Holland Bloorview Scientist: Federal government’s budget an important step forward for people with disabilities

The 2014 Federal Budget’s Job Training measure includes investment to help those with disabilities participate in the workforce. $15 million has been earmarked to connect people with disabilities with available positions, and an additional $11.4 million is promised to expand job training for those with autism.

“At a time when Canada struggles with a labour shortage, it makes good economic sense to look at under-represented groups, like those with disabilities, who can contribute their talent. This federal funding will help create skills development programs and enact policy that will help remove barriers to this progress,” says Dr. Sally Lindsay, a scientist in the Bloorview Research Institute. Lindsay works to improve the participation and employment readiness of people with disabilities in the labour market.

Lindsay’s research, funded by the federal Social Sciences and Humanities Council (SSHRC) and Ontario Human Capital Research and Innovation Fund (OHCRIF), highlights that people with disabilities are an under-utilized source of talent in the labour force. Nearly 800,000 working-age Canadians with a disability are unemployed but want to work, with disabilities that do not prevent them from doing so. Despite this, their employment rates sit at about half the rate of those without disabilities.

“People in this group continue to face barriers including discrimination and lack of accommodations,” says Lindsay. “Expanding the employment of people with disabilities is important from a human rights perspective, but there is also a strong business case for hiring people with disabilities.”

In a recent study, Lindsay and her team synthesized many of Canada’s most promising programs, policies and employment practices aimed at including people with physical disabilities in the labour force.

Lindsay has presented her findings to policy-makers and employers. She was recently invited to speak at the Abilities in Mind (AIM) conference in Vancouver in March, a gathering focused on this topic of workplace inclusion for people with disabilities.

To schedule an interview with Sally Lindsay, please contact:

Claire Florentin
Senior Communications Associate
Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital
cflorentin@hollandbloorview.ca
416-425-6220, extension 3497

About Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital

Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital is Canada’s largest children’s rehabilitation hospital dedicated to improving the lives of children with disability. As a fully affiliated hospital with the University of Toronto, we are home to the Bloorview Research Institute and the Teaching and Learning Institute, allowing us to conduct transformational research and train the next generation of experts in childhood disability.