Supported Employment Past, Present, and Future – Part 1
Supported Employment Past, Present, and Future - Part 1
At the 2025 Annual National Supported Employment Conference, the session Beyond Barriers: Supported Employment Past, Present, and Future outlined:
- the history of disability employment and supported employment in Canada, and
- the federal government’s implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and key activities on which CASE and our members can continue to focus.
You’ll find a summary of that presentation in this post, Part 1.
The session presenters — CASE board members Annette Borrows, Edina Markovitz, Ernie Thiessen, Maureen Haan, and Deb Hotchkiss, and CASE Executive Director Joanna Goode — also facilitated group discussions around current issues in our sector and potential actions we can take to move forward.
Part 2, which will be available next month, will outline the results of these engaging discussions — and offer a way for you to contribute to them.
The Beginnings of Disability Employment
In 1981, the UN International Year of Disabled Persons helped to shine one of the first global spotlights on disability rights and inclusion. This awareness helped to push through Section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. Section 15 ensures every individual in Canada – regardless of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, colour, sex, age, or physical or mental disability – is considered equal and is legally protected against discrimination.
The Employment Equity Act followed in 1986, which mandated inclusive hiring in the federal and private sectors for “women, Aboriginal peoples, persons with disabilities and members of visible minorities.”
“…employment equity means more than treating persons in the same way but also requires special measures and the accommodation of differences.”
Employment Equity Act
Growth of Supported Employment
The 1990s saw the birth of the supported employment sector through more customized employment strategies for job seekers and workers who experience disability. Supported employment was slowly integrated into mainstream services as relationships grew with community-based service providers.
As disability inclusion gained momentum in the new millennium, services broadened to include self-employment, social enterprises, and transition-to-work programs for youth. Individual Placement and Support (IPS) was adopted to support persons experiencing severe mental illness in obtaining and maintaining competitive employment. The focus also shifted to actively supporting employers in hiring persons experiencing disability.
Milestones
- 1992 – Launch of federal Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities
- 1996 – Introduction of Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities (LMAPDs) between the federal and provincial/territorial governments with a focus on skills training, wage subsidies, and job search assistance
- 1999 – Establishment of CASE
UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Canada ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2010. Article 27 of the CRPD recognizes the right of persons with disabilities to gain a living by freely choosing the work they want to do.
It also states that countries that adopt the convention must ensure “a labour market and work environment that is open, inclusive and accessible to persons with disabilities” and must take “appropriate steps, including through legislation.”
First UN Review of Canada
In 2017, the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) conducted a review of Canada’s implementation of the CRPD, which included submissions by Canadian organizations. In their Concluding Observations, the main concerns were the high unemployment rate of persons with disabilities and the lack of programs to help them retain jobs during economic crises. Other concerns included the continuation of sheltered workshops and a lack of focus on women and youth with disabilities.
They made the following recommendations:
- Adopt a policy on the employment of persons with disabilities with intersecting identities.
- Develop strategies for decent job opportunities with reasonable accommodation and training.
- Fund targeted approaches to affirmative action of employment for persons with disabilities.
The federal government passed the Accessible Canada Act or Bill C-81 in 2019. The Act aimed to collaborate with Canadians to create a barrier-free Canada for people with disabilities by 2040.
2025 Second and Third UN Reviews
More recently, the Committee’s second and third reviews welcome Canada’s establishment of multiple employment strategies, such as the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities and the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training Program.
Their recommendations for Canada note that:
- Persons with disabilities still face systemic barriers to employment.
- There is a lack of nationally consistent, longitudinal indicators for measurement.
- There is no centralized disability accommodation fund.
- Use of sheltered workshops continues.
How the 2025 Review Influences CASE and Our Members
The 2025 recommendations for Canada highlight key activities on which CASE and our members can continue to focus:
- Support service providers as they work to increase employment for persons experiencing disability.
- Push for more consistent measurement for the Workforce Development Agreements (WDAs), which can help to identify what works, the challenges, and the positive impacts of employment services. Key findings from a 2022 evaluation of WDAs found that approximately 70% of participants attributed the increase in their employment and earnings to WDA-funded programs or services.
- Develop partnerships to influence changes for persons experiencing disability with intersecting identities, such as Indigenous, 2SLGBTQIA+, racialized, neurodivergent, immigrant, newcomer, and others.
Part 2 next month will cover session discussions around the Key Issues in the Sector and Collaborative Actions to Move Forward – to which readers will be able to contribute!