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Notes for an address by
 

The Honourable Pierre S. Pettigrew

Minister of Human Resources Development
 
 
 

"Effective Partnerships In Action"

To The Canadian Council On Rehabilitation And Work
 

Ottawa, Ontario
 

October 20, 1997

Check against delivery
 

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to be with a group that shares my dedication to opening doors for persons with disabilities. You share my dedication to effective partnerships.

The Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work has been an effective partner to our government. You have accomplished a great deal – in large measure because you have created a strong and diverse team.

Your work has proven that workplaces can be open to persons with disabilities. Your work has proven that employers can welcome the skills and abilities of these people more easily than many believe. Your work has made it possible for more persons with disabilities to get and keep jobs.

You have worked closely with your corporate sponsors, most of whom are here today. And we have worked with you to help you achieve those results. And that demonstrates an effective partnership in action.

Today, I want to take a few minutes to bring you up-to-date on where we are going with improving programs and services for persons with disabilities. Rather than listing our initiatives, I want to emphasize our approach to disability issues.

That approach is summarized in the title of my speech today, "Effective Partnerships in Action." This describes the path we are on very well. For many years, our society saw persons with disabilities as people to be taken care of. They were treated more as "unfortunates" than individuals. They were the focus of charity.

In fairness, we need to remember that this attitude was in keeping with the best motives of Canadians. It called on our willingness to help others facing challenges. And it was an improvement over leaving the needs of persons with disabilities to families. Because while some families could ensure a good quality of life for family members with disabilities, others could not. That was inequitable.

However, as we all know, the charity model had some fundamental flaws. Power over the lives of these people rested with others, with doctors, with officials, with family members. The individuals at the centre of this process, persons with disabilities, could seldom exercise real authority over important decisions, decisions with impact on their own lives.

Over the past generation, persons with disabilities have succeeded in making others see past charity. We know that they are not merely clients. They are not just patients. They are people. We now appreciate that they can, and should, have broader access to opportunities.

That has encouraged us to move from a charity perspective to an emphasis on opportunity. It has been part of the development of our overall philosophy on how to make a society and economy strong.

I can summarize the philosophy this way: Societies that have a collective sense of confidence have an intangible, yet essential, element for their own development. And societies mirror the confidence of their citizens. Progress happens when people believe that they, their families and those around them, have opportunities to build successful lives.

It is clear that the social and economic changes of the past generation have eroded some of our confidence. Many Canadians have been challenged by rapid change in our society and economy, just as it became fashionable in some elite circles to believe that government has little or no place in finding solutions.

I have always disagreed with that view. There are social and economic situations in which markets simply do not allow all citizens to participate fully. There is a place for a government that helps people gain the tools, and yes the confidence, to succeed in a changing time. There is a place for a government that keeps the doors open for everyone.

That has been the approach we have taken in rethinking our policies. We have invested in people in ways that recognize the opportunities in our new economy. But we have also moved from the old belief that social policy was over here, while economic policy was over there. The two are linked.

We have also altered our ways of achieving our goals. We recognize that we must be an effective partner in a broad coalition of forces. Those forces include the provincial governments, our non-government agencies and social organizations, and the private sector.

The belief that the Government of Canada could and should do everything was a product of its time. Unfortunately, it helped create the fiscal dilemma from which we are emerging. However we have not replaced it, as some would like, with the belief that the Government of Canada, cannot and should not do anything. That would only push us from dilemma to nightmare.

Opportunity and partnerships. Those are the foundations of our approach to social and economic policy. And what have we done on those foundations to address disability issues?

The work of the Federal Task Force on Disability Issues was an important step. Since it reported to us, almost a year ago, my department has been acting on the recommendations. We have found ways to make our programs, services and facilities more accessible, with a focus on equality and outcomes.

The last federal budget announced the Opportunities Fund. This is worth $90 million over three years. That budget provided an added $70 million a year in tax assistance to Canadians who face significant medical costs. It put $12 million toward support for organizations that represent Canadians with disabilities. I am pleased to announce that the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work is one of the first organizations to receive funding under the Opportunities Fund.

We recently introduced proposed changes to the Canada Pension Plan into the House of Commons. They are the result of a federal-provincial consensus that will make sure the Plan is affordable and sustainable for all Canadians. They reinforce our commitment to provide disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan, benefits that will continue to go to working people who have to leave the workforce because of a disability.

Those changes will build on the improvements we have already made to increase the support for people receiving Canada Pension Plan Disability benefits.

We piloted a vocational rehabilitation project for CPP Disability clients most likely to benefit. As a result, the vocational rehabilitation program will become a regular part of the Plan’s Disability program to help people who receive these benefits return to work. We will consult with you and other groups to discuss the practical details of implementing this national program.

Also to encourage greater participation in mainstream activities, we introduced new CPP provisions in 1994. Beneficiaries can go to school and do volunteer work without risk of losing benefits. To ease the transition into the workforce, benefits continue for three months for those who did return to work. If their medical condition returns and prevents them from working, their application for benefits will be fast-tracked. I recently co-chaired a meeting of provincial Social Services Ministers. I was pleased to see a collective commitment on the part of my counterparts to the rapid reinstatement of income support benefits for persons with disabilities should employment efforts fail because of the individual’s disability.

This is one more part of our government’s response to the changing needs of persons with disabilities. These, along with pilot projects testing new ways to do business, and efforts to improve coordination among governments and the private sector, have a common goal. We want to improve the links between income, support and services for persons with disabilities.

I am pleased to say that our partners in provincial capitals agree wholeheartedly with an approach to disability issues based on opportunity and partnerships. They understand that there is much we can do together. There is much we must do together.

I am proud of the progress we’ve made together in the last year. We have demonstrated what Canada’s social union can be in practice. Addressing the needs of persons with disabilities has been central to our agenda.

At the recent meeting of federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Social Services, we also discussed issues related to benefits and services for persons with disabilities. We reviewed work in progress including strategic directions, harmonization in delivery of income support, and the replacement of the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons (VRDP) program with a new employment-focused initiative.

All governments agreed on key elements for an initiative to replace the VRDP, to be called the Employability Assistance for People with Disabilities. This initiative will focus on helping people prepare for and maintain employment and will emphasize results and outcomes.

Two points have come through very clearly in our work. First, we recognize we must have the full participation of persons with disabilities and their organizations in defining and delivering solutions. Second, we will achieve little without reaching out to partners throughout society.

It is essential to have the full participation of the disability community in defining the solutions. It may not always appear that the views of those consulted appear in the final product. I am, however, a firm believer that the work of my department is improved every time we get input from the dedicated and well-informed individuals in the disability community.

This is particularly true when it comes to employment. Canada’s employers can lead the way in overcoming barriers to workplace integration. Canada’s employers can set an example that will lead to opportunities across society.

This Council already has an impressive record in helping persons with disabilities gain skills and the chance to prove what they can do on the job. You have provided the Job Accommodation Network for more than a decade, and it has earned praise for a job well done.

Your celebration of the success of the Wide Area Employment Network and the Skills Training Partnership Program today is also well-deserved. They have proven to be model ways to reduce the limits that society too often places on persons with disabilities. I must also applaud your corporate community for their participation in and contribution to a successful and model partnership initiative.

Overall, your work has consistently shown that corporate, non-governmental organizations and education leaders can co-operate to improve access for persons with disabilities. Your work shows that action changes attitudes towards disabilities more than any well-meaning public relations campaign ever can.

As we look at your work and the direction that Canada’s federal and provincial governments are taking, it is clear that we share similar views. We respect the rights of persons with disability to exercise control over their lives. We respect their right to gain fair access to the tools of integration – on the job, and in the life of our society. We understand the power of real opportunity and real partnerships.

We are taking action because we know it is about basic human rights and benefits for all of us.

Self-sufficiency sows the seeds of greater confidence for individuals. And as individuals reap the harvest of that confidence through better jobs, and greater involvement in their communities, we all benefit. We see our broader sense of community confidence grow. Thank you for the work you are doing to bring Canada closer to these goals.