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. When Canadians with disabilities have equal opportunities to contribute to their communities, we 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:

financial security, 

employment, 

accessible and inclusive communities, and 

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:

Royal Assent for the Canada Disability Benefit Act, an important step towards reducing poverty and increasing the financial security of working age persons with disabilities;

Engaging with persons with print disabilities and stakeholders to develop a new Equitable Access to Reading Program to launch in 2024;

Making significant investments in the Opportunities Fund to support employment for persons with disabilities;

Making significant investments in the Enabling Accessibility Fund to improve the accessibility of shelters, childcare spaces, communities and workplaces;

Publishing new standards under the Accessible Canada Act;

Launching the Disability Inclusion Business Council to champion and advance accessibility and inclusion in the workplace

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 lived experiences of persons with disabilities have informed every part of the Action Plan. We heard about the valuable contributions that persons with disabilities make to our communities and to our economy. We heard that persons with disabilities face barriers to social and economic participation due to discrimination, stereotypes, and systemic exclusion. We heard about persons with disabilities having 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 we implement the Action Plan, we will continue 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, we are confident that we can achieve an inclusive Canada that recognizes and celebrates the diversity, creativity, innovation, and contributions of persons with disabilities.

The lived experiences of persons with disabilities have informed every part of the Action Plan. We heard about the valuable contributions that persons with disabilities make to our communities and to our economy. We heard that persons with disabilities face barriers to social and economic participation due to discrimination, stereotypes, and systemic exclusion. We heard about persons with disabilities having 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 we implement the Action Plan, we will continue 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, we are confident that we can achieve an inclusive Canada that recognizes and celebrates the diversity, creativity, innovation, and contributions of persons with disabilities.

“Everyone has a right to participate fully in their society. The Disability Inclusion Action Plan is a roadmap for our country to remove barriers that persons with disabilities face, and to build a more inclusive Canada. This is a plan with concrete actions that will challenge the Government of Canada to consider the needs of persons with disabilities in everything we do. It will challenge us to do better, and to be better as a country.”

– Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough

“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