Overview

Disability & Work in Canada initiative logo

Moving Forward Together
Disability and Work in Canada (DWC) Initiative

In 2017, the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP), the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW), Inclusion Newfoundland (InclusionNL) and the Ontario Network of Injured Workers’ Groups (ONIWG) came together to support the development of a pan-Canadian strategy for disability and work. We are calling this collaboration the Disability and Work in Canada (DWC) Initiative.

After two years of consultations with persons with disabilities, injured workers, disability organizations, government representatives, labour/unions, employers and service providers from across the country – through national conferences, provincial/territorial-based focus groups, and an online survey that garnered more than 440 responses – the DWC Steering Committee published its pan-Canadian strategy for disability and work in November 2019.

DWC Strategy and Supporting Documents

The Pan-Canadian Strategy for Disability and Work is now available:​ 

DWC Strategy: Moving Forward Together (PDF version)
DWC Strategy: Moving Forward Together (Word version)
DWC Strategy: Moving Forward Together (Plain text)
DWC Strategy: Moving Forward Together (Large font PDF version)

Click here for the supporting background documents to the DWC Strategy.

To read the draft strategy, and the executiv​e summary from the draft strategy, please click here.

Past Events

Through the activities and continued collaboration, the momentum to develop and implement a strategy across the country is growing. Here is the list of the events and activities spearheaded by the DWC Initiative to-date.

 

DWC Steering Committee Members (listed alphabetically by last name): Krista Carr, Inclusion Canada; Doramy Ehling, Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF); Alec Farquhar, Inclusive Design for Employment Access Social Innovation Laboratory (IDEA); Maureen Haan, Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW); Steve Mantis, Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups (ONIWG); Mahadeo Sukhai, Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB); Emile Tompa, Inclusive Design for Employment Access Social Innovation Laboratory (IDEA) & Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP); Tammy Yates, Realize

DWC Steering Committee Past Members (listed alphabetically by last name): Kathy Hawkins, Inclusion NL: Employer Support Services; Ron Saunders, Institute for Work & Health (IWH)

Logos for CNIB, Realize, Inclusion Canada, Rick Hansen Foundation, CCRW, ONIWG, IDEA