An Essential Force

Report from the Task Force on Disability Issues (The federal Task Force on Disability Issues released its report, "Equal Citizenship for Canadians with Disabilities: The Will to Act," on October 28, 1996. Mr. Andy Scott, M.P. for Fredericton-York-Sunbury, chaired the Task Force. Its other members were: Clifford Lincoln, M.P. for Lachine-St. Louis; Andy Mitchell, M.P. for Parry Sound-Muskoka; and Anna Terrana, M.P. for Vancouver East.

BY ANDY SCOTT, M.P.

It was my honour and privilege to chair the Federal Task Force on Disability Issues. The Task Force had a very specific mandate and a very short time frame in which to do its work. Our mandate was to describe the federal role in disability issues.

We used the four short months allotted to consult with Canadians with disabilities in 14 cities across the country, to get the advice and input of observers from the disability community and from research experts, and to produce a report focused on action.

While the task force’s members acknowledge our debt to others who have studied these issues before us, we have not hesitated to borrow good ideas and recommendations. After all, part of the reason the task force was created was because there had been insufficient action following these earlier recommendations.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSIBILITY
It is time for the federal government to accept its significant responsibility for disability issues and act to ensure that Canadians with disabilities have equitable access to the programs and services that are the foundation of equal citizenship.

Across Canada, people with disabilities told us loud and clear that comparable services and programs have to be available from coast to coast to coast. No one should feel that she is less of a citizen because she lives in a part of the country that does not provide the services she needs to participate in Canada’s economic and social life.

The task force made recommendations in five areas -- government infrastructure and citizenship, labour market integration, legislation, disability income, and cost-of-disability and tax issues -- and called for urgent action on behalf of Aboriginal Canadians with disabilities.

Specifically, on the issue of the federal approach to disability issues, we recommend: That the government appoint an existing minister or secretary of state as Minister Responsible for Disability Issues and establish policy and program support to coordinate departments’ approaches to disability issues.

Our goal was to ensure that all government actions on disability issues are complementary and coordinated.

We also called for an annual report on federal government actions, and on provincial and territorial actions, once all governments agree on a shared national vision for disability-related policies, services and programs. We recommend that the government provide core funding and other support to national organizations of people with disabilities.

LEGISLATIVE REFORMS
Specifically, on legislative reforms, we recommend: That the government establish an ongoing strategy to review laws, regulations, policies, practices and rules to remove barriers to full participation and to ensure the equality of people with disabilities, with input from the disability community.

We recommend that the Canadian Human Rights Act be amended to include a duty to accommodate people with disabilities, and that the Transportation Act ensure accessibility to all federally regulated modes of transit, including inter-provincial buses.

LABOUR MARKET INTEGRATION
Specifically, on access to the labour market, we recommend: That people with disabilities receive equitable access to benefits and services under the Employment Insurance Act, whether they are delivered by the federal or provincial governments.

We called for a $45-million fund to give Canadians with disabilities who are not eligible for Employment Insurance benefits the supports they need to prepare for, find, get and keep a job.

We recommend that the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Program be refocused as an Employability Access Fund, with $140-million for vocational supports, and $28-million for research and partnership projects.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS
We also recommend that practical supports such as a $1,000 work-income supplement, and a low-income tax credit, be introduced. We suggest ways to improve the Disability Tax Credit and the Medical Expenses Tax Credit, and call on the federal government to work with the provinces and territories to simplify and improve the disability-income "system" in Canada. We are particularly concerned that governments separate disability income from eligibility for disability-related supports and services.

We recognize that the time for action is now. We have listened and learned. We will work with our colleagues in government so that they can use our recommendations to build on the essential force that we believe they have "the will to act."