Backgrounder: Disability Inclusion Action Plan

The Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive for persons with disabilities. It is based on the understanding that disability inclusion benefits everyone.

Persons with disabilities contribute to every aspect of our society.  They contribute to the economy, culture and the core of the nation. The Government of Canada is taking action, in partnership with persons with disabilities, to promote inclusion and diversity in these spheres.

In today’s society, persons with disabilities still face many challenges and barriers, ranging from negative perceptions about what a person with a disability is able to do; to workplaces, buildings and work tools that are not accessible; to more systematic barriers, such as rules and practices that exclude and discriminate.

The DIAP aims to remove barriers and address these challenges. It adopts a human rights framework, based on the principles of equality, anti-discrimination, participation and inclusion, including in the development of the Government’s programs and policies.

The DIAP focuses on actions that lead the Government toward achieving the goal of having disability considered in the development, implementation and operations of all programs and services.

Specific actions are organized under four, mutually reinforcing, pillars:

• Pillar 1 – Financial Security: improving the immediate and long-term financial security of persons with disabilities, such as through the creation of a new Canada Disability Benefit. Its goal is to reduce poverty among persons with disabilities through the development of various measures that reduce financial exclusion and systemic inequities.
  
• Pillar 2 – Employment: emphasizes that employment is central to poverty eradication, reduction of inequalities, and social and civic engagement. The Employment Pillar takes a broad view of employment by exploring federal policy, program and service solutions. This pillar includes the Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities, which has three goals:

1. more persons with disabilities find and keep good quality jobs, advance in their careers, or become entrepreneurs
2. employers make workplaces more inclusive and accessible, and
3. increase the capacity of individuals and organizations that work to support disability inclusion and accessibility

• Pillar 3 – Accessible and Inclusive Communities: addressing the physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from fully participating in their communities and the economy. These include barriers in community buildings, public spaces and workplaces.
  
• Pillar 4 – A Modern Approach to Disability: addressing the challenges that persons with disabilities face in accessing federal programs and benefits, as well as ensuring the needs of persons with disabilities are reflected in government policies and programs.

The DIAP will evolve over time to respond to ongoing engagement with persons with disabilities and will reflect the realities of persons with disabilities in an ever-changing world.

Learn more about the Disability Action Plan and its key pillars, visit https://canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/disability-inclusion-action-plan-2.html