Good morning.

Persons with an intellectual disability or autism are two of the most disadvantaged and marginalized populations in Canada, with an employment rate of only about 20%. We have an opportunity to change that.

Our budget request is for a three-year, $30-million initiative called Ready, Willing and Able, or RWA.

Ready, Willing and Able is a partnership of the Canadian Association for Community Living, the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance, and our member organizations across the country. This national project engages employers and reinforces the business case of inclusive hiring, generating increased employer demand to hire job seekers with an intellectual disability or autism. Because it focuses on employer demand, it works in partnership and not in competition with provinces' and territories' employment programs and agencies. We say it's a bit like riding sidecar.

Our request is for a phase two RWA initiative. The initial pilot of RWA that commenced in 2014 has been extremely successful. To date, we have reached out to 8,700 employers, actively worked with 3,200 employers, and achieved the generation of 2,153 jobs.

We are grateful for the support received from the federal government to allow us to demonstrate that job seekers with an intellectual disability or autism can obtain and retain employment within the competitive labour market. We know we have an approach that works and that can begin to shift the dismal employment rate of 20%.

A phase two project will conduct outreach to 10,000 employers, actively engage with 4,000 employers, achieve over 2,000 new employment outcomes, and create a minimum of 10 new national employer partnerships. More importantly, RWA will be delivered in 30 primary communities in each province and territory, with secondary outreach to 300 communities. It will reflect urban, rural, francophone and anglophone communities. It will engage provincial and territorial officials in employment policy discussions. It will focus on identifying issues and barriers articulated by Canada's indigenous peoples. It will also cement discussions with provincial and territorial officials and the private sector related to the long-term sustainability of the RWA model.

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