Disability In Canada

Disabled person defined as a person who has a physical or mental impairment includes hearing, mobility, visual impairments and mental retardation that substantially limit one or more major life activities such as walking, talking, hearing, seeing, learning, performing manual tasks, and caring for oneself. Also, they should have a record for their impairment. A study made by Statistics Canada in 2014 indicate that” the employment rate of Canadians aged 25 to 64 with disabilities was 49 percent in 2011, compared with 79 percent for Canadians without a disability” (Newswire.ca, 2017). This shows that Canadian with disability have a lower level of participation on labour force market and a higher level of unemployment than the Canadians without

Also, it’s a way to improve the productivity of the market economy.

In the article “Locating a Window of Opportunity in the Social Economy: Canadians with Disabilities and Labour Market Challenges” by Michael J. Prince. He discussed the labour force participation of Canadian with disabilities there was a big lost in the Canadian labour market outcomes in 2008-2009 compared to in the 1990s and early 2000s. Today People with disabilities have experienced low levels of employment, a higher level of poverty, high dependence on welfare and they face workplace discrimination and social barriers. They face many challenges in participating in the labour market, especially those with very severe disabilities or low educational attainment. A lot of them need work accommodations and supports. In this article the writer evaluate the employment status and the policies for working-age adults with disabilities. He finds a higher number of unemployment in disable people, even if they want to participate in the labour force and they are able. Of those who are employed, many of them are below minimum wage, have fewer promotions and not protected by labour

There is some effort that intended to protect Canadians from discrimination in work place and provide them better access to equal opportunities to employment. Unfortunately, there is no direct strategy that deals with employment issues related to individuals with disabilities. However, there are a few of legislative, policy tools and obligations with regard to the role each should play to advance the employment of people with disabilities. According to England “The Employment Equity Act addresses systemic employment discrimination faced by the four designated groups (women, persons with disabilities, visible minorities and Aboriginal peoples). which found that the four designated groups persistently suffered disadvantage in paid employment, including higher unemployment rates, limited opportunities for permanent full-time, well-paid jobs and limited access to positions of decision making power” (England, 2003). This shows that many Canadians with disabilities have lower pay, fewer promotions and to live in lower-income households compared to Canadians without disabilities. One of the main problems for that there are many employers usually don’t employ people with mental or physical disabilities due to many challenges and the probability of inability to perform the essential job duties. Therefore, federal government is committed to introducing