Employment and People with Disabilities Backgrounder

January 2011

Problem Statement

People with disabilities experience more unemployment than nondisabled people. In Canada, a positive value is placed on employment. Various writers describe that value differently. Disability Studies suggests that employment is a location of power from which many people with disabilities are excluded by ableist barriers (England). The Conference Board of Canada views employment asan indicator of self-sufficiency and inclusion. Disability rights activists have recognized increasing the employment of persons with disabilities as a priority for advocacy (O'Day and Goldstein). At the upcoming CCD Council meeting, Members will consider possible advocacy strategies focused on increasing employment. The Backgrounder consolidates information that will remind meeting participants of some of the factors affecting the employment of Canadians with disabilities.

The Extent of the Problem—Several new reports share information about the unemployment rate of people with disabilities. For example, "A Basic Income Plan for Canadians with Severe Disabilities", Adele Furrie's report "Toward a better understanding of the dynamics of disability and its impact on employment, and Cam Crawford's "As A Matter of Fact: Canadians with Disabilities Living in Poverty."

Some fast facts

From "A Basic Income Plan for Canadians with Severe Disabilities"

  • "Working age Canadians with severe/very severe disabilities have a tenuous relationship to the labor force. This generalization is supported by a variety of labor market force indicators, including employment rate (36.7 percent), unemployment rate (12.3 percent), participation rate (41.9 percent), work for small employers, not belonging to a union (68.9 percent)
  • Half of working age people with severe/very severe disabilities prefer part-time work, but a significant 27.7 percent want full-time work and another 22.2 percent either full-time or part-time employment
  • Among working age adults with severe/very severe disabilities who were unemployed in 2006, 43.5 percent were out of work for six months or more, 35.6 percent for under three months and 20.0 percent for three to five months(Mendelson)"

From "Towards a better understanding of the dynamics of disability and its impact on employment"

  • "In the 2006 PALS, 51.8% of the adult population with disabilities reported that they are "often" or "sometimes limited at work or school. In the "often" group, males outnumber females 52.8% to 47.8%. In the "sometimes" group, females (51.6%) outnumber males (48.4%).
  • Almost one quarter (24.9%) of persons with disabilities who report being "often" limited at work or at school are young adults aged 15 to 34 years; proportionately fewer (22.8% of the "sometimes" group are in this age group.
  • Almost three out of 10 persons (28.9%) who report being "often" limited at work or at school report that their highest level of education is less than high school graduation certificate or diploma. 21.6% of the "sometimes" group report having this level of education as do 18.4% of the total population without disabilities.
  • 19.3% of the adults with disabilities who responded to the employment-related questions, had some periods of unemployment during the 12 moths preceding the survey. The more limitation reported in the workplace, the more likely there were periods of unemployment. With the group of employed individuals, 16.4% report three or more periods of unemployment. Among those who report "often" limited at work, this percentage increases to 25.5% while those who report a "sometimes" limitation only 13% report three or more periods of unemployment (Furrie)."

From "A Matter of Fact: Canadians with Disabilities Living in Poverty"

  • "Among working-age people (15 to 64 years) living in poverty when PALS was conducted, 23.1% with disabilities were employed compared with 48.4% of people without disabilities and living in poverty. Some 38.4% with disabilities and living in poverty had not graduated from high school compared with 24.6% of their counterparts without disabilities. (Crawford)."

The Environment

Federal and Provincial Jurisdictions—In recent years, the Federal government has devolved to the Provinces many responsibilities with regard to employment. The Federal Government retains responsibility for CPP-D, Employment Insurance (EI), the Opportunities Fund (OF) and the Labor Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD).

The Labor Market—The nature of work is a complex topic and will only be dealt with briefly; however, it is important to keep this issue in mind when seeking to address barriers in employment for persons with disabilities. There are many factors driving the changes: technological innovations, economic cycles, changing theories about business practice. Since the 1980s, information and communication technology has been changing rapidly, altering the number and type of employees business require and the way job tasks are undertaken. A simple example is Voice Mail, which has replaced the telephone receptionist position in some organizations. Some employers have teleworkers, who work off-site. The type of relationships that employees have with their employers is also changing. Now, with information and communication technology some businesses no longer need to congregate all their employees together.Some employers outsource to other countries. Currently the contingent workforce, which is made up of temporary, contract and part-time workers, is expanding, because some businesses are making the decision to retain only those employees with core competencies as on-going employees. As they need other skills, they draw from the contingent workforce. Economic cycles also affect employment possibilities. In boom economies, there can be labor shortages and some jobs go without workers. During recessions, there are workers without jobs. For example, following the previous recession, the Canadian economy began to recover in the late 1990s. A Canadian bank manager indicated that "…the job recovery for persons with disabilities, especially women has been much slower than for those without disabilities. (England, p. 5 of 12)."The Canadian economy is currently in recovery mode from the global recession and the Federal Government invested tax dollars in a stimulus package geared to foster employment and production.

Recent changes in the labor market have caused Canadians to wonder if "good jobs", that is to say well paying jobs, are disappearing. This question was investigated by René Morisette and Anick Johnson who published their results in an article titled "Are Good Jobs Disappearing in Canada?" They found that there has not been significant change over the last twenty years in the proportion of good and poor paying jobs. However, there have been changes. The wage gap between workers under 35 and older workers has widened. The wages of newly hired male and female workers with two years or less of seniority have fallen. The number of new workers employed in temporary jobs has risen, from 11 percent in 1989 to 21 percent in 2004. For workers with one year of seniority or less, the rate of temporary work rose from 14 percent in 1989 to 25 percent in 2004. Pension coverage has dwindled for all men and women under 45. (Morisette and Johnson) Due to ableist barriers, people with disabilities have a greater chance of being newcomers to employment and thus experiencing the challenges identified by Morisette and Johnson.

Canadian Public Policy Addressing Employment for Persons with Disabilities—At the upcoming CCD Council meeting, the National Council of Representatives will be considering—What public policy initiatives would improve labor market participation by people with disabilities? When addressing this question, it may be useful to examine current policies affecting the employment of people with disabilities and what reforms CCD has called for in the past.

There are a wide range of policies, both at the federal and provincial level, that affect the employment of people with disabilities. Some of these, with a concentration on the Federal level, are describe in this subsection.

In addition, in this section, some brief information has been shared on CCD's past positions on some of these policy initiatives.

Canadian/Provincial Human Rights Acts/Commission—Canadian human rights law prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities and requires employers to accommodate employees with disabilities. People with disabilities continue to be the most frequent complainants to human rights commissions.CCD was one of the groups that advocated amendment of the Canadian Human Rights Act to include the duty to accommodate.The paper "An Overview of the Duty To Accommodate and Undue Hardship in Human Rights Jurisprudence", a paper written for CCD's CURA project, demonstrates that despite the legal standard set for undue hardship, employees with disabilities are experiencing challenges in having this standard realized in practice.(Irving)

Employment Equity—The 1985 Employment Equity Act introduced a reporting regimen for employers under federal jurisdiction, whereby they report to the Canadian Human Rights Commission about the representation of equity group members in their labor forces and their plans for addressing underrepresentation.CCD campaigned for a more robust form of employment equity which would have had goals, timetables and effective enforcement measures.(The Act was amended in 1995.) The 2008 Employment Equity Report reported that the grand total for representation of persons with disabilities in the private and public sector federal workforce was 3.2% for 2007, and it had been 3.2% in 2006 and 3.0% in 2001. (The 2008 report is the most recent report on the HRSDC web site.)In 2003, Kim England published the study "Disabilities, Gender and Employment: Social Exclusion, Employment Equity and Canadian Banking" England suggests that in 2001 women with disabilities in the banking sector "experienced greater improvement in their proportional representation in middle management and professional occupations, meaning they saw increased opportunities for jobs with decision-making power and movement towards a critical mass that could effect further organizational change (as did women without disabilities(England, p. 5 of 12)." Thus she concludes that while representation has not improved greatly in the banks' workforce, there has been improvement in that more women with disabilities have what are considered to be "good jobs"—jobs where there is decision making power (England, p. 7 of 12)."England notes that, "Evidence shows that organizations with formalized and comprehensive employment equity programs closed the gaps between designated groups and other employees faster than those without such programs(England, p. 7 of 12)."

Federal Contractors Program—This program helps to extend Employment Equity beyond the federally regulated sector.

Employment Insurance (EI) Part II—EI Part II authorizes the undertaking of active employment measures, or "Employment Benefits and Support Measures" (EBSMs). The OECD reports that, "Persons with disability designation, however, are only a small subgroup of all EBSM users: 2.6% of all those receiving Employment Benefits and 6% of those receiving Employment Assistance …. At 4% and 11%, respectively, these shares are significantly higher in British Columbia(OECD, p. 32)."

Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF)—The Opportunities Fund, which began in 1997, has a yearly budget of $30 million. The OF has had permanent budget approval since the February 2000 Budget. The HRSDC Minister Hon. Diane Finley's End Exclusion Press Release reported that the Fund has assisted more than 51,000 Canadians. HRSDC reports that the OF operating principle is that "where clients are eligible for other programming, OF will function as an alternative measure for cases where there is no comparable intervention. Eligible activities include: financial incentives to employers and persons with disabilities; projects helping with business development by people with disabilities, work experience; financial assistance for skill development, employment services, special services and interventions needed to facilitate employment integration." Organizations in the disability community have been funded through the OF to deliver these services. Since its introduction, one ongoing criticism of the OF from the disability community is that the budget is too small.CCD has called for an increase in OF Funding.

Labor Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPD)—Through the LMAPDs the Federal Government transfers $218 million to the provinces to be used in five areas: education and training, employment participation, employment opportunities, connecting employers and persons with disabilities and building knowledge. (The March 2004 federal budget added an extra $30 million to the LMAPD budget. Beginning in 2004/05, this additional funding was allocated on a percapita basis, following deductions of funds required to create a basefunding level of $1.25 million for smaller jurisdictions (Prince EdwardIsland, Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut).)The Ministers of Social Services first approved the LMAPD in 2003. The LMAPD replaced the Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities (EAPD), which existed from 1998 to 2003. The EAPD replaced the Vocational Rehabilitation for Disabled Persons(VRDP) program. CCD has called for this program to have increased funding.

Labor Market Development Agreements— LMDAs are funded under the legislative authority of Part II of the Employment Insurance Act. Through these agreements, Government funding enables provinces and territories to design and deliver skills and employment training programs, such as job creation partnerships and targeted wage subsidies, as well as services for unemployed Canadians, particularly those who are eligible for Employment Insurance (EI) benefits. Through LMDAs, the Government of Canada invests a total of $1.95 billion annually in programs (both federal and provincial-territorial) for unemployed Canadians.CCD has called for specific targets for people with disabilities in the LMDAs.

Canada Study Grant for the Accommodation of Students with Permanent Disabilities— The grant provides up to $8,000 a year to help cover education-related costs associated with disability, such as notetakers, tutors, readers, interpreters, special transportation, technical aids and learning disability assessment. Students who qualify for a Canada Student Loan can apply for the Grant.

Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities—The grant provides up to $2,000 per year to eligible students with disabilities for educational and living expenses.

CPP-D- Rehabilitation—The Canada Pension Plan Disability Vocational Rehabilitation Program is a national program. This program is available in all provinces. This program is designed to help clients whose medical condition has stabilized and who would likely become ineligible for benefits once they had regained the capacity to work. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program helps those clients prepare for their eventual return so that they are better able to meet the challenge. Vocational Rehabilitation assists participants acquire the skills to become employed. This plan may include individual assessments, vocational counseling, labor market information, upgrading, skills training, resumé preparation, job search skills, and work experience. The CPP-D benefits continue while the participant is in the program, including a job search period. If a participant becomes employed, the benefits continue for the first three months, which is termed the Work Trial. If a person has not become employed by the end of their program, he/she will no longer receive CPP-D.The OECD rated the take-up of this program as low.

Provincial Workers Compensation Boards Vocational Rehabilitation Programs—These provincial programs also provide Vocational Rehabilitation programming.

Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program (EDP)—Western Economic Diversification Canada's (WEDC) EDP program assists individuals with disabilities develop self-employment opportunities. The Winnipeg Independent Living Resource Centre, one of the community organizations that assists deliver this progam, indicates that the funding available for loans has not grown.

Working Income Tax Benefit—Budget 2007 introduced a new Working Income Tax Benefit of up to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for families, including an additional disability supplement of up to $250, for low-income working Canadians with disabilities.CCD has been advocating for a refundable disability tax credit for people without a taxable income.

Canada v. Its Peers

The OECD found that, "Overall spending on active labor market programs (ALMP) for personswith disabilities is less than 0.1% of GDP: 0.06% of GDP for federal programs plus another 0.01-0.03% of (provincial) GDP, depending on the province, for additional provincial programs. While this is more than what is being spent in other English-speaking countries, it is much less than the 0.5% (or more) of GDP spent in countries that are making an impact, such as Denmark, and half of the ALMP spending level in Switzerland (Figure 2.1) – two countries in which the employment rate of persons with disabilities is almost 10 percentage points higher than in Canada. There is considerable room for reorienting Canadian investment towards a more active disability policy to make the expenditure yield better results (OECD, 44-45)."