Ontario jobs group to target disabilities

The Ontario government has named an advisory group of business and government leaders to help tackle persistently high unemployment rates among people with disabilities.

The 17-member group, called the Employers’ Partnership Table, will meet for the next two years to come up with strategies to encourage businesses to hire more disabled staff.

The group, which was promised as part of the province’s broader employment strategy for people with disabilities, features executives from corporate giants including CIBC, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Deloitte and Sodexo.

Other group members include operators of small businesses, an executive from the CBC and a senior official with the city of London, Ont.

The presence of public sector leaders is in line with the employment strategy, which stressed the need for government to take the lead in tackling unemployment among disabled residents.

Historically, roughly half of eligible people with disabilities are able to find work, compared to roughly 80 per cent of able-bodied peers.

Tracy MacCharles, the Minister Responsible for Accessibility, said the advisory group will be a key resource as the government looks to reverse that trend.

She said the group members, who have experience in hiring people with disabilities in meaningful roles, can craft ideas that will help the rest of the province follow suit.

“Forward-thinking employers of all sizes are looking to new talent pools to help fuel their businesses on the innovation front,” MacCharles said. “Ontario employers are always striving to improve and expand their operations, and these days that includes thinking outside the traditional talent box. Businesses are realizing more and more that people with disabilities are an under-utilized labour group.”

The focus on business is one part of the four-pronged employment strategy the Liberals first promised to develop in 2013.

It also includes a call for all businesses with more than 20 people on staff to hire at least one additional person with a disability.

The request isn’t binding and comes with no enforcement tools, but MacCharles says the call to action could create about 56,000 jobs.

Both the provincial and federal government currently estimate one in seven people has a disability and expect the number will rise as the population continues to age.

Recent information from Statistics Canada estimated the unemployment rate for people with disabilities to be 16 per cent, more than double the national average.

The multi-pronged employment strategy says it will be investing in more apprenticeships and other early career experiences for youth.