4B per year ongoing, for the Canada Disability Benefit, including costs to deliver the program.
• Budget 2024 includes navigation support funding of $18.8 million over 5 years and $3.8 million ongoing.
• To ensure access and to address an anticipated significant financial barrier associated with benefit take-up, Budget 2024 further proposed funding of $243 million over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $41 million per year ongoing, to cover the cost of the medical forms required to apply for the Disability Tax Credit.

Budget 2023
• $10 million over two years to help address the unique needs and ongoing barriers faced by persons with disabilities by investing in capacity building and the community-level work of Canada’s Disability organizations.
• $10 million over two years starting in 2024-25 for the Enabling Accessibility Fund.
• $21.5 million in 2023-24 to continue work on the future delivery of the Canada Disability Benefit, including engagement with the disability community and provinces and territories on the regulatory process.
• The government remains committed to the launch of a Canada Disability Benefit as part of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan.
• Investments in Budget 2023 continue to lay the necessary groundwork for the Canada Disability Benefit, building off of the government’s reintroduction of the Canada Disability Benefit Act in June 2022.

Budget 2022
• $276.5 million over five years, and $185 million on going, to support the implementation of an employment strategy for persons with disabilities through the Opportunities Fund. This will help to address labour market shortages through increased participation by persons with disabilities and make workplaces more inclusive and accessible. Of this funding, $20 million will be allocated to the Ready, Willing and Able program to help persons with Autism Spectrum Disorder or intellectual disabilities find employment.
• $25 million over five years to support the production of alternative format materials by the Centre for Equitable Library Access and the National Network for Equitable Library Service; conduct research to better understand gaps in availability of accessible reading materials; and launch a new Equitable Access to Reading Program to boost the production of accessible format reading materials through innovative partnerships.

IF PRESSED (THE ACTION PLAN) (taken from DIAP website)
• The lived experiences of persons with disabilities have informed every part of the Action Plan. Persons with disabilities make invaluable contributions to our communities and to our economy. However, persons with disabilities continue to face social and economic barriers due to discrimination, stereotypes, and systemic exclusion. Persons with disabilities have to make impossible choices – whether to buy food, pay rent, or get the necessary medication, equipment or therapies. These choices were made even more difficult by the pandemic.
• As the Action Plan is implemented, the government continues to look to persons with disabilities and community partners to ensure that it evolves to meet the changing needs of persons with disabilities.
• Leading by example, working in partnership with the disability community, and engaging with provinces and territories, the government is working to achieve an inclusive Canada that recognizes and celebrates the diversity, creativity, innovation, and contributions of persons with disabilities.

“We hit a major milestone this year with the passage of the Canada Disability Benefit Act. The Canada Disability Benefit is the cornerstone of the Disability Inclusion Action Plan. Once implemented it has the potential to reduce poverty and improve the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities. We have made progress, but there is much more to do. In the year to come, we intend to continue working with the disability community to implement the Action Plan, ensuring it meets the needs of persons with disabilities. I look forward to this continued collaboration.”

-Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, Kamal Khera

“Employment for people with disabilities in Canada needs a strategy that is robust, supportive and encompassing. CCRW is proud to endorse the Disability Inclusion Action Plan, including the Employment Strategy for people with disabilities.

We, along with many of our clients and colleagues are excited to see how the four pillars will work together to ensure real life changes and opportunities for people with disabilities living in Canada.”
– President & CEO of Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW), Maureen Haan

“The ability to be active, thriving and included members of our communities and country is the right of us all. Unfortunately, due to systemic barriers such as poverty, overly restrictive and complex systems, discriminatory attitudes, etc., for many Indigenous people with disabilities, ‘inclusion’ is just a word and not their reality. Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) has the ability to change that reality and, in doing so, lay the foundation for a better, more inclusive country. IDC/BCANDS congratulates the Government of Canada on the development of the DIAP and looks forward to our continued work together to ensure that the needs and directions of our members and communities are addressed through the plan’s four pillars of Financial Security, Employment, Accessible /Inclusive Communities and, A Modern Approach to Disability.”
– CEO of Indigenous Disability Canada (IDC) / British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS), Neil Belanger

“Independent Living Canada and Muscular Dystrophy Canada have been pleased to work with our many partners to provide input and feedback from marginalized and hard-to-reach people with disabilities. As we continue to consult and engage, we are pleased to see the creation of the first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan. As our work continues with our partners, we look forward to seeing our collective input reflected in the Disability Inclusion Action Plan as it is implemented and adapted to meet the responsive needs of persons with disabilities.”
– CEO of Muscular Dystrophy Canada, Stacey Lintern and & National Executive Director of Independent Living Canada, Anne MacRae

“Canadians with intellectual and developmental disabilities face many barriers in our society. They often live in poverty. Many do not have jobs. Many are not included in social life. The Disability Inclusion Action Plan will help all Canadians with disabilities. It will help them get out of poverty. It will help them get jobs. And it will help them to be more included in their communities.”

– President of People First of Canada, Dewlyn Lobo