Work accessibility plan lacks specifics: advocates

Critics call for ‘immediate, practical action’ to empower Ontarians with disabilities

The province’s new strategy to address the high unemployment rate among Ontarians with disabilities was panned by advocates who said it lacks specifics and will take “months if not years” to have an impact.

David Lepofsky, chair of the Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act Alliance, said the announcement comes more than four years after the government promised action and “it includes some good general ideas, but not enough specifics or timelines for results.

“It too often re-announces things government had said it was already doing, and the risk of months of more delay. After years of waiting, what we need instead is a plan to hit the ground running now, with immediate, practical action that will quickly help get jobs for far too many unemployed and underemployed Ontarians with disabilities.”

Tracy MacCharles, the minister responsible for accessibility, told the Star in an interview that the strategy will particularly focus on helping students and youth better plan and prepare for employment, as well as try to connect employers with potential workers.

“What we are focused on in this strategic announcement . . . is to take a number of actions to break down barriers for people with disabilities,” she said, adding that “throughout all of these efforts, we hope to make it easier for employers to tap into that untapped pool” of talent.

In Ontario, almost two million people have a disability, and the unemployment rate is much higher than that of the general population, at about 16 per cent, compared to less than 6 per cent provincially.

The government’s “Access Talent” plan includes providing personalized support for youth, including planning for post-secondary as well as help moving into the workforce, MacCharles said.

It will also help post-secondary institutions provide better services to students, especially those on the autism spectrum.

The government will also urge its ministries to work with companies that have a good track record of hiring Ontarians with disabilities. The premier has previously urged com- panies with more than 20 employees to hire at least one more person with a disability, to create some 56,000 jobs.

From boosting awareness to changing attitudes, “the government needs to be a leader in all of this,” MacCharles said.

So far, the government says that $1 million will be spent in the public education system on the strategy and $2 million to help with the new “supported employment program.”

Ontario was the first in Canada to enact legislation pledging that by 2025, all businesses will be accessible.