Disability and Work in Canada 2020 Virtual Conference:
The Strategy in Action—Pathways and Impacts
Day 4: Wednesday December 2, 2020 – Moving Forward Together
DISABILITY AND WORK IN CANADA 2020
Strategy-in-Action -- Pathways and Impacts
Virtual Conference – November 25 & 26 and December 1 & 2, 2020
The Disability and Work in Canada 2020 (DWC 2020) Conference was held virtually this year over four days in late November and early December (November 25 & 26 and December 1 & 2). The theme for this year’s conference was the “Strategy in Action—Pathways and Impacts”, with subthemes for each day as follows:
- Wednesday November 25, 2020 – The Big Picture--Challenges and Opportunities
- Thursday November 26, 2020 – Progress in the Workplace
- Tuesday December 1, 2020 – Strengthening Supports for Workers
- Wednesday December 2, 2020 – Moving Forward Together
Day 4: Wednesday, December 2, 2020 – Moving Forward Together
Jump To:
- Opening Remarks (MC) - Day 4
- Parallel session 1: Income Security for Persons with a Disability (Part 2)
- Parallel session 2: How are we doing? Monitoring and Measurement of Progress on Implementing Policies and Programs
- Parallel session 3: Gender-Based Analysis Plus in the Context for the Opportunities Fund Program
- Vignette: Vignette by Michael
- Joint Keynote: A fireside chat with Perrin Beatty and Hassan Yussuf
- Break with Vignette: Vignette by Rachel Boutin
- DWC Steering Committee Reflections
- Closing Plenary: In The Works: A Dynamic Strategy
- Closing for the Day (MC) - Day 4
Opening Remarks (MC) - Day 4 Theme: Moving Forward Together
MC: Mahadeo Sukhai, Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer, Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)
Parallel session 1: Income Security for Persons with a Disability (Part 2)
Moderator:
Steve Mantis, Chair, Research Action Committee, Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG)
Speakers:
- Laura Cattari, Senior Policy Analyst, Hamilton Roundtable for Poverty Reduction
- Michael Prince, Landsdowne Professor, University of Victoria
- Neil Belanger, Executive Director, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS)
Session Description: This session will focus on current recommendations to reform income supports. Speakers include Michael Prince, Landsdowne Professor, University of Victoria; Neil Belanger, Executive Director, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS); and Laura Cattari, a disability and poverty activist and a person with lived experience.
Tags: Income supports
Parallel session 2: How are we doing? Monitoring and Measurement of Progress on Implementing Policies and Programs
Moderators: Alec Farquhar, Chair, Engagement, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy and Maureen Haan, President & CEO, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW)
Speakers:
- Jeff Willbond, Director General, Proactive Compliance Branch, Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Steven Tobin, Executive Director, Labour Market Information Council
- Jillian Hardie, Executive Director/CEO, Challenge Disability Resource Group and Career Industries, Whitehorse, Yukon
Session Description: Canada has made ambitious commitments under the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Accessible Canada Act. This includes a broad range of issues. Regarding employment, persons with disabilities are trying to obtain employment. Employers and unions are striving to improve the recruitment and retention of people with disabilities. Agencies are providing front line employment services. But how will we know if we are making progress? This panel will focus on how best to measure progress both broadly for the big initiatives and also in terms of improving employment outcomes.
Tags: Human rights, Measurement and accountability
Parallel session 3: Gender-Based Analysis Plus in the Context for the Opportunities Fund Program
Moderator:
Kathy Padkapayeva, National Manager, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP)
Speakers:
- Renata Sharkey, Policy Analyst, Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF) Team, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
- Jessica Stark, Senior Analyst, Strategic Integration and Corporate Affairs (SICA) Directorate, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
- Khaddouj Souaid, Manager, Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF) Team, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
- Thomas Bergbusch, Senior Policy Analyst, Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities (OF) Team, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
Session Description: The Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities program is a $40M per year contribution program that assists persons with disabilities who have limited or no attachment to the labour market prepare for, obtain and maintain employment or self-employment. The Opportunities Fund also works with employers to prepare workplaces for the integration of persons with disabilities and to raise the profile of persons with disabilities in the employer community. The program’s responsibilities include oversight of the performance measurement framework, providing strategic program policy advice on issues related to the labour market participation of persons with disabilities, undertaking forward-looking policy development to identify and address future programming needs, developing strategic partnerships, management of internal and external consultations and priority setting to launch the Call for Proposals. The program is led by Employment and Social Development Canada staff members, consisting of Khaddouj Souaid (Manager), Thomas Bergbusch (Senior Policy Analyst) and Renata Sharkey (Senior Policy Analyst), who are dedicated to increasing the participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce.
Additional Materials and Resources:
Tags: Disability-confident workplace, Hiring, Measurement and accountability
Vignette: Vignette by Michael
Vignette by Michael. CASE - Profiles of Employment Success. Our thanks to the Canadian Association of Supported Employment for the vignettes.
Tags: Accommodation, Disability-confident workplace, Hiring
Joint Keynote: A fireside chat with Perrin Beatty and Hassan Yussuf
Moderator:
Alec Farquhar Chair, Engagement, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy
Speakers:
- Hassan Yussuff, President, Canadian Labour Congress
- Hon. Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce
Session Description: COVID-19 has challenged Canada in many ways, both on a human and economic level. We have been fortunate to have some outstanding collaboration within civil society in developing our response. Perrin Beatty, CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, and Hassan Yussuff, President of the Canadian Labour Congress, have modeled this right from the beginning of the pandemic. Their joint approach to the Prime Minister opened the door to many conversations at the sectoral, provincial and local levels. We are very fortunate to have Perrin and Hassan presenting a joint keynote to the DWC conference focused on ensuring that persons with disabilities are fully included in the recovery of our labour market.
Tags: COVID-19
Break with Vignette: Vignette by Rachel Boutin
Vignette by Rachel Boutin CASE - Profiles of Employment Success. Our thanks to the Canadian Association of Supported Employment for the vignettes.
Tags: Accommodation, Disability-confident workplace, Hiring
DWC Steering Committee Reflections
Speakers (in alphabetical order by last name): Alec Farquhar, Maureen Haan, Steve Mantis, Ron Saunders, Emile Tompa
Closing Plenary: In The Works: A Dynamic Strategy
Introduction:
Emile Tompa, Director, Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP)
Speaker:
Michael Prince, Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy, University of Victoria
Closing for the Day (MC) - Day 4 Theme: Moving Forward Together
MC: Mahadeo Sukhai, Head of Research and Chief Accessibility Officer, Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB)
