2018 Ontario Cluster Meeting
for the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP)
On November 9th, the 2018 Ontario Cluster Meeting for the Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP) was held in Toronto. The purpose of the Ontario Cluster Meeting was to engage experts in the field of work disability policy, including key stakeholders, the public, government and private sector in shaping a strategy to change the future of work for people with disabilities in Ontario.
The meeting started off with a summary of the CRWDP project given by Emile Tompa. Rebecca Gewurtz then gave a brief introduction to the formation of the three policy pods that were organized for the project: Income Support Policy, Right to Work, and Employers Capacity.
KEY QUESTIONS:
- How can employers act to implement business practices that ensure people with disabilities are able to gain secure, full-time and non-precarious employment that contributes to the business objectives in a productive and meaningful way?
- How does income replacement intersect with employment opportunities for people with disabilities?
- What are the systems in place for monitoring employment rights for those experiencing disabilities (“progressive realization”) and how can that be supported and improved (recognizing the Right to Work as found in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (ratified by Canada in 2010)?
The speakers for the meeting were John Stapleton, Monica Ackerman and Susan Hardie. They left us with many ideas about how they could engage in changing policy and practices to improve the employment and income situation of people with disabilities.
Read the full report from CRWDP Ontario Cluster Meeting on November 9th, 2018: CRWDP Ontario Cluster Meeting 2018 (Word); CRWDP Ontario Cluster Meeting 2018 (PDF).