Message from the Co-Chairs
We thank Joanne Clemiss for all of the hard work she did for us and wish her
our very best as she moves on to greener pastures. In her place, we welcome Lise
Lachapelle. She has hit the ground running and will be a definite asset to the
NCFED.
The by-elections are complete and, for the first time, we now have a full
Board. We welcome Guy Delisle in Quebec and Cory Thornton in Ontario.
At the end of March, PSHRMAC funded a two day, face-to-face meeting of all of
the Board. To accommodate the needs of one of the members, the meeting was held
in Victoria. The Hotel Grand Pacific was the most accessible hotel we have seen
yet, and the charges were less than half the cost of a similar hotel in Ottawa!
The two days were filled with a lot of work. But, with all of the great,
committed, hard working people on the Board, everything that we had hoped to get
accomplished was done, and we fell into an easy, productive work relationship. I
forsee a lot of great progress being made by this Board.
From our two day meeting, we have "fleshed out" the issues
identified at the previous Congresses to be presented to the DMs, or their
respective Champions, for resolution.
Cory Thornton and Tony Fenn prepared a well researched and thought-out
presentation for the NCFED, at the beginning of April, to the Public Service
Commission on the proposed changes to the Employment Equity Act.
We are aiming to hold the Congress 2008, at the Ottawa Congress Centre, June
11, 12, 13. We have not got a firm booking yet, so don't buy those plane tickets
yet, but be ready. Because the cost of travel and hotels would be too much for
us to ask one department to pay for, we are, once again, asking that you have
this Congress in your training plan and ask your department to cover your costs.
We will be approaching departments to help defer the costs of the Congress
itself.
Again with PSHRMAC's help, there were NCFED townhalls held in the NCR and
Quebec.
The Pacific Federal Council hosted two diversity days, one in Victoria and
one in Vancouver, and is now working on developing more. These include the NCFED,
NCVM, and NCAFE.
Carole Willans-Théberge, NCFED Co-Chair, NCR
Duane Simpson, NCFED Co-Chair, Regions
A Word from the NCFED National Office
It has been a very busy winter and, like most of you, I am eager for warmer
weather!
What's been happening since the last newsletter? January brought the end of
the voting period and the election of new representatives for the Quebec and
Ontario Regions - we now have a complete complement on the Board! Over the past
few months, much effort was put into developing various partnerships and
building new bridges and we are now focused on moving ahead. March also brought
along the arrival of a new assistant working with me in the National Bureau.
NCFED is very grateful to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) and our
Champion Michael Wernick for making this happen. I am also very grateful to
Canadian Heritage for allowing me to carry on within the Bureau for another
year. Canadian Heritage has been supporting this position for over three years
and this generous contribution is very much appreciated.
And, as noted above by our Co-Chairs, the news we've all been waiting for
Congress 2008!!! Mark your agendas…it will be happening at the Ottawa Congress
Centre on June 11, 12, 13, 2008. We hope to see you all there, so, don't miss
it, more details will follow in future editions of this newsletter. Watch our
website!
Louise Normand, Executive Director
NCFED Activities
NCFED By-elections for Ontario and Quebec Regions: Cory Thornton and Guy
Delisle elected!
As most NCFED subscribers know, there were vacancies on the NCFED Board for
the Ontario and Quebec Regions. By-elections were recently held and many
impressive candidates competed for the positions. Federal public servants in
these two regions voted in record numbers! Once the dust settled, Cory Thornton
(Canada Revenue Agency in Barrie, Ontario) and Guy Delisle (HRSDC in Montreal,
Quebec) emerged the winners.
Cory Thornton has been a long-time advocate in breaking down barriers for
persons with disabilities. While at Trent University completing the Honours
program for Business Administration he volunteered weekly to translate written
textbooks into audio recordings for visually impaired students. In 2000 he began
volunteering weekly at the Hospital for Sick Children (Sick Kids) in Toronto.
The role began (and continues to this day) with directly interacting with
patients who have all forms of illness, ailments and conditions. Since that time
the role continued and expanded into policy work with the Volunteer Advocacy
Committee (VAC). From 2003-2005 he had the privilege to lead this group as their
Chairperson. VAC's mandate was to help steer policies within Sick Kids that
could affect the approximately 700 volunteers within the program. Cory is
currently a Collection Officer with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in Barrie,
Ontario. Beyond his regular duties he has taken on extra roles that include
facilitator for internal/external clients, the local Employment Equity Committee
and was very recently selected by the Regional Sub-committee for Persons with
Disabilities to act as their Chair. Guy Delisle, the new Quebec Region
representative, says "I have been a federal public servant for 15 years,
occupying a wide variety of positions linked to disability issues. My first
position was in the Disabled Persons Participation Program at Secretary of State
in 1991, where about 50 innovative projects were developed annually. The
projects were modest but important to organizations of persons with
disabilities. I want to help colleagues with disabilities achieve their
professional goals. I want to reduce obstacles to their achievements. I know the
Government of Canada's Policy on Accommodation, having worked with it for many
years in order to ensure the respect of my own needs and functional limitations.
Having just completed the accommodation process for my present position, I could
work at ensuring that perceptions are such that the abilities of persons with
disabilities are respected in the federal public service generally and on an
individual basis".
Thanks to everyone who threw their hat into the ring. It is clear that there
are many good people out there who want to support NCFED's work.
NCFED teams up with NCVM and NCAFE
The National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities (NCFED) has been
meeting on a regular basis with the National Council of Visible Minorities (NCVM)
and the National Council of Aboriginal Federal Employees (NCAFE) with the
objective of working together on common issues. This sharing of information has
been a worthwhile experience for all three groups.
A new improved "Public Service Renewal and Diversity Branch"
within PSHRMAC
Our winter newsletter mentioned the many changes occuring within PSHRMAC.
Among these changes was the creation of a Secretariat within the Public Service
Renewal and Diversity Branch. The Secretariat, headed by Suresh Kumar and two
full time employees provide overall administration and coordination support for
the three Councils. Their support over the past few months has been deeply
appreciated and has freed us from dealing with the many administrative details
which gives us more time to move forward on issues of concern. We would like to
express our gratitude to the Champions, Michael Wernick for NCFED, Ruth Dantzer
for NCAFE and Morris Rosenberg for NCVM, for working with Nicole Jauvin and her
staff to make this happen.
NCFED Town Hall sessions - NCR and the Quebec Region lead the way in this
new activity
Over 30 NCFED subscribers participated in the first NCFED National Capital
Region Town Hall Meeting held at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa on
March 16. NCFED-NCR representatives Tony Fenn and Carole Willans-Théberge were
on hand to present the latest news and plans for NCFED progress. Most of all
they were there to hear the views of local federal employees with disabilities.
Many issues were raised, notably questions relating to learning disabilities,
mental health issues, telework and return to work. The upcoming review of the
Employment Equity Act was another hot issue for discussion. Several persons in
attendance volunteered their support for NCFED's work. Everyone present agreed
that it was a very positive experience and that it needs to be done regularly,
with follow-up in between meetings.
Readers will have to wait until the next issue for Guy Delisle's report on
the NCFED-Quebec Region Town Hall held in Montreal last March. He is busy
climbing Mount Kilimanjaro to help raise money for young persons with
disabilities.
NCFED and the Employment Equity Act Review
Over the past few months we have been consulting with various groups
including the Public Service Alliance and the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
The following summarizes our findings:
The Public Service Modernization Act is intended to be a human resources
management legislative reform that aims, among other things, to increase the
flexibility for deputy heads to tailor staffing systems to the needs of their
own organization. To this end, the new PSEA is designed to facilitate hiring by
providing flexibility to departments and agencies, while ensuring they respect
the new PSEA's core values of merit and non-partisanship, as well as the guiding
staffing values of fairness, transparency and access. While NCFED members view
the new PSEA's definition of merit favourably, the new approach to hiring, which
allows managers to select candidates based not only on the essential
qualifications of positions, but also, if desired, on current and future asset
qualifications, organizational needs and operational requirements relevant to
the position may result in managers excluding persons with disabilities from
positions that are not traditionally perceived as appropriate for persons with
disabilities or perhaps more succinctly put, managers will consider people with
disabilities solely for jobs that are "disability" related.
With respect to amending the EE Act, NCFED supports the CHRC's recommendation
that the EE Act be amended to allow the Commission to refer employers to the
Employment Equity Review Tribunal if the Commission finds that they have not
made reasonable progress in implementing their employment equity plans. The
Commission would be able to do so without having to use this measure only as
"a last resort" and without having to negotiate undertakings with
those employers or issue a direction to the employer, as the Act currently
requires.
The Standing Committee on Human Resources, Social Development and the Status
of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA) has not yet set its agenda for this study.
It will probably take place in October, 2007.
NCFED Searching for Departmental Advisory Committees
Back in 2002, Justice Canada's Advisory Committee of Persons with
Disabilities (ACPD) and Canadian Heritage's counterpart advisory committee
teamed up to organize an activity for employees with disabilities within both
their departments - - this partnership ended up snowballing into the
establishment of the National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities!
Partnerships between departmental advisory committees are catalysts for finding
and sharing solutions and instilling change. NCFED continues in its quest to
compile a list of these advisory committees and to facilitate the sharing of
information and experiences between groups and departments and agencies. Please
send us contact information about your department or agency's internal committee
for employees with disabilities and count yourself in! Send coordinates to lnormand@justice.gc.ca
Newsbites on Disability Issues
UN adopts disability convention: The United Nations General Assembly
has unanimously adopted a treaty on the rights of disabled people for more
information please visit: http://www.un.org/disabilities/convention/
Tax breaks urged for parents of children with disabilities by André
Picard
Parents of severely disabled children should be able to set aside up to
$200,000 tax free for their care, in the same manner that parents can now create
savings plans for the higher education of their children, a panel set up by the
federal Finance Minister to investigate the issue has concluded.
In a report presented to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the group also calls
on Ottawa to provide parents of children with severe disabilities with cash
grants of at least $1,000 annually over 20 years, and to double those payments
to low-income families.
"What a tremendous Christmas gift this is for families," said Susan
Whittaker of Vancouver, whose 34-year-old daughter Stephanie suffers from severe
developmental disabilities that require around-the-clock care. "Now we can
plan for our daughter's future, we can put away money for her just like we do
for our other children."
Ms. Whittaker urged the government to act quickly on the recommendations,
saying they will lift a tremendous burden. "When you have a child with a
disability, life is difficult enough. We just want Stephanie to have a normal
life and this removes a tremendous barrier."
International Day of Persons with Disabilities
Did you know that … According to a 2001 Statistics Canada report
entitled Prevalence of Disability in Canada: 3.6 million Canadians (12.4% of the
country's population) say they have disabilities that limit their
activities.
The types of disabilities most commonly reported vary by age group:
Chronic health conditions, such as asthma, are the most prevalent disability
among children under 14. These conditions affect 118,000 Canadian children
(2.1%), or 65% of children with disabilities. More than 20% of these children
have three or more conditions at the same time.
Developmental delays, including intellectual, physical and speech
difficulties, are the most common disabilities in children under four years old.
These conditions affect 68% of children with disabilities in this age
group.
The most common problems experienced by children aged five to 14 years old
are learning disabilities and speech difficulties. Over 100,000 Canadian
children (2.6%) in this age group have learning disabilities, while 67,000 are
affected by speech difficulties.
People aged 15 and over are most affected by reductions in mobility and
agility, and activity limitations due to chronic pain. These problems affect 2.5
million (10.5%), 2.3 million (9.7%) and 2.4 million (10.1%) Canadians
respectively in this age group. Nearly 70% of working-aged people who have
pain-related limitations say they feel pain constantly. Approximately 23% of
adults aged 65 to 74 report having mobility problems. This rate climbs to 42.9%
for those over 75.
The most common sensory limitations in people aged 15 and over are hearing
difficulties, which affect over one million people (4.4%) in this age
group.
Some 2.2% of Canadians experience emotional, psychological and psychiatric
problems.
Twenty-nine per cent of adults with disabilities, aged 15 and over, report
that they have three or more disabilities. Nearly 28% of people in this age
group say they have four or five disabilities.
According to an HRSDC report entitled Advancing the Inclusion of Persons
with Disabilities, 2004:
Over two million Canadian adults with disabilities need assistive aids and
devices. Only 67% of these adults say they have the devices they need.
Ninety-five per cent of children, ages five to 14, who have disabilities
attend school. Most go to a regular school. Children with learning disabilities
are the most likely to use special education services.
Over one-third of working-age adults with disabilities (those between the
ages of 15 to 64) have not completed high school, compared to one quarter of
those without disabilities. About one in ten working-age adults with
disabilities has a university degree, compared to one in five without
disabilities.
The average hourly earnings of people with disabilities are only 96% of the
earnings for people without disabilities.
In 2002:
The employment rate was only 53% for people with disabilities compared to
76% for people without disabilities.
The average household income of working-age adults with disabilities was
80% of that for adults without disabilities. Seniors with disabilities had an
average household income that was 95% of the income of seniors without
disabilities.
People aged 16 to 64 who had disabilities were more than twice as likely to
live in low-income households as those without disabilities.
Advancing the Inclusion of People with Disabilities 2006 is the Government
of Canada's fourth comprehensive report on disability in Canada. - Call
1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232), Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time. If you have a hearing or speech impairment, you can use e TTY
number 1-800-465-7735.
Visit the Government of Canada online at www.canada.gc.ca
If you don't have Internet access at home, call 1-800-O-Canada to find out where
there is free Internet access in your community.
Visit a Service Canada Access Centre. Call 1-800-O-Canada to find out if
there is a centre near you. You can also visit www.servicecanada.gc.ca
and click on "Services where you live" and then on your province or
territory on the map of Canada.
This document is available in alternative formats (large print, audio
cassette, Braille, and computer diskette) in French and English by calling
1-800-O-Canada (1-800-622-6232). Requested documents are automatically produced
in the format selected and mailed directly to the caller. Included in the report
about NCFED:
Easy access to appropriate accommodations is only the most obvious component
of inclusiveness for employees with disabilities. NCFED's vision also focuses on
subtler and more profound changes to the corporate culture of federal
departments and agencies. The work environment is much more than a workplace. As
the workplace must be accessible, so too must be the work environment, which
includes the rapport of NCFED constituents with co-workers, supervisors, line
managers, and senior managers.
Web site Corner
Every issue, we list web sites that may be of interest to NCFED subscribers.
Let us know if your favourites have not shown up here yet!
National Institute of Disability Management and Research
2007 Certification Examinations
The certification examinations for the professional designations of Certified
Disability Management Professional and Certified Return to Work Coordinator will
be taking place on May 30, 2007. With the formal adoption of these professional
certifications in Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom, in addition to
various Canadian locations, examinations will be held this May in Dublin, London
and Sydney.
Details regarding locations can be found at:
CRTWC - http://www.nidmar.ca/certification/crtwc/crtwc_exam_info.asp?certificationTypeID=1
CDMP - http://www.nidmar.ca/certification/cdmp/cdmp_exam_info.asp?certificationTypeID=2
How to enroll information can be found at:
CRTWC - http://www.nidmar.ca/certification/crtwc/crtwc_enroll.asp?certificationTypeID=1
CDMP - http://www.nidmar.ca/certification/cdmp/cdmp_enroll.asp?certificationTypeID=2
More and more workplaces are requesting and recognizing the need for
knowledgeable, properly trained individuals in the field of disability
management. These professional standards provide quality assurance for employers
and workers, are evidence-based and are endorsed by not only a broad
cross-section of organizations across Canada but are also being adopted by a
growing number of countries around the world.
For further details, contact:
Canadian Certification Council
c/o NIDMAR
830 Shamrock Street, Suite 202
Victoria, BC
V8X 2V1 Canada
Tel: 250-386-4388
Fax: 250-386-4398
Email: nidmar@nidmar.ca
Web: www.nidmar.ca
CHRC - Canadian Human Rights Commission
Supreme Court of Canada Decision a Milestone for Human Rights
Ottawa - March 23, 2007 - The Canadian Human Rights Commission is calling
today's Supreme Court decision involving the Council for Canadians with
Disabilities and Via Rail "a milestone for human rights and for Canadians
with disabilities"….read more http://www.chrc-ccdp.gc.ca/media_room/news_releases-en.asp?id=410
What is NCFED?
What NCFED Does
The National Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities (NCFED)
represents the interests of federal public servants with visible and/or
invisible disabilities.
Areas of action include, but are not limited to: awareness, recruitment,
retention, career progression, accommodation, accessibility and training.
The NCFED provides information, advice, analysis and recommendations on
relevant issues, as well as the actions required to address them, to federal
public service management and other key players. The ultimate goal is a
respectful and inclusive work environment.
What NCFED Does Not Do
The NCFED often receives personal requests for assistance from federal
employees with disabilities who are experiencing a specific problem. While every
effort is made to direct enquiries to the person or organization mandated with
handling this kind of issue, the NCFED does not have any role, responsibility or
resources to deal with individual cases. The NCFED has a policy role, reviewing
the broader issues and carrying large initiatives to bring about systemic
improvements in federal work environments across Canada. The personal stories
raised by individual employees are certainly important to our understanding of
the key issues that affect federal public servants with disabilities and help us
to better focus our policy development strategies - however the NCFED cannot
actively participate in individual cases.
NCFED Subscription
Join NCFED and be part of a national network of people working together for
an inclusive Public Service! Anyone interested in employment equity and
disability issues is welcome to subscribe. Having a disability is not a
requirement. There is no fee… it is free.
Subscribers receive the quarterly newsletter, notice of web site updates and
advance notice and personal invitation to the next big NCFED event in 2008. In
addition, you will have the opportunity to participate in various surveys and to
provide input on important issues.
How can you become a subscriber? Download the
form (Word format) and send it by e-mail at lnormand@justice.gc.ca,
by fax at (613)948-2236 or by mail at the following address to the National
Council of Federal Employees with Disabilities, 360 Albert Street, 14th Floor,
Ottawa ON K1A 0H8
NCFED Editorial Board
Louise Normand - Executive Director
Carole Willans-Théberge - Co-Chair, NCR
Marjolaine Levert - Communications Subcommittee Member
Executive Board Members
Duane Simpson
Victoria BC
B.C. Regional Representative - Co-Chair, Regions
Tel: 250-363-5440
Fax: 250-363-7980
simpson.daa@forces.gc.ca
Carole Willans-Théberge
Ottawa ON
NCR Representative - Co-Chair, NCR
Tel: 613-944-4220
Fax: 613-947-7581
ctheberge@pco-bcp.gc.ca
Max Brault
Ottawa ON
NCR Representative
Tel: 613-990-0044
Fax: 613-998-9480
braultm@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Kevin Bruff
St. John's NL
Atlantic Representative
Tel: 709-772-5978
Fax: 709-772-4390
kevin.bruff@pwgsc.gc.ca
Tony Fenn
Ottawa ON
NCR Representative
Tel: 613-948-8553
Fax: 613-957-1327
TTY: 613-957-0619
tony_fenn@hc-sc.gc.ca
Marlene Hoce
Regina SK
Prairie Representative
Tel: 306-780-8090
Fax: 306-780-6926
marlene.hoce@ccra-adrc.gc.ca
Delphine Elleze
Yellowknife , NT
North Representative
Tel: 867-766-8308
Fax: 867-873-6895
Delphine.Elleze@servicecanada.gc.ca
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