Disability and Work in Canada Agenda

November 27 – 29, 2017    National War Museum, Ottawa

Click here for a text version of the agenda

Monday, November 27, 2017

Reception and Information Sharing Sessions

7:00 pm               Registration opens

7:00 pm               Reception –  light refreshments and cash bar

7:20 pm                Indigenous Prayer – Elder Elaine Kicknosway
We acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the traditional unceded Algonquin territory

7:35 pm      Opening Remarks by Larry Rousseau, VP of Canadian Labour Congress

7:45pm    Opening Remarks by the Honourable Minister Kent Hehr, Minister of Sport and Persons with Disabilities

7:50pm   “Work Disability in Canada – Portrait of a System” Book Launch with the author Dustin Galer

8:00 pm     Information Sessions – This will be a unique event with an opportunity to informally meet with organizations and businesses who will share their solutions to many of the barriers present for the hiring and return to work for employees with disabilities.

• • • Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)
      Opportunities Fund
    • Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work (CCRW)
      Disability Confident Employer Program
      Welcome to Finance Survey
    • Centre for Research on Work Disability Policy (CRWDP)
      Aspiring Workforce, accommodation best practices and the business case
    • Canadian Standards Association (CSA)
      National Standard on Work Disability Prevention Management Systems
    • The Lived Experience of persons with disabilities – what has helped or blocked sustainable employment?
    • Lessons from the Independent Living Movement.
    • National Building Trades and The International Union of Operating Engineers
      Employment of persons with disabilities in construction
    • Improving alignment and navigability of disability programs – challenges and successes
    • Prevention Link
      Joint Return to Work Initiatives
    • Key Elements of a Disability Strategy for Canada
    • Support Service and Resources – What Works and What Doesn’t

    10:00 pm   Conference closes for the evening

     

    Tuesday, November 28, 2017

    7:30 am               Registration Opens

    8:00 am               Breakfast Employer Panel – employer champions from various sectors will share their experience with hiring persons with disabilities.

    • IT sector – Jamie Burton, Dolphin Digital
    • Financial Sector – Lenore MacAdam, Deloitte
    • Retail Sector – Dax Kurtz, Giant Tiger, Nova Scotia
    • Transport Sector – Michael MacDonald, JAZZ Airlines
    • Service Sector – Vincent Meehan, Sodexo

    9:45 am                Break

    10:00 am             Welcoming Remarks – Emile Tompa

    10:15 am             Keynote Presentation
    “Celebrating  Canada’s Accomplishments and Where do we go from here”
    Michael Prince,Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria

    10:20 am             Research Panel focusing on where we go from here.

    • Katherine Lippel
    • Steve Estey
    • Emile Tompa

    12:00 pm             Participant Group Photo
    12:10 pm              Lunch in the Atelier C & D

    1:00 pm               Panel of Lived Experience.  Representing diversity and uniqueness of experiences of persons who identify with a disability.

    • Karl Krevar
    • Joe Dowdall
    • Adrienne Goody
    • Lisa Panagapko
    • Kaleena Agboola

    2:30 pm               Break

    2:45 pm               Labour Market Development Agreements
    Eppo Maertens, Policy Director, Employment and Social Development Canada to provide the information on LMDAs

    3:15 pm               Innovation Panel – Innovation in service and supports for accommodation and return to work.
    The panelists include:

    • Beth Dea (Rise Development)
    • Bonnie Brayton (National ED for DAWN Canada)
    • Karl Fletcher (Immigrant employment specialist)
    • Meghan Kelley (CCRW)
    • Erin Doucette (Prevention Link)
    • Wendy Porch (Realize Canada)

    4:30 pm               Agenda setting for tomorrow.
    5:00 pm               Conference concludes for the day

     

    Wednesday, November 29, 2017

    8:30 am               Breakfast

    9:00 am               Opening Remarks

    9:15 am               New Trends in Technology: Charles Lavasseur, Neil Squire Society

    10:00 am             Break

    10:15 am             National Panel of Visionaries

    • Jamie Burton (Vice President, Dolphin Digital)
    • Steve Mantis (Community Lead, Research Action Alliance on the Consequences of Work Injury, RAACWI)
    • Bob Blakely (Canadian Operating Officer, Canada’s Building Trades Unions)
    • Christin Lanteigne (Manager, New Brunswick Employer Support Service, CCRW)
    • Krista Benes (Program Manager, Workplace Mental Health, MHCC)
    • Neil Belanger (Executive Director, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society, BCANDS)

    12:15 pm             The Honourable Patricia A. Hadju, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour

    12:30 pm             Lunch in the Atelier C & D

    1:15 pm               Breakout table discussions for a short term and national strategy and action steps

    2:00 pm               Bringing it all together – Michael Prince

    3:00 pm               Conference ends