The federal and provincial/territorial Ministers Responsible for Social Services have identified the need for development of policies to improve access to disability supports, to enhance the portability of these supports, and to help offset the cost of disability supports. However, the lack of data on disability supports has hindered the ability of governments to design and implement appropriate policies and programs.
The rationale for the price survey arises in part from the difficulty encountered by the 1991 Health and Activity Limitation Survey (HALS) in obtaining accurate figures for the cost of disability supports to the individual. An alternative method for obtaining accurate data about the costs of disability supports was needed. The ultimate goal of this work is to create an objective and comprehensive national source of information about the prices faced by persons with disabilities, their families, and health and social service organizations. In so doing, the price survey should contribute to the development of a more accurate and comprehensive portrait of the costs borne by individuals with disabilities, and should assist in the work of researchers, policy makers, service providers, and advocates.
To identify and fill such gaps in our knowledge, the Applied Research Branch (ARB) at HRDC initiated research to develop a more accurate picture of the living and working conditions faced by persons with disabilities in Canada. As one part of the strategy, ARB launched a project to determine the prices of a comprehensive sample and range of disability supports. This report summarizes these results, providing a picture of the wide variety of prices for disability support goods and services.
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