Disability and Employment: How workforce engagement impact an individual’s disability assistance. An analysis of four provincial income support programs for persons with disabilities
Creators: name: Poppe, Jennifer
Publisher: name: Faculty of Graduate Studies
Year: 2018

description: Canadians with disabilities have a high risk of living in poverty and experience high rates of unemployment due to economic, social and educational barriers. Many persons with disabilities are ready, willing and able to work. When attempting to engage in the workforce, persons with disabilities face multiple barriers. This research study examines four provincial (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia) income support programs for persons with disabilities to understand potential barriers. The research will look at three important elements of the income support programs including income exemptions, health benefits and rapid reinstatement, to determine if these elements encourage or discourage persons with disabilities to enter the workforce. The objective of this research is to identify if persons with disabilities who receive income assistance in Canada are less likely to engage in the workforce due to income claw backs, loss of health benefits and ineligibility of rapid reinstatement, which are important elements of the provincial social assistance programs. The methodology used in this study is a qualitative approach, specifically using documentary analysis. The study utilizes government publications that summarize the labour market experiences for persons with disabilities. The study gives an insight into the barriers that persons with disabilities encounter while attempting to participate in the labour market. Another key finding found that an estimated 411,600 persons with disabilities with the potential to work vi were unemployed.1 The study also uses publications from a private Canadian think tank that does research specifically in the disability policy field. The study used these publications to capture an overall picture of the issues surrounding the income support programs in Canada. A review of the literature shows the differences and similarities in provincial income support programs. Every provincial program is unique and follows its own set of rules and policies. Findings indicated that some provinces have social assistance programs that impact persons with disabilities decision to engage in the workforce because of tax claw backs and ineligibility of reinstatement into the program. Individuals within the programs are essentially told how much they can earn, while clawing back more money once they exceed their limit, which can deter them from the work-force. Conversely, Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario offer transitional programs to assist individuals who go off social assistance by providing them with extended health coverage. Healthcare coverage is important for persons with disabilities because they have higher healthcare costs than a person without disabilities because of poor health outcomes.23 Findings also suggested that persons with disabilities face additional barriers when attempting to engage in the workforce, and a fear of losing their social assistance eligibility is only a fraction of the problem with the current policies. Based on the results section, the study recommends two policy options. I. Maintain the Status Quo: Do not disrupt the current social assistance system. The current provincial programs would be administered the same way, and nothing will change. 1 Matthew, Till, et al. “A Profile of the Labour Market Experiences of Adults with Disabilities among Canadians aged 15 years and older.” (2015). https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2015005-eng.htm 2 World Health Organization. “Disability and Health.” http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health 3 Gloria L. Krahn, et al. “Persons with Disabilities as an Unrecognized Health Disparity Population.” American Journal of Public Health. (2015): 198 II. National Accessibility for Canadians with Disabilities Act: Based on the results section, persons with disabilities face additional barriers to employment that include physical, attitudinal and procedural barriers. To remove these barriers, it’s important to make our society accessible and inclusive by creating a National Accessibility Act. This act would follow similar guidelines from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). Creating a national policy would unify the country because the provinces would adhere to one set of guidelines. The guidelines would enforce standards related to goods, services, facilities, employment, accommodation and buildings.