Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Ministers Responsible for Social Services recognize the importance of access to disability supports as a key building block of the In Unison: A Canadian Approach to Disability Issues1 policy framework for the full citizenship of persons with disabilities. Disability supports consist of the aids, devices, programs and services that help people living with a disability actively participate at home, at work, at school and in the community.
Following the release of In Unison 2000, a report outlining joint progress on disability issues, FPT Ministers Responsible for Social Services instructed the FPT Working Group on Benefits and Services for Persons with Disabilities to explore reform options designed to increase Canadians' access to disability supports programs and services. Ministers reinforced the need to take a comprehensive approach to this assessment by looking at a range of possible measures, including both tax changes and investments in programs and services.
In 2002, the FPT Working Group on Benefits and Services for Persons with Disabilities assessed the feasibility of a tax-based approach to better recognize the added costs incurred by persons with disabilities in their day-to-day living. Since then, at the federal level, the list of disability-related eligible items under the medical expense tax credit was expanded. In 2004 a disability supports tax deduction for learning and employment was introduced. At the provincial/ territorial level, there have also been several positive reforms to programs and services to help persons with disabilities with active living.
One of the primary conclusions of exploratory work on the optimal way to increase access to disability supports was a requirement to better understand the levels of need, both met and unmet, for disability supports. In 2003, the FPT Working Group on Benefits and Services for Persons with Disabilities commissioned the Canadian Council on Social Development to provide a national picture of the availability of disability supports in Canada using data from the Participation and Activity Limitation Survey (PALS) 20012. The resulting report, entitled Supports and Services for Adults and Children (Age 5-14) with Disabilities in Canada: An Analysis of Data on Needs and Gaps, furthers knowledge in Canada on disability issues. The report is in two parts: one section covering seniors and adults and a second section covering children between the ages of five to fourteen to match the PALS survey groups.
This report responds to a request by Ministers and Deputy Ministers Responsible for Social Services for more information on whether persons with disabilities in Canada have adequate access to the supports and services they require for full inclusion. The types of supports examined include aids and devices, assistance with everyday tasks, supports within school, supports within the workplace, and household accommodations. The report provides a basic profile of those with requirements and unmet needs for disability supports.3
On a cautionary note, PALS does not capture the full range of supports and services needed for inclusive living. A high proportion of persons chose a generic "other" category to describe both the type of aids/devices required and the reason for not accessing them. This has an impact on the report's findings.4
The FPT Working Group on Benefits and Services for Persons with Disabilities sincerely thanks the Canadian Council on Social Development for its professional and dedicated assistance with this report. The data presented in the report make a significant contribution to policy work in support of persons with disabilities.