Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Motion No. 430 regarding employment opportunities for persons with disabilities. This motion refers to measures that are needed in order to give persons with disabilities improved access to stable employment. This means considering constraints related to their disability and recognizing their skills.

It is particularly important that we take the time to discuss this motion because it is related to what is happening in certain areas of my riding where it is increasingly difficult to fill available jobs. For example, there was a mining boom in my region recently, although there has been somewhat of a downturn as of late. Sometimes there are too many jobs available for the number of people who live in these areas. It is sometimes very difficult to fill certain jobs, so companies look to immigration.

It is becoming increasingly clear that we need to look to non-traditional pools of workers, including persons with disabilities, if we want to address this economic challenge in my riding. If we are successful at integrating persons with disabilities into the labour market, perhaps we will overcome the economic challenges in my region.

Integrating persons with a disability into the labour market requires a pan-Canadian strategy and therefore the collaboration of the provinces, territories and first nations. Unfortunately, the government did not include the collaborative approach in its proposals, depriving us of expertise that would help us integrate persons with disabilities into the labour market.

Many community organizations help persons with disabilities. For example, in the city next to mine, the Club de l'amitié des handicapés works to integrate persons with disabilities by organizing activities. It has built up expertise. However, since these community organizations fall under provincial jurisdiction, we are missing out on their expertise.

Still, these organizations can help us by sharing what works for them in their region. By getting involved in information sharing between the provinces and territories, we could have come up with a much better approach to integrating persons with disabilities into the labour market. The refusal to work with the provinces is hindering our overall objective. It is too bad.

Furthermore, the panel's report does not take a close enough look at the employability constraints that prevent disabled people from finding work, for example, inflexible schedules or the quality of the job. These criteria, which can deter people from working, are not mentioned in this report. It does not consider specific constraints related to a person's disability.

For example, if a disabled person's accessible transportation is not available before 9 a.m., they will obviously not be able to work a 9 to 5 job, since they would be late for work every day. There are constraints to that job. When there is a very strict schedule, that person loses a job opportunity.

We need to look at these specific constraints, which sometimes have simple solutions. There are people who would like to work, who feel able to work and who have the intellectual ability and the energy to work, but who cannot do so because of technicalities such as lack of transportation. If these simple issues had been addressed through consultations with disabled people, this could have been much more effective.

The analyses published by Statistics Canada clearly show the correlation between disability and low income.

Persons with disabilities are sometimes unable to find work because of constraints that are essentially easy to handle. As a result, they have low incomes. When you have a low income, it is often more difficult to acquire additional skills to find another job later. When you have a hard time making ends meet because you do not have a job, you obviously cannot afford to get additional training at university to improve your job prospects.

When we talk about persons with disabilities, we must look at the big picture and take a collaborative approach.

Unfortunately, although this motion contains some improvements and tackles the issue, some parts are not quite complete and could be improved. That does not mean that we have to oppose the motion. However, I think that if we really want to improve the job prospects of persons with disabilities, we must do better. The motion leaves something to be desired.

The participation rate of people with a temporary disability is lower than during times when they have no disability. According to Statistics Canada, approximately 55% of men and 39% of women without a disability worked the equivalent of a full-time schedule all year, compared with 21% and 14% of those with six years of disability.

These figures clearly show just how much a disability, even a temporary one, can affect a person's ability to remain active in the labour market. Accordingly, people with a disability are at a greater risk of having a low income, especially when their labour force participation is interrupted.

Canadians with a disability are affected in two ways. The disability hinders them physically or mentally, but it also makes them more likely to live in precarious circumstances. It often becomes more and more difficult to break such an impasse.

If I may digress for just a moment, I would point out that workplace mental health problems cost the Canadian economy $20.7 billion. It is an important issue. Mental illness is usually a temporary disability, but unfortunately, it can sometimes be permanent.

According to another statistic, every week almost 500,000 wage earners miss work because of mental illness. It seems to me we have a lot to think about. We have to do a better job of protecting the health and safety of our workers.

Gender inequality that is, unfortunately, already widespread within the labour market is even more marked when we compare the hours worked by women and men with disabilities. I think that is another point to consider.

Maybe we should pay special attention to what is happening to women with disabilities, who, sadly, struggle with tremendous instability. Women already have a hard time earning as much as men, and when a disability is thrown into the mix, they often end up in very unstable situations.

I would like to close by suggesting that the member who moved the motion should really think about women with disabilities, who are facing instability on both of these fronts.

Christine Moore

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