Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion 2024 (2024)

[Bean Gill:

Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us virtually from across Canada and beyond.

I am thrilled to welcome you to the third annual Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion or CCDI.

My name is Bean Gill, and I'm joining you -

For those of you who do not know me, I am an East Indian woman with short blonde hair, wearing an orange tank top and have Indigenous beaded earrings on as well.

I will now tell you about the virtual event platform.

CCDI is bilingual and you can enjoy the event in the official language of your choice.

Some speakers will speak French, some speakers will speak English, and some will address us in Sign Language.

To access interpretation, please click on the icon called "interpretation" that looks like a globe and choose the language that you'd like to hear.

The interpretation icon also gives you the option to access interpretation in American Sign Language and Quebec Sign Language, which is called French Sign Language in Zoom.

The event also offers communication access, real-time translation, or CART, captioning in English and French.

To access the captioning, please click on the link for English or for French.

The links are in the chat and in the e-mails that were sent out in advance of the event.

If you need help accessing the services or have a technical problem, don't worry.

Please type your question into the chat.

Event organizers will help you find an appropriate solution.

Another thing that is very important to ensure that there are no interruptions, please disconnect from your virtual private network or VPN if you have one.

Now over to you Varda for the format of the Congress.

Varda Étienne:

Thank you all and welcome to the third Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

I am also very privileged to be one of your hosts today.

I am Varda Étienne, and I am with you from the unceded land of the Kanien'kehaka, Mohawks which has long been a land of exchange for First Nations.

I am a black person of Haitian origin.

I was born in Quebec.

I am a radio host for 27 years, and I'm very involved for people who have mental health issues because I myself do live with bipolar issues.

And I also work for women who are victims of family violence.

As been said earlier, this event is bilingual, so you can choose to follow in the language of your choice.

Some people will be speaking French.

Others will be speaking English, and others will speak to you in Sign Language.

To access interpretation, click on the icon entitled "interpretation."

It looks like a globe and please choose the language of your choice once you've clicked on it.

Bean.

Bean Gill:

Yeah. Yeah. Thanks, Varda.

I would be happy to.

I ask that we all remain respectful throughout the event.

You will see that there are health breaks between activities.

If you need to step away from your computer during a panel discussion to rest, get some water, or otherwise, don't worry, you won't miss out.

We will be recording panel discussions.

The recordings and transcripts of the panel discussions will be available to everyone after the Congress.

Last but not least, we want to hear from you.

After the Congress, we will share a feedback form.

I encourage you to provide feedback.

We want to know what works, but also what can be improved for the next Congress.

Please fill this out at the end of the event.

Also tell us what topics you are interested in for future CCDIs.

Varda, did you know that this is the five-year anniversary of the coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act?

Varda Étienne:

Yes, I know it's already been five years and this is amazing.

And did you know as well that the goal of the Accessible Canada Act is to make Canada barrier free by 2024?

We need to figure out what the obstacles are and surmount them.

There are very important definitions that we should be discussing during the event.

For example, "barrier" means anything, including anything physical or architectural, technical or attitudinal, anything that is based on information or communications or anything that is a result of a policy or a practice that hinders the full and equal participation in society of persons with an impairment, including a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication, or sensory impairment, or functional limitation.

Then "disability" means any impairment, including physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment, or a functional limitation, whether permanent, temporary, or episodic in nature or evidence or not, that in an interaction with the barrier hinders a person's full and equal participation in society.

Bean, what's next now?

Bean Gill:

I would like to now invite Elder Luce Bélanger to provide a Land Acknowledgement.

Our intention is to create a space where everyone feels welcome and can participate as much as they want.

Please join me in welcoming Elder Luce Bélanger.

Elder Luce Bélanger:

Merci.

Miigwetch.

Thank you.

Great spirit, this is a great moment.

And thank you.

That is always a first prayer.

I would like to say thank you for my life.

I call to the Creator.

And I wish for the eastern door to open for us for this meeting.

There is an eagle at the eastern door, and the eagle invites us to be able to create a better world together.

And then towards the southern door, the door of the water, of the coyote, of wisdom, a door through which sometimes we learn, maybe sometimes in easy ways, but sometimes in complicated ways.

But the important thing is to continue trying.

And then there's the western door, the bear door.

And I would like to underscore that this is for healing, for medicine.

And I hope for us to be able to all heal together today.

I hope that we can find solutions to allow us to live together more functionally.

Also, the northern door now, the door of wisdom, the door of those who have come before us, the door of people who are always present with us, our ancestors.

And I would like to invite this door to open for wisdom, to allow us to understand and to find solutions together for what is to come.

Everything that is above me, everything that is in the universe today, for example, is the full moon, so I would like to acknowledge Grandmother Moon who is there with us today.

The moon makes oceans move and makes our emotions move within us as well.

So I would like to thank the moon, and I would also like us to remember that around us there is an entire universe.

I would also like to thank Mother Earth, who nourishes us every day, who guides us and who feeds us unconditionally.

I pray that together, children all around the world, and humans from all around the world can together find something to drink and something to eat.

I would like to thank you for being with us today.

You are there to help us improve everybody's lives, to help us contribute together, to make the world a better place.

And I would also like to finish with the "Water Song."

So I am a Métis Algonquin woman.

And we say that this is a song to transform water.

So this, I have in my hands right now a copper container.

We say that copper interacts with water.

It is also said that water represents our emotions.

So I would like to invite you to close your eyes and to imagine yourself surrounded by water and integrate that in you, please, while I sing.

[Singing in Indigenous language.]

Thank you very much and I wish you all a great meeting.

I hope that you can share together, and I hope that you can keep having a vision for a better future here in our beautiful country, and I hope that we also have an influence everywhere around the world.

Thank you so much.

Varda Étienne:

Wow!

Bean Gill:

Thank you so much, Elder Luce, for sharing your words of wisdom and that beautiful song.

I love visualization, so thank you for inviting us along on that journey.

Events like CCDI are important to me because as a racially marginalized woman with a visible disability, I've really seen how discrimination can impact somebody's life.

But by having Congresses like this and events like this, it really opens the door for true inclusivity and to really be sharing stories and sharing our experiences with one another, which will bring us into a more inclusive society.

So I absolutely am honoured to be one of the MCs at this event tonight, today, and I thank all of you for joining us here.

Varda.

Varda Étienne:

I would like --

Elder Bélanger,

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Because this prayer, this song, was great for me to hear.

I love water, and I was able to visualize being surrounded by water.

And your introductory remarks really appeased me.

So I would like to thank you.

So when we talk about disability inclusion, this is something that's very important.

Everybody should have their place.

And it is our responsibility to create a place for everybody, to create a sense of belonging for everybody.

I am somebody who has mental health issues and the very few that can be invisible for some people.

So it means that even if it's an invisible disability, I can put myself in the shoes of somebody who has a disability.

I don't like using the word "mental" disability, but it is important that for us in 2024 that we are able to destigmatize these taboos around all kinds of disabilities.

We should all be seen as full human beings who belong just as much as others.

And that is why I am so touched and I am thrilled to be with you here today.

And I would also like to wish you all a fantastic day with us.

I am very enthusiastic about being here at this event, and I'm so sorry I'm getting emotional.

I'm -- This Congress is so important for me and it makes me emotional.

I would like to thank the Canadian government for having this type of event that is very needed.

Bean, I'm sorry. I'm getting emotional.

I'll let you speak for a couple of minutes.

Bean Gill:

Oh, it's okay, Varda.

One thing I always say is --don't apologize for your emotions.

Varda Étienne:

Thank you, my love.

Thank you.

Bean Gill:

I know that's the one thing that makes us human.

If we didn't have emotions, if we didn't show emotions, we would just be like the rest of the mammals.

So don't apologize. Emotions are welcome.

Let them flow.]

Bean Gill:

I now have the pleasure of introducing Elisha Ram, Associate Deputy Minister of Income Security and Social Development at Employment and Social Development Canada.

Elisha, the stage is yours.

Elisha Ram:

Thank you, Bean.

Thank you, Varda.

And also my thanks to the Elder for such a moving opening to today's Congress.

Thank you all for being with us for this third Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

Once again this year, members of the disability community, academics, policymakers, innovators, and practitioners have gathered to celebrate the contribution of the person with disabilities to our communities and our workplaces, and to share ideas and best practices.

It's truly exciting, and I hope that all of you will have the opportunity to participate, to learn, and to share your experiences today.

I have the pleasure of introducing our host today, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.

Minister Khera has previously served as Minister of Seniors, as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue, and as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health.

And as many of you already know, Minister Khera is a registered nurse by profession and a community volunteer who is passionate about improving the lives of all those around her.

And so welcome, Minister Khera.

The Honourable Kamal Khera:

Hello everyone.

And Bonjour tout le monde.

Welcome to the third annual Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

I know many of you have been looking forward to this event all year long as we kick start the National AccessAbility Week 2024.

This year's theme for National AccessAbility Week is --

Forward Together: Accessibility and Inclusion for All.

This week gives us all an opportunity to celebrate the progress we've made and to recommit ourselves to doing more to break down barriers to accessibility that still persist.

It's hard to believe that five years ago today, the Accessible Canada Act came into force.

The Accessible Canada Act is based on the foundational principle that persons with disabilities must always be involved in the development and designs of laws, policies, and programs that serve not only them, but all Canadians.

This was a historic achievement that was made possible thanks to the partnership and collaboration from the disability community.

I think we can all take great pride in the achievements we've made together in the past five years.

Together, we've launched Canada's first ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan.

We appointed Canada's first ever Chief Accessibility Officer and welcomed her first report on accessibility in Canada, invested millions of dollars through the Opportunities Fund and the Enabling Accessibility Fund, committed $6.1 billion for the Canada Disability Benefit and Budget 2024, and just a few weeks ago, we hosted Canada's first ever National Air Accessibility Summit.

While we have accomplished a lot, we know there is still a lot of work to do, which is why I'm so glad that we are officially kicking off this year's Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

The critical and constructive conversations we're having today are another opportunity to reflect on that progress, and on the changes that must happen to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility, because at the end of the day, we know that in building a more accessible country, Canada and Canadians win.

Once again, I want to wish everyone a very happy National AccessAbility Week, and I can't wait for our discussion later this afternoon.

Thank you.

Merci.

Bean Gill:

Welcome back, everyone.

How was your health break, Varda?

Varda Étienne:

It was fantastic.

I went outside because we have a fantastic weather now.

I was quite happy to move around.

What about you? How did things go?

Bean Gill:

Oh. Yeah, mine was great, too.

I used the bathroom.

I got a cup of hot tea because I'm a little cold.

And unfortunately, our weather is not the best here, so I didn't go outside.

It's dirty and wet. [ Laughs ]

Varda Étienne:

-You see, I mean, it's, like, 30 degrees here.

Bean Gill:

-30?

[ Both laugh ]

Bean Gill:

That's amazing.

So now, I am truly excited about the next activity on our agenda: our keynote speaker, Prasanna Ranganathan.

Prasanna is a documentary producer, human rights lawyer, diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging --DIEB -- consultant, accessibility advisor, speaker, writer, the arts columnist, correspondent, and the list goes on and on and on.

Prasanna also leads his own DEIB consultancy --Prasanna Ranganathan Consulting.

He previously served as the Head of Diversity and Belonging at Shopify, and as a human rights lawyer within the Government of Canada and the United Nations, the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission, and the Independent Street Checks review.

He holds a BA from the University of Saskatchewan, a law degree from the University of Victoria, and a Master of Law from Columbia Law School in New York City, where he studied under a Fulbright Award.

His graduate thesis was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2014.

Prasanna is a consulting producer on the 2021 docuseries, "Born for Business", about entrepreneurs with disabilities, and a seasoned speaker on the DEIB and disability, having spoken at the Toronto International Film Festival --TIFF -- Industry Conference on Disability Inclusion.

Most recently, Prasanna worked as a Screen Time columnist on CBC radio, reviewing the best in film, TV, and streaming content, and previously served as a social media correspondent for Etalk at the 2019 Academy Awards.

Proudly claiming his identity as a racialized 2SLGBTQIA+ person with a disability --blindness - Prasanna is a founding board member of the Disability Screen Office and a past board member of Inside Out.

Prasanna, you are an incredible human being.

I am honoured to be able to introduce you.

Reading your introduction just kind of blows my mind that there are people like you out there.

I hope there are more out there.

I hope you continue to keep doing all the good you're doing, and I cannot wait to hear what you have to say.

So over to you.

Prasanna Ranganathan:

Thank you so much for such a warm and generous introduction.

I'm thrilled to be at the Canadian Congress for Disability Inclusion.

While delivering a virtual keynote can feel like auditioning for a melancholic, Off-Off-Off Broadway, one-person show, the energy from today's sessions has moved me so deeply, and I really hope to add value to this important conference.

My visual description --I'm a South Asian queer blind man with short, black curly hair.

I'm wearing a white shirt with a floral blazer.

In the words of Miranda Priestly from "The Devil Wears Prada", "Florals for Spring --groundbreaking."

I begin by acknowledging that I live and work on the treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the credit and the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabe, Chippewa, and the Huron-Wendat.

I am grateful to have the opportunity to live and work in the community.

I encourage everyone to reflect on the land on which we live and work, and how we can make our commitment to reconciliation tangible, electric, and viscerally real in our words, work, and actions every single day.

"You are a problem", I was once told.

"We can't change things just for you. You should consider working part time", another person shared.

"You won't be able to keep up."

"Your accommodations are going to take at least six months to organize."

"Your probation period won't start until they do."

"Are you sure you understand this project?"

"This will be too hard for you."

"I don't think you're going to succeed here."

"You might want to find a new job."

These are but a small sampling of comments I have faced throughout my career as a disabled lawyer, producer, writer, and DEI professional.

Either stated outright or implied, my presence in certain spaces has evoked confusion at best and suspicion at worst.

This is why today's topic is so vitally important to me and other people with disabilities.

"Forward together: Accessibility and inclusion for all" implies that everyone understands our experiences as disabled people and works proactively to build a more inclusive world.

But do they? Do they really?

Does everyone know what to do to advance accessibility and disability inclusion?

Over the past 18 years of doing this work and living my life with a disability, I don't think most people do.

And while this keynote could be filled with examples of how I faced exclusion, othering, harm, and discrimination, I realized that my pain should not propel your engagement.

We must all care and take action because it's the right thing to do.

So to bring the importance and meaning of accessibility and disability inclusion to life, I invite you to come on a journey with me and imagine a scenario.

Close your eyes, if you can, or wish to, get comfortable and imagine.

Imagine that you get your dream job, and within the first two weeks, your boss asks you to deliver an important presentation to the senior leadership team.

You work long hours to get the presentation just right.

On the morning of the presentation, you get up extra early, wear your favorite outfit.

I mean, my choice would be a floral blazer, but you do you.

You go to the office and get ready to knock their socks off.

You arrive at the meeting room at 8:30, so you have time to set up before your meeting starts at 9:00.

But the door is locked.

You notice through the glass door that the senior leadership team is already in the room and seated.

They're having animated conversations, drawing on the board, and sharing ideas.

At 8:50, you gingerly knock on the door to get started, but nobody answers.

It's now 9:00, the time of your presentation.

Tick, tick, tick. 9:05...

Tick, tick, tick, 9:10...

Tick, tick, tick.

The door is still locked.

You knock and knock, and nobody lets you in.

You notice people are moving around in the room.

You try to get their attention, but they do not respond.

You pull at the doorknob and knock again.

They do not unlock the door.

They do not let you in.

This meeting is important.

This conversation is important.

You have something to share.

Your presence matters, and yet, you cannot get in.

Now, consider these questions.

How do you feel in this moment?

Do you feel like your presence and opinion matter?

Are you frustrated? Are you hurt? Are you angry?

Now, let's just say that after the meeting, you share your perspective with others, and they apologize.

They didn't think they were excluding you, but they promise to do better going forward.

Then two weeks later, the exact same thing happens again.

Another meeting with a locked door.

Do the same feelings surface and bubble up?

And again and again and again, it just keeps happening.

Sadly, as absurd as this scenario may seem, it is not an uncommon experience for people with disabilities.

The locked door is a meeting without captions.

The locked door is a film without described video.

The locked door is an image without alt text.

The locked door is a workplace event without accessible entry or elevator access.

The failure to respond to persistent knocking is the failure to include and accommodate persons with disabilities.

This scenario is an example everyone can understand and signals in clear terms the way in which what we design and how we operate can exclude and marginalize people with disabilities, and how the responsibility to take action to build a more inclusive, accessible workplace and world is not just on people with disabilities.

It is on every single one of us.

It is our shared responsibility.

Now, let's begin with some context, shall we?

Contrary to popular belief, disability is not a niche issue.

People with disabilities, we constitute the world's largest, underrepresented or equity deserving group.

According to the World Health Organization, we account for 16% of the world's population.

According to Statistics Canada, 27% of the adult population in Canada self-identifies as disabled, which matches the reported statistics in the United States.

Now, unlike other dimensions of diversity, everyone can experience disability at some point in their lives.

And in fact, 75% of all people will be disabled at some point in their lives.

Disability can be permanent or time limited.

The rights of persons with disabilities are enshrined in different treaties, laws, and frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Human Rights codes, and accessibility legislation federally and provincially.

People with disabilities, we face the highest rates of unemployment and underemployment.

And disability discrimination and the failure to accommodate constitute one of the largest bodies of complaints to human rights commissions in Canada.

So within this context, what does disability mean?

When society thinks of disabilities, we tend to think of people who use wheelchairs exclusively or who have physical disabilities that are visible and obvious.

But disability should be interpreted broadly.

In the broadest of terms, disability is a restriction on an individual's ability to perform an activity or interact with the world around them, and it may refer to a physical, mental, or sensory condition.

What is key to remember, however, is that disability is not a monolithic experience.

As shared in the panel earlier, there is immense diversity, intersectionality, and a range of lived experiences within the disability community.

Understanding, acknowledging, and responding to this lived experience, this range of rich-lived experiences is critically important, which is why the definition of disability must be understood within its contextual framework, which is often articulated through two models of disability --the medical model and the social model.

The medical model of disability views disability as being a flaw or defect in the individual that should be fixed or cured.

Meanwhile, the social model of disability views disability as arising in our interactions with the world around us.

So let's take me as an example.

The medical model of disability would view my blindness as a flaw or defect in me that needs to be fixed.

Under the social model, there is nothing wrong with me.

There is no flaw or defect in me that needs to be fixed.

My disability, my blindness arises in my interaction with the world around me that is designed for people who see.

The medical model has been largely rejected in law, with the social model of disability being the foundation of the UN Convention and other pieces of accessibility legislation worldwide.

However, despite these legislative protections, as people with disabilities, we know that the medical model continues to permeate individual thinking and organizational approaches to disability, accessibility, and accommodations, placing an undue burden on us, as people with disabilities, to advocate for our accessibility and for our inclusion.

Meanwhile, the social model of disability makes accessibility work everyone's responsibility, because if disability arises in our interaction with the designed and built environment, then everyone, every single person contributing to the design, construction, and operation of this environment is implicated in making these spaces accessible.

So it is beyond time to give life to the social model of disability in the actions and the decisions that impact all areas of society.

So, in light of this contextual approach and these models of disability, what does accessibility mean?

In simplest terms, accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities.

A few key principles about accessibility are worth highlighting at the start.

First, accessibility is about creating equitable access to places, spaces, resources, and information.

Second, accessibility, it's not a feature, a compliance tool, or a checklist exercise.

It is a design philosophy.

Third, accessibility adds value for everyone, both disabled and non-disabled.

Ramps and accessible entrances are helpful to parents with strollers.

Captions can help people who process information in different ways, or for whom the language of a video is not their first language.

I mean, let's be real.

Captions can help you watch your Instagram stories when you are enduring a non-stop, boring day of work meetings with your colleagues being none the wiser.

And most importantly, compliance with accessibility legislation is not the ceiling you are reaching for, but the foundation on which you build your commitment to accessibility and disability inclusion.

Now that we know what accessibility is, what disability is, and what we are striving for, what are some of the things that can get in our way?

We call these things the barriers to accessibility.

Barriers to accessibility prevent people with disabilities from fully taking part in the social, economic, life of our communities.

The four principal accessibility barriers are physical barriers --things like providing steps, but no ramps or elevators.

Think of a few weeks ago in the Met Gala entrance, only providing admission to all attendees via a steep staircase.

Information and communication barriers --things that make it difficult for people to receive or give information, such as using unclear language, print that's too small, a lack of captions.

Systemic barriers --things that can result from stereotypes or established practices, such as inflexible work hours that don't coordinate with bus schedules, or the failure to meet individual's accommodation needs for certain disabilities.

And the fourth barrier, attitudinal barriers, which are rooted in ableism.

Ableism is a tendency to view people with disabilities as less worthy, underestimating our potential, or excluding us from the decisions that affect us.

Attitudinal barriers stem from the ways that people think or behave.

Now, given the diversity within the disability community, people with disabilities can face any, one, some, or all of these barriers, depending on the nature of our disabilities, the specific circ*mstances, and the interactions of our disabilities with the world around us.

So, how do we get about the work of dismantling these barriers?

To dismantle all four barriers, we must think broadly about accessibility, prioritize accessibility work, and remove the burden on people with disabilities to lead this work alone.

We need to move beyond a compliance-based accessibility policy to develop a strategy, an accessibility strategy, which outlines a goal and a roadmap that is about more than legislative compliance.

A strategy which focuses on answering the question, how are we going to leverage the different people and teams across our organization towards building a more accessible, inclusive workplace and world?

We need to develop a working group on accessibility with cross-functional representation from all levels of an organization.

We need to fund this work by making sure it is not volunteer work or not compensated, because we should not have to volunteer for corporations, governments, or businesses.

Accessibility work must be given the budget and the space to make change happen.

Consult and meaningfully include us as people with different disabilities and in all aspects of strategy, design, and implementation.

Audit existing systems and processes to identify barriers in order to develop responsive measures.

Make accessibility part of the design philosophy of projects that is addressed at project design and kickoff, and not just a checklist exercise before your project launches externally.

And finally -- this is key --ensure there is executive ownership, leadership, participation, and accountability for accessibility work.

Now, when it comes to the first type of barriers --physical barriers --organizations should ensure that there are physical accessibility plans for workplaces and spaces that address the needs of visitors, employees, event attendees, and stakeholders.

Now, these plans should go beyond building codes and compliance reviews, and deeply reflect on the journey and experiences of people with disabilities navigating these spaces.

For the second type of barrier --information and communication barriers -organizations must ask themselves the following questions.

How do you share information and communicate in your organization --in person, virtual, written, audio, social media, video?

What do you want people to feel when they consume the content or information you are sharing?

Do you want them to gather information? Feel connected? Feel inspired?

Do your current communications channels allow people with disabilities to fully participate?

And what are the barriers disabled employees might face in accessing information?

Once you answer these questions, develop plans that prioritize accessibility and embed that into your content creation, storytelling, and communications pathways.

Don't just leverage accommodations to create avenues for disabled audiences to access content as an afterthought but build inclusively at the outset to ensure that what you share is accessible to everyone.

Now, the third type of barrier.

When it comes to dismantling systemic barriers, we need to do two things.

First, we need to ensure that there is real, rich resourcing for accessibility in all areas of society.

These resource allocations must touch on all facets of our interactions with the world around us --employment, transport, benefits, income, access to health care, education, housing, public spaces, art, sport, culture, support services.

These resources must elevate us from spaces of surviving to expansive opportunities for thriving.

Confronting systemic barriers cannot be rooted in pity and pittances.

It requires prioritization and a rigorous commitment to audacious action.

Second, we need to deeply re-imagine our relationships with accommodations, which was such a powerful part of the panel this morning.

First, we need to understand what accommodations mean.

Accommodation means not denying people jobs or services in the first place if they can be accommodated without undue hardship.

And undue hardship is an extremely high bar.

Two, we must realize that accommodations are not the end goal.

Accommodations allow us to make currently inaccessible systems tenable until there is an opportunity for robust systems design.

Building accessible, inclusive systems is the goal.

Accommodations are not themselves the end goal.

Highlighting and resourcing a strong accommodation system.

The first step in developing accommodations policy or framework, communicating it clearly and widely, and then ensuring that there are adequate human resources to bring the system to life.

Now, spoiler alert, it's not a generic e-mail address with a response time of five days, nor is it a winding pathway of processes more confusing than the hedge mage --hedge maze in "The Shining".

Accommodations processes must be clear and publicized, multifaceted and user-friendly for disabled employees.

Four, we must not require disabled people to prove our disabilities.

Medical documentation should unlock pathways to meaningful accommodations.

But this documentation is not always needed, and it's often costly and difficult to obtain.

So stop asking us for in-depth medical information to provide us with basic accommodations you could have easily self-financed.

Your intrusive requests for our information don't make the process better.

They delay the accommodations we need now.

They make us lose trust, and they invade our privacy.

Shattering myths and misconceptions about accommodations.

Employing and accommodating disabled people is not a costly endeavor.

Most accommodations are not going to have a financial impact.

And regardless of the financial impact and the nuances involved, we exist, and we deserve respect, consideration, and inclusion.

Six, involving those who need accommodations and exploring solutions.

People with disabilities, we know what works best for us.

Make sure the process and solutions meet our needs and promote privacy, dignity, and respect.

Seven, spread out accessibility costs.

As people with disabilities, we should not face extra costs for accommodations we need to do our jobs or receive services.

Accessibility should be factored in as an overall cost of doing business.

Eight, ensuring that accommodations feed into robust systems design.

Make sure that the individual accommodations being sought feed into a review of your workplace and your systems and your processes, so that you can redesign and re-imagine workplaces and spaces so they are free of systemic barriers to begin with.

Now, when it comes to attitudinal barriers, the final barrier in the fore, it is important to recognize that, one, ableism or the differential, unjust, harmful, or exclusionary treatment of people with disabilities is rampant and pervasive and shows up everywhere in both overt and implicit ways.

Ableism does not only manifest in offensive slurs, but shows up in the persistent, intrusive questioning of our disabilities and the restrictions we face, as if we're subjects in some sort of mysterious clinical trial.

At its root, ableism views disabled people --it views us as less worthy of respect, consideration, and inclusion.

Second, to combat attitudinal barriers, we need to center inclusive language as a part of accessibility work.

Language has the power to cause harm, but it also has the power to create connection.

And while terminology about disability varies depending on place or community, there are some inclusive language best practices that are universal.

When in doubt, invite people with disabilities to lead the way by creating a culture of curiosity and openness to learning and evolving based on feedback.

Third, we must combat myths about disability.

First, having a disability is not an indication of a lack of intelligence or of being unhealthy.

Second, a disability is not the only feature of someone's identity.

I am racialized, I am queer, I love Broadway musicals, I love to sing and dance.

I am so much more than my disability, but my disability is a core part of who I am and how I navigate this world.

Third, avoid phrases implying pity, confined to, sufferers with, afflicted by, or superficial praise.

"You're so brave or so powerful just for existing."

It doesn't add value.

In fact, it marginalizes us.

Four, we can and must confront ableism by telling inclusive stories about disabled communities.

And this is what drives so much of my work with the Disability Screen Office, a Canadian nonprofit committed to building an accessible, inclusive screen industry.

If stories and content are rooted in stereotypes about us as people with disabilities, as people in need of support, or people always struggling, they can give rise to conscious or unconscious biases in audiences everywhere --that people with disabilities are less intelligent, less innovative, or less capable.

This then leads to differential treatment, treating people with disabilities differently, not hiring us, not promoting us, not giving us equitable access to health care, over-policing us.

This then leads to differential outcomes for people with disabilities, higher rates of unemployment, poverty, poor health outcomes, which then feeds back into conscious and unconscious biases that because we don't see people with disabilities in our workplaces, in our leadership, or on TV, it must be because people with disabilities are less intelligent, less worthy of opportunity, less capable.

These are harmful biases, and these harmful stories are false and they must be confronted.

By moving away from storytelling tropes and opting instead to tell inclusive stories, we can break this harmful cycle of impact and connection at the outset.

Now, when it comes to accessibility, combating these four barriers is essential game changing work.

But it's only the first step to making real change happen.

Because let me be clear, accessibility is the entry point to disability inclusion.

Accessibility is not the end goal.

The more we continue to celebrate accessibility protections as the end game, the further we move away from disability inclusion in all areas of life.

Disability inclusion arises when people with disabilities are meaningfully included at all levels of impact in the workplace, in all sectors, in all aspects of society, where we have the opportunity to belong, where we feel valued and celebrated, recognized and respected.

Disability inclusion is premised on the reality that as people with disabilities, we exist and persist in all aspects of society.

Disability inclusion recognizes that if the world includes us in every country and region, our organizations and institutions must do the same.

So how do we foster disability inclusion?

In an homage to my favorite BuzzFeed listicle articles of days past, here are 14 things we can do to foster disability inclusion in our organizations and workplaces.

I hope these things spark ideas about how we can foster disability inclusion everywhere.

First, work together.

Until now, accessibility, disability inclusion work, has fallen in the chasm between diversity teams, accessibility teams, accommodations teams, physical workspace operations teams, engineering teams, general HR teams being passed around like a hot potato with limited resources and limited attention.

But the truth is, disability inclusion can only be fostered when everyone works together.

Two, understand and respect the rights of persons with disabilities.

Don't create new barriers.

Design inclusively.

Prioritize equity.

Three, don't assume, ask.

Don't make assumptions about what people with disabilities need to feel included.

Ask us. Listen to us.

Take action based on what we share.

Four, hire people with disabilities in your organization at all levels, from intern through to executive.

The best way to know about us and understand disability inclusion is to hire us, consult us, involve us in decision making and leadership roles.

But don't ask us to share our expertise, our lived experiences, our perspectives for free.

Our expertise adds value and should be treated as valuable.

Five, disability is diversity.

Ensure that disability is part of your organization's DEI strategy.

So often disability is left out of the approach, and this must stop.

Actively counter arguments, groups, and movements that are seeking to eradicate DEI and accessibility programming, characterizing it as woke politics or divisive rhetoric.

This work is not divisive.

It is essential because if the world includes all of us and your organization doesn't, more work needs to be done.

Six, data collection and reporting.

Collect and report on disability data as a part of your organization's voluntary diversity survey.

Use this data to understand employee and stakeholder needs and move towards a more inclusive organization.

Include qualitative questions alongside your survey questions.

Seven, don't wait. Iterate.

While data collection is important, don't wait for something specific to your organization to take action because, second spoiler alert, your organization isn't a magical utopia free from ableism.

Allow the lessons and best practices being advanced across the world to combat ableism and foster inclusion to inform the actions you will take.

Eight, create impactful learning programming, design disability inclusion learning programming that goes beyond legislative compliance but does not lean into trauma that disabled communities experience for your education.

Nine, embed disability inclusion into your culture.

Make sure accessibility and disability inclusion is a core part of your culture values, and hold leaders accountable to doing this work.

10, audit and evaluate.

Review every process in your organization --the employee lifecycle, organizational workflows --to ensure that people with disabilities are included, valued, and respected, and that accessibility and inclusion are prioritized.

11, inclusive meetings and events.

Designing and hosting accessible, inclusive, virtual and in-person meetings and events are imperative, because if we cannot attend and we cannot take part, we are not included.

12, create community.

Ensure that people with disabilities can connect with one another through an employee resource group or affinity circle, and make sure this community has access to and the support of leadership.

13, prioritize inclusive storytelling, internally and externally.

Because stories have the opportunity to not only reflect the world in which we live, but imagine the world we seek to build.

Disability inclusion will flourish when inclusive stories about us are told and highlighted in town halls and meetings, publications and marketing materials.

Films and content stories are all around us.

Leverage their power.

And 14, recognize that feedback is a gift.

Regularly seek out feedback and change your actions to create a more inclusive workplace, event, and world.

This can be done through post-event surveys, post-hiring feedback, regular meetings with disabled employees to ask for feedback, but signal that feedback is not only welcomed, but that feedback will be transformed into responsive action.

To conclude, at the end of the day, as disabled people, we constantly remind the world through our presence and our contributions that we are not the problem.

Archaic definitions of disability are.

There is nothing wrong with us.

Our disabilities arise in our interactions with the world around us, which was not designed with us in mind.

We are not the problem.

Intractable, oppressive systems are.

These systems, which fail to change in responsive or proactive ways, and which keep us constantly focused on surviving rather than thriving.

We are not the problem.

Accessibility barriers are.

Barriers which keep us out of opportunities, experiences, discussions, and decisions that impact our lives.

We are not the problem.

Disability exclusion, limited conceptions of disabled futures are.

Accessibility is the entry point, not the end goal.

Letting us in the room is just the first phase to disability inclusion, belonging, and the achievement of our expansive dreams.

We are not the problem.

We never were, we never will be.

We hold rich solutions, steeped in knowledge, in expertise and lived experience that will create a bold new future for everyone.

So unlock that door. Let us in.

Because there's no time for locked doors that keep us out.

If the world includes us, the room and the Zoom must do the same.

You know what?

It is time to take the door right off the hinges.

Right now, non-disabled people who continue to be overrepresented in leadership roles hold an overwhelmingly disproportionate power to open the door.

But what if they didn't?

What if access was unfettered?

Actually, scratch that.

It is beyond time to go further, to think beyond doors and locks, hinges and pathways.

Let's build the room anew.

Doors, windows, ceilings, walls, and all.

A room that is designed and built by, with, and to include us as people with disabilities.

Because together, we can dismantle current systems and build a truly accessible, inclusive future.

We all hold the key to something different.

A key that unlocks so many possibilities.

So let's get building.

Forward together.

It's the only way.

Thank you so much.

Bean Gill:

Thank you, Prasanna. Wow.

If I could stand, I'd be giving you a standing ovation right now.

That was incredible.

Um, I want to touch on a couple of things you said.

The Met Gala.

Oh, my goodness, the Met Gala.

Honestly, it's been on my bucket list to be one of the first paraplegics at the Met Gala, and I would have them carry me up the stairs, like how they carried a couple other women this year who couldn't walk up those stairs, but also to bring a lift and to make it fully accessible for everybody who can't walk up those stairs.

Oh, what you said about attitudinal barriers stemming from ableism, dismantling these barriers.

You have such good tools.

These 14 steps of yours, too, I mean, just... thank you.

You are such a wealth of information, and, like, Canada is so lucky to have you as part of one of our citizens.

And the last thing which you said is, like, feedback is a gift.

I 100% agree, feedback is a gift, and that's why for everybody participating today, please fill out the form that will be e-mailed to you at the end of the event.

And, feedback transforms into action, which can be seen at this CCDI with the amount of health breaks that we get.

Their feedback is taken into consideration and action is changed from that.

So, thank you, Prasanna.

Wow. Just from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Varda Étienne:

Bean, I-I need to underscore everything you've said.

I also want to thank Prasanna from the bottom of my heart.

I feel so moved.

You have given me so much hope.

You are such an inspiration, an immense source of inspiration.

I would have listened to you for hours and hours, because you're a citizen who is a gift to us all, to Canada for us all.

And when I said to give us hope, well, through listening to Prasanna speak, I got the impression that I was quote unquote normal.

I got the impression that I didn't have any mental health issues.

And it is absolutely incredible.

I have so much admiration for this man.

I-I'm -- I'm at a loss for words, really.

[-Well, I am thrilled to talk about our next activity.

We are having our first panel discussion.

The title of the panel discussion is The Accessible Canada Act Progress to Date and Moving towards 2040.

I am pleased to introduce our moderator, Bill Adair, the executive director of Spinal Cord Injury Canada.

Spinal Cord Injury Canada assists people with spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities in achieving independence, self-reliance, and full community participation.

Bill has extensive professional community experience in the areas of health care and disability.

He is a founding member of the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation, and the Dorothy Ley Hospice.

He has recently lent his leadership and his expertise to the government of Canada through their working group on alternate format materials and the parliamentary recent advisory panel.

Bill Adair is also a member of Minister Khera's Disability Advisory Group and also a member of the Board of Directors at Accessibility Standards Canada.

Before passing the Bill to mic, just a little reminder to our audience, the panelists will be answering to some questions from the audience, but that will be at the end of the panel discussion.

So, if you have any questions related to the topic of the discussion, please type them in the Q&A.

Bill, the floor is yours now.

-Thank you so much, Bean and Varda.

Thank you also for leading us into this event.

I am Bill Adair, and I want to welcome all of you today who are joining us.

As Bean mentioned, I'm the executive director of Spinal Cord Injury Canada.

I also work for Accessibrand, a startup company that works only with professionals with disabilities who provide services in the design, marketing, and communications field.

I'm a member of the Board of Directors of Accessibility Standards Canada and on Minister Khera's advisory group.

And I'm very happy to be here today to moderate this panel.

I am a white male.

I have on a light blue shirt and a navy blue jacket with brown glasses, and I have lived experience with disability.

In 2019, Canada took a bold step forward to becoming barrier-free by January 1, 2040.

The Accessible Canada Act commits to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers in federal jurisdiction.

People in the disability community were partners in creating the Accessible Canada Act.

This law calls for a revolution in our culture.

It's about creating a society that embraces the involvement of people in all communities across our great nation, and obviously that includes people with disabilities.

We always said the real work would start after the law came into force.

We're now five years into the journey together, and we all must continue to drive change that makes access and inclusion a reality for people with disabilities in Canada.

As you may know, under the Accessible Canada Act, federally regulated entities must create accessibility plans.

We can celebrate that Canada's public service sector has a 99% compliance rate with developing accessibility plans.

And they have an 87% rate of posting progress reports on time.

A bit of work to do there, but thank you to all the public service people who have been working hard on this.

It's amazing.

Many champions in the public service are doing great work.

Their success is inspiring others who are serious about removing barriers and contributing to the culture shift.

However, other larger federally regulated entities have a compliance rate of approximately 41% in posting accessibility plans.

Honestly, this rate is not okay.

We need to get the other 60% to be serious about removing barriers.

We worked hard to get the Accessible Canada Act.

Its principles need to be respected.

When all of us can fully participate, our lives, our economy, and our society are richer as a result.

So, as I'm about to welcome the panelists today, on this panel, we hear from four prominent leaders who are driving change to make Canada barrier-free by January 1, 2040.

As you listen to each speaker, I invite you to think about what we have accomplished, how much is left to do, and how you can drive change in your own backyard.

Canada's chief accessibility officer recently commented on the work ahead to build air travel -- to make air travel fully accessible.

Stephanie Cadieux said, "Over the past six months, I have seen this issue catch fire in a way I don't think it ever has before.

In that time, I've seen some progress, but not enough.

In some areas, Canada is leading the way, and we should be proud of that.

But we should be much further ahead."

I believe this statement is true about a lot of issues.

Let's focus and work together and get much farther ahead in the next years to come.

I hope you all enjoy the panel, and I am delighted now to invite each of the panelists to introduce themselves.

And after that, we will go through a series of questions.

So, Louis, uh, please jump in and introduce yourself.

-I believe you can hear me now.

My name is Louis Belleau.

First of all, I'd like to thank you for inviting me to this conference.

I am a person -- a Deaf person.

I'm wearing a black shirt.

I have a beard that's beginning --that is becoming a little bit gray.

And I've got a blue screen behind me so you can see me when I'm doing my sign language.

-Thank you, Louis.

And over to you, Jen.

-Hi, I'm Jennifer Cowan.

I'm the director of enterprise accessibility for Scotiabank.

My pronouns are she and her.

I have brown hair, and today I'm wearing a white top and black glasses.

I've worked in the accessibility space for a number of years, mostly in the municipal sector.

And during that time, my work centered around ensuring compliance with Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, the AODA, community outreach, and working with Municipal Accessibility Advisory committees.

And since joining Scotiabank, I've been fortunate enough to work with groups who focus on digital accessibility -- our physical spaces, as well as the employee experience.

-Thank you so much, Jen.

Max.

Max.

-Yeah.

Good morning, everybody.

-Off you go.

-Thank you.

Thank you.

So, my name is Max Guénette.

I'm the assistant commissioner of the Service Innovation and Integration branch here at the Canada Revenue Agency.

Also the chief service officer for the agency.

And one of my roles in this capacity is to be the executive sponsor for accessibility, here at the agency.

I'm thrilled to be part of the panel this morning and very grateful for the invitation.

I'm not someone with direct experience with disability.

You know, I don't have a lived experience in this space, but I do care for an elderly parent that has severe mobility issues.

And so, I'm very keenly interested in this topic.

Um, I'm a white male in my early 50s.

If I had a beard, it would also be white, but I'm clean-shaven this morning.

And I'm coming to you from my office here at the ByWard market.

Thanks.

-Thank you so much, Max, for joining us.

Rabia, thank you for joining us.

-Thank you.

My name is Rabia Khedr.

I'm the national director of Disability Without Poverty and the CEO of DEEN Support Services, as well as a founder of the Race and Disability Canada Initiative.

I am talking to you from Ottawa, but live traditionally on the territories of the Mississaugas of the New Credit in Mississauga, Ontario.

I describe myself as a hyphen with many hijabs because I am wearing a hijab, which happens to be black today.

I am a Muslim, Punjabi, Pakistani, Canadian woman, wife, mother, sibling of individuals with disabilities, systems disruptor, social entrepreneur, yada yada yada.

And I happen to have a disability.

I did formerly serve on the Board of Accessibility Standards Canada and currently continue to sit on the Minister's Disability Advisory Group.

-Thank you so much, Rabia, and thank you all for being with us today.

I know everyone attending is looking forward to your comments.

So, we're going to move into the question -- the first series of questions, and I will ask each panelist a tailored questions, and each panelist will have six minutes to respond.

So, here we go. This is the fun part.

Louis. The Canadian Association of the Deaf is the oldest national consumer organization of, by, and for Deaf people in Canada for having its interests represented at a national level.

How has the coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act facilitated initiatives that your organization advances, and what else needs to be done to implement the Accessible Canada Act?

Six minutes. Louis.

-Thank you.

I'm on the board of directors of the Canadian Deaf Association.

I represent the Francophone section.

It's the largest one of the Deaf community in Canada.

We have representatives in each province and associations that are affiliated to the Canada Association for the Deaf.

So, our role is to promote the rights of the Deaf persons who are hard of hearing, the Indigenous people who are hard of hearing, and to work on accessibility.

The Association of the Deaf was founded in 1940.

So, in 2040... we will be celebrating our 100th anniversary.

So, it corresponds well to the date for this act.

So, in 2009, there was the law and the Canada Accessibility Act that was tabled.

And finally, we managed to integrate this in the law at the national level.

Accessibility there has seen a lot of progress, but there's still things that we have to fight for.

For example... ...in terms of progress, interpretation services at Hydro Canada.

Broadcasting during the federal elections as well.

There's been a lot of progress and a lot of interpretation available, which is very good.

In terms of transportation, of airplane and transportation, there's still some things lacking.

We should have more services when we're sitting down at the airport waiting.

We don't hear what's going on.

And for the Deaf, there are no services, so we have to work on that.

That's one of the roles that our Association for the Deaf in Canada is working on, to make air transport more accessible.

There are many things that I could talk about.

Since the Accessibility Act -- Accessibility Canada Act was passed, it's going to help us, for sure.

It's a very positive step for us.

I'm looking at my notes.

Just a moment.

Sorry about that.

I'm mixing things up here a bit.

The questions that I'm supposed to answer today.

So, I'm just checking my notes.

Yeah, so, for the moment, that's what I will say for now.

-Thank you, Louis.

You have a couple of minutes left, and I want to ask a question.

For you and Deaf people across the country, how important is it that the Accessible Canada Act included the requirement of ASL and LSQ?

And to what extent do you see that federally regulated entities are complying with this requirement?

And do we need more work in this area?

Thank you.

-Good question.

Yes.

When we talk about LSQ, American Sign Language, I think for myself, it should be absolutely essential.

You can speak in French or in English.

I speak with my hands in sign language.

So in ASL, we talk American Sign Language.

And for the anglophones, that's fine.

So, LSQ... You know, we need these languages.

And there's a third thing is the Indigenous sign language, as well.

We have to develop that aspect as well so that the Indigenous people will preserve their culture.

That's one thing.

In terms of your question at the federal level, in terms of civil servants, services that we have at the federal level, I can't really respond.

But what I'm seeing is that there are more -- there is more interpretation services, and we're hiring more Deaf people.

But I don't have figures or statistics about that.

But it seems to me that things are getting better.

Now, parallel to that, in terms of services, I would say that, yes, but Service Canada, I went in there and I noticed that... there was interpretation services offered.

And I said, "Yes, I need that."

So, I asked an employee. They took care of that.

They made an appointment with an interpreter, and with an iPad, I had access to an interpreter to be able to communicate with Service Canada.

And I -- and things were much more fluid.

But it's not all the agencies that offer that.

But I think things are getting better.

For example, at the airports is still not that accessible.

We have to improve that because we're talking about Canada.

They're private corporations and very nice policies.

But in fact, you understand it's not obvious.

In prison, there's no interpretation services.

The Deaf people are very isolated in places like that.

So, these are things to improve on.

-Thank you very much, Louis, for your comments on that last question and your insights previously.

And I am now going to turn to you, Jen, and our friends at Scotiabank.

I understand that Scotiabank is committed to meeting the needs of people with disabilities by consistently working to prevent and remove barriers to accessibility and meeting the requirements for accessibility.

And humans of Scotiabank we hear that, "Accessibility really is about creating spaces that everyone is welcome into, making sure that you are thinking about the broadest audience possible."

How have things changed at Scotiabank as a result of the Accessible Canada Act, and what are the next steps on Scotiabank's accessibility journey to removing all barriers?

-Thanks, Bill.

Well, Scotiabank has been dedicated to improving accessibility for quite some time now.

And prior to the Accessible Canada Act, our focus was predominantly on digital accessibility and ensuring that people with disabilities could conduct their banking seamlessly online or via our mobile app.

But with the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act, we have started to formalize an enterprise accessibility program that allows us to gain deeper insights into our clients wants and most importantly, their needs.

And as a result of these deeper insights, we've initiated a few changes which I'm happy to share with you today.

So, first, we've been looking at how we can provide banking documents in alternate formats to clients with disabilities.

And it was through feedback that we learned that not everyone could easily access or use our banking documents and statements.

So, over the past year, we developed a new internal system that streamlines this process for clients.

We also have provided training to staff on how to use it.

So, with this new system, clients have the option to request alternate formats, bank statements, as well as other communications, like terms and conditions, product brochures, and even fee-change notices.

Clients can make this request in person at a branch or by calling our contact center, and we offer grade-one and grade-two Braille, as well as large-print and accessible PDF.

We also have another initiative that involves our collaboration with the Rick Hansen Foundation.

And they will be conducting facility accessibility audits at five of our branch and five office locations.

And so these audits will encompass the Rick Hansen Foundation accessibility certification rating, along with tailored recommendations for improvements in those spaces.

And by undergoing these audits, our goal is really to establish a foundational level of accessibility in our physical spaces that are used both by clients and employees and giving us the ability to improve our branches and office spaces across Canada.

Another initiative that we take pride in is our efforts in the procurement sector. So, in 2023, we joined other leading companies who are committed to prioritizing accessibility in the procurement process.

And we signed the Procure Access statement.

So, this is facilitated by Disability:IN, and Procure Access is a business-to-business initiative that recognizes the importance of buying and selling technology that's accessible to people with disabilities.

And what this means is that we're committed to working to procure digital products and services that are accessible to both our clients and employees with disabilities.

As previously mentioned, our robust digital accessibility initiative continues to evolve.

In anticipation of the Accessible Canada Act standards, we've broadened our focus and heightened our efforts by reviewing our procedures, tools, and methodologies to make sure that websites and mobile applications are crafted in a manner that serves the needs of people with disabilities, and this expanded approach is expected to produce improved outcomes and thus enhancing the overall user experience.

We have also initiated close collaboration with our partners responsible for senior clients.

And through this collaboration, our goal is to understand the needs of our seniors -- senior clients with disabilities and ensure that they receive the necessary information and guidance needed to manage their finances independently.

So, as we all know, when we improve our services from an accessibility perspective, we enhance the services for everyone.

And lastly, you mentioned about the accessibility plans in the private sector.

I'd like to highlight that our 2024 Accessible Canada Act progress report will be scheduled to be published in just a little over a week and contains information about our commitments, as well as the progress we've been making over the last year at Scotiabank.

-Thank you, Jen.

And you haven't used all your time, so I'm going to follow up with another question.

First, to say thank you for the work that you're doing at Scotiabank to embrace access and inclusion and to create that culture shift within your own organization.

I'm wondering about how -- one of the requirements in developing a plan and evaluating progress, you're required to involve people with disabilities.

So, a range of different kinds of disabilities, of course, is necessary.

How do you do that?

-Yeah, so, we have some processes in place that allow us to reach out to clients and employees with disabilities and get feedback on the commitments made in our accessibility plan, as well as how we are addressing barriers that those folks might encounter while banking with us.

We do have a few different processes in place where we are doing some outreach outside of the bank as well as inside the bank to our own employees.

-Thank you for that.

And I know some private sector companies are creating, accessibility advisory panels made up of -- including people with a broad range of disabilities to provide focused advice on the development of the plans and helping to evaluate progress.

So, one more question, because we have another minute and a half for you.

And that is there are some underlying accessibility issues that aren't as evident that the physical access is super important.

So, right, for that work.

What about something like plain language to make sure that the services and the engagement with everybody at all levels of communication can access that kind of information?

Or do you have initiative around that?

-We do.

We actually have a plain language council at the bank, who sort of spearheads and drives the plain language initiative.

We also have a really great group that works on our scotiabank.com website.

And they are always trying to encourage folks to write in plain language.

And they themselves are writing in plain language.

So, there are a few initiatives underway, and looking forward to those standards from the federal government so that we can look at how we might formalize that within the bank, because it is about financial literacy and making sure that everybody has an understanding of what it is that they are signing up for or what those terms and conditions really mean.

-Thanks so much, Jen.

And we'll move on now to Max.

From our friends at CRA.

Max, over to you.

-Uh, thanks.

Did you have a question you wanted to pose to me?

-I do have a question.

So, here's the question.

Everybody in Canada is filing taxes or receiving benefits.

We must interact with the CRA, meaning that the CRA has a large and diverse client base.

I understand that the CRA follows a people-first philosophy, which puts people -- clients and employees -- at the center of everything that CRA does.

This aligns with the principle in the disability community, and our government, of nothing without us.

What are some of the concrete results of the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act for your clients of your organization -- that's all of us in Canada -- and for your employees?

Okay, now over to you.

-Alright, thanks, Bill, for the question.

Yeah, I mean, one of my roles, as I mentioned, is that of chief service officer for the agency.

And part of that role includes promoting a seamless user experience for the clients that interact with the Canada Revenue Agency.

And as you mentioned, that's virtually every one of us.

At last count -- filing season just ended, and I think we've received almost 30 million tax returns.

So, we're literally, you know, counting interactions in the tens of millions here at the agency.

And so, to that end, as you mentioned, we've adopted -- and it's been several years now.

We launched this just prior to the pandemic, in 2019, what we call our people-first philosophy.

And the goal of that is to transform -- or, you know, was and continues to be to transform the agency into a trusted, helpful, fair, and people-centric organization.

So, really the core of that people-first principle for me is that notion of user-centricity.

And so, that principle guides our approach, you know, on all things, when it comes to program design and service delivery, but it's particularly well aligned to our approach when it comes to identifying, removing, and preventing barriers for persons with disabilities.

We do recognize, of course, that to uphold our organization's values and promote that seamless client service approach that is inclusive to all, we have to ensure that our workplaces, our programs, and services are fully accessible.

And I'm happy to report that, you know, CRA is among the federally regulated entities who have published an accessibility plan and a progress report.

But, you know, I do want to acknowledge that a lot more work remains to be done for us.

So, in order to be truly user-centric, we know that we need to understand the needs and the expectations and lived experiences of persons with disabilities, as well as how they shape their interactions with us, how those experiences shape their interactions with us.

Our research has shown us that the biggest or one of the biggest impacts that we can make to improve our client service is to incorporate empathy in our work.

And whether that's, you know, working directly with taxpayers or as you mentioned, you know, internally, amongst employees, with colleagues.

And as you mentioned in your question, that "nothing without us" principle really reinforces all of this by stressing the need to consult our, you know, persons with disabilities.

And that's in line with our approach to consult the user base when we're developing or providing input to those that develop laws or when we're developing policies, designing programs, you know, that have an impact on persons with disabilities.

So, involving them from the start ensures that accessibility is top of mind at every step of the process.

And so, that principle, that "nothing without us" principle is really at the heart of our first accessibility plan.

We have consulted persons with disabilities and nonprofit organizations who support persons with disabilities or who interact with us on their behalf to identify the barriers and action items.

We published our plan initially in December of 2022, and it sets out a commitment for us to address 23 accessibility barriers through 42 actions, and it's a three-year plan that will take us to December of 2025.

So, we're in the second year of that plan.

And as we work to implement the action items, we're also working to shift mindsets and build an accessibility-forward culture here at the agency.

And to help us with that, we do want to fully understand where the barriers are and how to start embedding an accessible-by-default approach in all of our processes and decisions.

And having that systematic approach, hopefully, is going to help ensure that accessibility is at the start and end of everything that we want to accomplish.

So, in terms of gains so far, you know, we've made some improvements to the way the CRA does business.

So, I'll give you a few examples.

So, in line with the Act, of course, we've implemented an accessibility feedback mechanism that allows anyone to submit a complaint or a suggestion or occasionally a compliment -- yeah, we do get some of those -- I know it's it's shocking -- about our programs and services.

And so, that's available via the Canada.ca website, and someone submitting feedback can do so in seven different ways.

And we do strive to respond quickly.

Another example -- and I sort of alluded to this -- we do a round of external consultations with persons with disabilities each year, including the organizations that represent them.

And so, that allows us to take the pulse on the progress that we're making.

And we're currently setting up for this year's external consultation.

To make accessing CRA online accounts easier, we also improve the multi-factor authentication enrollment to reduce account lockouts, which is a big source of frustration for all users, but particularly with persons with disabilities.

And linked to that, the CRA sign-in services now gives the user the option to see their password.

You get that little eyeball when you're entering your passwords, which we didn't have before.

And that allows users to correct any errors before attempting to sign in.

Seems like a small thing, but it was a big pain point in the consultations that we've done.

Another significant advancement for our clientele is some of the changes that we've made recently to the disability tax credit application process.

So, to help make it faster and easier for persons with disabilities and for their medical practitioners to complete the DTC form or application form online.

So, applicants can complete their section, they receive a reference number to give their medical practitioner.

And then the medical practitioner can use that to complete their section online.

The applicant's portion of the form is pre-populated with information that we have on file, and so, they're only required to verify the information and update any missing or wrong information.

And we've heard that that was a welcome development.

That digital form was designed to include clear instructions for medical practitioners, drop-down menus, allowing only the required sections to be filled out.

And when completing the DTC online, there's no longer a requirement to print and mail forms to us, which was a pain for everyone involved.

And so, the form is securely sent directly for assessment.

It avoids delays that can occur when we're sending things through the mail.

So, these improvements have helped, you know, us to ensure that the applications are assessed consistently, efficiently, with less follow-up required after we receive the application.

And for fiscal year '23-'24, we received about -- over 5,000 responses to a survey that we've done following those changes.

And 71% of respondents are satisfied with the DTC program overall.

So, not a bad number, but certainly room for improvement.

And we'll continue to look into that.

One last example in terms of externally -- and I'm just doing a check on time here -- is we've implemented -- we've rolled out the use of video relay services when interacting with our clients.

So, uh, ahead of this year's filing season, we launched a direct line to our individual tax inquiry center for users of video relay service, or VRS for short.

In other words, clients who are part of the Deaf or hard of hearing community and use sign language to communicate.

So, the phone line enables clients to contact the CRA tier-two agent directly.

The agent is, you know, already aware when the call comes in that they're being contacted by VRS, and that minimizes the barriers that previously existed when, you know, a client who is part of the hard of hearing community would reach just a regular call center agent and have to jump through hoops before they got to someone who could help them.

Just doing a quick time check, Bill. If you give me another 30 seconds, I could talk to you a bit about some of the internal stuff that we've done.

So, that was kind of -

-30 seconds.

-...some of the -- perfect.

So, that was some of the stuff that we've done for our clientele externally.

Internally, when it comes to the accessibility culture that we're trying to impart here at the agency, we have done and continue to do a number of things.

We host accessibility awareness events for employees, managers, and executives to bring up their level of awareness and to destigmatize perceptions.

Varda talked about stigmatization in her opening remarks, and that really resonated with me.

And we're finding more and more people are, you know, coming out of these events are willing to identify themselves.

And that's helping kind of up our game.

We've designated accessibility as a learning priority for the agency.

We're making tools and resources readily available for employees.

And one really cool initiative -- when I chatted with -- we have a persons with disabilities network internally that I interact with from time to time, and they mentioned that they've put in place in Newfoundland an accessibility ambassador initiative.

And so, that's a group of people that any manager or employee or executive that's got questions on how to create an accessible workspace and workplace for employees can reach into this network of ambassadors who can help them navigate the processes internally that we have.

So, um, I'll stop it there, but thanks for the question.

-Thank you. Max.

Uh, thank you.

And thank you as well as the others for including people with disabilities.

So, we're going on to Rabia now, who is, as you mentioned, Rabia, you're the national director of Disability Without Poverty and the chief executive officer of the Disability Employment Equality Network, or DEEN.

So, Rabia, is your dedicated efforts on ensuring that intersectionality is at the thrust of disability inclusion.

This is a truly commendable area of work and important area of work. DEEN has a mission to advance community inclusion by offering culturally and spiritually relevant services for families and individuals living with disabilities.

And Disability Without Poverty's mission is to ensure persons with disabilities from various communities are prosperous and can participate in every aspect of society.

So, Rabia, in your view, what role, if any, has the coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act in 2019 played in advancing the work of your efforts, in particular as they relate to intersectionality?

Over to you.

-Well, the legislation itself coming into force, you know, certainly triggered the establishment of a system to build standards.

Bill, that's where you and I met, was Accessibility Standards Canada.

And, you know, with our involvement as individuals around the table, we had opportunity to give input into some of the language that was reflected in the strategic plan and priorities around developing those standards.

And that has allowed us to have discussion with the system around intersectionality, around race and other identity markers that intersect with disability to make sure that we don't just look at a person with a disability as a disabled person, singular, that the focus isn't just on disability, but it's actually more holistic.

So, because there is that opportunity to dialogue, to converse, to engage within that national space because of the legislation, that has given an opportunity to shape some of the language and hence that has trickled into opportunities that we've been able to access to do work in this area.

So, historically, the work around disability has been strictly focused on the disability.

So, not on people's holistic lived experience of who they are as a human being.

So, as you know from my introduction, I introduced all those aspects of me that make me a whole person.

And disability is one aspect, but I kind of tag it on at the end because I want people to know exactly who I am.

And, you know, therefore accommodation for me, accessibility for me is not just limited to accessibility based on the fact that I'm blind.

Accessibility for me, barriers that I face in my participation involve barriers that my skin color poses, that my hijab poses, that assumptions and presumptions pose because of how I present myself as a whole human being.

Sighted people visually judge.

And there are still stereotypes, racism, discrimination, bias, prejudice, and ableism in our society, all encompassing the lived realities that we face when trying to fully participate.

So, I think the Accessible Canada Act has given that opportunity to talk about intersectionality and has presented that opportunity to raise awareness and also to bring people into the conversation.

Kudos to the organizers of CCDI, having hosts that are racialized.

I am very impressed that we have, you know, a woman who's Black and a woman who's South Asian with a disability emceeing this Congress this year.

Historically, we have been absent.

The disability rights movement has been very white middle-class and hasn't represented the lived realities of racialized people, newcomers, immigrants, refugees, etc. etc. with disabilities.

And the Accessible Canada Act coming into force in just less than five years has given that opportunity.

We're not saying that Canada is addressing all the barriers that we face, but we are entering into those conversations.

And I think uniquely placing disability with diversity and inclusion is also a huge opportunity within the ministerial portfolio to bring that intersectional piece to the forefront.

And I'm really, really hoping that people who are working on the diversity and inclusion work embrace bringing in the accessibility conversation, rather than working in these compartmentalized spaces, which has been historically the case when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion work.

Because there's been separate legislation addressing accessibility, oftentimes organizations have taken that position to say, "Well, we're doing accessibility work over here. It's separate from our diversity, equity, and inclusion work."

And really it's not.

It has to go hand in hand.

-Thank you so much, Rabia, for that clear and powerful explanation.

So, now we're going to go to round two of the questions.

And I have two questions that I will read out.

And I will invite each of our panelists to choose one of those questions and to answer, provide their information and feedback on the question.

So, question number one is...

Question number one is right here on my papers.

Not that one. Sorry for this.

This panel includes representation from persons with disabilities, disability organizations, banks, and the federal government.

Why is it important that we collaborate with one another and others to advance work towards a barrier-free Canada by 2040?

And how can we do this more efficiently and effectively?

So, that's question number one.

Question number two -- what is one thing that we can do right now to speed up the process towards a barrier-free Canada in 2040?

And I imagine -- there's three minutes.

You have three minutes for each panelist, and you may want to try and answer both, because I'm sure you've got some good ideas.

So, we'll go in reverse order.

And, Rabia, let's begin with you.

-Oh, my goodness.

Okay.

[ Laughter ]

-Surprise!

-Can I ask you just to repeat the questions again?

Because you put both in, and I want to make sure I'm capturing.

-You bet.

The first question -- This panel includes representation from persons with disabilities, disability organizations, banks, and the federal government.

Why is it important that we collaborate with one another and others to advance work towards a barrier-free Canada in 2040?

And how can we do this more efficiently and effectively?

So, the question is about collaboration, working together.

-If we don't work together, we might check off the box that's required for accessibility.

Are we meeting the letter of the law?

Yeah, we might, but we may miss the intent.

And the intent is genuinely to create a Canada that's barrier-free for everybody.

And a few people, an organization alone, a department by itself, a subject matter expert does not have the entirety of knowledge required to appreciate and understand the various nuances that go with living with a disability, alongside all other aspects of our lived experience and our living experience.

So, therefore you cannot, for example, address barriers in banking if you do not understand, you know, the technological barriers, but not just technological barriers for a blind person, but technological barriers for across the board disabilities.

Plus, perhaps, English or French is not the person's first language.

Perhaps they're newcomers.

Perhaps their socioeconomic status.

So, there's -- again, I bring in that approach to intersectionality being fundamentally embedded in doing accessibility work, that if we don't reach out and partner with people with disabilities, with grassroots communities, not just large-scale national service providers, for example, but people on the ground, day-to-day users.

User experience is really, really important.

The work that we're doing, for example, at Race and Disability Canada is really about collaboration, about bringing forward the voices of grassroots communities who have been working for decades without resources on the ground to bring forward the barriers, the unique barriers that they face when accessing government services, when accessing transportation services, when accessing financial services, etc., etc., when looking for a job.

So, you know, our roots go back to an organization called Ethno-Racial People with Disabilities Coalition of Ontario, where a racialized woman with a disability lost her job.

And in that process that brought her to that point, she had requested accommodation based on her hearing loss and was denied.

She had requested accommodation on the basis of her faith.

She wanted to be able to do her daily ritual of puja -- she was Hindu -- and she was denied that access.

She requested religious accommodation in terms of her dietary restrictions.

She was denied that.

She was harassed on the basis of her gender.

All this stuff, and she could not be supported in addressing that holistic experience.

Everywhere she turned, people wanted to box her in into one identity, a single story of either disablement or being a woman, or being a newcomer, or being racialized, or being an employee.

Nobody wanted to address the whole package.

This conversation has gone on for decades, and we've brought it full circle now.

Thank you to some resources being invested by the federal government to bring forward organizations like ERDCO, like the Organization of Canadian Tamils with Disabilities, ATI Foundation, and DEEN, leading the way forward to look at that intersectional expertise that we have in our lived experience and bringing it forward to collaborate with various service sectors and socioeconomic spaces so that we do address accessibility barriers and ensure the full inclusion of people with disability.

-Thank you. Rabia.

Okay, Max, over to you, and I'll...

Would you like me to repeat the questions?

-No, I'm all good, Bill.

I'm going to, like Rabia, pick up on your first question, about the importance of collaboration because I really -- I like a lot of what Rabia said, and I'm going to kind of riff off of that, perhaps a little bit.

I mean, so collaboration is, we see at the agency as a critical tool.

And I mean, it's kind of central to the "nothing without us" principle.

It's also one of the agency's four priorities that we've outlined in our corporate business plan.

We have a really broad mandate, as you can appreciate.

And so, we must rely on partnerships and collaboration to achieve our mandate on a number of fronts.

So, collaboration is top of mind.

But it's also that notion of collaboration, consultation is also aligned with our service vision and that vision that I described of being user-centric.

You can't claim to be user-centric if you're not seeking the feedback of your clientele about their experience and attempting to address some of the issues that they're facing, whether we're talking about persons with disabilities or persons with other different lived experiences that need to be taken into account.

And this is where -- I really love the point that Rabia was making about intersectionality and the fact that these things have been kind of dealt with a little bit in a siloed way, which, you know, at least speaking for the federal apparatus, and that's something that is coming up in the consultations and discussions that we're having internally with persons with disabilities at the agency.

And they are telling us, "Yeah, I'm a person with disability, but I'm also a racialized individual.

I'm, you know, all sorts of other factors."

The other aspect of the importance, for me, of collaboration is that, of course, in the course of their everyday lives, like all Canadians, we know that persons with disabilities are going to interact with, you know, all three sectors, whether public, private, not for profit.

And within that, a number of persons with disabilities will rely on the support of third parties as well, whether they're from the non-profit or private sector, to assist them with their interactions with government.

And certainly that's true of their interactions with the CRA.

And whatever the mandate of any organization, the client's expectations with regard to their service experience is going to be shaped by the experience that they're having when they're interacting with other organizations.

So, simply put, like, at the CRA, we're keenly aware of the fact that, you know, we're big federal agency.

We're not an Apple, we're not an Amazon, we're not a Scotiabank.

But the clientele that interacts with us, that have come to expect a certain level of service or ease of service or client experience, you know, through their interactions with Apple and Amazon, those expectations are there when they're interacting with the agency.

And again, this is whether we're talking about persons with disabilities or other clients.

So, in a sense, I'm kind of looking at this with a hopeful lens that if the Accessible Canada Act can encourage any organization to become, you know, a little bit more innovative in this space and make progress, and that can change our clientele's expectations, then that will put pressure on organizations to have to follow suit.

And we've certainly been living that on a number of fronts at the agency, in terms of our program design and service delivery.

And we hear, you know, constantly from our clientele that, "Well, you know, I can do this a certain way with my bank, so why can't I do this in the same way with the CRA?"

And that puts pressure on us to deliver things a little bit differently.

So, to me, I think that there's -- that's where the inherent benefit of that collaboration is, as Rabia mentioned, getting access to these, you know, lessons learned, best practices that other organizations might be doing, you know, might be putting in place, and drawing inspiration from that, but even more so, the pressure on the expectations, you know, the pressure that our clientele is going to increasingly put on us to deliver things in a way that meets their expectations.

I'll close by saying we had a -- we're very fortunate to have Stephanie Cadieux accept to come and talk to our management table a few months back, just on the heels of the publication of our progress report.

And as we asked for her advice on how to consider things moving forward and continue to make progress, she sort of brought us back to the early days of the pandemic and said, "You know, some of the innovative ways to do things and deliver services to customers during the pandemic that businesses came up with, including things like curbside pickup or whatnot, were things that, you know, that the persons with disabilities community had been advocating for years.

But it took a pandemic to affect able-bodied people, for people to kind of turn around on a dime and come up with those innovations that benefited everyone and not just persons with disabilities.

And that really stuck with me.

And that's what I'm hoping, you know, this angle of collaboration, can bring, you know, to everybody's game or everybody's stance as they approach the challenge here.

You know, eliminating barriers for persons with disabilities is eliminating barriers for all Canadians.

And that's something we should strive for.

And anything that puts pressure on us to have to deliver in that space, to my mind, is a good thing.

Thanks.

-Thank you so much, Max, for your insightful comments.

And, Jen, we invite your comments on one or both of the questions.

-I think I'm going to answer both because I think there's an aspect of this that's sort of intertwined in the answer.

And definitely agree with both Max and Rabia in what they're saying.

So, the Accessible Canada Act principle, nothing about us without us, is crucial, really, in accelerating progress towards a barrier-free Canada, as, you know, we've all mentioned here, and when we actively involve people with disabilities, we gain those insights into the real life barriers that they're encountering daily.

And while regulatory requirements are certainly perceived as an endpoint, often, they should be seen as foundational guidelines providing organizations with a framework to build upon.

And so, when we consider feedback that we receive by either clients or employees, we end up uncovering these areas that are ripe for improvement.

And these areas, you know, may vary between financial institutions, for example.

But when we place people with disabilities at the center of our work, we level the playing field across the financial sector and ultimately enhance the quality of services that are available.

I also believe that advancing the goal of an accessible Canada necessitates greater cross-sector engagement.

So, while there's avenues for engagement within the financial sector, for example, I do believe that we could expand our efforts by fostering an open dialogue with the federal government.

A colleague of mine, rightly, noted recently that both banks and government significantly impact people's daily lives, regardless of a disability or not.

And so, suggesting that a stronger partnership between these groups would certainly be advantageous.

And, you know, Max, you made a few comments there, similar to what I'm saying.

But lastly, I think enhanced alignment also between the federal and provincial governments, especially from a regulatory standpoint, would greatly contribute to standardizing expectations around the services provided to people with disabilities.

-Thank you very much, Jen.

Louis. Two questions.

You've got three minutes.

-Yes, absolutely.

Three minutes is not a lot to answer these questions.

So, I will try, and I will try and answer both in such a short time.

On accessibility, while it is very important for Deaf people in Canada and in certain provinces... we need to discuss together to make barriers fall by 2040.

You know, that's in 16 years.

That's going to come fast.

There are Deaf and hard of hearing people who might have other disabilities, invisible disabilities, so people can walk around and go to work, for example, but they might have communication issues.

So, there's so many things to look at when we talk about accessibility.

There are so many barriers that need to fall.

So, if we talk about private companies who don't want to offer interpretation services because it's expensive, well, that's not acceptable.

Accessibility needs to be for everyone.

If we look at TD Bank, for example, they offer interpretation services.

You need to make an appointment, whether it's to get a mortgage or whatever it be.

In general, there has been satisfaction with regard to that service with TD Bank, but with Revenue Canada, with their video relay service, we can call and get direct access, but sometimes the wait time is quite long because interpreters aren't always available and you need to wait.

But now with direct services, well, that has improved.

And there's so much more to be done.

Let's talk about airports, for example.

We really need to improve services in airports.

In the prison system as well.

There's so much work to be done there.

We need to work together in collaboration with other organizations, and that is at the heart of it all.

I think that by 2040, I think that... it will be at the provincial level, so at the decision-making level that we might need to do a little bit of work with health care, for example.

That's a provincial jurisdiction.

So, provinces might say, "Well, maybe we'll be putting in this service or that service."

And if that happens, well, I hope that the federal government would be able to have an influence and to have accessible services.

So, everybody -- provinces, territories, and so on -- should work to make all obstacles fall by 2040.

We all need to work together because everybody has similar frustrations, and I think that there is still a lot of work left to be done on that level.

-Thank you, Louis.

Thank you very much.

That concludes the second round of questions.

And we now will spend about 10 minutes or so answering questions from our audience.

And I believe a number of people across the country have been submitting questions.

And we have public service experts standing by or sitting by to read the questions.

So, may I have the first question, please?

-Sure.

The Accessible Canada Act aspires for the highest level of accessibility.

What can be done to change the perspective from solely focusing on accommodation to focusing on what the act aspires to?

That is, the highest level of accessibility and incorporating accessibility from the start.

-Thank you very much for the question.

And it is not necessary that all panelists respond to the question, but I will ask, is there -- do one of you -- would one of you like to answer this question from your perspective? Just raise your hand.

Rabia.

-I can do this, Bill.

And my accommodation is physically raising my hand as opposed to trying to find it on Zoom.

That's an excellent question.

And really, what it comes down to, again, is centering lived experience.

Nothing about us without us, or as the government's mantra is right now, nothing without us.

Disabled people have to be central to any conversation, any decision, any action advancing accessibility.

If we are not at the table, things get missed.

And in order to ensure that we shift to an approach to universal accessibility or, you know, applying universal design principles to ensure a barrier-free Canada and world, people with disabilities have to be there to identify what those barriers are and not just requesting one-off accommodations, but really impressing upon people without disabilities that when we remove barriers, it's good for everybody.

And recognizing that our population today sits at 27%, you know, our hashtag at Disability Without Poverty is "We are the 27%."Well, the 27% of us are also connected to at least two other people that maybe brought us into this world and others that we live, love, laugh, work, play with, raise, and support.

So, that covers off most of our population.

Advancing a barrier-free Canada, ensuring accessibility is good for everybody, not just good for disabled people.

So, one-off accommodations don't cut it.

When we implemented automatic doors in grocery stores to help people carry loads of groceries out and push shopping carts, it helped parents with children in strollers, and it helped disabled people.

We know, we have proven that accessibility benefits all, not just the person with a disability.

So, that needs to be impressed upon those charged with implementing any initiatives related to the inclusion of disabled people to shift the conversation from accommodation to accessibility, recognizing that there will always be a need for accommodation because we are unique human beings with unique lived experiences and not every person with a disability is the same.

No two fingers are the same, and this rings true for our needs when it comes to addressing the barriers we face as blind people, as Deaf people, as people with physical disabilities, etc., etc.

So, accommodation will always be there, but accessibility is the goal if inclusion is the destination.

-Thank you, Rabia.

May I please have another question from the audience?

-So, there was a lot of discussion in the panel about working together with many different people and groups within communities and workplaces.

What are some of the effective ways for bringing everyone together with the disability community to affect change?

-Thank you for the question.

And is there a panelist that would like to jump in on this one?

-Yeah, it's Max. I'm happy to take a crack at this.

-Thanks, Max.

-I mean, an event like the one we're having today, I guess, as a start, would be, I think to my mind, a great example of the type of thing that can get us to the objective that was posed in the question.

You know, one of the things that has come up in discussions with persons with disabilities, our persons with disabilities network at the agency, is, you know, should we make training mandatory in this space?

And very often, when that question comes up, the conversation that ensues, because, you know, if it comes up in a kind of an event like this, is that you -- and discussion-based and sharing lived experiences-based event like the one we're having today, ends up doing more, I think, for raising awareness than, you know, taking a 45-minute online course and ticking that box.

And we've seen this time and time again in the events that we've put on at the agency where the goal, to pick up on Rabia's answer to the previous question, if the goal is to move from, you know, simply doing an on-demand accommodation to doing a proactive level of accessibility that will benefit all, that requires that increased level of knowledge and awareness amongst, you know, everyone in an organization, including people like me that don't have a disability, but, you know, that happened to be sitting in a chair where I'm in charge of, you know, designing programs or activities or those kinds of things.

So, that's one of the concrete ways for me, is the more we can promote these types of exchanges with different people, with different lived experiences, from various organizations, who represent, you know, a broad variety of individuals, that's the way we're going to up our game in all of these spaces.

Now, there's technical expertise that's required if you're talking about, you know, making applications online accessible.

Of course, you know, there's a space there for some formal training and courses and that kind of thing.

And certainly, organizations need to invest in that.

But the discussion-based, I think, you know, collaboration, really helps, you know, destigmatize and raise the level of awareness and understanding and promote a culture where people look at acc-- or at least strive to achieve accessibility by design, as opposed to, you know, accommodation on demand.

I can put it that way.

Thanks.

-Thank you. Max.

Next question, please.

-People are not aware of the wealth of the Deaf culture in Canada.

How can we better support American Sign Language, langue des signes québécoise, and Indigenous sign languages, and the Deaf culture in general in Canada?

-Thank you very much for the question.

And I imagine, Louis, you may want to respond to this one.

-Yes, I would.

It's an interesting question.

How can we support the Deaf community, the hearing deficient?

As you know, the Deaf Association of Canada -- Association of the Deaf in Canada... ...reaches many communities, but there are not many people everywhere in the association.

For example, here in Quebec, we have several associations for the Deaf or hard of hearing.

And, for example, in ReQIS, where I work, it's a Quebec network for the Deaf.

And that organization defends different values because there is a lot of members at the local level who have services both for the Deaf and for the hard of hearing, but the general awareness needs to be propagated among the hearing.

Perhaps there are -- there's awareness to be raised.

Often, we ask for that to be done, but then we'll be told, "Oh, it's not really necessary."

But we shouldn't limit us because we are participating in the same world as the other people, and for people to be aware about us would be good for all Deaf cultures in Canada.

-Thank you so much.

We have time for one more quick question.

And, Jen, I want to give you a chance to have a final word on that one.

Question, please.

-I have another question here for Louis.

Louis, have you seen offices that have notification equipment for emergency situations?

The standard appears to be audio only for many buildings announcing evacuations, for example.

Is there visual notifications?

If yes, then how was it set up?

-Louis, can you answer that within a minute, please?

I know this would be a long answer, but real quick.

Thanks.

-Yes.

It's a good question.

In terms of fires, in Quebec, the standard in terms of buildings, there are two options.

There are sound beeps that exist.

Sometimes, there's white flashing lights, as well.

But we can notice that quite easily, but why not put that kind of system everywhere?

The Accessible Canada Act could facilitate that.

I think an apartment, for example... apartment building, where they have specialized services for the Deaf with lights and so forth, it has that, but it's not everywhere.

So I think there is a lot of room for improvement on that score. Thank you.

-Thank you, Louis.

Is there one more quick question that I can hand to Jen?

And if there isn't, Jen, I would just give you a minute to make additional comments.

Maybe we should do that, as we're very close to ending, and to be respectful to everybody who spent time with us today.

Jen, what would you like to offer?

Any insights?

-I really think it's about cross-sectoral collaboration.

So, you know, hearing Rabia speak about the grassroots and intersectionality and getting folks with disabilities involved.

It's also about making sure the private sector is engaged and aware of the need for, one, compliance, but also making their spaces and their services accessible, and then making sure that the governments understand that it's not always as easy to implement the way that maybe it's written in law.

And so, is there some flexibility for us to look at things in a principles-based setting, giving organizations some flexibility on how to implement, rather than always being prescribed the way that we implement some of these things.

And I think that would help in general, making Canada more accessible and towards our goal.

-Thank you, Jen.

Great insights from everyone, and I want to thank all the panelists for being here today.

There is a wealth of information and ideas that have been -- my apology for that -- that have been offered here today.

And real quickly, collaboration and partnerships is a major one.

Get rid of the silos.

Remove the silos.

Another theme is being innovative and understanding that client expectations are going to drive change.

And the importance of identifying role models and organizations and groups that are doing excellent work and can share that information with others so people don't have to reinvent the wheel.

There was a couple of really important quotes.

One of them was, "When you eliminate barriers for people with disabilities, we remove barriers for all people in Canada."

And the other important quote is that "We are more than people with disabilities."

We have many, many -- much diversity in our in our personalities and in what we experience in life.

And we can't just be looking at disabilities.

We need to look at the whole person and everything that we are.

So, there's so much more, a lot of richness here.

And it seems to me that the Accessible Canada Act is providing a roadmap for us to make changes.

And it's my hope that as we go into the next five years, we go faster and faster and faster and gain more ground.

And by working together, based on so much of what we've talked about here today, we'll get farther, faster.

So, with that, I want to thank the panelists.

I want to thank the interpreters very much for being with us today.

I want to thank the audience who have been listening to this, and also thank the audience for everything that they do to advance access and inclusion.

And also behind the scenes, our public service team members that have helped put this together and had it run as smoothly as it has.

So, with that, I will hand it back to Bean and Varda.

Thank you so much. Oh, back over to you.

-Yes, it's my turn to thank all of you.

I'd like to thank --

I've learned a lot from this very instructive discussion.

I was -- I was very marked by a lot of things that were said.

I'm going to quote Rabia, whose remarks really touched me.

Living in a situation, you know, a disabled people were part of visible minorities.

That can have several challenges.

And when Louis spoke about accommodations, I had seen something quite similar.

Yesterday, I took an airplane.

I was outside of this place, and there was a person who complained that they didn't have the necessary space for their legs.

And it was a very small plane, and there wasn't much space.

And I didn't understand that in 2024, when we talk about inclusion, that we hadn't thought that there might be people who are in -- or with -- or have disabilities and that person wasn't able to be accommodated.

I'm an optimistic person by nature, and I think a lot of effort has been made to improve things.

I think that with time, as Bill mentioned, things will get better.

We're living in Canada, after all -- a large, great country that has a lot of respect and wants the well-being of its citizenry.

But despite the progress, there is still a lot of room for improvement.

So, I'd like to say that it is collectively that we will be able to make the difference.

Bill, Bean, what do you think?

-What do you think?

-Yeah.

-Oh, definitely.

It's working together.

And, yeah.

And, Bean, over to you for any final comments,

-Sure. Yeah. Thank you.

I again, I also want to echo what Varda said.

So, thank you to all the panelists and Bill for moderating that great discussion.

For me, I think the resounding theme that came from everybody's answers is we need people with lived experience at the core of every policy, every level of government, every organization, if we're actually going to have true inclusion.

"Nothing about us without us" rings true in my heart.

And, you know, I deal with vendors all the time, living life with a wheelchair, and although they mean well and they work for people with disabilities, and they might have people with disabilities in their home and whatever, they still don't understand.

And there's still lots of barriers with that.

And so, I think we just need to also eliminate the gap between, you know, non-disabled and disabled.

If we all think of ourselves as one step away from joining the disability community or, you know, I mean, technically, if you're wearing glasses, that's a mobility device to help you see better, right?

So, just like my wheelchair helps me move better, we're not that different.

And I think all of Canada, the whole population, all 40 million people in this country really need to understand that.

And when they can understand that, that's when we're going to see true action in creating true inclusion.

I just loved what everybody had to say.

Um, you know, Max,

I love what you said about eliminating barriers for people with disabilities, that it eliminates barriers for everyone.

And I go back to that analogy about ramps and stairs.

Not everybody can use the stairs, but everybody can use a ramp, right?

And so, some things, sometimes it's just simplicity that we need to go back to.

But, yeah, I am just -- that was a really great discussion.

Thank you to everyone for your insights.

I learned a lot, and I hope everybody who's watching has learned and taken down some notes as well.

We now have a health break.

And I know I'm really excited about this because I have a neurogenic bladder, and I need to use the bathroom.

So, Congress organizers told me that we have frequent health breaks.

It's because of the feedback that was given in the previous CCDIs.

That's why it's important for you to provide your feedback at the end of the Congress by responding to the feedback form sent by the e-mail following the event.

So, please do not forget to submit your feedback.

During the health break, feel free to stretch, to have a snack, or to step out for some fresh air.

Enjoy your break, and we will see you back at 12:55 Eastern Time.

And don't be late for our next keynote speaker.

[-Now, the next on the agenda is our second panel discussion.

The title of the panel discussion is Pathways to Change, which is a showcase

of the progress made towards inclusively built environments.

It is a pleasure for me to introduce our moderator, Dr. Victoria Fast, assistant professor at the Department of Geographa-- Geography, sorry -- and member of the O'Brien Institute for Public Health at the University of Calgary.

Dr. Fast leads the --the research lab on accessible mapping and mobility research, with a distinct vision of integrating accessibility not only into our cities, but also into our data and analysis, into our mapping technologies, and then to our curricular and urban standards.

By combining rigorous academic research with practical teaching and community engagement, Dr. Victoria Fast is contributing to the development of welcoming

accessible cities and societies conducive to the well-being of all.

Once again, at the end of the panel discussion, our panelists will answer a few questions from the audience.

If you have any questions, please enter them in the Q&A box.

Now you have the floor, Dr. Fast.

-Good morning and good afternoon, everyone.

Thank you for the warm introduction, Varda, Today I am in front of you with light skin, brown hair, and brown eyes.

I've chosen to wear an orange jacket with a sage green shirt, colors that reflect the vibrant and encouraging atmosphere of this Congress.

I live and work on the traditional territories of the people of the Treaty 7 region of southern Alberta in the vibrant city of Calgary, a site traditionally known as Moh'kinsstis.

I am here not only as an academic, but as someone deeply invested in our collective journey toward a more accessible world, both personally and professionally.

I am a person with extensive lived experience of disability.

This experience deep -- This experience deeply informs my research and strengthens my commitment to advocating for transformative change.

I actively use this personal perspective in my role on the Accessible Standards Canada Technical Advisory Committee for Wayfinding and Signage, my leadership in equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives, and my research

aimed at removing barriers in the built environment, research that centers on the experience of people with disabilities.

Today, I am delighted to welcome you all to this important panel discussion on Pathways to Change, showcasing progress towards inclusive built environments.

As we delve into today's topic, the built environment, we touch on something

that affects the core of daily living for many.

This issue is a priority under the Accessible Canada Act and has been passionately

advocated for by many of you here today.

The recent draft standard released by Accessibility Standards Canada marks a significant milestone, and today we gather to discuss, critique, and expand on these developments.

I'm particularly excited to engage with the panelists, leaders, advocates, and changemakers as we discuss and explore initiatives and progress on enhancing the accessibility of the built environment.

It is your engagement and commitment that drive this change, pushing us closer to a society where no person is left behind due to inaccessible environments.

Our discussion will not only highlight current achievements, but also address

ongoing challenges and explore new opportunities for collaboration and innovation.

So let's begin this enriching discussion and learn about our esteemed panelists.

Our first panelist up is Phyllis Fehr. Phyllis, over to you.

-Good morning.

My name is Phyllis Fehr and I am a person living with dementia and a dementia advocate.

I currently work at the Hamilton Council on Aging on the Dementia Empowerment Network Project.

I am a board member of the Alzheimer's Society of Canada, and I advocate for human rights for people living with dementia.

For those of you who would appreciate a visual description, I'm a white female.

I have reached my senior years this month as I turned 65 years old, and I have long gray hair that I am wearing down today.

I'm wearing a royal blue jacket and I'm working from home.

-Great. Thank you so much, Phyllis.

All right. Our next panelist is Nada Mayor.

I hope I got that right, Nada.

-Nada Mehri. Thank you, everyone. My name is Nada Mehri, and I hold the position of the Canada regional lead for MUHSEN.

MUHSEN represents Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Educational Needs.

In addition, I am a board of director of the Akram Jomaa Islamic Center.

It is in Calgary, Alberta. I have a long-standing history in community engagement

and a passion for reaching our community's most marginalized and at-risk individuals.

I have spent the last 15 years serving my community on a grassroot level,

establishing diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces.

I take much pride in representing unrepresented communities and minorities.

I strongly believe that people with disabilities play an integral role in our community and society.

My visual description is I identify as a muslim Canadian and I wear a headscarf.

Thank you.

-Great. Thanks, Nada. Over to you, Dr. John Molot.

-Hello, everybody. My name is John Molot.

I'm a medical doctor.

For almost 40 years, my clinical practice was focused on environmental medicine.

And now I'm a 70-something-year-old white man with White hair and a matching shirt,

white beard.

And today I'm also wearing a matching white shirt.

I spend my days advocating for environmental health.

Many of my patients had disabling conditions linked to the indoor environment.

They frequently required accommodations for which I often had to advocate.

-Great, fantastic. And last but not least, Vicky Levack, over to you.

-It's Levack. Hi, I'm Vicky.

I am a 33-year-old White woman. I use a powerchair.

Today I'm wearing pink glasses and a black T-shirt with pink letters on it.

It says "Boss Lady."

Because, as people with disabilities, we're often told that we're not the bosses of our own life.

So I just look for shirts like this to remind myself and the people around me that I am the boss of my own life.

I am the spokesperson for the Disability Rights Coalition. I love that position.

Sorry, it's Coalition of Nova Scotia.

I'm coming to you from Kjipuktuk, which is Halifax, which is located enmigtaqamu'g,

also known as Nova Scotia, the territory of the Mi'kmaq people.

And what else? I've been -- I've been with the DRC for four years, but I started doing this work full-time with disability advocacy at the age of 21 when I was forced against my will to live in a nursing home because I was, quote, "too disabled to live in the community."

And I thought that was wrong. I thought they'd been a mistake.

And then I realized, this is how the system is supposed to work.

It's not working like no one made a mistake.

So I've been advocating for, I guess, 12 years now.

I spent 10 years in that institution.

I consider myself a formerly incarcerated person, and an institutionalized survivor.

And for the last two years, thanks to an organization called Independent Living

Nova Scotia and a program called the Shared Service Pilot, I have been living in the community in a condo of my own with a roommate as well as 24/7 attendant --

sorry -- attendant care.

Thanks for having me.

-Great. Thank you, Boss Lady.

It's a good reminder, isn't it, that we really need to take charge of our life, our health, and our wellness.

So thank you to each of you panelists for your insightful introductions, your experiences and your perspectives really set a strong foundation for our discussion today.

So let's move on to the format of our panel.

We'll begin with round one, where each panelist will be asked tailored questions.

This segment is meant to last about 30 minutes, giving you all just about six minutes to share your insights and your experiences.

The structured approach will ensure we cover diverse perspectives and solutions

related to the accessibility of the built environment.

And, so, starting us off in the same order where we'll turn it over to you, Phyllis, where your work on dementia friendly communities through the Haldimand project in Hamilton is very commendable.

This initiative really taps into the experience, expertise, and leadership of people living with dementia to build more inclusive environments.

So welcome. Can you tell us a bit more about the dementia friendly communities

and some of the effective built environment best practices for creating dementia friendly communities?

-Yes. Thank you, Victoria.

So a dementia friendly community is a place where people live with dementia.

Their families and care partners feel included and supported.

These communities focus on both the physical and social environments to ensure

that they are fully accessible for individuals with dementia.

A core component is the engagement in and involvement of people living with dementia in the design process.

Their insights are invaluable for creating spaces that meet their needs, reducing

stigma and building awareness.

Dementia friendly communities is a global movement.

The United Nations say persons with dementia must have their dignity, beliefs,

needs, and privacy respected at all stages of the disease.

Governments worldwide are urged to effectively integrate a human rights-based approach to the global action against dementia.

In 2016, Canada reported at the United Nations on the Charter of Rights of People with Disabilities resulting in dementia and Alzheimer's being recognized in name

for the first time.

It was here that inspired the beginnings of the Canadian National Dementia Strategy.

In 2017, the National Strategy for Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementia Act was passed, and in 2019, Canada released a dementia strategy for Canada.

They committed new federal investments of 70 million to ensure meaningful progress

on the national objectives of this strategy, resulting in the Public Health Agency of Canada announcing the Dementia Community's Investment fund, and put forward a national call for proposals for projects to help create dementia friendly communities, and has been a source of funding for the projects that I have been involved in over the last five years.

Best practices for dementia friendly built environments always include people living with dementia in the design process.

We need to understand that a person's brain is responsible for interpreting their physical environment.

When dementia progresses, a person's perception of the world can shift in a minor

or drastic way.

It is vital as a dementia friendly community -- community supporter we ensure people living with dementia have enough information in their environment to live independently.

Dementia-Friendly Canada suggests that if big changes are not possible right away

or outside your control, consider what you can do in the meantime, such as the following.

Let's take lighting as an example. If we're looking at inside lighting, is it adequate to improve visibility?

When we look at lighting fixtures, for example, window coverings, lamps, and the position to avoid bright glare or dark shadows, are all your entrances and exits well-lit and provide a safe and welcoming atmosphere?

When we look at lighting for people with Alzheimer's, if they see a dark spot on a floor, that can appear as a hole.

It may not the rest of the world, but to us, you know, we think we're going to fall into that dark hole.

So these are just little things that make such a big difference to us.

Another area to consider is the sound around us.

Is the radio and background music or other sources of noise minimized?

Do you provide a quiet area for people with dementia to go to when they're being distracted?

Are PA systems delivering clear, audible announcements only when necessary?

When people living with dementia are out in public and all PA systems and music

is going, it's very distracting because we have a hard time to concentrate on one thing and it's just excessive noise.

So a lot of the stores that are dementia friendly have the ability to adjust the incoming noise so that if somebody with Alzheimer's come in the store, they're able to turn the noise down.

Some grocery stores even offer a quiet hour for people living with dementia

to be able to go in and do their shopping so that they're not being bombarded with noise.

And when you consider services in your establishment, are they uncluttered with unnecessary signage or advertisem*nts?

Is the artwork chosen carefully to add interest?

You can use them to provide a landmark.

Are your hallways, floors, and other surfaces kept as clear as possible for furniture and other objects like floor mats?

Oh, my goodness, that's so important because they're tripping hazards and they should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Carpets can cause a problem. It not only can be a tripping hazard, they themselves

can be considered an area that the person may think they're going to fall into.

We have to take into consideration maybe the paint color choices we have in our areas.

They can cause shadows or the room to feel like it's closing in on us.

I know I absolutely can't stand going to my family's da-- my family doctor's office

and being called into the inside room because it -- the color it uses, I feel like the room is closing in every time I sit in there.

So when I go in, I have to sit there quietly with my head down, my eyes closed,

until he walks in, because otherwise I feel like I'm just being squeezed.

I suggest using light, bright paint colors as much as possible.

Are the stairs well defined?

Do they have risers on the back of them?

Because I personally, when I see a staircase without risers, I see a ladder, not a staircase.

Please remember that people living with dementia have perceptual difficulties and may see their environment differently.

Another big thing to consider is signage.

Are entrances and exits clearly marked?

Are landmark signs clearly visible and not against the wall?

Do they stick out into the corridor so people living with dementia can look for a sign to a bathroom and see it from a distance?

When signs are laid flat against the wall, they may not be able to see them, so they may have to go and find them, which then makes things more difficult for them

when they're out in public.

Are your staff trained to watch for signs that someone may be lost or need assistance?

As you go forward and think of more ways to make your environment dementia friendly, know that you are working towards making our community more accessible,

not only for those living with dementia, but for anybody who may be living with some form of disability.

This work -- This work benefits entire communities and beyond.

-Thank you so much for that thoughtful answer, Phyllis, and I entirely agree.

It seems like the little things, right, lighting, sound, clutter, color.

But it can make all the difference for somebody to feel included and feel comfortable and feel safe in the built environment.

And it's echoing what we've heard all throughout today, that some of these changes

in our built environment are essential for some, but they're benefit for everyone.

So thanks again for really highlighting that point.

All right, Nada, over to you. Great to have you here.

You're on the board of directors of the Akram Jomaa, a faith-based Islamic center

located in my city, too, Calgary, Alberta.

The Islamic Center is proud to be certified by the Muslims Understanding and Helping Special Education Needs, or "moo-shen"?

How do you pronounce the acronym?

-"Muh-sen, muh-sen." M-U-H-S-E-N.

-MUHSEN, okay. So MUHSEN is committed to supporting and helping families with special needs.

So can you share with us some of what you've learned about creating inclusively built environments and communities based on your work through the center?

-Yeah. So, first and foremost, thank you for having me.

I guess I want to start off with acknowledgement, right?

Recognizing the gaps within our community.

Lack of accommodation an acceptance is a universal issue.

It is a widespread problem. And, you know, sometimes I feel like our society is disabled in the sense that we struggle to accommodate individuals with disabilities.

There's a beautiful quote that I often reflect on, and it's, "There is no greater disability in society than the inability to see a person as more."

And this is why acceptance and empathy are very integral.

I think we need to shift the narrative around disability and focus on discussions

that address the lack of inclusion and accommodation for vulnerable individuals in our communities.

So I know, for myself, like upholding social justice is essential to our humanity

and Canadian identity.

I am a born and raised Calgarian. I'm very Canadian and emphasizing the importance.

of showing compassion and empathy to others, also intersectionality,

right?

So being one of the biggest minorities is a very neglected community by all.

People with disabilities face a lot of barriers due to stigmatization and exclusion

that still exists.

People with disabilities face discrimination because of their multiple identities that they carry.

For example, if someone is a working class and has a disability, the combination of both factors shapes a person's life experience.

People are complex and multifaceted, with many interwoven attributes making up their identity.

Disability is just one part of a person's identity that may shape but not define them.

Representation. So we all hear, you know, representation matters.

Invite everyone to have a seat at the table, being dedicated to embracing all forms of disabilities and being committed to accommodating the individual's need of every person.

We can do this by actively implementing strategies that aim to establish inclusive environments, prioritizing the significance of accessibility, representation, and empowerment for all individuals, particularly those who are marginalized or encounter obstacles due to participation.

One of the ways that we can do this is by making space. Make space.

Invite everyone to have a seat at the table for adequate representation.

We can do this by opening the stage to more voices, calling those in your community

that can provide our community and cause with new experiences, new insight, new learning opportunities.

Create space for advocates who build more beauty and strength in our movement by bringing ideas and resources to the discussion.

I strongly believe that individuals with disabilities are an integral part of our communities, and our goal is to spark community dialogues around physical and mental disabilities, challenging stereotypes surrounding individuals with disabilities by promoting inclusion, acceptance, and accommodation.

By creating safe spaces that facilitate integration for all, we can reshape the appearance and atmosphere in our communities for the better.

Again, something I reflect on often in the disability sphere is accessibility means being able to enter the building, diversity is being invited to the table,

inclusion is having a voice at the table, and belonging is having your voice at the table -- your voice heard at the table.

So, I'm here because someone advocated for me, and because of that, I felt the need to advocate for others and pay it forward, being in a leadership position.

So, accommodation and understanding. I want to reflect on that a little bit.

The first step towards change is educating ourselves by listening and validating other voices around us.

It's so important to stand in solidarity with marginalized communities.

It's an obligation upon us to protect those who have been struggling for years by exercising empathy.

I will be educated about your lived experience.

I will work against anything that harms you. Tell me how to do better.

I feel you, I hear you, I see you, thank you.

-Wow, that's some really powerful stuff.

I love that change in notion on EDI about having a seat at the table, but also being invited and having your voice.

Really great to have that perspective.

Thank you. Okay, John, over to you. Lots of experience here.

For the last 36 years, you have focused your medical practice on environmental medicine, evaluating and treating patients with environmentally linked conditions such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and multiple chemical sensitivities.

I suspect among many other. From this environmental health perspective, what are some key considerations for creating inclusively built environments in our communities and our workplaces?

-Thank you for this question.

Environmental health is about protecting populations from threats to their health

from environmental factors, especially in the built environment, because that's where 80% of Canadians live and work.

The built environment is also a more polluted environment.

The World Health Organization tells us that air pollution is among the top five causes of chronic non-infectious disease.

It's right up there with tobacco smoking, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity,

and harmful use of alcohol.

And these diseases include cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurodegenerative disorders, all of which can be potentially disabling.

For kids, air pollution can affect cognitive and lung development, and it's a risk factor for developing asthma and autism spectrum and attention deficit disorders.

On bad air days, when the air pollution is worse, we see exacerbations of these chronic diseases with increased visits to the ER.

So many people with disabilities have underlying health conditions.

Exposure to pollutants can worsen these conditions more severely than in the general population, and one reason for this is that a significantly higher percentage of people with disabilities live near pollution sources.

A significantly higher percentage of children with disabilities reside in school districts with greater air pollution exposure.

Social determinants of health are likely playing a role, and urban planning of the built environment needs to consider these factors.

And pollution is also setting the world on fire.

This needs to be considered in future planning, as well.

Heat waves are already more frequent, stronger, and lasting longer.

Some people with disabilities are especially at risk for heat-related illness

like heat stroke and death.

They include individuals with mental health issues, those who depend on others for assistance in daily living, and those with limited mobility or access to transportation.

People with limited incomes may not be able to afford air conditioning in their home.

Also, people with certain disabilities may not be adequately warned of an extreme heat hazard or know what to do to stay safe.

And sometimes we have to deal with cases of extreme pollution due to smoke from wildfires hundreds of miles away and were advised to stay indoors inside our built environment.

So how safe is that? So consider these facts.

We already spend 90% of our time indoors.

Think about all those studies of the effects of air pollution.

Most of our exposures actually take place indoors.

The building envelope filters out some of the outdoor air pollution, depending on how tight the windows and doors are and how well the building is insulated.

People in lower socioeconomic groups are more likely to live in low-quality housing, putting them more at risk.

A better built environment in the near future is required to protect us

from the impacts of climate change and air pollution.

But the indoor air is actually worse than outside.

And this is because the levels of chemicals in the air are actually higher indoors, 2 to 5 times higher, sometimes up to 10.

These chemicals are called volatile organic compounds, or VOCs.

Volatile means they evaporate and exist as a gas in the air.

The average Canadian homecontains 50 different VOCs.

You inhale them in every breath more than 20,000 times per day, every day.

Some VOCs come from the building and construction materials, including wood-based

fire boards, panels, paints, floor material, adhesives and resins, plastics, and even cement.

They include chemicals like flame retardants and stain repellents, but the most significant and most modifiable sources of VOCs comes from us, our habits, and our behaviors.

Most of us use chemical products such as perfumes, cosmetics, personal care products like soaps, shampoos, and conditioners.

Scented laundry products and fabric softeners are on our clothes, bedsheets, and pillowcases.

Our baby's diapers are scented.

We use scented cleaning products and deodorizer, scented products or mixtures of chemicals.

And all of these chemicals are VOCs.

The products that we choose to use add to our chronic burden of chemical exposures,

to the pollution of the indoor air that we share with others, and we can and should do something about that right now.

These chemicals are easily absorbed from our lungs.

They get into our circulation and are detected in the brain within one to two minutes.

Humans are made of three trillion cells, all of which have systems to recognize

and detoxify foreign chemicals.

These systems have evolved over millions of years, but they're now being overwhelmed by our continuous exposure to pollution, including VOCs, causing changes in cells, which can lead eventually to many different chronic diseases.

And one of those changes is sensitization to these chemicals.

60% of asthmatics and 70% of people with migraine headaches have symptoms provoked

by exposures to these chemicals.

And more than 70% of people on the autistic spectrum report fragrance sensitivity.

Surveys on multiple continents show that 15% to 30% of the general population

observed sensitivity to some chemically scented products, and 4% have been medically diagnosed with multiple chemical sensitivity or MCS.

MCS is a recognized disability.

It's an acquired condition in which a range of recurrent symptoms is attributed to exposures to low levels of chemicals that are common, they're ubiquitous, they're everywhere.

These exposures were tolerated before the onset of MCS, and they're not considered

problematic by other people.

There's no known treatment.

The most beneficial management strategy is environmental control and avoidance of chemical exposures.

So imagine what it's like to have MCS.

Having symptoms triggered by pervasive common exposures interferes with your ability to carry out even the most fundamental activities of daily living, such as attending work, shopping, social activities, use of public transportation, accessing health care, and so on.

Symptoms include brain fog, headache, breathing problems, among others.

And people with MCS often avoid social and occupational settings because of our widespread use of chemicals and people's unwillingness to limit their use of chemical products.

They experience bias. MCS is an invisible disability.

Other people don't believe them and lack understanding of the condition that is biological, and this includes friends, family, coworkers, and employers.

This results in stigmatization, loss of meaningful and productive activities,

social isolation, financial loss, frustration and anxiety and depression.

The Canadian Human Rights Commission has recognized as a medical disability since 2007, giving people with the condition the legal right to accommodation, and the best accommodation is a scent-free policy which, if enforced, leads to a significant reduction in chemical exposures for everyone.

There are many alternative product options to choose from, with resources available online.

With respect to inclusivity, this policy removes a major barrier to access for all those people with variations of chemical sensitivity.

From an environmental health perspective, there are two key considerations to promote inclusively built environments in our communities and workplaces.

One is safer building materials that don't release chemicals, hopefully eventually mandated in future building codes.

The other is the initiation of a scent-free policy in all buildings everywhere.

Thank you.

-Wow, John, what a fantastic perspective.

And I agree, it's sometimes shocking to see the chemicals that we openly welcome

into our homes.

Sometimes you just flip over some of those beauty products and it's unbelievable

to see what those products are, especially the warnings, right?

Not good for children, you know. Not good for this.

Not good for that. Do not consume.

So a good reminder that there are a lot of social determinants of health,

and I think a very actionable outcome there, considering scent-free policies.

And rounding out the perspective, we have Vicky now from the Disability Rights Coalition.

So, Vicky, you lived in a nursing home, or as you called it, you were incarcerated

for 10 years.

And through your advocacy, you helped create an inclusively built environment.

And you are now part of the pilot project in Nova Scotia for people with disabilities who want to live in a neighborhood but require assistance as well as housing.

So, in your perspective, what are the best practices related to inclusively built

Environments that can be learned from your experience?

-Well, I think when we talk about built environments, people often think of just ramps and widening doors and, you know, putting buttons on doors to make them automatic.

Those things are very important, don't get me wrong.

But they are not the sum of everything.

Often, people with physical disabilities also have cognitive disabilities to go along with it.

I have a learning disability, which is a little different rom a cognitive disability.

But I have -- what do they call it? -- a nonverbal learning disability.

So my wayfinding and depth perception are basically shot.

I can't navigate my way out of a paper bag.

And I have 0.1% depth perception. But I don't know where something is.

So... Some other things.

But one of the things you could do is, instead of putting the -- fitting the person to a service, like they did with me, they said, "Okay, well, you're" -- again -- "too disabled to live in the community."

Which we all know is wrong. And now the government recognizes it's wrong.

"So we're going to fit you into this nursing home because that's what we got.

And you have no other options."

My only other option was to live with my parents until they died and then move into a nursing home.

So, I thought, well, I might as well do it now.

And... It just -- it wasn't meant for me.

Nursing homes are designed -- I know this is going to get a little dark -- but nursing homes are designed for people at the end of their life.

They are not designed to live a full life in.

And if you're going to put people in there to live full lives, okay, first of all, don't.

Second of all, if you absolutely have to, for whatever reason, make them livable, you know?

They did -- It did nothing for my mental health.

I also have chronic depression and mild to moderate anxiety.

Living with people with severe cognitive disabilities that led to abuse, through no fault of their own.

They had no idea what they're doing. And I don't blame them at all.

But when you mix all those disabilities together, no one gets what they truly need.

Um, so it's really, again, fitting the services and support around the person and going to the person as an individual and being like, "Okay, human, what do you want?

And what do you want for your life? What's your plan?"

And sitting down with them and saying, "Well, we can kind of do that.

But what if we do this?"

Like, instead of saying, "No, that's too hard," figure it out, because the person

with the disability will tell you exactly what needs to be done.

They will let you know. Your job is just help.

Help them. Not tell them what to do or how to live their life, but do what they ask, if it is within your power, and if it's not questioned whose power it's in

or why it's not in your power.

And if it's legislative, change it. Legislation can be changed. Perceptions of people can be changed. Laws can be changed.

Like, in Nova Scotia, with the Disability Rights Coalition, we did the human rights

case saying that, you know, denying people adequate social assistance goes against human rights.

Social assistance does not just mean money.

It means giving them the support they need to not only survive but thrive in their community.

And that looks different for everybody.

So fit your programs around the person, fit the environment around the person and their needs, not the person into whatever you seem to come up with.

-That's such a great reminder that it's not just about surviving, but also thriving.

And we see that in nursing homes. My dad was in a wheelchair.

And when his disability became too advanced -- and he was quite young -- he ended

up going to a nursing home.

But he just caused so much trouble because he had so much energy.

And it just was not a place that helped him thrive. -No.

-So I'm glad you're bringing that to the forefront of the conversation.

-And those environments -- I hope I'm not speaking out of turn -- but those environments are good for no one.

The way they currently operate, they're good for no one.

-This connects, I think, really well to what Phyllis was talking about with the dementia friendly communities and that community and community of people to support each other.

And also what John's saying, too, about those social determinants of health, that our health is so much more than what brings us to the doctor's office, that we create our health and our wellness every single day.

Okay, and with that really insightful panel answers, we'd like to move into a panel session where we all have a chance to talk.

So I am going to share two questions with you.

Basically, it's on challenges and opportunities around accessible-built environments.

And, so, you can choose which part of the questions to answer.

Each panelist will have about three minutes to give your answer.

And so the first question is, in your view, what are some of the biggest challenges

that still exist in achieving inclusively designed built environments?

And then the second question is, what is one thing that we can do right now in the area of inclusively designed built environments to speed up the process towards a barrier-free Canada in 2040.

So it's up to you.

Do you want to talk about the challenges that remain or the opportunities that we have?

Let's go in reverse order.

Vicky, I'll send it back to you.

-Okay. So I'm gonna answer both really quickly because I think these answers

are really complicated, but also really simple.

And I'll explain what that means in a minute.

So what are the challenges we face?

There's two and they sort of go together.

What we require, as people with disabilities, it's considered special needs.

We use that term "special needs."

No, they're not special. We require the same needs as everyone else.

We need to be included in our society.

We need access to recreation and employment.

And we need to feel loved and accepted and included.

That's what everybody needs.

There's nothing special about that.

Now, how we go about that will be different.

So in terms of the built environment, like, why are we still building stairs when not everybody can use the stairs, but everybody can use ramps?

People who have no trouble walking can use a ramp.

Why are crosswalks and curb cuts not colored?

You know, so that you know where they are.

Like, I can't tell you how many times I've almost driven off a curb when I'm by myself because I think it's a curb cut and it's not.

But if it was painted yellow or blue, I can be like, "Oh, there's the blue part.

That must be where the ramp is."

That's where I know I'm safe. Signage. Signage helps everyone.

And it needs to be clear and bold and in color -- contrast contrasting colors so they don't blend.

Lighting. Soft lighting probably makes everybody feel better. You know? Calms them down.

As long as, you know, you don't have the dark corners like Phyllis was talking about.

But lights don't have be blaring everywhere. Nobody likes that.

And it feels very institutional. Kind of like you're in a horror movie.

In terms of what we can do right now, what we can do is -- Candidates have been

very good about "We're going to be accessible.

We're going to be accessible. We're going to be inclusive."

Put your money where your mouth is.

Like, they say they want all these things, and yet they won't fund them.

You know, with the disability benefit, I was part of those consultations, and we asked for $2,500 a month.

We got $200 a month. That's not going to lift anybody out of poverty.

So, if you really want to be inclusive, not only consult us, but take what we have

to say and implement it.

Don't go, "Oh, well, we talked to them.

But now we're going to disregard all of it."

And that goes for any marginalized community.

Don't just talk to them. Implement what they say.

And that's really easy to do. Just listen.

Finding out how to do it, as well. We already know how to do it.

We've been doing it our whole lives.

You don't need to figure out how. We will tell you.

-Love that.

Listen first, but then actually follow through.

Let's tie some actions to that. Great. Thank you. John, over to you.

-As I said earlier, the one thing we should do right now in the area of inclusively designed built environments is to implement and enforce a scent-free policy.

And this needs to happen in all buildings, not just those under federal jurisdiction, because the chemical products routinely used by most people are polluting the indoor air and creating barriers to access for those with chemical sensitivity everywhere.

There's a lot of work to be done to achieve this.

Enforcing a scent-free policy requires education, explaining why it should be and needs to be followed by everybody for their own protection, as well as accessibility for those with chemical sensitivity and providing information and resources about available alternative product choices.

This includes product choices for those responsible for workplace cleaning and maintenance.

When I was a medical student in the '60s, it became generally well known that smoking was bad for your health.

But the number of smokers and cigarette sales continued to rise until the mid-'80s,

when governments finally stepped in with policies to eliminate smoking indoors.

This slowed down the rising number of smokers, but a decrease in sales didn't actually happen until the initiation of policies to stop cigarette brand advertising, to place warnings of damage to health on the front of the cigarette package, and then make the cigarettes less visible to consumers in stores.

And compare that to the present lack of protection for those with MCS.

They can't enter some department stores or pharmacies without being forced to pass by the scents emitted from the perfume and cosmetics counters right inside the entrance.

Scented products are promoted and advertised everywhere.

Over 3,200 chemicals have been used by the fragrance industry.

Health Canada has developed exposure limits for only a small number of indoor contaminants, but hundreds of VOCs have been identified in common consumer products, and most do not have available health standards.

There are no standards for exposures to mixtures, which is what we experience in the real world.

The word fragrance may appear on the label, but the ingredients are considered proprietary, protected by law from disclosure, and uninformed consumers trust that they must be safe.

The United Nations has declared that access to clean air is a human right, but scented products contaminate the indoor air that we share.

They're a barrier to access for many people disabled by chemical sensitivities.

Canadian and provincial Human Rights Commission has already recognized MCS as a medical disability, giving people with MCS a legal right to accommodation, and they recommend an enforced scent-free policy.

One thing that we can and should be doing right now to speed up the process toward a barrier-free built environment is ban the wearing and use of scented products in indoor public spaces and workplaces.

This policy needs to be supported by public education and in more policies going forward to actually start to eliminate it more effectively.

-Yes, I absolutely love how practical that is.

And while there is some resources required for education and for signage for scent-free policies, it's a relatively low cost change that could significantly improve

the accessibility and inclusion of our built environment.

Yeah, thanks for that perspective. Okay. Nada, over to you now.

-All right. So I'm going to start off with access.

One of the most basic rights of an individual is to be able to access.

And talking about barriers, it appears that, for many individuals with disabilities, this remains an unfulfilled reality, is that there is a lack of access.

So I want to get into physical barriers, such as inaccessible building structures

which hinder mobility and access for individuals with disabilities.

Examples include lack of step-free access, narrow corridors, heavy doors, and inadequate facilities like disability friendly toilets.

These physical barriers, alongside the absence of appropriate resources and program accommodations, make it a challenge for disabled individuals and their families to participate in the community.

You know, oftentimes I hear my families with physical impairments, they say the best place that they love to go is Costco because it's so accessible.

And it's, you know, such a fun trip.

And it's the most accessible place.

So I think, you know, physical barriers are definitely something that we have to work towards, but also social barriers.

So, Vicky touched on a really important topic, right?

Infrastructure is very important, but also social barriers, which often accompany

physical barriers, further impending the full participation of disabled individuals

and their families and society.

Negative attitudes, discrimination, and stigma surrounding disabilities create social barriers that discourage people with disabilities from engaging in social activities.

These barriers can lead to feeling shame, guilt, discomfort, and disrespect, making individuals with disabilities feel unwelcome and unwanted, so social barriers can have a significant impact on self-esteem, sense of belonging, and mental health affecting the wellbeing of disabled individuals and their families and their caregivers.

I know, for myself, being an extrovert -- and probably for a lot of you --

we experienced that in the pandemic.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, feeling that sense of exclusion and not having access to physical barriers or social barriers wasn't so fun.

I know for myself.

And the reality is, is that's what a lot of people with disabilities face on a daily.

-Yeah, great reminder that we're talking about the built environment.

Our minds typically go to those physical barriers, but there's still a lot of

social and attitudinal barriers that we're also facing in that.

That's an important part of the conversation.

Thanks so much. Okay, Phyllis, over to you now – challenges or opportunities.

-So, in my view, the biggest challenges that still exist today around built environments are our building codes.

How do we implement the changes we need to address into the building codes so that it is mandatory that these changes be followed consistently to ensure safety,

accessibility, and inclusion?

When I think about signage, we need to address these in the building codes and align the AODA, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities.

As an example, we built a brand-new stadium here in Hamilton.

And the stadium was built to AODA code, which is minimum standards, but does not fully encompass all the needs of people living with disabilities, including people living with dementia.

So, as quoted in CHCH news, officials say some improvements will have to be made

at the Hamilton Tim Hortons Field after a recent tour put a spotlight on issues of poor accessibility.

The brand-new stadium built for the Pan Am Games a few years ago and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have been reviewed by the city's Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, who found some carpeted areas, obstructive mobility devices, wheelchair accessible washrooms had handles on the hinge side of the door, and other issues.

Committee member Terri Wallace said that there are also concerns about visibility,

particularly with markings to help people with limited vision.

Wallace said she has been told by city staff that many of these issues will be resolved following the Pan Am Games, so this is just an example of some of these things.

So the -- So things like signage placement is not addressed in the AODA.

And yet, it is critical for finding your way for many people living with dementia.

We need to change the building codes in Ontario through the legislation process, with people living with dementia actively engaged in the process.

Let's work together to engage the community and stakeholders, including industry professionals and the public on the creation of a proposal.

People living with dementia should be represented on their advisory and board and our perspectives be heard and included.

Amendments to the AODA would ensure that our needs for inclusion across Ontario and systematically -- are systematically addressed with new standards.

So, in closing, I'd like to leave you with some food for thought.

All people in the world, including those with disabilities, need love, L-O-V-E.

In the dementia community, we say people living with dementia need LUVE, L-U-V-E.

And that stands for listening, understanding, validating, and empowering.

-I love that. L-O-V-E that L-U-V-E.

Such a great perspective,Phyllis.

And the literature really supports that, saying that, if you build to building code, you are not building a meaningfully accessible.

And I saw that in the most recent release of the accessible design for the built environment standard by the Canadian Standards Association.

So the B651-23. It was just updated in 2023.

And every single image to display the standards -- so, you know, what the clearance

would be for a wheelchair or for a white cane -- all of the little images, the icons, are of a White man wearing a tie.

And we've heard in this panel and we've heard in every other panel and discussion

today that we need to understand the intersectional lens and how different people

are experiencing not just disability, but life.

And our standards really are a little, I think, two dimensional.

And one of the reasons why we're really not meaningfully addressing accessible built environments, even though we're building to code.

I'm sure we've all heard that. Right? It's to code.

And then you're like, but I can't actually get into this washroom, right?

We know these things. Gosh, such great perspectives from everyone.

Thanks so much. And I'm really looking forward next to hearing from the audience and Q&As from the audience.

So, turning it to our fabulous MCs, what are some questions we have?

-Okay, so we have a few questions.

The first question. Any building, office, or park is built within a community.

We talked about dementia friendly communities in Canada.

Work has also been done on age friendly communities, as well, in Canada.

When it comes to an inclusively built environment, how can we promote the notion

of accessible communities?

-Okay. Phyllis. Yeah, I thought this one was a good question for you.

-So I think -- You know what?

I think it all comes down to the stigma that surrounds certain communities.

A lot of times there's, you know -- When I think of people living with dementia,

there's a lot of stigma that surrounds dementia.

And, you know, our personhood is taken away from us right in the beginning, and we need to take that away.

We need to include people living with dementia, and we need to make sure everybody is included.

So I think, if we can change the stigma, if we can change the way people see things

and look at their needs.

So, you know, you see me sitting here, I look, you know, like anybody else.

But you do not realize that just walking, I don't know how many times my young grandkids have to grab me because I stumble, because I don't -- I can't see that the grass is uneven.

Right? So we have to make sure, when we're building inclusive communities, that we take everyone into consideration and make sure that everybody is safe.

-Well said. Great answer. Okay. Next question.

-Okay. As soon as we talk about accessible new environments, people raise the question about costs.

How can we counter the myth about the costs of buildings, offices, and houses that are accessible from the start?

-Great question. So about cost.

Who feels ready to answer that?

-Oh, I will. I love money questions.

'Cause I think it's an excuse and it's not valid.

Because human rights and human dignity should not matter how much it costs.

Um... And if, in terms of housing, if you build it accessible to begin with, it is much, much cheaper than retrofitting.

So doing it from the ground up is vital.

Plus we all talk about aging -- at least in my work, we talk about aging in place.

If you build it from the ground up, you will be able to stay in that home your entire life.

Many of the people who moved into the nursing home that I lived in did so not because they needed the care, but because their home was inaccessible and they couldn't get up the stairs to go in their front door, and they couldn't bring

their wheelchair into their own house.

If we build it from the ground up, you can stay there till your end of your life.

And cheaper for everyone involved. It will create better health outcomes.

And make us a truly inclusive community.

So if somebody tells you it's a money thing, oh, no it's not.

And that's just 'cause you don't want to do the work.

-All right. Great answer.

Seems Nada and Phyllis, you have something to contribute. Nada, over to you.

-Yes. Thank you. So I just wanted to mention, um, we need to make it a priority.

Right? If I could make my mosque accessible, which I did, I think anybody can do it, right?

There's so many local organizations and resources that we can utilize, accessible housing being one of them in Calgary, who actually came out and helped me and, you know, guided me and gave me a roadmap and said, apply for these necessary grants, do this, do that.

I just feel that we need to make it a priority.

And I do understand that there's costs, but I do know that there is a lot of generous Canadians and organizations that are out there.

There's lots of grants. There's so much resources out there.

We just need to make it a priority.

-Yeah. Where there's a will, there's a way, for sure.

That's great. Phyllis.

-So, when we talk about the cost of these built environments, I think we also have to weigh it against, "Okay, so I'm stuck in the house. I can't go out. So now I'm getting depressed. Now I'm going to the doctor, and that's a cost. The medication I'm taking is a cost. The test they have to run are costs."

And if we are better able to make the environment friendly and keep us engaged in community, then those costs are going to go down.

So we're offsetting costs one against the other, you know.

So I think we need to look at that also.

-Yeah, and this definitely aligns so closely with Doctor Molot's perspective on social determinants of health, right?

That these are pretty significant costs.

John, do you want to add?

-Yeah. So, a lot of my work in the last few years has been with lawyers, human rights commissions, disability lawyers.

And, so, I apologize if I sound like I'm being a lawyer, but the right to accommodation because you have a disability is up to undue hardship, however that's interpreted.

But it has been made clear to me that cost is not counted as an undue hardship.

And you can assess costs a variety of different ways, as was already stated,

you know, how much does it cost to make people stay home and not participate in society?

This is about equity, as well.

And I think the best way to counter that myth, again, is through public education.

-Yeah. Education's so essential.

And I feel compelled to let the academic in me out and just to add that there's more and more research coming out on the actual cost of the built environment, and that, in fact, the cost to make something accessible right from the start is similar or marginally more than building it not accessible.

So I don't think we have too many excuses, right?

Let's get it right in the first place.

Okay, back to our MCs. Give us another question.

-Okay. Everyone talks about the value of collaboration.

What are some of the barriers to having everyone at the table advancing accessible

environments?

-I can take that one because I work with a lot of different groups, so if you don't mind, I'll go first.

We all want the same thing, but with disability organizations, which is most of my work, there's one pot of money for all these different organizations, so they're all fighting over who gets the money.

And... And, so, we're working in silos and going, "No, I deserve the money."

"No, I deserve the money 'cause I do this and I do that."

We're all fighting over the same check, and we're not working together.

That's going to be a problem. I think coalitions are great.

I think also the whole, like, charity not-for-profit industrial complex, people have just spent so much money just paying their staff, but also raising money, that

they don't have a lot of time to do the actual work that they want to be doing

because they're too busy trying to stay afloat.

So we need to make sure that our governments provide them with the necessary funding and not with, like, "Oh, you have this for a year and apply next year with

the same amount of funding."

No. Approve that funding. Go. You'll have it for a decade.

You don't have to worry about that. Just go do the work.

-Yeah, great. Thanks for that answer.

Nada, I'd actually like to turn this to you to see what your perspective is, because you had such thoughtfully articulated ideas about equity, diversity,

inclusion, belonging.

And what does that mean?

So what are the barriers to having a seat at that table and being a part of the conversation?

-I think, for myself, personally, with experience, I can't say that I have faced

any challenging barriers.

For me, there's so much strength in diversity, honestly.

So even being on this panel and hearing, you know, from John and Phyllis, who, you know, exposed my perspective to different things, for me, my experience has just been there's so much diversity and strength.

I haven't -- I've only had good experiences, especially with working with, you know, again, various grassroot Canadian organizations who share the same mission

and just has the same values align.

-Great. Thanks for that.Okay, one more question.

-Victoria?

Can I just weigh in on that? Because I think some of the barriers that we don't look at is the barriers to the people that need to be at the table.

We look at the barriers for, you know, agencies, but we don't look at the barriers

for people to get to the table.

So people with disabilities are living on a fixed income.

They can -- If they are invited, can they afford to get to the event?

Are -- You know, is there funding available for them to apply for to get to the event?

You know, it's the stigma.

People living with dementia don't get invited to a lot of events because you know what?

We don't know how to speak. We don't know how to think because the stigma has not changed for us yet.

It's getting better, but it's still there.

So these are also barriers that we don't think about and we need to think about.

Let's get everybody at the table somehow.

And if that means, you know, having a little bit of funding to get them to

wherever the talks are going on, then let's make sure that's happening.

-Yeah. Thanks so much for adding that contribution.

I think having a seat at the table is really about representation, but you need to know about the table, right?

And recognition is really important.

And I see this in my research a lot where we're, you know, working on greater engagement and engaging communities.

But typically we're engaging those who are already represented.

And, so, in urban planning, urban policy, you know, I think it's important to engage people who are experiencing homelessness, but typically so we need to add that recognition and that redistribution on top of the representation.

So let's get more people knowing about the table and able to participate, as well.

Okay. So we do have time for one more question.

Final question from the audience.

-What are some best practices for raising awareness for the adoption of scent-free

policies in the workplace?

-All right, John, that's all you.

I feel like massive posters of the ingredients list could help to start, right?

I mean, some of those things are pretty nasty.

-Yeah. I mean, it sort of speaks almost to the previous question about -- What I was thinking about was who's setting the table in the first place?

Is there a table?

It's only been recently, over the last two years, that there's been funding from the federal government to patient support groups to try and start this education process across the country.

Which is what I've been doing.

We've been talking to not just human rights commissions and lawyers, but the different disability groups and so on to try and get the message out there.

And hopefully this is going to continue for another three years.

But it talks about their signage.

Maybe there should be signage for this as a scent-free area.

And I think the raising awareness for the adoption should follow the pathway that

we used to share the information about cigarettes.

People knew that the cigarettes were bad, "but it's not going to happen to me."

They didn't change.

So it comes from more active policies from legislation to put these things into place.

And with that, the education to support why this is so important for everybody, why it's important for pregnant women to not have these exposures so they don't have an increased likelihood of having to deal with children with disabilities.

Having children is hard enough, let alone children with disabilities.

I know. I've had both kinds. So, best practices is hard.

One of the biggest hurdles that we have that differs with respect to the process of

doing something about tobacco smoke is that environmental health is not part of the education for medical students or doctors already in practice.

There's a resistance to it. They talk about planetary health.

They talk about climate change and all the things that are going to happen.

And they mention pollution is increasing and it's causing disease and so on.

But no one is actually using any of that information clinically.

So that if someone comes into a doctor's office who might be at risk, they're not educated.

There's no environmental exposure history.

And there is not one private clinicians’office in Canada that I'm aware of, outside of maybe a small handful, that has a scent-free policy that allows access, and that should be legislated, too.

Patients with chemical sensitivity should not be denied access to a physician, should not be denied access to emergency care.

There are some hospitals that have scent-free policies that are not well enforced, and the majority of hospitals in Canada do not have a scent-free policy, and that should change.

-Absolutely. Change is really what we have been talking about all day.

And in our final minute here, I want to conclude by just thanking our panelists

for being part of this, I think, really important discussion.

Each of you brought forward innovative ideas and practices that not only challenge our current standards, but point us toward a more inclusive future.

On the practical side, you know, we talked about things like lighting, having ramps over stairs, having a scent free policy.

But tying all of these practical implementations together really requires education, requires engagement of broad communities, as well as building those communities and, of course, the funding that goes with that.

And, so, with that, I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to the panelists for your contributions and to our audience for engaging in today's discussion.

This panel and your participation really underscores the urgency and importance of our shared mission to enhance the accessibility in all facets of the built environment.

Together, we're not just breaking down barriers in the built environment,

but we're also fostering a culture of inclusivity and awareness that uplifts every member of our society.

And, so, with that, I'll hand it back to our wonderful MCs.

Thanks again for such a productive session, and let's carry forward together the momentum from today's discussion.

-Thank you very much, Dr. Fast and all of the panel members who have taken part in this very interesting, enriching discussion.

And then, let me just remind you of what I have taken from this discussion.

I'm going to mention Phyllis as an example.

What's important to bear in mind is this, is inclusion.

Right from the beginning of this congress -- I mentioned this on various occasions -- inclusion is very important for all people and situations of disabilities.

We all have the same needs requirements.

We're all different and not different.

When they talked about empathy for people in situations or disabilities, two words from Phyllis -- love and respect.

Whatever, whoever we are, we deserve love, respect, and consideration from others.

I would like to particularly applaud the courage of Vicky for her resilience, her journey through life, which is exemplary and a model for all of us.

And, so, once again, Dr. Fast, thank you very much.

I'm now going to hand the floor back to Bean, my coordinator.

-Thanks, Varda. Yeah.

Thank you so much to all the panelists and to Dr. Fast for moderating this great panel.

I mean, some of the things that I took away is the air quality.

I didn't know that, with the increased pollution, we have increased people with disabilities.

That's -- And I mean, it just -- it makes sense.

It makes sense. And that kind of took me by surprise.

Vicky, your comment of "too disabled to live in the community."

I mean, I've been told before that I'm not disabled enough.

So where does this lie? Right?

Where is that threshold of who is disabled and who isn't? And who is making these rules?

And, unfortunately, I think we know who are making these rules.

And those people need to take be taken out of this position.

And we, collectively, as people with many different types of disabilities, need to be in those roles.

And there's been so much talk about coming to the table, having a seat at the table.

I say we build our own table. Screw it. You're not giving us seats.

You're not giving us space. Let's build our own table.

I'll even bring my own chair. Right? We can make our own spaces.

And, like, I fully agree that we need to be in these driver's seats.

Thank you all so much for your knowledge and your experience and sharing your stories.

It did not fall upon deaf ears.

And I am just so grateful for being able to witness this and to have shared space

with all of you.

So, thank you very much.

I do want to let you know that, if you missed a part of the panel discussion, or maybe you saw it and would like to watch it again, recordings and transcripts of the panel discussions will be available following the Congress.

Right now, you can see live captions.

After the event, an offline captioner will fine-tune the captions.

Once this process is complete, the videos and transcripts will be uploaded and participants will receive an e-mail.

Now, after such a great discussion, it's time to take a health break.

But don't go too far.

We have something very exciting lined up for you right after the break.

We will be celebrating Canadian artists with disabilities.

So I'll see you all back here at 3:25 PM Eastern Time to hear from the artists and

experience some of their art.

Have a good break.]

[-Now we have the last panel of discussion for the Canadian Congress on Disability and Inclusion.

The title is "Accessibility in Workplace," and support in the inclusive workplace.

This panel is animated Kevin Shaw, entrepreneur and constructor.

Kevin has a rare disease that he lost his sight away from retinopathy at the age of 19.

But he's interested in accessibility, broadcasting, digital media, and technology.

Over the past 25 years, he has developed an unrivaled ability to solve complex problems, chart uncharted territory, and inspire talented people to join him at the cutting edge to build experiences ahead of their time.

In 2017, Kevin joined the CNIB Foundation to create a new pan-Canadian entrepreneurship program as part of a strategic plan to increase the participation of Canadians with vision loss in the workplace.

In 2022, he started the program "Mind Your Own Business," a television show on AMI-tv, featuring entrepreneurs with disabilities.

This panel is a little different, and you will see our moderator and all our panelists, including Minister Khera, in the same room.

Again, at the end of the panel discussion, the panelists will take a few questions from the audience.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate.

Back to you, Kevin.

-Warm, warm introduction.

Very great to be here at the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

Today I've got on my grey suit, white shirt, and kind of a funky plaid tie, which is sort of browns and blues just kind of going all over the place.

And I've got my pocket square on, as well.

As mentioned, I am the host of "Mind Your Own Business" on AMI-tv, and we have just started shooting Season 4 of that show.

That's going to be on later this year on AMI-tv.

A little shameless self-promotion there.

So make sure you tune in to AMI-tv to enjoy that.

We have a wonderful panel here, and I'm going to let them introduce themselves.

And we will start with Glenda.

-Good afternoon. I'm Glenda Watson Hyatt, a master's student at Queen's University.

My current research focuses on the recruiting, hiring, and retaining of people with speech disabilities.

I am also the president-elect of the Canadian chapter of the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

To visually describe myself, I am a middle-aged white woman with shoulder-length red hair, and I am wearing a green jacket.

I am using my iPad to communicate.

-Wonderful. We'll move on to our next panelist, which is Madeleine.

-Thank you very much. My name is Madeleine.

I work at Fairmont Reine Élizabeth in Montreal.

My role there is to ensure that all colleagues feel included, that they feel a sense of belonging.

And I want them to feel that they can contribute fully every day.

I work with a passionate team who wishes to offer the best welcome to everybody around us, and people who come and work with us.

For those of you who like to have a visual description, I wear a dress.

I tend to do that every day.

I am a white woman.

I have brown hair and brown eyes.

And I'm thrilled to be here with you.

-Thank you, Madeleine.

And we'll move on to Frank fa*gan.

-Hi. Thanks, Kevin. My name is Frank fa*gan.

I'm the assistant national director of Ready, Willing and Able, RWA, or PDC.

I'm a 53-year-old cis white male.

I have a sort of manmade artificial blond hair... [ Laughter ] ...semi-manmade artificial salt-and-pepper beard.

I'm wearing a pink shirt, a tweed jacket, and jeans.

And it's wonderful to be here.

-And last but not least, if you notice a missing person in the House of Commons today, it's because Minister Kamal Khera is here, as well.

-Thank you. Thank you, Kevin.

Hello, everyone. Bonjour, tout le monde.

I am Kamal Khera, and I'm proud to be Canada's minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities.

And it is so wonderful to be here with my esteemed panelists, who are so passionate about accessibility.

And for me, visually, I am a 34-year-- 30-- actually, I'm 35 now.

A 35-year-old South Asian woman.

I have long, dark brown or black hair, and I'm wearing a grey jacket.

And it's wonderful to be here.

-Thank you, panelists.

Now, the format of the next part of our discussion is, I'm going to ask each of our panelists a question, and each of our panelists will have six minutes to give an answer.

And hopefully, we'll have some back-and-forth and some nice discussion, as well.

So, Glenda, I want to come to you first.

You received a Mitacs Award for your work on speech disabilities.

Congratulations.

And I want to ask you, the work that you've done for Canadians with speech disabilities -- what do you think that we need to do in order to allow for participation in the workplace, for Canadians with speech disabilities?

-Thank you, Kevin.

Winning the Mitacs Award for my research, best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining individuals with speech disabilities, was quite an honor.

And more importantly, it validates this research, indeed, is very much needed.

The research is innovative in that this segment of the Canadian population is underrepresented in research, because statistics regarding the number of Canadians with speech disabilities are lacking.

And of course, without stats, justifying research is rather difficult.

In terms of best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining individuals with speech disabilities, there are three practices that stand out.

First, build a culture of openness and enablement, starting with using flexible interview and evaluation methods that focus on the individual's strengths and abilities.

This might mean using alternative means of communication, such as using Zoom or Teams with a Chat feature.

With permission, be sure to read aloud the chat to recognize the contributions of all.

It might mean providing the questions ahead of time so that the individual can prepare their responses, much like was done for me for this panel discussion.

How I am presenting my responses here today is definitely not an accurate reflection of how long communication actually takes me.

Some TV magic is involved, due to the constraints of time allowed for this livestreamed panel discussion.

Yet these are still my words, my thoughts.

Nevertheless, in reality, either in interviews or meetings, extra time is needed when communication takes longer.

Space must be given to those who have speech disabilities, regardless of preferred communication method, without having others interrupt or talk over them.

Similarly, during interviews, ask empowering questions, such as, "What would help you become successful in your interview? What accommodations do you require?"

Ask everyone these questions, as we all need accommodations of some sort, whether it be to leave early to take a child to a dentist appointment, a quiet place to pray, or swapping telephone duties for another responsibility more suitable to someone with a speech disability.

Second, when accommodations are needed, employers embrace an attitude of flexibility and willingness to accommodate.

This minimizes the burden of the process that is typically on the employee when requesting accommodations.

Such accommodations might include reassigning tasks like phone duties, permitting texting as a way to participate during meetings, and extra time for communication.

Third, a positive and inclusive work culture that is modeled both from the top down and from coworkers and colleagues.

A work culture that focuses on strengths and abilities and values expertise; a workplace that allows the individual with lived experience to set the pace; a workplace that values every individual regardless of how they communicate.

I will end on the best practice of all, which comes down to attitude -- a willingness and openness to include, a curiosity to ask questions and to seek to understand.

Surprisingly, none of these best practices for recruiting, hiring, and retaining people with speech disabilities are big-budget line items, but rather shifts in culture, approach, and attitude.

Thank you.

-Thank you, Glenda.

Those are all great points.

As a fan of entrepreneurship, and having been an entrepreneur myself, I can tell you that entrepreneurship is certainly one of those ways to build that culture into a company from the ground up.

Madeleine, I'm going to come to you next, from Fairmont Hotels.

That is not where we're doing this panel.

Shh.

[ Laughter ]

I won't tell anybody.

-[ Laughs ]

-The Part Entière Prize recognizes the initiatives of people who take concrete actions to make Quebec a more inclusive society for persons with disabilities.

Thanks to your pilot project, you've launched an inclusive hiring initiative for Fairmont Hotels in eastern Canada.

And you received an award in 2023, in the business category, supporting the integration and retention of persons with disabilities.

Can you talk a little bit more about this?

-I would love to tell you about it.

We are very proud of this initiative.

We worked with the À Pas de Géant Center, and this is to integrate autistic people in our workplace.

So, to just invite people to work in our team at different positions.

This initiative was amazing, and we have seen fantastic results.

In the teams that already exist, for example, we were able to diversify our teams and to get new talent, and that strengthened our sense of cohesion as a team.

It made us proud.

And we want to have an impact, positive, on communities where our hotels are present.

So it is, indeed, a great initiative.

It's had a lot of positive impacts on the entire team.

And again, it allowed us to welcome diversified talent and unusual strengths, even -- things that go above and beyond the norm.

So, with our new talent, well, we have new colleagues who have fantastic qualities.

For example, attention to detail, their rigor, professionalism, commitment, and candor, that are truly enriching our teams in a remarkable way.

This is a type of initiative that we can't do on our own.

So we had a lot of luck to have support -- for example, for educating our teams that were in place, but also to accompany the new talent.

For example, we had employment coaches who were ready to work with us from Prêt, Disponible et Capable -- Ready, Willing and Able -- and they helped us change how we did things.

The first thing we realized was that if we stayed with our former methods -- for example, for recruitment -- typically, in recruitment, positions will be on traditional websites that a lot of people know and will include there a long list of tasks, a long list of prerequisites.

Then, we'll ask our candidates to do psychometric tests with questions that can be a little bit surprising.

And then we call our candidates to have interviews with them, perhaps in places that they've never seen.

So, we invite them to places we've never seen.

So what we realized in working with À Pas de Géant is that sometimes this represents a huge obstacle for neurodivergent people.

We've realized, however, that these are obstacles that probably even prevent us from hiring other people, neurodivergent or not.

So we are trying to improve our recruitment processes, and in parallel, we are giving a privileged voice to autistic people.

So we are working with partners who are really starting to know us, to understand the requirements in our industry, and they also know the candidates that are referred to us, to ensure that the match is ideal.

So because we have this type of partnership, well, this allows us to reach out to more talent who bring diversity and wealth to our teams.

So we are thrilled about this partnership.

Now, how do we want to put things even further?

Well, this is a pilot project, and we're at the first steps.

But how can we convince other institutions and even our competition, even other hotel chains?

How can we get everybody on board?

Well, by showing off, by talking about all of our success and everything great that we're doing.

Kevin, you mentioned the À Part Entière Prize, but we we've gotten other prizes -- for example, with Tourisme Montréal.; another one, the Belle Meche Prize with the AccorHotels.

So we're hoping to inspire other hotels around the world and to show them that this is something that you can do and that there are so many advantages to it.

We've also done a little bit of awareness building.

We organized a webinar for all AccorHotels, where we shared best practices.

We talked about challenges, as well.

We talked about how important it was to get to know the resources, because when you're well surrounded, you are able to go over -- to go above and beyond because some obstacles, before, might have seemed too big for us, that perhaps it wouldn't work with our operational needs and luxury hotel-chain needs.

However, if you're well accompanied, if you're educated, you realize that there are ways to go above these -- to break down the barriers.

And it's the entire team, actually, who benefits from this.

I was talking about accommodations with regard to recruitment, but there are other changes that we had to do in our everyday management, for example.

We realized that by having autistic people, we need to give very clear directions, to take the pulse of the team regularly, to see how things are going, and to make sure that instructions are understood.

But if you think about that, you realize that actually this just makes sense with any kind of leader.

This is the type of leadership that we want.

So by making sure that we have great leaders and that we are welcoming for autistic people, really it improves the situation for everybody.

Thank you.

-You're welcome.

I imagine that this is going to make your hotel very competitive, and it's going to lend some competitive edge to your company, as well.

Thank you so much for that answer.

Frank, I want to move to you next.

-Alright.

-You're from Ready, Willing and Able.

And your model ensures that businesses are provided with the supports that they need to create an inclusive workplace for those with intellectual disabilities and those on the autism spectrum.

I'm sure that there's a lot of interest in how your model works.

Can you explain how the RWA model works and how you measure your success?

-Sure. Thanks, Kevin. Thanks for the question.

Thanks for having me here.

Ready, Willing and Able is a federally funded national project of Inclusion Canada and the Autism Alliance of Canada, funded generously through the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities.

Thank you very much.

Partners with the federal government.

So, Inclusion Canada, of course, is the national advocacy organization that advocates on behalf of persons with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Autism Alliance of Canada does similar work on behalf of the autistic community.

So we are a project of both of these proponents.

We have been around since 2014.

We are active in every Canadian province and territory, and we operate in 30 primary communities.

We like to say we're proactive in 30, responsive in about 200 communities overall.

So, just in a nutshell, before we get into the model, just structurally, since 2014, we have conducted outreach to over 20,000 employers.

We have actively engaged about 9,000 now -- between 9,000 and 12,000.

And we've just passed about 4,700 hires.

We should be -- we're on track to pass 5,000 by the end of the year, certainly.

And in addition to this, we do some other work.

We support post-secondary students with an intellectual disability or autism, where their support needs may go beyond that available for P.T. generic sources or by the institutions themselves.

And we have a special program supporting entrepreneurs, including investment capital, investment in entrepreneurs, as well as any on-the-job supports they might need as a self-employed person.

We also do a number of innovative projects, which we've gotten into in the last year -- or the last couple of years, rather -- particularly around career advancement.

You know, programs like ours, we love to get people jobs, but we're not in the business of placements.

People have a right to a full career trajectory.

So we're getting into that work, and we're also doing special -- or work, rather -- with targeted racialized and indigenous communities to make sure to give them the means by which they can create the programs they need to attach themselves and their youth to the supportive employment network in a way that it works for them.

And it's not an imposed solution.

So those are some of the things we've been doing for -- as I said, since 2014.

So, modelwise, sort of in a nutshell, our model builds businesses' capacities to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce by providing the employer access to a range of knowledge, supports, and resources, at the same time that we connect the employer and their need for good workers to our extensive network of supported employment agencies across the country, who represent the over half-million Canadians with either an intellectual disability or autism who are looking for work.

Our labor market facilitators -- those are our primary staff positions in these 30 communities -- go out, we engage employers, we learn what their labor force needs are, how we can help them.

We take those jobs and their commitment to hire inclusively.

We share that with our employment-agency network partners across the country.

Good candidates are identified.

Those candidates come forward, go through the regular HR process an employer would have, with our support, while we continue to support the employer through the hiring, the onboarding, all of that, through the process there and on into the future, the supported employment agencies that represent the candidates work with the candidates to ensure they have all the supports they need.

And through both of us together, we show that the job is a success, everybody has what they need to make it a success and to build careers, as I said.

You know, we're not in the business of placement.

People earn these jobs on their own, they do the job on their own, and we will be there to support them through the full trajectory.

All the vacancies are naturally occurring.

We are not about special jobs for special people, and there are no wage subsidies.

So the work is valued because the person is valued, same as any of their colleagues.

I'm proud to say, Fairmont is one of our -- one of those 9,000 employers.

And the jobs number amongst the outcomes there.

We are very delighted to work with Fairmont, amongst any number of employers right across the country.

We have big national partners like Costco and Home Depot.

And you know, you name them like that -- Loblaws.

And we work with, you know, small mom-and-pop shops, too, and independent employers right across the country.

So, that's essentially how the model is.

We are a purposeful deviation from the charity model.

We work on the demand angle of creating the jobs because we know there are people who can do them.

We have helped -- You know, too many people have this sort of -- clearly, myths still abound and attitude is still a problem.

I mean, we have helped lawyers set up their practices; we have helped persons find their first jobs at McDonald's; and everything in between.

-Wow.

-And so our model very much taps into the strength of people, the strength of employers, the job they need doing, and making that match and ensuring all have supports.

So, just sort of to finish, you asked about how we track our outcomes.

We track outcomes both quantitatively and qualitatively.

I mean, on the quantitative side, clearly we have targets related to outreach, to prospecting, to engagement, to outcomes, the jobs we generate, the jobs we fill.

We track all of those.

We track other numbers, such as retention, sector-specific numbers, return on investment, savings to public funds, savings to employers around, you know, even retention, for example.

The retention rates of generally people who are hired through our program, a person with a disability, tend to be higher than the average, which saves employers a significant amount of money.

So, things like that, we track.

And then we track a whole lot of qualitative outcomes, of course, as well, too.

Our employers overall, is their ability to be more inclusive enhanced?

Is the life of the person and their families more enhanced?

Are they connected to job opportunities?

Not to job opportunities, but career advancement, professional development, things like that?

Are we able to ensure that indigenous, racialized communities, which historically have not always had the best connection to the support and employment network, how do we meet their needs in a way that allows them to have the same results, and not this sort of imposition of another person's model, another cultures' model?

How do we work to make sure that everybody has the full support across the entire trajectory?

So, a number of qualitative ways we track that, as well, both internally through our data as well through our project proponents and occasionally even the odd outside evaluation.

-[ Chuckles ]

-So that's how we sort of bring it all together.

-Wonderful. I'm sure I could talk to all of you for hours on end about all of this stuff.

-[ Chuckles ]

-Minister Khera, I haven't forgotten about you.

-[ Laughs ]

-Trying to put you on --

-I was worried.

-Time to put you in the hot seat.

You know, this isn't going to be quite like a media scrum.

-[ Chuckles ]

-But it very well could be, when we get to audience questions.

I want to ask you a two-part question.

The first part is, what's your response to what you've heard so far?

And number two, there's a lot that's happening in the private sector, as we've heard with Madeleine and Frank, you know, their initiatives, and the work that Glenda has done.

Does government still have a role in getting people with disabilities into the workforce?

And what is that role?

And how do you balance that with what's happening in the private sector, with people doing very innovative things like these three other panelists here?

-Absolutely. Well, thank you, Kevin.

And let me just again say how wonderful it is to be with this incredible panel and, you know, just hearing their perspectives.

And you know, it's always easier going last, because I can say -- I mean, there's so much that they all talked about that I can -- that I'm agreeing with, because it really is a Team Canada approach.

You know, you asked about do governments have a role to play?

Absolutely, governments have a role to play. And do, you know, the private sector and the corporate world have a role to play? Absolutely.

I think if we're going to move a dial on disability inclusion in this country, particularly in employment, it is going to be a whole-of-government and whole-of-Canada approach to actually move the dial forward.

And just to, like, go back a little bit -- and I think it's important to kind of get a better perspective how where we are in the current scope and where we need to go.

Right? Like, you remember, you know, it was almost five years ago when Canada passed the Accessible Canada Act.

And, you know, Glenda is shaking her head because Glenda was a big part of getting us to that point.

And I want to take a moment to also recognize -- I'm sure there are incredible stakeholders that are actually participating, that are all part of the fact that we were able to, for the first time in Canadian history, we had an Accessible Canada Act to ensure that, you know, we move towards a barrier-free Canada.

And what that act did, and one of the things that came out of that act is really developing a Disability Inclusion Action Plan.

And what this plan is, is a roadmap.

It's a roadmap for a government of Canada to look at what government -- the federal government can do, but also what we can encourage the private sector, how we can encourage others to be able to do this work, to really create a barrier-free Canada.

And one of the big pillars around the Disability Inclusion Action Plan is employment.

And I'm really proud of the fact that we've quite -- you know, worked really closely.

And we have great examples, with Ready, Able and Learn.

And we have great examples with so many stakeholders that are taking part in this conference today.

But I think, when you look at some of the work that we've been able to do, whether it is the $500 million investments in the Opportunities Fund -- So, this fund is something that we put forward, and it really is about matching the skills of individuals with disabilities and matching them with what are the needs in the labour market, and making sure that we're not just helping with the recruitment, but I think that retention piece is really, really important.

And I think we heard from all of our panelists today around that retention piece.

I love to share stories.

And I was in Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, at the YMCA, which is one of the partners for Opportunities Funds there, where I got to meet these wonderful, wonderful individuals with disabilities, who are now sharing their stories of -- for the first time ever, they said, "We have a job," because they were able to acquire the skills that they needed, to be able to get that job.

For the first time, they said, "I'm going to be able to actually have enough money to now rent a house, because I couldn't do that before because I wasn't financially stable."

But that's the power, because it's not just one individual, it is stories.

It's a whole community that we're empowering.

And Canada actually wins when we include people into our economy.

One of the other things that I'm very proud of -- and this is where particularly I think the corporate sector comes into place -- is when we were able to put forward our Canada Disability Business Council.

So, you know, this is a council that we have stakeholders like TD Bank, we had Manulife, we had Microsoft, people within the Chambers of Commerce, within different sectors and within different cities and municipalities.

It was about, "How can we actually leverage the wonderful work that's happening within the private sector?"

And just last -- In December, the network and the council in itself actually launched a network of businesses -- the network of businesses that are now showcasing, "You know what? We're a business that will show you the best practices that you need."

And we have a great example, obviously, of Fairmont here.

And I think kudos to you for the work that you have been able to do.

But you're talking about, these are big employers that have hundreds and thousands of employees, not just nationally but also internationally.

But it is about the power of making sure that, "Governments can't do this work alone.

We need to make sure we're including everyone."

And I'm so proud that so many more businesses are actually taking part of this network, because -- And one of the things I've also heard from, particularly,

I would say, within the employer side of things, is sometimes they just don't know.

They just don't know what's needed.

And they say, "We want to be able to include people.

I just don't know where to start."

And it's about making sure that they have the tools, the best practices, learning from the best employers that are kind of leading this way.

I think, when we all kind of put all our efforts into making sure we're moving towards including people,

Canada is winning.

And it's a great example of making sure we're doing that work.

One of -- The third thing that I'm very excited about, and something that I can't share yet, but we'll be sharing shortly, is the work that myself and of Ministry of Employment are doing on an employment strategy for persons with disabilities.

And this really is about working alongside,

And many -- I'm sure many people in the conference are agreeing with the fact that -- because a lot of them are part of the work that's happening to make sure we move a dial forward on including people.

Because one of the things that we know is, when you include people, it's not just good social policy to include people in the workforce.

You know, that's 27% of the Canadian population is individuals with disabilities.

That is 20% of the population that you're leaving behind when we're not including them in our labor force, we're not including them in our economy.

It's a good economic sense.

It makes sense.

We know it makes sense.

And I think we've seen results of that.

Particularly you've seen within -- you know, after childcare deals that we've been able to do, you're seeing 85% of women in the workforce.

It's increasing.

So when you actually tap into and ensure we're working alongside community members, with advocates, with businesses that are leading the way, we all win.

-I love that answer.

-[ Chuckles ]

-That's great. That's great.

Again, I think you and I could talk for hours on that.

-Yes.

[ Both chuckle ]

-We're going to move to, I guess, what I'll loosely call the free-for-all section...

[ Laughter ]

...where we will ask a question, and I will leave it open to anybody here on the panel to answer.

-Alright.

-So, we've got two -- two open questions here.

And so the first one is, "In your view, what are some of the biggest challenges that exist in achieving a fully accessible -- fully accessible workplaces?

And how can we address those?"

So, obviously, we still have a lot of work to do.

What can we do to address these challenges?

Who would like to take that on?

-I'm happy to get the ball rolling with the start to an answer.

What I see as a challenge, or maybe more of an opportunity, is when it comes to education.

Glenda brought it up.

The minister brought it up.

When we are informed about the potential of this workforce that's underutilized, when you understand the challenges but also the benefits to getting these people involved, then you're a lot less afraid.

There's a lot less unknown.

And then on the education piece, again, there should be more promotion and awareness-raising on the tools and resources that are available.

Often, they're right there in front of us and we don't know they exist.

But sometimes you do have to look a bit further.

And this is for my colleagues who have hotels a bit out from city centres.

It can be harder to have access to employment coaches or other resources that are essential to the integration of these people in our workplaces.

-Anyone else like to take a shot at answering this?

-Sure. You --

-Go ahead.

[ Chuckles ]

-Thank you.

I think we've talked a lot about accommodations.

We've talked about the different types of supports, and I think these are very important.

I just wanted to sort of link it, though, to some of the past conversations throughout this day.

We kept hearing about "built environment" and things like that, when it comes to accessibility in the workplace.

I think it's important, in terms of, you know,

"What can we do to get there?"

Clearly, there are many things.

But looking at the populations that our program serves, intellectual disability and autism, one of the main challenges is that these communities are very often not included in conversations about accessibility.

You know, our view of what is accessibility in a workplace can often be limited to issues of mobility, of physical disability.

And whereas persons with an intellectual disability or autism have a whole host of other adaptive or social issues, issues with communication, issues with sensory sensitivities, spatial issues that manifest themselves in a number of ways, not only spatially and physically, but in how a workplace functions.

So, beyond the environment, how that environment functions, how people engage with that environment, how they engage with one another.

And so, without including these communities in talking about accessibility and expanding the idea of what is an accessible workplace, people are still going to get left behind, from the populations our program serves, because their issues just aren't in the mix.

And I think, clearly, one, how can we fix that?

Let's start including them in the conversation.

-Absolutely.

If I -- And just to build on what you're talking about,

I think Glenda mentioned it in her ending, in her remarks.

I think it's about changing attitudes.

I think it's about changing narratives.

I think it's about changing the culture within business, within just people's perception of what persons with disabilities are.

I think there's still a lot of stigma.

I think there's still a lot of misinformation.

I think there's still people don't underscore the fact that when you include people, not only is your business going to be successful, Canada is going to be successful.

I think, when people really understand the fact that there are some extremely hardworking, talented individuals with disabilities, 27% of the population, and Canada loses if we're excluding that entire population.

So I think just changing the narrative for individuals to really see, like, you know, the perception and what I mentioned earlier about there are some businesses that I've heard from that want to do the right thing.

And sometimes they think, "Oh, my God, I'm going to have to completely change my business model," or, "I'm going to have to do a lot of accommodations that I'll have to do, to change behavior."

With the technology that we have today, with the work that's happening around the world with, you know, particularly, the work-life balance, people working from home, there is enormous opportunity that Canada has to include people and not lose out on the amazing, talented individuals that exist in our country, if we just make sure we're doing everything that we can.

And sometimes you don't have to do much.

You don't have to do much, but you have to change your attitude.

So I think there's a lot that I think we can all do, certainly.

And I think there's a good progress happening.

There's a lot more to do.

But that's one of the things that I often reflect on is, "How can we change attitudes for employers and for employees?"

-Okay.

-Glenda, did you have anything to add?

-The research resoundingly indicates that the biggest challenge to achieving fully accessible workplaces is attitudinal barriers, which are like hitting brick walls to employment.

These barriers are caused by deeply rooted assumptions about people with speech disabilities.

Assumptions such as that we don't understand, that we have nothing to say, hat we have nothing to contribute to society, that we are inferior, to name but a few.

As one participant shared in my research, "I find a lot of people underestimate me or talk to me like I'm a 3-year-old, which is very disrespectful."

-Mm-hmm.

-Unfortunately, this 20-year-old is not alone in this experience.

These widely held assumptions result from a lack of public awareness and knowledge of Canadians with speech disabilities.

There is an overwhelming need for training to address these barriers.

Training must include employers, hiring managers, coworkers, and recruiters on how to interview, accommodate, and interact with employees living with speech disabilities.

As a research participant succinctly put it, "Hiring managers need training in how to hire us."

-Mm-hmm.

-In addition to training, one action that can be taken immediately to speed up the process toward a barrier-free Canada in 2040 is to implement communication access.

Much like the sign-language interpreters, translators, and captioners who are providing communication access for this livestream event, people living with speech disabilities also require communication access, whether that be more time for communicating, an alternative means of communicating besides using the phone, an agenda provided prior to a staff meeting, and the list continues.

After all, once we are inside the building, inside a workplace, inclusive and successful employment is all about communication.

-Mm-hmm.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

You gave a preview of my next question...

[ Laughter ]

...which I'm going to ask the panel anyway.

And you might have a different answer, but I'm going to ask the panel, "What's one thing that we can do for accessible workplaces to ensure that Canada is truly barrier-free by 2040?"

-Mm-hmm.

-It's hard to think of one thing.

I don't think there's a silver bullet.

I think it's a much broader -- I think it's willingness to get there, willingness to change.

Glenda said something really interesting when she started her comments at the beginning.

She talked about how employers are already accommodating people, and that's true.

One of the things we are telling employers, we tell the employers all the time, when we talk about accessibility, we talk about hiring inclusively, is that you are already making a gazillion accommodations to your employees.

You just -- You don't think of them anymore.

What we're doing is not asking you to do something different.

We're not asking you to do a favor.

We are expanding your existing HR toolbox, which often has universal applications.

So, while I'm sure -- and maybe the panelists have particular things, I think, that would be crucial to them -- it's hard to see just one.

Really, it's about the willingness of employers to sort of meet us halfway and acknowledge that unless they level the playing field and unless they make inclusive hiring more doable -- never mind a goal, but a specific goal, but make it doable and practical -- you're never -- it's all going to be -- it's nice lip service, but it doesn't change anything.

We talked about the supported employment, inclusive employment is important.

Let's build that out of the critical mass of people actually going to work and lives being changed.

-I think I'll just echo.

And it's easy to go after these incredible panelists, I should say. But I think I'll go back to -- I think what both Glenda and you talked about, it's about that willingness to actually act.

And I think these conversations that we're having are so important.

I think we can't also underscore the fact that these conversations that we're having today are critical.

The whole day that I know there's incredible people that have been engaging.

I think there's more than 3,000 people that have been engaging right now.

I think it's important to not just leverage that, but also make sure that we're putting that into action.

One thing that we can change -- and I don't think there's one thing, but, again, it goes back to my previous answer -- it's about changing attitudes and changing the way people think about employment and changing the way people think about accessibility and disability.

And because the minute that employers start thinking that they're winning when they're expanding, and then we're actually building on their HR practices, when they're actually doing things to truly build an inclusive workplace where people are staying and they're staying there for longer -- you're not just recruiting, but the retention rates are high -- it's a win-win-win for all.

And I think once, I think, people and all Canadians,

I think, understand that part,

I think we'll move the dial forward.

And I think there's incredible conversations happening.

I think there's incredible work happening.

But I think it's now time to kind of accelerate that progress.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's time to walk the talk.

-That's right. That's right.

-I mean, all big businesses have inclusivity training, making sure that everyone feels included and feels like they belong.

I mean, at least all businesses that should have the name.

But really having that diversity of experience is much more enriching than a PowerPoint presentation.

-Glenda, did you want to add to that question?

-No.

-No.

-No.

-Okay.

Well, now is the exciting part where we get to ask you to ask our panelists questions.

We've got four panelists in the room, live, here, and they are ready to answer questions from the audience from all across this great country of ours.

And so if you have a question, we will have those read out.

And feel free to address them to any of the panelists, or we can all take a crack at them.

Don't ask me questions.

I'm just here for eye candy.

-Let's all ask him questions.

[ Laughter ]

-Okay, so, the first question.

"How do we get employers to change their selection criteria to recognize and hire persons with disabilities, including those who use assistive technologies to communicate?"

-Hmm.

-Good question.

-I believe Glenda...

-Thank you for the great question.

First, I would like to mention that not every individual who has a speech disability uses assistive technologies to communicate.

Some individuals with speech disabilities rely on their natural speech.

Some might use electronic methods, such as I am using right now, while other individuals use non-electronic strategies such as communication boards, symbol books, or revoicing.

Oftentimes, we use a combination of methods.

It is important to be open, patient, and hold space for us to use our preferred communication methods.

Turning to the question Regarding how do we get employers to change their selection criteria, begin by recognizing that we exist and including us in the labor market by including speech disabilities in inclusion statements, and in recruitment or labor-market information.

This sends a powerful message of welcome to all.

Second, ask what you can do to make communication go smoother or easier.

This often entails allowing extra time and space for communication, regardless of method, so that the applicant does not feel rushed and is not interrupted or cut off.

It might mean conducting an interview via Zoom so that the Chat feature can be used, or conducting the interview solely via text messages.

It might mean allowing for a communication assistant, much like a sign-language interpreter is needed when interviewing a deaf applicant.

And of course, focus on strengths, skills, and other related questions, rather than weaknesses and unrelated topics.

Third, be open to using alternate methods to evaluate when a verbal interview might not be an accurate reflection of the applicant's abilities.

Assigning a suitable task or small project that allows the individual to demonstrate their skills, talents, and knowledge might be a better method of evaluation.

Take the time to go beyond the speech disability and evaluate the individual's real value.

-Mm.

-Thank you.

-Incredible.

-Thank you.

Okay.

If there's another question from the audience, we'll take that now.

-I do have another question.

"Attitudinal barriers were brought up during this panel.

What is the one step we can take to positively change attitudes around employees with disabilities?

And how do we combat implicit bias in the workplace?"

-Which one of you would like to take this question?

-Again, I think it's not a one thing.

It's a number thing.

I mean, first, there's a very basic -- It is getting better.

-Mm-hmm.

-When RWA started, we used to have to start with "What is inclusive employment?"

-Mm-hmm.

-And we used to tell our labor-market facilitators, as they went to look for employers who they would -- we were like, "Look, see who has a disability statement or an inclusive statement on their website.

Go knock on that door."

Well, everybody does now The zeitgeist is changing.

So there are some things changing.

There's more external pressure on companies to act like the communities they are part of, and that includes being inclusive and hiring and all of those sorts of things.

And I think you sort of change it one reality at a time.

You know, this -- I'm sorry.

The second part of the question was?

-"What's one thing you can --" I guess you answered that part.

-Yeah, I guess the one thing is, you know, an employer, you should expect to hire persons with disabilities, period, just as you expect to hire every other person, every type of demographic.

Job seekers with disabilities, you should expect to have a career trajectory.

Not just go to work, but you should expect to work.

These are the rights of every Canadian.

They should be fulfilled on both sides. And sort of linking back to an earlier question just quickly,

I think we have to be careful about putting all our faith in technology, too.

One of the big barriers is that people can't get in the door.

They don't get a chance with the employer.

And that's because a lot of HR recruiting systems are moving online, which are not meant to find one good person.

They're meant to weed out 99 that exist outside the average.

Well, when your career trajectory doesn't look like the average, you get weeded out.

So I think we need to be careful, too, about how we use and how people get in the door.

And I think it's all of us adjusting our attitude around that.

But employers should expect to hire folks; folks should expect to be hired.

-If I may just build on that, also, I think the question was around, "How do you change attitudes?"

And I think you change attitudes when you're not afraid.

I think you're biased when you don't know something.

Right? Like, when you have no idea, when you're... And I think it's about when you're including people and, I think, sharing the best practices of employers that are successful and hiring people with disabilities into the workforce and sharing how you have been able to create this model that exists, and it works, and everyone is winning, I think when we share those best practices, I think when we share the challenges that exist, but how people have overcome those challenges together, I think that's how you change people's perceptions and biases.

Right?

The other thing I want to say is -- and I think that's precisely what I'm extremely proud of, the work that the Canadian Business -- the Disability -- the Canadian Disability Business Council is doing with the network that they have created, because it is around, "How do you kind of change people's perception of the work that's needed?"

The skills that are needed.

"And how do you match them with the skills that exist?"

They exist in our labor force.

They exist with persons with disabilities.

But how do you match them?

So I think, the more that we share best practices, I think the more that we create environments where people feel welcomed, where people feel like they're part of the solution, that they're not part of the problem, I think that's when people win.

And I think doing this work alongside, I think one of the things that's really important is doing that within persons with disabilities at the center, making sure that we're having them at the center of the work that we're doing.

So that's something that -- I think that's how you change.

Or you can try to change attitudes, but there's not just one thing.

We all have to do everything that we can to move forward on that front.

-That's saying, "Nothing about us without us."

-That's right.

-Absolutely.

-Madeleine, I want to ask you this question in a different way.

You've obviously had a great deal of success with Fairmont Hotels.

How did those attitudinal barriers shift at Fairmont?

And was it something that happened overnight, or did it take a long time?

-It took much less time than we expected.

When we did our first hire, we did a lot of work beforehand.

We did -- It all started by having a group of students at the Centre À Pas de Géant come and visit the hotel.

And one of the students, when he visited the hotel, he kind of had a calling and had the impression, told us right away that he would he see himself working at the hotel.

So, right after that, we started the machine working.

We asked for Ready, Able, and Capable to help us with that.

And we matched that candidate to the right team.

We had a job coach come and meet the team first and discuss with all the team members to make sure that they understood certain social ways of being that could be interpreted differently, just to make sure that everybody understood the different codes, so that when the candidate started his work in his team, he felt at ease and able to be himself.

So that's how it worked well at our hotel for our first candidate.

And after that, he was such a great hire.

We were very lucky to have such the perfect candidate to start the wheel, that after that, everybody is just asking for more.

-Wow.

-So put the right person in the right place, and have the right education to the team, before the candidate enter the team, was the magic recipe for us.

-That's incredible.

-Wow.

-I think, you know, everyone has a role in this, too.

These are companies that you frequent.

You know, ask, "Are you an inclusive employer?"

Frequent inclusive employers.

Make sure that -- I think we all have a responsibility to make sure that employers of all shapes and sizes know, "We want you to look like our community.

And if you don't, we can go somewhere else."

You can -- So I think everybody has a role in shifting this attitude, as well.

-Absolutely.

And if I may, Kevin, just building, I think we also need to highlight the successes.

And I think the successes of employers that are leading the way, I think, businesses that are doing incredible work and are good corporate citizens of this country, to your point, I think it's important for all Canadians to know this.

And, I think it's important to recognize that if, you know, there's -- if I'm a customer, and if I'm looking for where I need to be, to your point, I'm going to go somewhere that's inclusive.

-Yeah.

-And I think, as Canadians, we should be more -- what's the term I'm looking for? -- adamant about doing that work.

-Yeah.

-Glenda, did you want to add to this, to this question?

-No. No.

-No.

-Okay, we'll go to the next question from our audience.

-"We know persons with disabilities are underrepresented in leadership positions."

-Mm-hmm.

-"In your view, what can be done to ensure they get into these roles?"

-Frank, I'm going to come to you first with this, because running a program like Ready, Willing and Able, we always think of these programs as being entry-level.

-Mm-hmm.

-And how do we --

I'd like you to take a crack at this question first.

-Sure. I think it's a great question.

It's something we've really started focusing on, career advancement, in the last few years.

I think there's a number of things.

We have to help employers build intentional ladders for persons with disabilities to move into all areas of the company.

We need to -- Celebrating our successes is great, and I agree with it, but we need to get away from this kind of constant culture of celebration around a singular outcome.

A person with a disability who gets hired ultimately should be, you know, no more on the belief of that company than a person without disability, in terms of like, "This isn't a social experiment."

So I think we need to normalize people in all aspects of the company, all layers of the company.

Now, part of that, too, is on we have a responsibility for that, too.

On the supported employment network side, on the programs we have to assist persons build careers, these are often under-resourced and don't have the ability to help people build careers.

And so, when you don't have that, kind of retention becomes this overwhelming goal, where somebody staying in the same position for an endless amount of time is seen as a success to celebrate.

Now, you should be able to, if that's what you want to do, but you should also be able to advance.

So it's helping on both levels.

We need to better resource the programs and the supports that work with the job seekers to ensure they, "A," expect a career and, "B," have the ability to plan for the movement and have the same access to professional development and opportunities for advancement, at the same time that we work with the employers to get out of this kind of, like, you know, the othering persons with disabilities, this putting, you know, "Well, I hired through RWA, so somehow that's a special outcome which others them or puts them on a different track than their colleagues.

We need to get out of that and help these employers build intentional career ladders to make sure people are represented at all parts.

Because the question is a great one.

If all we've done is pad entry-level, then it's not a success for employers, for us, for anybody.

So we need to sort of help on both ends of that.

But it comes down, a lot of it, to resources.

-Mm-hmm.

-I'll open it up to the other three of you.

-If I just may, one of the things that, quite frankly, has bugged me, I'll tell you, is -- and it goes back to some of the conversations that we were having earlier -- is you can't just hire a person with disability just for the sake of hiring a person with disability.

-No.

-And I think it's really incredibly important that you're matching the skills of the individual with a job that's there.

And I think that is really important, as well.

One of the -- I was visiting one of the organizations, and there were incredible individuals there.

And this young mum, a mum of a young -- she wasn't that young -- this mum that was there, and she talked about, "I have this --"

Her daughter had intellectual disabilities, and she said, "I want her to -- I want to make sure she succeeds.

But I also don't want her to just get a job, either at Tim Hortons or at just Home Depot as a -- I want her to make sure -- she's a talented young individual -- I want to make sure those skills are matched with what's needed."

And I think we need to change.

And I think it comes back to also changing that attitude of individuals, because we need to match the skills of talented people with disabilities that exist, matching their skills with what's needed.

And not just get them into the workplace.

But I think, making sure that they're moving up the ladder.

I think that's so important.

One of the things that I always say is, in Canada, we're a very diverse country -- diverse and different backgrounds, diverse in disabilities, even.

And I think that's a fact in Canada.

But inclusion is a choice.

And I think it's a choice that all of us have to be very deliberate and very persistent in making, if we're going to make sure that people are represented at all levels, whether it is on the corporate side, at the leadership positions, whether it is at the cabinet table.

My predecessor, Carla Qualtrough, who many of you obviously know --

But I think when people see someone with a disability at these big decision-making tables, whether it is on the political spectrum or the fact that we have Canada's first-ever chief accessibility officer in Stephanie Cadieux, who is an incredible, incredible leader, I think these things are very deliberate, because when people see themselves in these positions, and when these are the people that are leading the work that's happening, it's changing the entire psyche and the dynamics of the workplace, whether it is a government or whether it is at a mom-and-pop shop at that level.

So I think it's really about being deliberate.

And I think it goes back to the same theme that we're talking about, it's that willingness to make sure that we're doing that work.

-Mm-hmm.

I like the idea that is, in French, the conscious inclusion, the fact that we have the tools to open the doors to everybody.

One way is to have agencies that will match the employers and employees.

But we also need to make sure that the candidates who fell through the gaps will be able to reach the employers, so that we can concentrate in the strength in all workers.

-Glenda?

-Glenda?

-Extend internal mentoring and leadership training to employees with disabilities.

-Mm-hmm.

-Thank you.

-Yeah.

-Thank you.

-May I just make a quick plug?

[ Laughter ]

Ready, Willing and Able -- PDC -- we also have an online resource hub called theinclusiveworkplace.ca and its French equivalent.

It is staffed with lots of resources that are aimed at employers, agencies, and job seekers around the inclusive employment-journey period.

And one of them is career advancement.

It's one of our new assets we just launched, so...

-Congrats.

-Very neat.

-Thank you. Please, if you do want more information...

-Plug it in the chat.

[ Laughter ]

-There you go.

-Alright, let's go to another question from the audience.

-"To tackle assumptions employers make, what are the top three assumptions you frequently hear to justify not hiring individuals with disabilities? And why is it wrong?"

-Hmm.

-It's somehow going to be too expensive, which is not true.

-Yeah.

-I think this goes back to something someone said earlier.

Most employers just -- When we started

Ready, Willing and Able -- Everything that has come since has responded to three basic premises: employers didn't know where to find job seekers with an intellectual disability or autism looking for work; how to support them if they did hire them; and how it brings into the broader inclusion of their company and moves beyond one person, one outcome.

So, part of it is helping employers answer those questions.

-Mm-hmm.

-For sure.

But, yes, the idea that it's too expensive.

It's not. It's just not.

There's oodles of studies.

It's never been any more expensive to hire a person with disabilities or not.

That somehow persons with a disability are less safe.

Actually, the complete opposite.

If anything, inclusive employers tend to be safer employers because they take safety more seriously for all different kinds of people and all different kinds of experiences.

And I think the third is just a basic human, I'm afraid, assumption that a person with a disability just, you know, can't.

That's how the sentence begins, right?

And it's just -- That's just wrong.

I mean, it's just not true.

-Yeah. Mm-hmm.

-On the same vein, I would say that I heard employers saying that, "Oh, I'm afraid of hiring someone neurodivergent, because what the other members of the team will think, how they will analyze their behavior.

Maybe the clients will be surprised, be afraid."

But it's a mistake, because the effect is very positive with the clients, with the coworkers, to see that they are inclusive client employers.

They could say, "Oh, they will have to -- We will have to make too many accommodations."

The majority of our job is to be a good employer and a good leader.

In my area, I hear a lot, "Oh, we don't have the right resources. I don't know where are the resources," but now we have a lot of websites that can help us so that we can answer all the needs.

-If I -- I mean, again, I think I just want to build on what two of my wonderful panelists talked about.

I think it is about just, you know, that for employers, from, again, what I've heard is, "I just don't know where to start," or that I, somehow, as an employer, will need to make a lot of adjustments and change the way that I do think.

And I think as we've heard from people that employ people, and people that are actually employers, is that's not true.

And I think we've seen that from research, as well.

I think there are very little tweaks.

And I think it's your willingness to be able to include people.

And I always say to people, it is not -- when you're including people in the labor force, it's not just good social policy, it's a good economic policy.

-Mm-hmm.

-It's not just good for their own business, when you're including in -- if you're including that talented pool of individuals that exist in our society.

You're failing if you're not doing that.

And I think -- I fundamentally believe, when you - particularly within businesses, when you try to really challenge them on making them realize that you're actually adding to your business, you're going to get more people supporting your business.

You're actually changing the way that we look at your business in the world.

Canada wins, Canadians win, and their businesses win when we include people.

-Okay.

-Glenda?

-No.

-Okay.

No from Glenda.

-Okay.

I think we've got time for maybe one or two more questions.

So let's go to the next one.

-"There's much advice for businesses and hiring teams today, but what advice would you give to individuals living with disabilities, when it comes to success in employment?"

-Hmm. Great question.

-Yeah.

-That's a great question.

-Okay, I can start with that.

-Yeah, please.

-Direct indirect answer.

I don't have a direct answer for our candidates, but I have a message to parents.

So, make sure that we set up our kids for success, to make sure that they're ready for real life.

I know that I'm a mom myself, and I'm not the best.

I would like to keep my kids in a cocoon, but we -- our role as a parent is to make sure that they can navigate life, even if sometimes there's a little more obstacles in our way.

Employers are not there to raise kids.

We're there to hire a force.

So we may need to make sure that our candidates are independent and able to tend to their basic needs before they can start learning and find their place at work.

Having a job is crucial to having a good life, and to realize yourself as an adult.

But to be able to be comfortable in the position, you need to be able to live comfortably as an adult.

-Okay. Anyone else?

-I think, number one, you should expect to work.

-Mm-hmm.

-Period.

It shouldn't be something extraordinary.

-[ Chuckles ]

-It shouldn't be something that everybody's going to gather around and applaud.

And it may have all sorts -- It may have invaluable fundamental, positive spinoffs.

-Mm-hmm.

-That's great.

But you just should expect to work.

-Mm-hmm.

-With the right supports, anybody can go to work.

Jobs can be adapted.

Jobs can be accommodated.

It can be done.

So, at a very basic level, you should.

You should expect to be able to be connected reasonably to the supports you require to go to work, that are funded from provinces, territories, the federal government.

You should be able ask assist and get the support you need to go to work, and you should expect to then have the support you can need to move throughout that.

But I think there's knowing what you need, getting the supports that you need, getting the supports you require, the expertise, getting the help, that should be.

But at a very fundamental level, you should expect to go, period.

And we need to get past the idea that the person needs to be extraordinary in order to be given an ordinary chance.

-Mm-hmm.

-Right?

So we have to -- It's all well and good to say the retention rates are higher and all of this and all that.

But the person shouldn't have to be extraordinary.

When I got my first job, at 16, I can guarantee you, I was terrible.

[ Laughter ]

And somebody gave me an opportunity.

That opportunity needs to be extended, period, to persons with disabilities.

They should expect to get the opportunity; we should expect to extend it.

And no one should expect to have to applaud to get that done.

And we need to make that -- normalize it and bring it into the realm for both employer and job seeker as just something that is just basically expected.

-Mm-hmm.

-Yep.

-Okay.

-I think -- I think the two of you really answered the question.

The only thing I'll add is, just know that there are resources available.

And I think the tools that are there for you to succeed, make sure you tap into them, because they're there for you.

I talked about Opportunities Funds.

They're programs that many of the stakeholders that are, I'm sure, in the conference that can guide you towards.

But there are things that exist.

And I think it won't be just -- it won't just be one government, it won't just be one employer.

It's going to take all of us.

It won't just be one individual with disability.

It's going to take all of us to make sure that we're moving the dial forward and getting you the job that you should be doing.

-Yeah. Mm-hmm.

And being able to fail at that one and find the one that you can do.

-Absolutely. We've all been there.

-Yeah.

-We've all been there. Mm-hmm.

-Well, this has been a really incredible discussion.

And we've had lots of great takeaways.

Talking about expecting work, talking about shifting those attitudinal barriers, looking for those employees out there, those potential employees out there who are fixated on your company.

We're going to wrap up here.

And I want to say thank you so much...

-Thank you, Kevin.

-Thank you.

-...to all four of you wonderful panelists -- Glenda Watson Hyatt, Madeleine Laperrière, Frank fa*gan, and, of course, Minister Kamal Khera.

I will turn it now back to our emcees.

My name has been Kevin Shaw.

You can always catch me

on AMI-tv...

-[ Chuckles ]

-...hosting "Mind Your Own Business."

And be sure to check out Season 4, coming up later this year.

Over to you, emcees.

-Thank you, Kevin.

-Thank you, Kevin.

[ Applause ]

-Thank you very much, Kevin, our distinguished panelists, and Minister Khera for such an inspiring presentation.

Listening to this panel, what really was impressive to me was the feelings that were shared by the majority of people who live in a disability situation.

They're considered sometimes as a second-class citizen, people who are treated as kids, people who have nothing to give to the society.

And to me, it's unacceptable and shocking.

But the good news was listening to the panelists and hearing that many employers are making efforts to accommodate people with disabilities, and those people are models and inspiring employers, and they should be an example for other employers who sometimes hesitate to hire people with disabilities, because we have to create awareness between the employers, but also amongst the abled, the people with no disabilities in the workforce, because they need to be more aware of the situation.

What is really important is to communicate.

The more we talk about the issues, the more we can fight the stigma.

No one wants to generate or be considered as not able.

We want to include everyone.

What did you under--

-I thought this was, just like the others, so [Inaudible].

Sorry.

Yeah.

So, I just think that just like the other panels, this was so informative.

And, you know, I'm an employer myself.

I run my own business.

And so I do hire people with disabilities.

But it's always good to learn about different people with different disabilities and what their needs are.

One comment that stood out for me, that I talk about all the time, is choosing to see people's potential and refusing to talk about their limitations.

We need to stop asking people what they can't do, what your limitations are. What does it matter, right?

Like you, I always say, "I want to know what can you do, what do you want to do, and how can we help you do it?"

And that is a [Inaudible] statement, and it really opens the doors for people to be authentically themselves.

And so, yeah, I just thought it was a very encouraging conversation.

And I'm honored to be able to listen to it.]

- (Bean Gill): Welcome back, everybody.

I hope you had an amazing health break.

Next on the agenda is a celebration of Canadian artists with disabilities.

National AccessAbility Week is an opportunity to celebrate the valuable contributions and leadership of Canadians with disabilities.

Please join me in celebrating the talents brought to us by Braille Tones, Rachel Fontaine, and Listen to Dis'.

The Braille Tone Music Society of Canada provides musical enrichment for persons with disabilities in the Edmonton area.

And knowing that they're in Edmonton, I just recently followed them on Instagram.

They are an inclusive artistic community that pursues engaging and rewarding musical experiences for all of their members, beyond any limiting factor.

When Rachel Fontaine was diagnosed with autism at age 40, she was able to better understand what made her different and find ways for her to take care of herself.

She has created capsules of herself and her alter ego, Maria Lopez, to educate people about autism.

Listen to Dis' Community Arts is Saskatchewan's first and only disability-led arts organization.

Through intimately accessible art practices and performances, they weave new realities for the disabled and nondisabled community, shifting the way people perceive disability and creating understanding of and appreciation for Crip art, Mad art, and Disability Culture.

Today, we are going to watch a video of these artists and celebrate them and their art.

[The Braille Tone Music Society of Canada]

- (Susan Farrell): Hello, and welcome to the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion. My name is Susan Farrell, and I am the artistic director of The Braille Tone Music Society in Edmonton, Alberta.

I am a white 38-year-old woman with short brown hair, and I'm wearing glasses with blue frames and a black top.

I use the pronouns "she" and "her."

So The Braille Tones Choir started nearly 30 years ago in 1996 as an offshoot of a public speaking group at the Canadian Institute for the Blind.

Initially, the group was geared toward folks with visual impairments, but has developed to be a group for singers with any disability.

Today we have about 30 singers in the adult choir, 12 in our youth and children's choir, and another 12 in our ukulele group, in addition to a music lesson subsidy which helps 30 students with disabilities access music lessons at a discounted rate.

I am most proud of how we have spread joy and awareness through the work we do, and we continue to do.

We operate under the belief that music is truly for everyone.

The Braille Tone Music Society offers many access points for individuals with disabilities to express themselves and to deepen their knowledge and skills around music.

We do lots of work within the community to integrate our music making into different settings and collaborate with other organizations.

I love how we break down barriers.

To learn more about The Braille Tones and our upcoming performances, you can follow us on Facebook and Instagram, as well as on our web page -- btones.ca.

On the website, you can also sign up for our newsletter, which goes out a few times a year with information about upcoming performances and events.

Our last event for this season will be a silent disco and fundraiser called "Bust a Move" on June 1st at the Parkdale/Cromdale Community League in Edmonton, Alberta, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Each participant will be provided with a pair of headphones, which plays music from one of three playlists, and we can dance together while having a sensory-friendly experience.

The video we're about to play was filmed about a year ago on the day we were presenting our second kids concert called Kids' Menu.

We prepared a program of music all based on the theme of food and performed to a sold-out audience.

In the video, three people are interviewed -- one of our Semitones Youth Choir members, Osman, one of our Braille Tones members, Carrie, and one of our section leaders, Nathan.

There are also snippets from the concert included in the clip, including "Hot Potato" by The Wiggles and a jazz piece called "Do You Carrot All for Me?"

- (Carrie Reed): Hi. My name is Carrie Reed. I'm part of the part of the Braille Tones and the Uketones.

- (Osman Lo): My name's Osman Lo. I'm 18 years old, and I'm from the Semitones.

We're doing a kid's concert with Michelle & Friends, and all the songs are about food.

Well, today is, for the Semitones, we have a concert with the Braille Tones together.

We have a huge band. We've got the drummers and a lead singer and a guitar strumming.

And then our concert will be phenomenal with big children and the little ones will be there having fun.

[Singing]

[ Music ends, cheers and applause]

- (Nathan Stolte): My name's Nathan. I work as the section leader for the bass section of The Braille Tones Choir.

So today we have our Kid's Menu concert.

We're performing with a local Edmonton children's band known as Michelle & Friends.

We're doing a bunch of songs focusing on the concept of food and specifically targeted towards a children's audience.

So we have a bunch of mats set up at the front for the kids to sit on.

We're doing a lot of actions, a lot of, like, instruments for them, and stuff like that.

[Singing]

[ Music ends, cheers and applause]

- (Osman Lo): So, if you want to join this concert, any way, come whenever you can. Just having fun. And we sing lots of songs.

Plus, you'll hear "Hot Potato." I'm excited. All these things will be super amazing. So it will be super fun. Having fun. Learning. Getting the rhythm to the beat. Get ready to wiggle. That's my thing.

[Singing]

[ Kazoo playing]

[ Piano solo]

[ Music ends, cheers and applause]

[Rachel Fontaine]

- (Rachel Fontaine): Hello, all. Welcome to this wonderful event for the inclusion of disabled people.

I'm Rachel Fontaine. I was diagnosed with autism, with invisible autism.

And I'm happy to be here with you today to talk about my projects and myself. Thank you.

So in 2023, I took advantage of this character, Maria Lopez, that I interpreted for six years in "Radio Enfer," which was a very good show.

I hid behind this character to present myself as someone with invisible autism. Maria is the kind of character, if you don't know her, that is the opposite of me.

She has guts.

She says what she thinks all the time.

Well, maybe that's similar to me, but she has a way to say whatever she wants bluntly.

And I thought, voilà. I was able to free the rights of this character to create awareness about invisible autism. And it worked. I'm proud to say that Maria, who seems very superficial but who has a lot of interpersonal skills and who is not afraid of anything, was able to raise awareness with over 600,000 views.

People wrote to me, telling me -- And that's what really makes me happy.

People told me, "Rachel, finally, I could identify what was happening to me, thanks to your website."

autismeinvisible.com the website that I hoped existed when I was struggling.

And this website helped people.

It gave them the right paths to get a diagnostic.

I found the people to help me improve, and with this website I help people, as well, so that it's easier for them to know where to go to find help.

So I decided in 2024 to start my awareness campaign again.

It was through a conference.

My target audience was the employers of autistic people in their workplace.

If I can, through this conference, create more awareness about invisible autism so that people can know their talent.

Autistic people have very specific interests.

Take advantage of it.

The big corporations that dare to say,

"Well, during the work integration, it might take more time, but it's not more expensive and it will allow autistic people to evolve and flourish in the workplace."

And you will see that with autistic people, if they're in the right workplace, if they work well with their co-workers, they flourish, they're vibrant.

So do not be afraid of giving them a chance.

We talk about connections.

We need to connect the right employer with the right employee, the right co-workers.

But -- And I cannot either tell you which big corporations took this leap of faith and gave opportunities to autistic people, but I can tell you, big banks, big pharmacies tried that, and it works.

So to give you an idea, an overview, I invite you to watch some of my videos.

That's what really matters to me.

I wanted to share these videos with you.

Please take care of yourselves.

I send you a big hug.

[First capsule]

- (Maria Lopez): Rachel, come out of the bathroom. They're waiting for us downstairs for the Autism Month interviews.

(lips moving silently)

Maria Lopez here. Remember the character Rachel Fontaine played in Radio Enfer? You wonder why I'm here, right? I am like Rachel's kick ass life coach. She is locked in there. She needed me today because she doesn't have the guts to tell you that she has autism.

- (Rachel Fontaine): Who are you talking to?

- (ML): Um, I was thinking out loud, as a coach, that you have to have the guts to say that you're autistic.

- (RF): Asperger's, Maria.

- (ML): No, no, you can't say Asperger's anymore, Rachel. There's too much bickering about that term. You're going to be in trouble if you say that.

- (RF): So, what do I say?

- (ML): Well, say you have invisible autism.

- (RF): We say "chameleon" in the community.

- (ML): Yeah, that's it, a top gun chameleon. Rachel, it doesn't sound like she's autistic, but when she was little, oh, it was something.

- (RF): What?

- (ML): I was thinking it is going to be important for you to talk about your childhood, your OCD, how you were always counting and then ranking, how you would never walk on anything that looked like a line and that you were always in your world.

- (RF): Now what, Maria, will I have to tell you all the details of my life?

- (ML): Rachel, invisible autism awareness begins today for Autism Month in Quebec. So, yes, tell everything.

[Second capsule]

- (ML): Alright, am I good?

- (RF): What?

- (ML): Rachel, we are expected in 20 minutes for the invisible autism interviews. What is scaring you?

- (RF): Well, I don't know. The word says it, I have invisible autism. It doesn't show. We are called chameleons for a reason. It is as if we have won the lottery on the autism spectrum because we are able to adapt better.

- (ML): So?

- (RF): Well, I could go on with my life. No one would know that I'm autistic.

- (ML): Réal Béland, his daughter Charlotte, Louis T. and the author Mélissa Perron, who are chameleons like you, all had the courage to unveil themselves and speak to the media. It takes courageous people to get things done.

-(RF): You have a good point there.

- (ML): Yes, that's what a kick ass life coach does. Now, get out of the bathroom and open up too. That's what made your acting career come to a halt. Medication errors, psychological exhaustion, mega anxiety. Before you were diagnosed at the age of 40, you came close to psychiatry a few times, you know.

- (RF): Whoa! No. That's too personal. Look, forget it, Maria. It's too stressful. I'm not getting out of here.

- (ML): Okay, now I think I've gone too far. She's going to have a meltdown and we won't be able to do anything. Give me two minutes. She will calm down. (sigh)

[Third capsule]

- (ML): Rachel, open the door just a little, we'll start from the beginning. Why is it important to talk about invisible autism?

- (RF): Because we have visible autistic traits as children, but then, especially girls, we manage to adapt better and hide our difficulties.

- (ML): Yes. You hide behind a character to look like others, eh, Rachel?

- (RF): Yes, that's it. And then because our brain works differently, because it always tries to adapt to the social codes that it doesn't understand, to adapt to sounds, to smells....

- (ML): Sometimes it overheats.

- (RF): Yes. Then, as adults, with all the issues of life, if we go through a tough time and suffer from mental exhaustion or anxiety, health professionals can't diagnose us properly.

- (ML): True, especially women. That's important. Doctors think you're bipolar or you have borderline personality disorder because it looks the same, right?

- (RF): Yes.

- (ML): Good! Hence the importance of awareness to properly diagnose people with autism who are less typical, just like you. So, they are waiting for you to do your interviews. Rachel, you are ready! Unleash your totem animal.

- (RF): The chameleon?

- (ML): No! The cougar! Connect with your inner cougar. Roar!

[Fourth capsule]

- (ML): I'm here again. Maria Lopez from "Radio Enfer" for Autism Month. It's thanks to my excellent talent as a kick ass life coach that last year, my interpreter Rachel Fontaine had the guts to tell you that she has Asperger's... uh invisible autism.

It created a big buzz in the media and this year, she is preparing a conference on the subject.

Here, we are trying out her look.

Rachel, come on out so I can see how you look.

Come on, this is the exact same outfit you wore last year.

- (RF): Well, it's comfortable. You're wearing a dress that I wore 15 years ago. Everyone has the clothes that they love, Maria.

- (ML): Well, at least try the outfit I left behind the door. In any case, she will be dressed. But believe me, she will bare herself in this conference. Emotionally, I speak.

She will talk about her experiences, her trials, her world, and how she managed to adapt.

It's for employers who are curious about the talent of autistic people at work, health professionals, students and everyone interested in invisible autism.

Go to the website autismeinvisible.com. Conference details are there.

It's very beautiful, my dress.

Honestly.

[Listen to Dis' Community Arts Organization]

- (Ammanda Zelinski): Hello, and welcome to the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion. My name is Ammanda Zelinski, and I am an artist with Listen to Dis'. I am a 28-year-old woman with long brown hair, half of it tied up in a bow, and I am wearing a white blouse with a navy blue dress over top.

We are also @LTDArtsOrg on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We are available by e-mail at info@listentodis.com or by phone at 306-526-8763.

The first monologue that you are about to hear was written by Kelsey Culbert in 2015 for the play "Neither Heroes Nor Ordinary People."

It is a play surrounding societal perceptions of disability and was the opening piece to the play.

Throughout, you will see actor John Loeppky prompting Kelsey.

[Neither Heroes Nor Ordinary People]

[September 13, 2016, Regina Performance]

[ Piano music plays ]

[ Whispering ]

- (Kelsey Culbert): Society defines people with disabilities as not normal. I often wonder what the definition of "normal" is. I can confidently say that with the right adaptations those of us who fall into the category of not "normal" can do anything and everything we desire.

Our physical and intellectual limitations should not have any effect on how we are perceived!

Society's perceptions of disability are often based on three specific things: physical appearance, intellectual ability, and physical capabilities. No one will ever be able to address or change these false perceptions. With the exception of we who continue to create and spread the ideas.

To those of you who do not take the time to understand, I offer a suggestion to eliminate these stereotypes. First of all, educate yourself before making any assumptions. Ask questions. Listen more. Talk less.

To look beyond medical diagnoses is to realize there is a living, breathing, feeling human being who has valuable contributions to make to society. We are not interested in your pity or sympathy; we are comfortable in our skin!

♪♪

- (Natasha Urkow): I would like to introduce a piece that I wrote called "She Cannot Dance."

I wrote this piece in 2015 for our first performance of "Neither Heroes Nor Ordinary People."

It was written from a place of real pain, real lived experience, and real hopes for humanity.

Here you are going to see Ammanda Zelinski and Shaylee Rosnes's performance in the 2023 as part of "Bits & Pieces of 'Dis and 'Dat."

[Bits & Pieces of 'Dis and 'Dat]

[ Upbeat music plays ]

[ Speaking rhythmically ]

- (Ammanda Zelinski): We've heard them say "she cannot dance."

She sees them turn, pop, lock, twist, flip and flop,

Will she really never get the chance?

- (Shaylee Rosnes): Music has always made me feel alive,

For this reason alone I survive.

Yes, it is true, I cannot chasse or pirouette,

How to work it and twerk it, my body does forget.

I cannot moon walk or do the worm.

No, my friends, my form of dance looks more like a squirm.

- (Ammanda Zelinski): They pity her at first glance.

Staring and glaring; she can't make them stop.

We've heard them say "she cannot dance."

- (Shaylee Rosnes): Many misconceptions encumber disability.

Much unspoken taboos float through society.

Who is to determine what we can and cannot do but ourselves?

A fog curtain is closed on inclusion. It is dim although still evident.

We must not hide from the world; we must not sit silent.

- (Ammanda Zelinski): She questions her ability to take a stance.

Should she give up grooving to hip-hop?

Will she really never get the chance?

- (Shaylee Rosnes): The topic of affliction needs to be given a voice.

Physical limitations are obtained without choice.

However, attitudes of an open mind can be learned, taught and persuaded.

Yet fellow opinions are disallowing and jaded.

- (Ammanda Zelinski): She will not listen to the negative trance.

No, her confidence will remain on top.

We've heard them say "she cannot dance."

- (Shaylee Rosnes): People possess the power to penetrate enlightenment and CHANGE.

Curious minds are afraid to ask, and their fears limit their thoughts to understand what ailments are necessary, and what limitations are self-made.

Isn't cowardice of acceptance a greater detriment then paralysis?

We all have the ability to accept or deny and therefore we can all be victims of denial.

- (Ammanda Zelinski): She is in a wheelchair. She cannot prance, but she can still move to the beat and bop.

Will she really never get the chance?

- (Shaylee Rosnes): A lack of awareness impedes civilization and leaves behind a cloud of ignorance.

The common public is sheltered from the truth of the trials, tribulations and totality; that are fed to our youth daily in reality.

- (Ammanda Zelinski): This will not throw her pride off balance.

She will feel the music until she drops.

We've heard them say "she cannot dance."

- (Shaylee Rosnes): Will I really never get the chance?

- (Ammanda Zelinski): There will be no peace and serenity without having complete and stable equality

- (Shaylee Rosnes): In order for the minority to diffuse within the majority

- (Ammanda & Shaylee): There must be a collective authority!

- (Shaylee Rosnes): In the need for accessibility and inclusion our broken bodies are not the problem.

It is simply what goes on in our minds, and how we use them.

- (Ammanda, Shaylee and Emil): (singing): Is there no mercy in this land?

[ Cheers and applause ]

- (Bean Gill): Wow. That was an incredible video.

I just am so, like -- it's so awesome to see that there's so many amazing people here in Canada doing such awesome things.

Ah, just, my heart is so full today.

What did you think of that?

- (Varda Étienne): I agree with you being it was impressive.

I'm very proud that we have this kind of talent in Canada.

I'd like to thank the public that is with us today in our next panel.

Please do not hesitate to ask all the questions you want.

[- So, it's time to come back to our programming, though.

But I would also like to thank all of you who are joining us, listening to us, watching us.

We are thrilled to have you here, as well.

Now, I'd like to talk about AlterGo.

Did you know that the Défi sportif AlterGo is the largest annual multisport event in Canada, international in scope, and it brings together elite and emerging athletes with all types of disabilities since 1984.

It's more than just an event.

The Défi sportif AlterGo aims to promote the practice of physical activities and adapted sport throughout Québec throughout the year, to promote an active lifestyle, and to be an important vector of awareness and social inclusion for young people with disabilities.

So, on this inspiring note, I would like to invite you to watch this video from Défi sportif AlterGo.

- Hello, and welcome to the CCDI.

We have just concluded the 41^st edition of Défi sportif AlterGo, with more than 6,000 athletes of all levels and functional limitations from 23 countries, gathered in Montréal for 10 days of competition.

So, not only is our event the biggest of its kind in the world, it's also the biggest multisport event in the country.

- It all starts from here.

It starts with the courage to take the first step to get to the starting line.

Then it takes hard work, discipline, drive.

It's starting a new chapter.

It's chasing a dream.

Because what lies ahead is big.

It's lasting.

It's memories, friendships, experiences.

It's a wave of emotions that can take you far beyond anything you could have imagined at the outset.

Défi sportif AlterGo -- It all starts from here.

So that's our slogan for this year, "It all starts here," because the Défi sportif AlterGo is a starting line for many athletes on their way to the highest of summits.

♪♪

[ Cheers and applause ]

♪♪

-Yay!

[ All cheer ]

-Whoo, whoo, whoo!

♪♪

We have had the opportunity to celebrate our 40th anniversary last year and to have our athletes come back.

Well, everybody was very proud to be able to come back.

- Yes, when I first started, young people with disabilities who took part in Défi sportif AlterGo, well, they didn't necessarily show up with athletic clothing, because they didn't belong to sports clubs.

So they would come and they would compete with their everyday equipment.

- People's vision has changed over the last 40 years.

We had youth who saw Chantal Petitclerc, and they'd say, "Look, this is an athlete, a disabled athlete," and, "Check out her performance. That was amazing."

And that's what really has impacted me in the most recent years.

- It's hard to measure the exact impact of an event like this one, because it depends on both the athletes and the parents, but I think that there's an impact on everyone.

And here I'm just talking specifically about people who have been directly involved in the Défi sportif, but it goes far beyond that.

-You're having a great time?

-Oh, yeah, I love this.

-It's all about watching athletes develop because of us and seeing them represent their club, their province, or even their country one day.

-Well, this year, I went to the World Championships, the Canadian Championships in Vancouver and as well to China.

- I remember that May 1, 2009, that was the date of my very first race at Défi sportif AlterGo.

And then I started competing internationally.

- It's incredible that, after 40 years, an event like this one is still going strong.

There are still lots of people.

The event has stayed fresh.

You know, when an event like this lasts 40 years, it's because it truly meets a need in society.

- One of the Défi sportif AlterGo's main strengths is that it never rests on its laurels.

And that's why, 40 years later, it's become such a major event -- I was going to say in Québec, but, really, it's in all of Canada.

- So, who makes up the AlterGo community?

I'd say it's partners, volunteers, parents, athletes.

It's a huge family.

You know, this doesn't all happen in a vacuum.

It takes all these people, all these partners.

They are the strength behind Défi sportif AlterGo.

- I'm watching these young people today, and I see the pride in their eyes, their determination.

They're just so content.

They're proud of themselves, and it's wonderful.

It's 40 years of exceeding limits, of passion, of inclusion, of accessibility.

- It's probably one of the biggest multisport competitions in North America, really.

- The 40th edition allowed us to put forward two athlete ambassadors who we invite you to discover -- Saoud Messaoudi, for example.

[ Hockey sticks clacking ]

[ Man shouting indistinctly in distance ]

- Hello, my name is Saoud Messaoudi.

I'm 21, and I have a spina bifida, which is a disability that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

♪♪

When I was 10, so in 2011, my family and I decided to emigrate from Morocco to come to Canada, partly for services and for educations for me and my big sister, for my parents to get better jobs, and also for sports for persons with disabilities.

That's something that I found interesting.

- Yeah, I left everything behind in Morocco -- my work, my home.

I left everything behind.

I said, "I need to find a better life for my son."

I don't see it as a sacrifice.

I just see it as a step forward.

It's a step forward, absolutely.

- Well, since I was young, one of my biggest dreams was to play in the Paralympics, and I think that I'm with the national Canada hockey team now, so I think that I'm on the path to be in Italy in 2026.

- I didn't think that he would get that far, that he'd eventually be playing for Canada, for me.

At some point, I realized, "Wait a minute, can he do this?"

I absolutely had full confidence in him, but everything that he's done to participate in this, it's a great success story, and I'm so proud.

I love seeing that my son is always looking to overcome new challenges.

He doesn't think of what could happen if he failed.

He just thinks about success, and this makes me proud, to think that he's always looking forward.

♪♪

- I'm also a university student.

So, you know, there's the Hockey Canada camps, and then there's school.

And I try to fit in my friends and my family, but, you know, my -- I love hockey.

And it does mean a few sacrifices to be able to play at the level at which I play.

♪♪

-♪ I need all the wins, yeah ♪

-♪ Yeah ♪

-♪ Ain't no L's,

I gotta get it ♪

♪ No callin' quits, yeah ♪

-♪ Yeah ♪

-♪ Gotta keep on movin', no matter how hard it gets, yeah ♪

-♪ Yeah ♪

-♪ Better move out... ♪

-To me, playing hockey is a passion.

It allows me to grow, and this type of high-level sport, like I said, it certainly means sacrifices, compromise.

- You know, Saoud didn't always have it easy.

So to see where he got in life with all the work that he's done, it's because he's a warrior.

- My coach, Maxime Gagnon, was with me since my beginning with para hockey, and he always pushed me to go further.

He really saw the potential that I had, and he took me on the Montréal team, then the Québec team, and recommended me for the national team as well.

- He's somebody who didn't grow up playing hockey, but he just learned completely naturally.

He understands how to play, strategy, and he's very fast as well.

- Well, I think that his main strength is his speed.

- He's always active.

He's always on the move.

And I always say it when I see him in camps with Hockey Canada, he's one of the players who's in movement all the time.

- And the beauty of the sport is that we are all starting from the same base, whether you're disabled or not.

And everybody needs to work at the same level in order to succeed.

- So, having won the Canadian Championship together, this was a great moment for me, and having done that with Saoud, he's such a great guy, so I really -- It's something that I will always appreciate.

- We are very competitive, both of us, so when we come to the Canadian level or, you know, maybe he's faster than I am, but I think that we're still at the same level.

We still encourage each other.

We motivate each other.

- Saoud has a great career ahead of him.

Is he going to go towards business or be an athlete?

We'll see. But right now, I think it's great to see him be invited in different hockey camps and to see how he can progress.

I think that he has great chances of really representing his country on the world scene.

- I'm always so proud of Saoud.

Obviously, he is a great man.

I still consider him my baby.

He might not agree with me, though.

- I am so proud, actually, of these limits that I have, because it's allowed me to develop more strength.

I think I have a stronger character than others, and I've had to develop this passion for life.

I didn't have a choice, because if I need anything, whether it's at school or in para hockey or at work, well, I have to ask, I have to communicate.

So this has allowed me to develop more skills with time.

And all of these skills are very important for me and for the rest of my life.

This has allowed me to become the person that I am today.

- Every year, Défi sportif has more than 1,000 volunteers.

Without them, this would not be possible.

So thank you so much for allowing us to have successful events like this.

Like I said, we have 1,000 -- More than 1,000, actually, volunteers, and without them, it simply would not be the same.

So, sometimes, a volunteer comes for a day.

Sometimes, they take a full week in order to work with Défi sportif AlterGo.

And it's great for awareness raising, for social inclusion, for -- there's nothing better to learn and to give these youth a great experience.

It can be, you work to welcome people.

Maybe you build the different sites.

Any volunteer can find something to do here.

There's room for everyone.

It's not just giving time.

I think that you get back --

As much as you give, you get back.

Our volunteers come back time and time again.

♪♪

[ Cheering ]

♪♪

I wish you all a great Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

I hope to see you all next year between April 25 and May 4, 2025.

- That is amazing.

Thank you so much, Défi sportif AlterGo, for this video.

So thank you very much for awareness building and for having also underscored contribution.-]

[-So now we are coming to the last item on our agenda, our closing remarks.

I would like to now introduce Tina Namiesniowski the Senior Associate Deputy Minister at Employment and Social Development Canada and Deputy Minister Champion for employees with disabilities in the federal public service, who will provide some closing remarks.

It has been such a pleasure to be here with you -- with everybody today. Over to you, Deputy Minister.

-Thank you very much for the introduction, Bean.

It is with great pleasure that I join you today virtually...

To really close out today's incredibly impressive event.

I've had a chance to be at the Congress a couple years in a row, and every time I'm here, I'm just so amazed by the conversation, the quality of the discussion, and, you know, the sharing of things that we all need to be thinking about to make sure that Canada can actually realize the potential that we have set for ourselves, as captured in the Accessible Canada Act, you know, being barrier free by 2040.

And in some ways, that seems a long way off.

But in other ways, it's just around the corner.

And so, I think we all need to keep thinking about all the things that we need to do to actually get to that point.

And for me, it's wonderful to be here, as well, because it's the kickstart to National AccessAbility Week.

What a way to kickstart that by having the Congress today.

And as the minister referenced earlier, it marks also the fifth anniversary since the coming into force of the Accessible Canada Act.

I want to say thank you to our wonderful moderators, Varda and Bean, to Prasanna, our keynote speaker, to all of the panelists and moderators, and to our performers and athletes for making the third Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion such an exciting event.

A big thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences, expertise, and views on disability, inclusion, and accessibility.

And for contributing to the questions and answers throughout the Congress.

And as I really reflect on the discussions and activities of today, it's really heartwarming to see the impressive spirit of collaboration, which was evident through all of the discussions.

And it's clear that there's, you know, huge passion sitting around this big virtual table.

And it's also clear that we all have to really lean in and think about the steps that are going to be necessary to achieve that ambition that I referred to earlier.

Our thought leaders from the disability community, academia, business, government, and other sectors shared achievements and next steps related to the implementation of the Accessible Canada Act.

They also shared challenges and best practices related to accessible and inclusive-built environment and employment.

And I was really struck by some of the comments that came out in this last conversation.

As champion for employees with disabilities and the biggest employer in the country, I think a lot about a lot of the questions that came up today.

What more do we need to do?

What kind of bold action do we need to take?

How do we ensure that we're doing and adhering very closely to the principle of "Nothing About Us Without Us" and really learning from the experiences that our employees are having and what they're telling us about those experiences, because that's one of the ways that we're actually going to get better and make sure that we're not even putting in place barriers.

The more we can actually eliminate the existence of barriers, the less we actually have to accommodate people, because it will just be a fact that we're inclusive.

Now, I recognize that there will always be some level of barrier, but that then means that we have to get better at accommodation.

And one of the other comments that was raised today, this afternoon, was really the need for proactive offers, like right from the very beginning, the first beginning start of an employee's "journey" all the way through to what we all want to happen, which is a fantastic personal experience of every single employee that we hire, including persons with disabilities, and that they're able to achieve their potential and have rewarding and the kind of career that they want that, if they're interested in it, you know, has the kind of career progression and advancement that many people desire.

Not everybody wants to progress, but some do.

And we really need to make sure that we're giving everybody the supports that are necessary to achieve their potential.

So I think that's something that we need to be reflecting on a little bit more.

I also know that we shared a lot of information today.

It's possible that people could not participate during this day.

So if you haven't been able to actually be here throughout the day, I've got good news for you.

We've actually recorded the event, and there are transcripts of the panel discussions that will be published online.

So an email will be sent out when -- letting everybody know when that material will be ready.

The other thing that I want to say just before wrapping up is your feedback on this event is very important to us.

We've used feedback from previous years to really shape how we've run this event this year.

We've had some longer breaks, interactive questions-and-answer components to panel discussions, and the topics that were identified as interesting to you for -- were identified the previous years.

And we included them today.

So I encourage you to take some time at the end of the event to let us know about your experience and to share your feedback on how we can continue to improve the event.

So you're also going to receive an email asking for your feedback.

So it's been a day packed with activities, and I guess the last thing I want to do before signing off is just really to thank everybody who has been behind the organization of this activity today, and without the commitment and dedication of the folks that are -- some of whom are in this room that I'm looking at the moment and others who are behind the scenes, I want to say a special thank you to all of the accessible service providers today, including captioning by VITAC, English and French interpretation by translators, conference interpreters, and American Sign Language, and Quebec Sign Language interpretation by Asign.

Thank you, also, to the Proof Experiences team, who has skillfully managed and streamed all the sessions throughout the day.

And on behalf of the government of Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada, I'd like to wish you all a wonderful National AccessAbility Week.

Thank you very much, and I hope to see you in the next Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.-]