Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion 2026

Narrator:

Hello, everyone, and welcome. My name is Habon Ismael. I will not be on camera today, but happy to be here with you all. I will be introducing each segment for this event.

Thank you for joining us for this virtual event. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the fourth Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion, or CCDI.

Before we get started, I'll take a moment to walk you through our virtual platform, so you can make the most of your experience today.

CCDI is bilingual, and you can enjoy the event in the official language of your choice. Some speakers will present in French, and others in English.

To access interpretation, please click on the icon called Interpretation that looks like a globe, and choose the language that you would like to hear.

The interpretation icon also gives you the option to access interpretation in American Sign Language and Langue des signes québécoise, which is called French Sign Language on Zoom.

The event also offers Communication Access Realtime Translation, also known as CART. To access the captioning, please click on the link for English or French.

The links are in the chat and in the emails that were sent out in advance of the event. If you need help accessing services or have a technical problem, please type your questions in the chat.

Event organizers will help you find an appropriate solution. To ensure there are no interruptions, please disconnect from your virtual private network, or VPN.

Now, let's turn to the format of the Congress.

This year, CCDI will be a half-day webinar featuring an engaging panel discussion and a speaker series.

There will be a 15-minute health break right after the panel discussion. Please note that today's session will be recorded.

The full recording and transcript of today's event will be shared with all participants in the coming weeks.

After the Congress, we want to hear from you. A feedback form will be shared at the end of the event and we encourage you to complete it. Your input will help us understand what worked well and what could be improved for future CCDI events.

You can also use the form to suggest topics you'd like to see covered for the next CCDI.

With that, let's officially begin the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion 2026.

To begin our gathering in a respectful way, I am honoured to invite Elder Denise McCuaig to offer opening remarks and acknowledgement of the territories.

Elder Denise is Executive Director of Healthcare Transformation and Capacity Building at Healthcare Excellence Canada and a proud Métis woman whose work and personal experience reflect a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, and community-based care.

Elder Denise McCuaig: (speaking Indigenous language)

Good day. My name is Denise McCuaig, and my spirit name is Saskatoon Berry Woman.

It is my honour as a Métis elder, a citizen of Métis Nation of BC, to be asked to share a land acknowledgement with you to start your Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.

Although my teachings did not call them land acknowledgements, I had learned to follow protocol and always express my gratitude for being welcomed into the territory of other Indigenous peoples.

Since 2015, and the release of the Calls to Action for Truth and Reconciliation, I have been witness to many Canadians acknowledging the traditional territories where they gather, live, work, or play.

When this practice first started to gain momentum across Canada, I was worried it would become rote and lose its meaning and purpose, but I've come to appreciate that what I have instead experienced is that I no longer feel invisible.

Being Métis, I have often felt like I was being kept on the margins of society, that I was invisible.

I also live with an invisible disability. I think there may be others joining today who can relate to this feeling, but a Congress on Disability Inclusion also says, "We see you, and you belong."

As I share my land acknowledgement, I ask you to reflect on where you gather today or the place you call home.

If you're unsure, you can visit the website Native-Land.ca for assistance.

I'm honoured to join you today from the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc, colonially known as Kamloops, British Columbia.

I wish to acknowledge the many sacrifices the Secwépemc people in Secwépemc úlù have made that allows me to live, work, and play in such beautiful lands.

The Secwépemc úlù is the traditional territory of the Secwépemc Shuswap people; a vast 180 000-square-kilometre area in South-central British Columbia. I commit to using all of my abilities to contribute to the stewardship of these lands.

I hope that this commitment helps to preserve this area for many generations to come. Please accept my well wishes for a successful congress, and may each of you flourish in the territories you call home.

Narrator:

Thank you, Elder Denise, for sharing those meaningful words with us.

Narrator:

Now, I'm delighted to invite the honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario to begin our event with her opening remarks.

Please, join me in welcoming Minister Patty Hajdu.

Minister Patty Hajdu:

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the fourth annual Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion. I'm Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families, and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario.

It's great to be here with you all, as we kick off National Accessibility Week to celebrate what each of you have achieved to build an accessible Canada, where everyone can reach their full potential.

Ultimately, all your shared experiences, insights and advocacy have a transformative impact.

So thank you for all of the work that you do.

Because when we eliminate obstacles and open possibilities, everyone gains. Our communities become more inclusive, Canadians prosper and we are able to move towards a strong and solid Canada without obstacles.

However, we have more work to do. Among Canadians with disabilities age 15 to 64 who are not employed, over one million people could work if they could access a fully inclusive labour market.

And that is why, in the spirit of Nothing without us, the disability community guided us, as we created the Accessible Canada Act, the act that recognizes simple but powerful principles.

Persons with disabilities must always be involved in shaping the laws, policies and programs that affect their lives.

Since then, we've made progress to remove accessibility barriers, support the financial security of Canadians with disabilities, and make our workplaces and communities more inclusive.

We've launched Canada's first ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan to make Canada more inclusive.

2025 marks the third annual update of the plan. And we funded a hundred projects with the Opportunities Fund for Persons with Disabilities to help persons with disabilities advance their careers or become entrepreneurs.

We've also invested over 440 million in 8100 projects through the Enabling Accessibility Fund to help make our communities and our workplaces more accessible.

We've appointed Canada's first ever Chief Accessibility Officer, and we've welcomed three annual reports on accessibility in Canada.

That gives us insights into where the progress is being made and where more work is still needed.

We've also launched the Canada Disability Benefit to support the financial security of working-age, low-income persons with disabilities so they can plan, work, study and raise families.

And by the end of March, the benefit had increased the financial well-being of more than 280,000 persons with disabilities. And we also focused on helping persons with disabilities overcome barriers to employment.

It's why in 2024 we introduced the Employment Strategy for Canadians with disabilities with the vision of closing the employment gap between persons with and without disabilities by 2040.

As a part of the strategy's implementation, my department extended to March 31st, 2027, just over 100 projects from the Opportunities Fund.

We have come a long way to get there, since the Accessible Canada Act was passed, but we need to do more and that is why we are engaging with organizations on the forefront, like the Rick Hansen Foundation, the Canadian Council on Rehabilitation and Work, MS Canada, Easter Seals as well as the March of Dimes, and participating in the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

To build a stronger Canada and a more inclusive Canada for everyone, we must focus our efforts from one part of the other of the country and between sectors. And it is in events like this one today that the great ideas come forth, and it is these ideas that allow to guide our progress.

Happy National Accessibility Week to everyone. I wish you success today, and a great congress.

Narrator:

Thank you, Minister Hajdu.

Narrator:

We will now move to our next segment, a discussion exploring Indigenous perspectives on building a strong and accessible Canada.

I am pleased to welcome Marzieh Tafaghod, Executive Director of the Programs and Regulation Division at the Disability, Inclusion and Accessibility Branch, as well as Dr. Rheanna Robinson.

Dr. Rheanna Robinson is an Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation.

Her work, grounded in the relationships and values of reconciliation and decolonization focuses on Indigenous disability studies, Indigenous education, and community-based research.

Please join me in welcoming Marzieh Tafaghod and Dr. Rheanna Robinson.

Marzieh and Dr. Robinson, the floor is yours.

Marzieh Tafaghod:

Dr. Robinson, thank you for joining us at the fourth Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion, for generously sharing your time and your insight with us.

We have shared a few guiding questions in advance, as a starting point for reflection. I'll offer them one at a time, and invite you to respond in whatever way feels right for you.

But before doing that, why don't you introduce yourself to our participants?

Dr. Rheanna Robinson:

Thank you.

Thank you so much for having me today. My name is Rheanna Robinson, and I'm Métis, and a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. And I'm joining you today from my home on the territory of the Lheidli T'enneh peoples and the community of Prince George.

I am an associate professor in the Department of First Nations Studies at the University of Northern British Columbia. And my research is primarily focused on Indigenous peoples and disability.

One of the things I'd like to reflect on is what brought me into this place of pursuing study related to the experience Indigenous peoples had regarding disability.

When I was 19 years old, in 1997, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And although I didn't live with physical mobility challenges or limitations for the first 20 years of having MS, as my lens of disability has evolved, I really started realizing that there's this immense gap in scholarship, in research, and in literature that is really focusing on the experiences Indigenous peoples have had and are having, living with disability.

So I saw this area that really deserved further attention. And it was an exciting place for me to start to look at my disabling experience differently.

You know, I really did have some troubling and trying times, trying to manage some of my physical limitations.

And it was elders and other Indigenous community leaders that were encouraging me to start looking at my disability differently, and to start to understand how and why Indigenous peoples have reflected on disability much more... much more differently than what I believed I was enduring.

Marzieh Tafaghod:

When we talk about building a strong, accessible Canada, how does that idea resonate from Indigenous perspectives?

Dr. Rheanna Robinson:

Well, it's important to acknowledge the... the movements that have happened over the last several years regarding accessibility in the focus of federal responsibility and how that is impacting Indigenous peoples in their communities, but also in Canada entirely.

And, you know, at the federal level and also provincial levels, we've seen great strides in trying to ensure that there are physical and social barriers that are acknowledged and being removed through processes of standardization and different policies and practices.

But there is definitely some gaps and areas that exist alongside some of these efforts, because not always are these expectations aligned with the values and the worldviews of what accessibility means for Indigenous peoples and their communities.

Social and cultural realities really do lead to many experiences of exclusion.

And it's important that we take the time to understand how frameworks of accessibility need to be mindful of the experiences Indigenous peoples have undergone in this country, and where and how we can learn from their contemporary experiences, but also their traditional knowledges, as we try to ensure there's a more fair and equitable representation of what accessibility means and how it can benefit Indigenous peoples.

Marzieh Tafaghod:

From your perspective, what responsibilities or opportunities do you see for non-Indigenous leaders and institutions, if we're serious about building an accessible Canada that brings together disability inclusion, reconciliation, and sustainability?

Dr. Rheanna Robinson:

There is incredible opportunities for there to be more movement related to the experience of understanding Indigenous traditional perspectives and contemporary experiences regarding disability.

And I really do believe that that's a fundamental part of amassing a more comprehensive and meaningful engagement in moving to a truly accessible and barrier-free Canada.

You know, Indigenous traditional perspectives of disability are fundamentally contrary to western notions of... of what a meaningful bodily representation is to community.

And so, it's necessary that this is understood and acknowledged.

And, you know, I'm really, really grateful and fortunate that I've been able to conduct research with First Nations peoples and their communities to understand more about that and to really learn about how equity and inclusion are fundamentally part of Indigenous worldviews and laws and beliefs in supporting one another, and inherently ensuring that community knowledges and worldviews are being translated to the next generation.

So, we're in a time and a place where traditional Indigenous perspectives of disability have been impacted by colonialism, by ableism, and really needing to understand why that needs to be dismantled and really interrogated in a way to resolve some of those realities.

And this era of reconciliation is critical, because we need to honour the experiences Indigenous peoples have undergone through this process of colonization.

This includes the experience of residential schools, of institutionalization, and how those realities continue to have impacts on Indigenous peoples and their communities today.

Marzieh Tafaghod:

That's why it's so important to have scholars like yourself to be a part of this conversation at the Canadian Congress.

So, we really, really appreciate your generosity, insights and leadership. Your contributions help shape the conversations throughout this congress as we... as well as a week of NAAW.

Thank you to our, also, participants for being here and... and for their commitment to building a stronger, more accessible Canada.

And for some final words for you, Dr. Robinson?

Rheanna Robinson:

I really want to emphasize the reality of some of the individualistic notions that are often... often folded into... into realities of disability.

And, you know, Indigenous peoples really resist that, that framework, because it's so... it's so contrary to their longstanding relationships with one another, and within the community.

So, you know, the dominant models of disability, like the medical model of disability and the social model of disability that are predominantly used in Canada do not include values of Indigenous peoples and their knowledges and their traditions.

And I believe that this is an immense opportunity to reconsider how we could be offering a more inclusive, a more diverse and a more holistic representation of all of the peoples that continue to make important contributions to this country each and every single day, and where and how Indigenous perspectives of disability will continue to offer a really meaningful and important... important teachings as we move forward.

Marzieh Tafaghod:

Thank you again, Dr. Robinson. We're very grateful for your time and wisdom. I wish you and our participants a wonderful National Accessibility Week ahead.

Dr. Rheanna Robinson:

Thank you for having me.

Narrator:

Thank you, Dr. Robinson, for sharing your knowledge and experiences. Indigenous perspectives remind us that accessibility extends beyond policy; it is rooted in connection, community, and lived experience.

Narrator:

Up next, we will move into the panel discussion.

It is my pleasure to invite Leslie Church, Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour, for Seniors, and for Children and Youth, and to the Minister of Jobs and Families, for Persons with Disabilities, to offer some remarks to set the stage for our panel discussion.

Parliamentary Secretary Leslie Church:

Good afternoon, everyone. Bonjour à toutes et à tous.

My name is Leslie Church, and I'm the Parliamentary Secretary to the Secretaries of State for Labour, for Seniors, for Children and Youth, and to the Minister of Jobs and Families with a focus on persons with disabilities.

I'm also the proud Member of Parliament for Toronto-St. Paul's, here in Midtown Toronto, which is where you find me today.

I am very happy to be with you today for the fourth Congress on Disability Inclusion. And I'm especially pleased to help open today's panel discussion, Building Canada Strong Through Inclusion: Accessibility as a Nation Building Strategy.

This is such an important conversation, because when we talk about building a stronger Canada, accessibility cannot be treated as something separate from that work; it has to be at the heart of it.

The theme of this year's congress, Building a Strong, Accessible Canada, captures something very important: disability inclusion is not just the right thing to do; it is a nation-building strategy.

It's about the kind of country we want to build together: one where every person can participate fully; one where barriers are removed before they limit someone's potential; one where people with disabilities are not asked to fit into systems that were not designed for them, but where our systems, workplaces, communities, and services are designed with people in mind from the start.

Because a stronger Canada must be a more inclusive Canada; a Canada where everyone can participate, contribute, and succeed.

In the Spring Economic Update, the Prime Minister underscored that building a stronger Canada means unlocking the full potential of our workforce, strengthening productivity, and ensuring that economic growth is shared.

Disability inclusion and accessibility are fundamental to achieving that goal. When we remove barriers, we enable more people to contribute their ideas, talents, skills, leadership, and creativity to our economy and to our communities.

Accessibility is not a side consideration; it is a strategic investment in Canada's economic strength, our social cohesion, and our shared future. That is why this work matters so deeply.

Through the Accessible Canada Act, we have set an ambitious goal of a barrier-free Canada by 2040.

And through measures like the Canada Disability Benefit, the Enabling Accessibility Fund, and new accessibility requirements for digital technologies, we are continuing to move from commitment to action.

But we also know that the government cannot do this work alone. Progress happens when we listen to people with lived experience.

It happens when we work alongside persons with disabilities, Indigenous partners, community leaders, employers, advocates, service providers and accessibility experts.

And it happens when we take seriously the principle of "nothing without us."

That principle is not a slogan; it is a guide to how we do this work properly, because the people who experience barriers are the people best positioned to help remove them.

This is why the voices of people with disabilities must be at the heart of our decisions, our policies, and our actions. And that is why spaces like the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion are so important.

They bring people together not only to reflect on progress, but to challenge us, to push us, and to help shape what comes next.

Today's panel will help us do exactly that.

We're joined by an incredible group of leaders whose work reflects the diversity, creativity, and determination driving accessibility forward in Canada.

Each of them brings a different perspective on what it means to build accessibility into our policies, our workplaces, our public spaces, our transportation systems, our digital world, and our communities.

And guiding that conversation is Canada Accessibility Commissioner, Christopher Sutton.

This discussion is about turning vision into action. It's about how policy, community, leadership, innovation, and lived experience come together to make accessibility real in people's lives.

And it's also about reminding each of us that we have a role to play. Whether you are a policy-maker, an employer, a practitioner, an advocate, an ally, or someone joining with your own lived experience, you are part of this work.

Together, we can build a more inclusive and equitable country. Building a strong, accessible Canada means building a country that works better for everyone.

I am so grateful to everyone joining us today, and I am looking forward to a thoughtful and energizing conversation.

Thank you for being part of this year's Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion, and for helping us carry this work forward during National AccessAbility Week and beyond.

With that, I'm very pleased to turn things over to Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton. Chris, over to you.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you, Parliamentary Secretary Church, for those thoughtful opening remarks that help frame today's panel discussion.

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome. Thank you for joining us virtually today.

I'm pleased to see so many participants from so many places across this country coming together for this important conversation.

My name is Christopher Sutton, and I serve as Canada's Accessibility Commissioner.

For those who appreciate a visual description, I am a white male, wearing a navy suit, a white shirt, a navy tie, have brown hair, a short beard, and wearing glasses.

I always like to begin by acknowledging that we are meeting on traditional unceded territories of Indigenous peoples who have cared for these lands since the beginning of time.

We pay our respects to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities who continue to nurture these lands and its waters.

When we begin our discussions and meetings with this essential land acknowledgement, it helps remind us all that any conversation about accessibility in Canada must begin with awareness of the long-standing barriers to equity and equality facing Indigenous peoples.

Together, we must and can do better.

I'm grateful for your time and engagement, and I look forward to these discussions ahead today.

As Accessibility Commissioner, my role is not only to speak about accessibility in theory, but to pay attention to how it shows up in real life.

In my role, I'm responsible for leading the administration and enforcement of the Accessible Canada Act and its regulations, with a focus on identifying, preventing and removing barriers to accessibility.

I hear directly from people with disabilities about barriers they encounter in workplaces, public spaces, and systems that were never designed with them in mind.

Those experiences remind us that accessibility is not abstract, but practical, daily, and deeply consequential.

For me, building a strong Canada means focusing on full participation, by making sure people can contribute in ways that reflect who they are. Strength is measured not just by growth or innovation, but by systems designed to work for everyone.

Employment is one area where this really comes to focus. Barriers to work don't reflect a lack of talent or ambition; they reflect gaps in design, flexibility, and understanding.

Addressing those gaps strengthens organizations and open opportunities that benefit everyone.

This is why accessibility must be built into everything we do.

Accessibility is not a checklist. It's not a retrofit or something we add when someone asks.

Accessibility is not something we add at the end. It is built-in from the start. It is a mindset.

Accessibility advances most effectively when it's informed by lived experience and shared accountability.

The principle of "nothing without us" is not symbolic; it is a practical guide for better decisions and better outcomes, because we are the experts in our own lived experience.

The goal of a barrier-free Canada by 2040 gives us a direction of travel.

My focus is on what happens along the way, where the barriers are being identified, prevented and removed in meaningful, measurable ways, because each barrier changed changes someone's experience. And collectively, this is how we change systems and change lives.

By 2040, I want accessibility embedded in how Canada thinks, plans, and leads.

This means by removing... and moving beyond fixing barriers after the fact, and moving towards a culture of universal access and belonging across every sector in society.

That's why today's panel, Building Canada Strong Through Inclusion: Accessibility as a Nation Building Strategy, matters. It brings together different perspectives on what accessibility looks like in practice and how responsibility for progress is shared.

Before we begin our wonderful conversation this afternoon, I'd like to invite each panellist to take a moment to introduce themselves. Give us your name, and maybe a little, brief introduction to what you do or where you work.

I'll start with Eyra.

Eyra Abraham:

Hello. My name is Eyra Abraham. I started a company called Lisnen, which is designed to help people who are deaf and hard of hearing become aware of sounds that are calling for their immediate attention.

I started this company from my own lived experience, from somebody with a hearing loss since I was three years old.

In addition to my work at Lisnen, I am involved in a lot of work around standards development. Also, advocacy for disability inclusion and helping organizations implement disability inclusion in the workplace.

For a description, I'm a black woman, and I have straight hair. And I'm wearing a dark red colour today. So, thank you for having me here today.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Next, we have Gabi, who goes by Lil Gabi D.

Lil Gabi D:

Hi, everyone. Yes, I am Gabi, and I go by Lil Gabi D online. I am a content creator on most social platforms, so Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and I'm also a person with a disability.

So, a visual description of me. I am a little person, which means I have dwarfism. I am a black woman with curly short hair.

And I'm wearing a loosely patterned blue, navy, brown and beige t-shirt. I'm also an ambulatory wheelchair user, as I am recovering from a spinal cord injury.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you. Next, we have Dev.

Dev Maharaj:

My name is Dev Maharaj. I'm the Executive Director for Peel Career Assessment Services in Mississauga, Ontario. My work focuses on workforce development, newcomer integration, employment services and vocational assessment.

We look into building pathways towards employment and maintaining employment. And through our programs, we work closely with employers, job seekers, community organizations and government partners to reduce barriers and create workplaces where people can fully contribute their talents and potential.

Thank you very much. Looking forward to the conversation.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you. Next, we have Laurence.

Laurence Parent:

My name is Laurence. I am a white woman. I have brown hair. And I am also a little person. I use a wheelchair, and I participate in this panel from my house.

Since 2021, I've been a Borough Councillor on Plateau-Mont-Royal, in Montréal. So, I've been elected in 2021 and 2025.

And I'm also the VP of the Permanent Commission on Social Development and Montréal Diversity. I've been on the board of the Montréal Transportation Society from 2007 to 2025.

And before politics, I have a master's in Critical Disability Studies at York University, and then a PhD at Concordia on the Mobility of Handicapped Persons in Montréal. So, I'm very happy to be here with you.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Merci. And last but not least, we have Rabia.

Rabia Khedr:

My name is Rabia Khedr. I'm the National Director of Disability Without Poverty.

I'm also Founder and CEO of DEEN Support Services. DEEN stands for Disability Empowerment Equality Network, as an acronym, and also means faith in many eastern and southern languages.

We also, under DEEN, run the Race and Disability Canada project. My lived experience of being blind and growing up with siblings with disabilities contributes to my several decades of work in this space.

I have served as an Inaugural Board Member of Accessibility Standards Canada.

Also, recently, I also served on the Minister's Disability Advisory Group, and previously served as a commissioner with the Ontario Human Rights Commission.

And for many, many years, I chaired and served on the Accessibility Advisory Committee for my home, Mississauga, Ontario.

So, I'm very pleased to be a part of this esteemed panel, having this discussion today. And what I bring is really my lived experience as a Muslim, Punjabi, Pakistani, Canadian, woman, wife, mother, yada yada yada, and happen to be blind.

I pride myself on being a systems-change person, or a systems disruptor and social entrepreneur.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Well, thank you for that. And thank you, everyone, for that brief introduction.

And we're going to move on to our first round of questions, which we've tailored to each panel's expertise, professional experience, and lived experience. Each panellist will have about six minutes to respond.

First, we're going to go to Eyra.

As AI continues to reshape how Canadians work and access services, what emerging innovations have the greatest potential to advance digital inclusion in the areas like skills training, recruitment, and career growth?

And where do you still see important gaps when it comes to improving employment outcomes for persons with disabilities?

Eyra Abraham:

Yes. I do remember the early days, when I started my company, and getting involved in applying AI. Some of the early applications of AI were mainly focused on screening applications and resumes.

And a lot of... There was a lot of pushback in the early days, especially where there were biases within the AI tools. Because many people don't realize that data is one of the key components to building an AI system.

And some of that data was collected by using historic information. And that historic information had a lot of bias and exclusionary practices involving people with disabilities.

And so, as a result, we are starting... continuing to see that. But where I see an opportunity for AI, in particular today, is getting us away from the whole Industrial Revolution practices that we've been implementing, where we kind of have to look at things as the standard way of doing things and operating.

And AI can really dismantle that. And, for example, like, when you look at some of the career-building tools, or skill-building tools that are there, out there, using AI, some of them are really good at looking at an individual and giving them an opportunity to say, "Here's a knowledge gap that you might not be aware of, to help you in your job."

So, there are these AI tools that are able to assess the individual in terms of their skills and their competencies, and help them get to the next step, level, whether it's to improving their job or to help further them along in their career.

There are other AI tools that I've seen in career building, which is really important when it comes to mentorship. And a lot of us, when we go through a career, we want to be aligned with people who have done... experienced what we've gone through and have the skill set and knowledge to be able to guide us through the next step in our career.

And there are AI tools that can help you match, with your background and your knowledge, to individuals who may be available to help mentor you, develop your career journey.

And so, here is an opportunity for the individual who may be interested in capturing insights and experiences from others. They can use artificial intelligence to help them find that individual very quickly than before, especially if you don't have that network of access to that individual in your immediate connections or network.

And one thing I've noticed with AI today, when it comes to recruitment, is that it kind of, like, the pendulum is on the other way, because initially, a lot of companies thought... HR... like, especially with HR, for having the automation, and having the tools to be able to streamline and automate thousands of resumes and applications, and also realize that it kind of takes away from that human connection.

And so, a lot of the newer AI technologies are looking for ways of, "How do we bring that human touch into the conversation?" Because recruitment is a two-way street. Right?

It's not just about the individual who is an applicant, who might be applying. They're looking to see whether there's a good fit with that company. And also, for the organization, they are looking to see whether the individual is a good fit as well.

And so, if we automate too much and use new technology too much, you actually take away from that human interaction, instead of having these cookie-cutter outreach and outbound messages where everybody had the same response as they're going through the recruitment process.

So, AI has the potential to bring in some of that personalized opportunity for individuals who are applying, whether there's an accommodation that might be needed, whether it is something that they're looking forward to articulate or express themselves in a way that they can give value to their organization and express their value to the organization.

All of these tools that can kind of make that connection with AI.

I would say that we do have a long way, in terms of how being in... Sorry. We have a long way to be able to address some of the challenges with AI, and particularly when it comes to the data that is embedded into the system, and how we can work towards eliminating bias that might be in the data.

Especially when it comes to people with disability, we all have our nuances in terms of how we find opportunities in the workplace. And we have... maybe some of us may have gaps in our careers, that we haven't been working for medical reason.

And AI won't be able to understand those differences and those nuances that we may experience.

So, it's really critical that we are thinking about how to mitigate biases. And I think there are a lot of tools, like standards that can be applied, that we have here in Canada.

So, yeah. Thank you.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

That's an excellent start of our conversation. Like, in 2026, it's now impossible to not have a discussion about AI. So, thank you for bringing that perspective and some of those really critical points.

Next, I want to move on to Lil Gabi D.

Excuse me. Drawing from your lived experience and advocacy work, what is one shift in how communities support disabled youth, and how can that meaningfully shape Canada's civic and social future over the next decade?

Lil Gabi D:

Thank you so much for that question. I think that the best way we can support disabled youth is by teaching youth about disability. By doing this, we then normalize disability, so it's not a weird topic or a topic that kids aren't familiar with.

That way, we can avoid kids staring or using derogatory slurs that they're not aware of.

For example, I'm a little person, which also means I have dwarfism. Dwarfism is the medical term. And the phrase "midget" is considered a slur within our community.

And a lot of people are not familiar with that, from childhood all the way to adulthood. The term "midget" comes from what people would call little people back in history, when we were in freak shows and we were paraded around just because we were different.

So, that term today provides a lot of hurt for those with dwarfism. That is why we try to avoid it.

And by having disability studies within our school curriculums, things like that, kids will learn early on, so they can carry that in... carry that with them into adulthood.

Another thing about that is that by teaching kids about disabilities, they will also think about accessibility in the process. So, when they go to places, or when they grow up and start building buildings, if they choose to be carpenters, or creating documents in the corporate world, they can already have that accessibility mindset built in.

So, they can say, "Is this building I'm building accessible? Is this document I'm creating accessible?" By teaching them about this, they can create a world that we dream of today and that has accessibility already built in.

By teaching kids about disabilities, they can then become advocates themselves, whether they are disabled or not.

I know, as a person with a disability, I have to live my life as a 24-7 teacher, but hopefully, by implementing disability studies within school curriculums, that kids can learn from educated people about disabilities, so that people with disabilities don't have to educate everybody for their whole lives.

But that is something I think that would be a great benefit for disabled youth, is by teaching youth about disabilities.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

It's a really excellent point. And thank you for that. Disability studies, when we introduce this, we're actually able to change systems, to change mindsets, we change cultures, which is such a critical part of the work that we're all doing. So, thank you.

Next, Dev, I'd like to ask, what are practical strategies employers and businesses can adopt to better support persons with disabilities in finding work and accessing services and products?

And how can those efforts help build a stronger, more accessible Canada for everyone?

Dev Maharaj:

We can look at it in a number of ways. When we think about building a stronger Canada, we have to look at it from the perspective of producing something.

And if we are able to tap on the resources of our community, and really use those talents, we'll be able to have a bigger pool of people that can actually contribute to our economy.

And when we look at it from the perspective of... from an employer... An employer looks at his business in dollars and cents. How do we create a strategy so that employers can see that a talented person, even though there is a disability, can contribute to their economic bottom line?

So, we look at inclusion by design, and not inclusion after the fact. So, inclusion after the fact would be, "Okay, now, we realize that we need to accommodate." But if the understanding with employers about that talent and the benefits of that talent, and they're able to create a platform for that talent to really succeed from the beginning, it's a great strategic way for employers to actually impact the community.

Another one is to really focus on skills and potential. So, there's a hidden human resource in a client group that may have a disability. And if we're able, as employers... if they're able to tap on that resource, they're able to now hire from another group of people that are looking for work, that can contribute to their work.

I think it was... Miss Abraham talked about accessibility and technology. There are lots of adaptive tools these days that employers can use. And I think it's readily available.

If we look 10 years ago... The change of technology has grown in terms of our ability to have information. Today, we can translate... When Laurence speaks in French, we can hear it in English.

So, there are so many technologies that we can use, and if implemented properly, from an employment perspective, contribute to the bottom line again with the companies.

Accessibility should not be compliance. It is a strategy, and it strengthens the workforce. It strengthens participation. It creates a platform for innovation and productivity.

And it's a way to have resilience in the community. And, I think, if employers are able to really embrace it; not as a requirement from the AODA perspective or legislature, but as a way to embrace talent and look at this particular piece as a talent opportunity, I think it's a great way, strategically, for us to move forward.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you for those points, Dev.

And I really think, when we look at individuals with disabilities, they really are excited, and they want to be a part of the workforce, but we often just have so many barriers to be able to access the workforce because of the systems. It's not the lack of ambition or talent.

Next, I want to move on to Laurence and ask,

based on your leadership in municipal governance, transit governance, how can cities leverage accessible transportation and civic infrastructure to build a strong and inclusive Canada?

Laurence Parent:

Thank you very much for this question. I think that transportation and infrastructure, public infrastructure, are at the height of the city.

Everybody living in the city will need to, at some point, use transportation. Or they will need to access public services, such as the pool, the library, the park, and these things are really at the heart of civic life.

Some access difficulties are not widely publicized, but are quite important. And sometimes, we don't really think about them because the consequences have been there for a very long time, and thus, they have become quite invisible.

For example, health impacts, loss of opportunities, social isolation. And all of these can be impactful on the person that is affected, but also their whole family and circle of friends and social contacts.

We should also think about things like global warming. We can see that we are not ready for this. We don't have accessibility. And we are going to have problems very soon in... often, in emergency contexts, we don't have sign language interpreting.

The press conference or information session, if we have a power outage, we could be out of access. The community centre could be non-accessible. And so, I think that it's really important to have structures that allow people to face various crises and emergencies.

Unfortunately, there are also various inequalities that persist. No matter your level of revenue, I think that public transportation should be accessible for everybody.

And this is also the right thing to do for the environment. We also have meeting spaces. For cities, it's really important to have public infrastructures that are accessible and transportation that is accessible, because this is where people meet.

When I did my PhD research in 2015, so a bit over 10 years ago, the metro in Montréal was not accessible. And I have met people who never had the chance to take public transportation, bus or metro. And they told me how excluded they felt, because they did not have interactions with people in these spaces.

So, imagine how privileged we are... ... to be able to have conversations, to be able to have this social space, to see other people and to be seen. I think that for social cohesion, it is something that is vital. And another benefit is the economic benefit.

Unfortunately, we don't have many studies in Montréal, in any case, to have accessible public transportation systems and accessible public infrastructure, but we do have studies on the benefit of special transportation.

And this really has a benefit for society in general, even if it is more expensive, especially if it's a door-to-door service. We can really imagine that it can be very beneficial.

Unfortunately, these benefits are not often quantified, so we tend to see them rather as an expense, instead of an investment. However, we would be able to enable employment and social participation of so many people if you allow them to be mobile, to use transportation and to use public services to be able to participate in the local economy, to get jobs, to interact, and to just build a better society together.

So, there are so many factors that can explain why accessible infrastructures are so beneficial for cities.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Yes. Accessibility is critical infrastructure. And this is really great stuff that you've been sharing with us. I want to move on to Rabia right now.

And as Canada looks to its future, what role does collaboration and partnerships between the disability community, governments and the private sector play in building a stronger and more inclusive country?

Rabia Khedr:

Wow, that's a big question. Thank you very much for that.

Oftentimes, when we look at nation building, we look at our future and we talk about the future, we really plan with ableism in mind and often forget people with disabilities.

We often, you know, again, give an afterthought to accessibility and inclusion. So, it's really, really important that when we begin thinking about Canada's future, that people with disabilities are an integral part of that conversation, alongside the public and private sector, and reflected within the public and private sector fairly and equitably in the dialogue, in the conversation, in terms of building Canada strong, building up Canada.

People with disabilities are historically disadvantaged, left behind. In fact, everything about us has been without us.

We, in Canada, do have the Accessible Canada Act. We have our obligations under the Convention of the Rights of People with Disabilities that we've ratified internationally. We have Human Rights traditions. We have provincial legislations.

So, we have made some tremendous legislative strides in entrenching rights. Disability justice is really, really important to those of us with lived experience. With the advancement of rights comes the responsibility of ensuring those rights, justly.

And therefore, we have to be involved in all aspects of that.

We've already talked about, you know, people in the workplace. We've talked about transportation. You know, we've talked about people with disabilities, and, you know, awareness among youth. We've talked about technology.

All of this impact all of us, with and without disabilities. And in order to ensure that we truly do advance, technology aligned with that user experience of people with disabilities, then, you know, when we incorporate that from the design, we ensure accessibility for everybody.

When we make transportation and transit accessible at a city level and make sure that we address jurisdictional barriers from the city to the province to the country, because, you know, in this massive country from sea to sea to sea, we have various modes of travel and transportation that must be accessible to all Canadians, including Canadians with disabilities.

By plane, train, boat or bus, it must all be seamless. The journey should be accessible for all of us, because we have mobility rights under the Charter in this country, and having jurisdictional barriers then undermines those rights that we have and violate disability justice.

So, in that spirit, really, the only way we can build an inclusive, accessible and just society, is when we centre lived experience. Of many of us around this table and the 27% of Canadians that identify living with a disability, people with disabilities do not want to be left behind.

People with disabilities want to fully contribute. People with disabilities want to be productive and earning and paying taxes and receiving the services that they need to thrive.

And a part of that journey is also, you know, the idea of financial security, the idea of ensuring that we design policies and procedures that include people with disabilities; looking at, you know, administrative barriers and removing those barriers so people with disabilities can fully participate; looking at, again, people with disabilities not just as disabled people, but understanding the social inequities that they might face, given their race, their gender, their faith, their... their orientation, etc., etc.

It's important that, you know, governments have the political will, private sector feel the responsibility, and people with disabilities and society at large also not only respect the rights, but take responsibility to ensure them.

We cannot handle that burden alone; we need everybody on this path toward inclusion, toward ensuring a strong Canada built up for all of us. Nothing about us without us.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you, Rabia. And 27% is no small number at all.

So, we're going to now move on to our next round of questions. We're going to do something a little bit different here. For this portion, each panellist will choose one of the two following questions to respond to, and you'll have approximately three minutes to answer each.

The first question we have is, looking ahead to the next decade, what concrete action or change do you believe would make the biggest difference in ensuring all Canadians can fully participate in our economic and civil life?

And the second question we have is, how can emerging technologies help boost productivity by also making accessibility a core part of building a stronger and more inclusive Canada?

So, I'm going to... I think I'm going to go back to Eyra. And let's see which question you take.

Eyra Abraham:

Yeah. So, I'll definitely take question number 2. And it's interesting, how a lot of people think that accessibility and productivity are mutually exclusive.

And I personally don't agree with that, because I think that the reason why we have technology is to make things easier and more effective than before. And it doesn't matter who's the human behind that is using the technology.

So, technology should always be accessible from the very beginning. And I think that the reason why is because we are at a stage where there are many technologies.

We've been through it with the hardware, whether with our TV, our mobile phones, the internet and software, and now AI, where there can be a lot of... exclusion of people with disabilities, and these technologies don't work.

It's because they never really brought people from the very beginning. We've been hearing this said many times since we've been talking here.

And I think that there needs to be more incentives for developers to learn that the impact of having people with disability at the start is very beneficial.

And here's what I mean, it's that I noticed that as individuals with disability, we have been in service of our society in a positive way. If you want to look at examples of the curb cut, in ways that what initially was for people who had wheelchair now benefit people who, whether they're holding their luggage and wheeling it down the street, or even for somebody who is pushing a stroller.

All of these things show how us, individuals with disability, have been very instrumental in our society. So, if we can start to think about how we can build technology with people from the start, so that enable productivity from the beginning, I think that's going to be really powerful.

And the way that I think it can be done is... I'm looking at bad practices that I'm seeing in other areas, like in the retail industry... Sorry, no. And I'm looking at it in other areas, for example, in real estate. And in real estate, you'll see that the developers have an obligation to build a certain amount of affordable housing as they're building for the mainstream.

If we can adopt that incentive and allow for developers, and tech developers in particular, to help and create the inclusivity of people with disability from the start as they are building the technology, I think we can move... go further ahead.

And we've seen that really work well as we see with AI, speech-to-text applications, which really started initially for people who have some limited mobility. Now, it has become mainstream for people who are deaf and also for other people who have no disability who are using closed captions and or, like Dev mentioned earlier, about language-translation applications.

So, there are so many opportunities where we can bring people with disability from the start and really have the productivity ingrained and benefiting other people as well.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you for that. Lil Gabi D, which question are you going to take?

Lil Gabi D:

I will take question 2, please, about the technology as well. I'm going to kind of build off of what Eyra said about AI.

AI, I find, depending on who you talk to, there can be a positive response or a negative response. And I'm somewhere in the middle. But I find that... I was talking to a friend, and they were actually telling me the positives of AI for people with disabilities.

So, it could be for speech-to-text, or those who are blind or low vision, helping them kind of identify things, or just sending a text. You know, some people find the negative sides, but there are a lot of positive sides that help people with disabilities.

However, I do think there are those negatives when it comes to AIs, when it comes to replicating our likenesses; especially when it comes to... if people want to use advertising and want to have people with disabilities in their advertising, they might use AI to create that instead of hiring a disabled actor or somebody with the appropriate body type that they want.

So, though AI can help boost and help improve productivity for people with disabilities, I think we do have to be careful where and when we use it. We can use it in a positive aspect and we can use it in a negative aspect, but we just need to be aware, and have... the government maybe, as well... limit what it can be used for and when it is appropriate to use that type of technology.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Okay. So, we have two people that have chosen question number 2. We're going to go over to Dev and see which question you choose today.

Dev Maharaj:

I'm going to touch on the other one, just to make it even. So... One of the most important actions we can take over the next decade is to normalize accessibility as a standard part of how we design education, employment, public services, and community life.

Accessibility should not be viewed as a specialized initiative. It should become part of the mainstream planning, policy, leadership, and public awareness. If we look at countries like Japan, for example, their traffic lights would have little buttons on the floor; once you feel them, you'll know that... for somebody who is visually impaired, they know where to go.

Most of ours, we're still developing those things, but it's a standard in Japan. And they also have, for when you're crossing the road, the lights that would blink and also let you know, a certain sound, that you can cross; a certain sound when you need to stop.

These are small things that can improve the ability for somebody to get to work. So, when we look at building infrastructure towards employment; if the person is taking the bus, so they have to use public transport, these are possibilities that we can use.

So... Meaningful impact for change and strengthening some sort of transition pathway, or creating a pathway between education, training, employment, and working with persons with disabilities and employers to remove certain stigmas or fear. And that's an important piece.

Employers may see... engaging with persons with disabilities, because they're not sure how to deal with it. And this is where education would come in. And this is an important piece where educating employers or the new generation, or making it part of the curriculum in schools and higher education, could create the pathway for the new employers, as they come up, to be part of the solution.

Canada is facing shortages in... in human resources, and we should be able to tap on this ready human resource, and also have the infrastructure needed to support them as we move into the next decades. Thank you.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you.

I want to follow up with this question and building on that. If you had to prioritize one change that would most improve employment outcomes for people with disabilities, what would it be and why?

Dev Maharaj:

We need employers to move from viewing disability inclusion as an accommodation issue to viewing it as a workforce leadership strategy. So, the importance here is that we have to see that this talent pool is an asset.

And how do we create pathways for this asset? Organizations that embrace accessibility can attract broader talent pools, improve innovation, strengthen employee culture, and better reflect the community that we serve; both in the government sector as well as in the public sector.

And to Lil Gabi D, when you mentioned about technology, we also have to look at creating spaces where the public does not feel afraid to engage with people who may have a disability. They may be able to treat people with disabilities as just another person. And if they're able to do it, it becomes natural to work with somebody with a disability.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you. And now, we have... I don't want to make this like a game today, but now, we have... see if we're going to have tiebreaker right now. Laurence, which question are you going to take?

Laurence Parent:

I will also answer the first question. So I will break the tie, in this hockey playoff season. I think that one of the truly concrete steps we can take is to make massive investments in our transportation and public infrastructure, because there is still a great deal to be done in Canada. And... (no audio)

Unfortunately, there are only 30 out of 68 metro stations that are accessible in Montréal. That's less than half of the public transit. And unfortunately, we didn't have any new financing to make the Montréal metro more accessible in the last few years.

So, inevitably, in the next few years, there won't be any of the existing stations that will be made accessible in Montréal. So, we had started very well, and it all stopped. I don't know the situation in other cities in Canada, but I know that accessible transportation is not a given in the country.

So, to invest in that is absolutely essential.

Another concrete measure is, and this is quite general, but the implementation of the Canadian Accessibility Act. And then, of course, ensuring that it sets an example for all provinces and territories.

We must make a real effort to eliminate inequalities between the provinces and territories, because ultimately, it is the same country; it is all one country. I also think that there is a lot of talk about accessibility, but within accessibility, that also encompasses personal support and assistance, hence the importance for in-home support; to live with dignity at home if one wishes, but also outside the home.

This could be someone who needs help going grocery shopping or visiting a loved one. So, in my view, investing in public transit, public infrastructure, ensuring that our legislative tools are implemented across different jurisdictions, and personal support and assistance; these are truly three concrete measures that could really make a big difference.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you. And now, we have a tie. So, Rabia, we're putting you in the hot seat here. Which question are you going to take today?

Rabia Khedr:

I think I'm just going to attack all of it, Chris. How do you feel about that?

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

We have three minutes. Try it.

Rabia Khedr:

OK. All right. So... You know, everybody has touched on bits and pieces of what makes Canada accessible, and we already have those legislative tools, and we're working out those standards.

There's a road map to 2040. You know, 2040 is 14 years away. We need to accelerate that. We need to build Canada accessible and strong today, so nobody is left behind.

In fact, we need to engage people with disabilities right from the get-go in all aspects of that space. You know, I've always said that we created those tools, but we've often created opportunities for able-bodied academics, consultants, etc., to benefit from the... you know, from the letter of the law, and we've missed the intent of the law to really improve quality of life of people with disabilities and help them thrive and be included in all aspects of society.

So, we really need to reimagine, we need to dream, we need to take risks, we need to think out of the box and design with inclusion as the destination, not the dream.

So, if we apply universal principles to transportation infrastructure, to housing infrastructure, to technology infrastructure, to, you know, the way we move forward in policy work, if we do that from the start, then we ensure accessibility and we significantly reduce the need for accommodation.

So, for example, you know, we have... we're a bilingual society. We also, you know, respect heritage languages. ASL, LSQ, International Sign should be a part of the learning journey of encouraging communication, so that people can communicate regardless of communication barriers, at the bare minimum, directly.

Technology is a great tool, but we have to ensure that within technology, those algorithms don't have biases. And the only way we ensure that they don't have biases is when we make sure that people with disabilities are a part of the entire process of... of creating, developing and implementing AI tools, and not an afterthought; not just considered the end user or beneficiary.

When it comes to employment opportunities, you know, for decades we've invested in employment and made the business case for hiring people with disabilities. You know, people with disabilities are an untapped pool. They are loyal. You know, they... Employee retention is super high. Yada yada yada.

We've made all those arguments for employers whose only primary concern is the bottom line based on productivity. Well, we need to think out of the box. You know? Yes, accommodation cost very little to get an employee with disabilities fully working and contributing in a workplace.

But, you know what? In my experience, my personal experience, I have found that I can accommodate myself best when I am in charge, when I am the boss. So, you know, I might be a social entrepreneur, I've set up charities. But, you know, people can set up businesses for themselves and work for themselves and hire others.

So, you know, I value the fact that in the spaces that I work in where I am the leader, I have the capacity to ensure a culture of inclusion from the get-go, where accommodation requests are not a process, but just a casual conversation, and we make things that are reasonable happen.

So, it's really about that culture change. And culture change can only happen when we include diverse people with disabilities. That... Disability-related needs are not cookie cutter. We are not all the same.

I have an eye condition, and I identify myself as blind. My sister, who is 11 years younger, chose a very different path of career, has the same eye condition. Her, you know, sort of milestones of loss of vision are different than mine, her needs are different than mine.

She's at a different stage of life than me. Even though we share the gene of vision loss, we are unique people with unique needs. So, that needs to be reflected. That needs to be taken into consideration. And Canada, we need to dare to dream and make that dream a reality when it comes to inclusion.

It is entirely possible when we centre lived experience from the ground up to make good social policy in this country and good decisions that include everyone.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you, Rabia. And that was a beautiful, beautiful end to the second segment of our questions today. This has been a really, really, really great panel. I'm really enjoying our conversations and getting to know a bit more of each of you.

To conclude our discussion today, we have one final forward-looking... forward-looking question. Each panellist is going to have three minutes to respond, and I'm going to mix things up right now.

I'm not going to... I'm going to ask Dev. This afternoon, my final question is, budget 2025 speaks about building a more self-sufficient, innovative and productive Canada.

When you think about the future, what does a strong Canada mean to you, and how does embedding accessibility into our civic, economic, and social systems help shape the kind of country we want to become by 2040?

Dev, I'm going to start with you.

Dev Maharaj:

Accessibility is not only about removing barriers; it is about unlocking Canada's full potential. We have to look at words like belonging, equity, opportunity, inclusion. How effectively we remove barriers to participation in... in the common access of information, work, services, will determine how successful we are in 2040.

And this starts with breaking the barriers and ensuring that we remove that stigma of... Disabilities in terms of the community; letting everybody understand that a person with disability can contribute. They are our friends, they are our neighbours. And how do we get everybody involved? And, I think, if we're able to do that, that sort of awareness will allow us to grow even faster.

As Rabia pointed out, we need to move quicker on this. And, I think, this piece of awareness would help us by 2040.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you for that.

Lil Gabi D, as I said, budget 2025 speaks about building a more self-sufficient, innovative, and productive Canada. When you think about the future, what does a strong Canada mean to you?

Lil Gabi D:

A strong Canada should be a country that emphasizes diversity, equity and inclusion. So, by 2040, everywhere, every public place should be accessible. That means if I want to get by walking, by using a cane, by using a wheelchair, I should have that ability to enter a space.

Every document should be accessible. If I'm deaf, if I'm blind, if I'm neurodivergent, I should be able to have a document and understand it in the way that works best for me.

As well as everyone should be considered equal for a job. If I have the qualifications for a job, no matter what my disability is, I should be treated just as equally, or just as equal, as somebody who is non-disabled. If we are both going for the same job, I expect that we compete at an equal level.

If accessibility is embedded in 2040, it would give people with disabilities the same freedoms as everybody else.

So, that means job opportunities, as I mentioned before, being able to enter spaces. Laurence has spoken about transit. Being able to travel, get on a plane, get on a train, get on a bus, and not have to worry about, "Can I... Will I be able to get off at my destination? Will I be able to get off gently, successfully, without having to have that worry?"

A strong Canada, to me, means being able to drop all my worries and just be a person with a disability and just be able to go through my country and just be.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you. Rabia, what does a strong Canada mean to you?

Rabia Khedr:

Wow. What does a strong Canada mean to me?

Definitely means, by 2040, that we have hit every goal that we had around accessibility and exceeded it. So, a strong Canada, to me, means Canada leads the conversation around accessibility and inclusion; that Canada and Canadians understand that diversity is definitely our strength; we have embedded principles of equity into everything we do; and we are indeed an inclusive society, and that includes accessibility.

Because a lot of times, the work that we do around diversity and equity, and we call it inclusion, leaves accessibility behind. So, it's all inclusive and intersecting. It's not just way out there, done it, in silos work.

We are the gold standard of accessibility around the world. And, you know, we are the true champions globally of people with disabilities and disability justice. So, wherever, you know... These are tough times. We're living through very tough times, where there is mass disablement happening around the world.

In 2040, I hope that Canada is the leading voice to... that says, "Hey, wait, stop. We're not going to cause more disablement in the world, and we're not going to stand for it," that people with disabilities have the right to full participation, have the right to justice and to live with dignity.

So, my dream is that as we age, we realize that everybody needs accessibility, and that we have shifted attitudes about it, so it's truly happening in real time today, because we will all need it tomorrow.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Thank you, Rabia.

Laurence, budget 2025 speaks about building a more self-sufficient, innovative, and productive Canada. When you think about the future, what does a strong Canada mean to you?

Laurence Parent:

For me, it is a Canada that leaves no one behind. It is a Canada where rights are respected, regardless of the province or territory, whether you live in a big city or in a rural area. It's a country that has succeeded in eradicating poverty, so there is no longer any poverty or outrageous inequality.

It is also a country, as Rabia mentioned earlier, that can truly be proud of itself on the international stage, and which, I dare say, stands out clearly from our southern neighbours. There has been a lot of talk about this lately.

We're all well aware of our southern neighbours' shortcomings. But we have to admit that in many aspects of accessibility, they are doing quite well. So, I hope that by 2040, we can, in Canada, be proud, and that we won't have to be ashamed when we look at certain aspects of accessibility south of the border and see that in Canada, we've managed to be just as accessible, or even more so.

And I think that if we achieve that, we'll truly be very proud, because there are already several aspects of our country that already stand out. But if we can do it when it comes to accessibility, I think that we will really, really stand out.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Merci. And Eyra, last but not least.

Budget 2025 speaks about building a more self-sufficient, innovative, and productive Canada. When you think about the future, what does a strong Canada mean to you? And how does embedding accessibility into our civic, economic, and social systems help shape the kind of country we want to become by 2040?

Eyra Abraham:

Yeah. I agree with everything that everybody has mentioned. One of the things a strong Canada means to me is Canada deciding what its values are. If our values are about fairness, inclusion, equity, then we make decisions that are in alignment with our values.

A strong Canada also means, when you look at the 2025 budget, where we're putting investment into different sectors, whether it's mining, clean technology, defence, even AI, that there are opportunities with disability to tap in... into that workforce along the... anywhere along the supply chain. This is what we want.

A strong Canada is all about minimizing the inequalities that exist in our society. And we can do that if we're very intentional about aligning with our values. Thank you.

Accessibility Commissioner Christopher Sutton:

Wow. This has been really, really, really a wonderful conversation this afternoon. And it's hard to believe that we're at the end of this conversation.

So, thank you all so much for such a thoughtful, inspiring discussion. What we heard today really reinforces that a strong Canada is an accessible Canada. These reflections enforce how a strong Canada is an accessible Canada; one that centres inclusion, participation, and equity in every aspect of society.

Together, they highlight the need to approach emerging technologies like AI with care and accountability, foster a greater awareness in disability inclusion among future generations, and ensure accessibility is embedded by design, rather than treated as an afterthought.

We've heard from you all today that we also emphasize that accessible transportation is essential to social connection and community well-being. Meaningful progress depends on embracing the principle of "nothing without us," by actively including people with disabilities in the development of policies, programs, and solutions that impact all of our lives.

As the Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion launches National AccessAbility Week, both share the same theme to support a unified Canada-wide conversation on accessibility and inclusion. As we wrap up this panel discussion, what's clear is that work doesn't end here.

Across government, industry, communities, and workplaces, the responsibility now is to turn these conversations into lasting action. Building a strong, accessible Canada means investing in infrastructure, in technology, and in ways that fully include people with disabilities, making accessibility a natural part of how we innovate and build our country together.

Let's continue building a Canada where every voice counts, where every space is open, and where no one is excluded. Accessibility is about dignity, equity, belonging, and full participation is a commitment that no one is left behind, that everyone has access, and that everyone has the opportunity to thrive.

Removing barriers and ensuring equal participation is a shared responsibility. To get there, we need all of us, government, civil society, the private sector, and communities to work together. Achieving this requires a meaningful engagement with the disability community.

Every voice matters. We all have different experiences, and understanding that many perspectives help us to create better solutions. When people with disabilities lead the way, we build a stronger, more inclusive Canada.

To our panellists, Eyra, Lil Gabi D, Dev, Laurence and Rabia, thank you for your leadership, your honesty, your vision, and standing for us as we work towards building a truly inclusive, accessible country.

And to everyone joining us here today at CCDI, thank you for your commitment to building a strong, accessible, and inclusive Canada. As Canada's Accessibility Commissioner, I'm committed to travelling this road together until accessibility is simply the norm. Let's build an inclusive, barrier-free Canada together.

Thank you. Merci.

Narrator:

Thank you very much, Commissioner Sutton, and everybody for these thoughtful discussions.

Narrator:

We will now move into our next segment, a speaker series titled: Empowering voices, transformative action.

This series features short videos designed to inspire learning and spark action by showcasing accessibility in practice. Each speaker shares concrete ideas, initiatives and best practices that are helping drive meaningful change.

Our first speaker, Woody Belfort... ... is the first one to compete... a professional bodybuilder who competed in the world's largest competition for wheelchair athletes.

["The Steve Harvey Show" playing in the background]

- What type of training do you do?

- Basically, what I do is anything bodyweight workout. Like, I do push-ups, sit-ups, chin-ups...

- Yeah, man. You're in great shape, man! I was just looking that...

- I mean, I'm alright. (applause) I mean, I'm alright, I'm alright.

Woody Belfort:

I'm in front of you right now because we came out. I came out of my house. And the reason I did leave my house is because I went out the window.

And thanks to social media, I built a great community that witness my antics, whether it's me rock-climbing with my wheelchair, or calisthenics, or anything that seems spectacular. So I can really do some grandiose things with my wheelchair in Canada and that's a privilege, but it started because I had to adapt to a lot of things.

And if the whole world was accessible to everyone, I'd just be one more person leaving home to get a coffee.

But since that's not my reality today, the fact that I'm leaving my house might seem inspiring, it might seem like a big deal, when all I wanna do is buy myself a coffee for $2.50. The fact that I'm well known today shows that my way of adapting is really outside the norm, outside of what's expected of someone who wants to live a normal life, and it shouldn't be.

It really shouldn't. It's a privilege to be lying down right now. But would I be able to keep living this lifestyle in five years or in ten years? If the answer is yes, are there other people in a similar situation who are able to do what I do to live a more or less normal life?

I don't think so.

Universal accessibility can be as simple as having a button to open doors. Having a slightly wider parking space so that a wheelchair, or a walker, or other equipment could fit into a car.

Universal accessibility, honestly, is not only for people in wheelchairs, it could be a family with a stroller, or an older person, somebody who just broke their legs and needs crutches.

For me, I'm often asked... You know, we're not used to see people in wheelchairs, but it's not because you don't see them that they don't exist. We are in minority in society, but it's a strength that we are in minority. And there are many people who could find themselves in this situation at any point in their lives.

So if you don't see us, it doesn't mean that we don't exist and it doesn't mean that you can't end up in this situation one day, because 100% of the people out there can become disabled.

So prevention is better than cure. We need a world that is adapted to all situations because accessibility should be a right, not something extraordinary.

Narrator: Thank you very much, Woody, for this inspiring speech.

Narrator:

Our next speaker Syrus Marcus Ware, is a Vanier scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator whose interdisciplinary work engages social justice, activism and cultural expression. He has exhibited and performed at major art galleries and festivals across Canada and is the co-editor of the bestselling Until we are free: Reflections on Black Lives Matter in Canada.

Syrus Marcus Ware:

My favourite character on my family's favourite TV show, Star Trek Next Generation, was Geordi La Forge, a black engineer who somehow managed to save the world every single week.

He was blind. He was someone who was blind. And without really realizing why, he became a possibility model for me. I watched that show weekly with my parents, and every week, Geordi La Forge would help Captain Picard and everybody else to somehow solve a mystery or solve something.

What Geordi La Forge became for me was a reality of something that I hope is a basic truth: there are disabled people in the future. We make it. We survive just like everybody else and we get to a future where there are people who are disabled, people who are blind, people who are mad, people who are deaf.

We all get to survive.

My parents loved speculative fiction. They loved science fiction. We had Isaac Asimov books on every coffee table. When I got to be in my twenties, I started reading Octavia Butler and reading stories like Parable of the Sower that had disabled characters leading the way and making sure that we survived.

Speculative fiction, to me, is so important as an activist because it does what Walidah Imarisha suggests: it dares to dream that another world is possible.

By diving into speculative fiction, and science fiction, and climate fiction, we get to practise the future as Adrienne Maree Brown suggests, we get to, really get to picture what the future might look like, how it might feel, what it might taste like and how we might spend our time together.

I've been really interested in this question: what might it take to create a disabled future in Canada? And I think it begins with telling stories.

The more that we tell stories about futures where we make it, the more that we start to pave the world where this becomes a reality. So I've been really interested in storytelling as a way to ensure that we all make it towards freedom.

I started a project called No Future, No Cry in 2023, where I invited a bunch of artists and a bunch of activists to tell stories about the future. I was interested in what artists like disabled amputee Yousef Kadoura wanted to tell us about the next 100 years.

I was curious what Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, a disabled artist and writer, wanted to let us know about what was coming. And so I invited them to write stories, short stories, short stories about the future and they all did.

We created a podcast series where you could listen to these different stories and followed up with an interview as well that I did with the artists, asking them about how they had come up with their process.

No Future, No Cry was a beautiful project that had a lot of different disabled, deaf and mad artists dreaming into different possibilities.

One of the stories is called There are disabled people in the future, by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, and it tells a story through journal entries about a world where we're surviving perhaps in difficult terrain, but we're surviving, and we're surviving together.

So storytelling has always been a powerful way for us to realize that the future is possible. Adrienne Maree Brown suggests that storytelling about the future is a way for us to practise the future together. We get to live the future just through the stories that we tell to each other.

And so for this reason, I've been doing this a lot when I give talks. I've been inviting people to tell stories to the person sitting next to them about their ideal, perfect Saturday in 2030 or 2035. Just really root into what that day might look like, your ideal day of leisure.

You know? How are you spending your time? Who are you with? What are you eating? What does it smell like? How are you feeling in your body? What does it look like outside? And to really start to articulate what that ideal future day looks like.

I know for myself I'd be lying in the grass somewhere with friends listening to music, and the air would be sweeter and cleaner, you'd be able to drink water from the rivers, there'd be a lot of things that I'm dreaming into and I'd be surrounded by disabled, deaf and mad kin because we would have made it.

Whatever you're dreaming into, tell that story to someone else in your life and really start to give shape to that world.

When I invite people to tell stories about the future, what they're dreaming into to their neighbours, what starts to happen is people start to realize excitement as they start to picture their ideal day. I then ask people to work backwards. What would need to change today in order to get to that future that you're dreaming into?

What do you need to do tomorrow in order to make sure that that 2035 Saturday is as picturesque as it needs to be?

Tell stories, this is part of how we start to live as if we're already there. There's this idea of prefiguring the future, shaping it and building it right now in the today in order to make sure that it grows into the world that we're dreaming of for the future.

So one of the things that I think we need to do in order to ensure that there's a future in Canada for disabled, deaf and mad people is to tell our stories about our ideal days, about what we want to see happen in the future, and then to work backwards together to make sure that we get there.

Storytelling is a powerful way for making sure that we are moving together towards something that we want to build as a community, as a world, as a society. I'm sure that there are disabled people in the future.

For me, Geordi La Forge was a model on my TV every single week. Perhaps the story that you tell will be a model for someone else, something that they can hold onto to remember that they're going to make it.

And it's okay if your story is sounding what you might think of as utopic. We've been taught to think that there's something wrong with utopia. We even discard it.

We use it as a way to discard someone's dream. "Oh, that's just utopic." There's nothing wrong with dreaming into an ideal scenario and ensuring that that's the direction we're headed. We don't need to settle for less, we can actually dream for our ideal, most perfect, beautiful future and get there together.

So it's okay if your story sounds utopic, in fact, even better if it does. I know that we're gonna make it to that freer future. I know that it's gonna look so gorgeous and we're gonna be in it together. I can't wait to meet you there in the free.

Narrator:

Thank you, Syrus, for your inspiring contribution and for highlighting the importance of art and activism in driving change.

Narrator:

We then have Dr. Sukaina Dada. She is a defender of people living with... ... with a handicap and she has more than 15 years of experience in the promotion of equity and health and social outcomes for children and family.

Dr. Sukaina Dada:

I grew up on stories. Stories of my dad dropping out of school at a young age to support his family, stories of my mom fleeing her home and stories of my great-grandmother, who lost her young children to illness, poverty and medical institutionalization.

These stories, they were not tall tales or made up fables, they taught me who I am, they taught me about family and community, they taught me about faith and culture. They were my truths. They were lived realities that stemmed from lived experiences.

My story growing up was very different from my parents' and my grandparents'. I grew up in a small city in Ontario, but I learned very early on that the dominant narrative, the dominant story, it didn't reflect families who spoke or looked like mine.

I noticed this even more when I began to navigate disability in health care services with a family member. Barriers to access were not just physical, they were social, they were attitudinal.

It was so difficult to access services because there were language barriers and communication barriers, digital barriers and financial barriers. And those intersectional realities and experiences that I was used to, the ones that I felt in my home, multilingual homes, intersectionality, intersectional identities, experiences and oppressions that I saw, they were nowhere to be found.

This experience, it led me to build SMILE Canada Support Services, an organization that is dedicated to serving and supporting children with disabilities and their families from underserved and underrepresented newcomer communities.

Every story that I've heard, every story from a child or a parent has been around exclusion and isolation and difficulty navigating systems. You see, the dominant story, it doesn't just sit beside the non-dominant story, it overpowers, making it even more difficult to speak up, to advocate and to resist oppressive practices.

The families that I met, refugees with disabilities, they were rebuilding their lives here in Canada. They face intersectional oppressions of ableism and xenophobia.

They went through displacement and disablement. And I noticed that these systems of oppression, they're not mutually exclusive, they're combined, they work together to isolate. I noticed something else: that this exclusion, it even occurred in spaces that on paper are designed to support families.

I noticed this when I met Asma, a Somali refugee who missed so many medical appointments because she didn't understand the e-mails that were sent to her. I noticed this when I met Ahmed, a 6-year-old boy from Sudan.

I met him in a shelter that was housing refugees. He was there for six months before I met him. And when I saw him, he was in an umbrella stroller, his body so unsupported that his chin was down to his chest. For six months, this young boy couldn't access the environment that was right in front of him.

I noticed this phenomenon when I met Yusuf, a little boy who had come from Gaza. He got sent home for bad behaviour because when the school bell rang, he started screaming and flailing his arms instead of his teachers asking about some trauma he might be facing.

I used this term, "xenophobic ableism", to highlight how xenophobia, it intersects with ableism, that further isolates and marginalizes disabled refugees. I noticed how dominant narratives overpower non-dominant narratives through this absence of intersectional identities, experiences and oppressions.

And I saw this most clearly in how we approach accessibility. You see, accessibility for me was not just having access to a space or having a seat at the table, accessibility was knowing even where that room was so that you could get into the door.

The danger of a single story is most clearly seen when we think of accessibility as an afterthought or a footnote. And we see this all around us. When we look at education and we have spaces for general education but then we tack on a special education program.

We see this in transportation when we design transportation and we add on an accessible route or we add on accessible features. And we see this in policy making when policies are drafted and programs are running, and then we hire accessibility consultants to help make them more inclusive.

And we do all of this without inviting disabled persons to make decisions, to plan and execute our programs.

You see, when we keep one person, one body, one way of thinking, one way of learning, one style in mind, we leave behind entire communities. And that is the power, the overpowering nature of the dominant narrative.

So how do we move forward?

Accessibility, true accessibility will only begin when we actively and intentionally listen to non-dominant narratives, when we choose to listen to the stories that are often silenced, those stories of intersectional oppressions, the stories that don't seep into our curriculums or that we see on our screens.

Progress begins when we intentionally and actively make an effort to reject the dominant narrative, to question the dominant narrative.

When I've brought in human stories into conversations, whether in a clinical setting or in academia, it often leads to hard, honest conversations about whose stories we've included and whose stories we left out.

And sometimes, those moments of critical reflection and critical thinking, it makes us feel very uncomfortable, but we must embrace that discomfort. That discomfort will push us to ask the hard questions.

That discomfort will do something that is more powerful than a dominant narrative, it will hold us accountable, it will hold us responsible and it will help us ensure that an accessible Canada that we are building includes everyone.

An accessible Canada can only be built when we listen to human stories, not silence them.

Narrator:

Thank you very much, Dr. Dada, for these very interesting comments.

Narrator:

As we wrap up the speaker series, please join me in welcoming our final speaker, Spencer West.

Spencer is a global keynote speaker, activist and bestselling author known for redefining what's possible. From summiting Mount Kilimanjaro using his hands and wheelchair to inspiring millions through his storytelling onstage and online, his journey continues to challenge and motivate audiences around the world.

Spencer West:

Hi, I'm Spencer West. A few years ago, I was standing on my hands on a literal glacier, surrounded by snow. It was cold, I was tired, my body was sore and I could not wait for this thing to be over. I also watched as my support system crumbled to their knees before me.

And I thought two things. I thought: Well, maybe this is it. Maybe we just give up and go back. Is it worth this? And it was also the first time in my entire life where I wished that I had legs that day.

Because if I had legs now, I could be the one to carry my friends like they carried me.

If we go back about a year and a half, I came up with this wild idea to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, which is the largest mountain in Africa. Now, I knew that if I was gonna try to climb the largest mountain in Africa, I'd better start leaning into a lesson that I learned over and over and over again, and that is to ask for help.

So I called my two best friends and asked if they would come with me. They said yes. I talked to the organization that I was working for at the time, which is a social enterprise, and said: "Would you support our campaign?"

And they said yes.

We found a personal trainer that would help us get our bodies ready. We found a guide that would lead our expedition. And then we campaigned for an entire year.

Now, the reason that I wanted to do this campaign was for two reasons.

The first is I was travelling about 200 days out of the year and I wasn't getting time with my friends or family, which helps recharge my batteries and the second part of my job as a motivational speaker as I was travelling was to empower people to get involved with something that they cared about and to make a difference on that thing.

And I was feeling like a bit of an impostor because I had never done that. So this campaign was gonna help all of those things and they gave me the opportunity to practise asking for help. So we spent an entire year campaigning, and then June of 2012, we set out to climb Kilimanjaro.

Now, the hope was that I was gonna do 50% on my hands and 50% on my wheelchair. But after climbing for eight hours on the first day of eight and a half days, we realized I was probably doing more like 80% on my hands and 20% on my wheelchair.

I remember after that first night, we finished dinner, and we were sitting around the campfire, and there was still some daylight, and our guide said: "Guys, I want you to look up over the trees." Now, because I'm obviously so short, one of my buddies picked me up.

And off in the distance was like this dark mountain. We were like "Uh, what are we looking at?" And our guide was like "That's Kilimanjaro." And we were like "What? I thought we were on it! It's over there?" Needless to say we panicked because this is not what I trained for.

But I'm really grateful that I found the courage to be vulnerable and to ask for help, because I needed it. My friends did an amazing job of saying encouraging words like "Just a few more steps, keep going, it's really inspiring to watch you walk."

When I felt like I couldn't go any further, they built this contraption that we could put my wheelchair on where they literally carried me above their head. Where there were parts where I could use my wheelchair, they helped push me and my chair.

In fact, one of the days, one of the porters who was normally carrying our stuff had wrapped me in a blanket and tied me to his back and was carrying me that way. My buddy David came up behind me and he was like "Listen, Spence, I just have to say this out loud to you, you look really cute being carried by this guy."

Now, I knew that not having any legs and trying to climb the largest mountain in Africa, I was gonna need help. But what I didn't anticipate is that on summit day, just under 19,000 feet, my buddies would need my help because they got massive altitude sickness and I was in that small percentage of people where it didn't bother me at all. We joke it's because of my height, but I don't know if that's real.

I watched my entire team crumble to their knees before me, throwing up from altitude sickness. And again, I thought those two things: Maybe we just give up and go back and I wished that I had legs that day.

But I don't have legs. So instead, I did what my parents taught me, that was to focus on the things that I could do. My buddies kept saying: "It's really inspiring to watch you walk." So I thought: If that's all that I can do, then I will do it to the best of my ability.

I stood in between my two best friends and I said: "This journey started with the three of us and it's gonna end with the three of us." And this is what happened next.

["Sleeping Sickness" by "City and Colour" playing in the background]

We started to head up the mountain to Uhuru Peak. And that was a shock. It was snow, all snow.

I told you guys back in Toronto, it's gonna go to a point where it's physically demanding and it's gonna go mental push. Take those steps, those final steps. You guys are experiencing it now. ♪

Both Alex and David were really, really struggling. Alex was like falling to his knees and every step was excruciating. I was exhausted.

My arms were killing me. My hands were numb from standing on them. We walked so far and I just tried to muster up everything that I had left. ♪

This is for every kid that has been bullied. This is for every kid who has had a disability and felt like they couldn't do things and didn't belong. ♪

This is for every person who felt they couldn't change the world. This is for every person who feel like they were lost in their journey. This is for every person who has ever tried to figure out what their life is about. We did it, boys.

I was told I would never walk or be a functioning member of society and I'm at the top of the largest free-standing mountain in Africa. This is for you. So hand over hand and foot over foot, we walked until we made it to the summit.

We collapsed and cried and we're a group of men that isn't afraid to cry. We also celebrated because not only did we make it to the top, but we had raised well over our goal which provided clean water to 12,500 people for life in two communities in East Africa.

But none of that would have ever happened, our campaign would have not been successful had I not asked for help and had I not offered it. We all need help throughout the course of our lives.

And if anybody says they got somewhere and they were going completely on their own, I'm a bit skeptical of that answer.

But I think suffice to say that we all need help as part of our journey to get where we need to go. For me, that started from the day that I was born. My parents were ready to have a kid, but they weren't ready to have a kid with a disability.

But they did very well at providing all of the things that I needed to be as independent as possible. So when I was born, they discovered I had a genetic disease called sacral agenesis, which caused the muscles in my legs not to work.

So they first amputated my legs at the knee and hoped that I'd use prosthetic legs and get around that way. But that didn't work out. So then, at the age of 5, they removed just below my pelvis, which is basically what you see now.

After my surgeries, my family and I were told by the doctors that I would never sit up by myself, that I would never walk by myself and that I would probably never be a functioning member of society.

But my family refused to believe that. So they did their best to provide help to make me as independent as possible based on what my body could do and the barriers that exist in the world. And I'm really grateful, because they did set me up for success.

Now, when it came time to get an actual job, when I was 16, that was the second time where I really understood the importance of asking for help. I was handing in resumes at all the places 16-year-olds would, but this was at the time where you physically went in and gave someone your application, and I couldn't even get a phone call.

And I can only assume it's because they saw me as a disabled person and just assumed I wouldn't be able to do the job instead of calling, and talking to me, and putting me through the interview process.

We found an incredible organization that was tied to the government in the United States, where I'm from and I met a woman named Beth Whitman, who helped me find my first job.

She connected me with the Rock Springs Chamber of Commerce, I went in for an interview, the director at the time was really great. First, we assessed if I had the qualifications for the job, which I did. And then, he recognized that I was also a disabled person.

So we went around the office and we looked to what accommodation I might need, which was very little. That was the second time that I understood the importance of asking for help.

I eventually graduated high school, went on to university and I came rolling out to the world chasing the American dream. I thought: OK, I did the thing you told me to do, I went to college, I have this degree.

Now everybody is gonna come running to me and all my dreams are gonna come true. Well, none of that happened. So I ended up working retail for a year. I eventually landed a job that I didn't care for, but it paid my bills.

And I worked there for about four years, day in and day out, really disappointed with the direction of my life, thinking: Did I fail at the game of life? And if I failed at the game of life, does that mean I'm not a functioning member of society?

Because for me, I was looking for a job that not only paid well, but made the world a better place. And this job wasn't doing that for me, but I thought: Well, I guess this is it. You just settle for this.

But after four years of that, I couldn't take that anymore and I started to talk to my friends and family about what I was going through and I started to ask for help. And a good friend of mine called in 2007 and invited me to go on a volunteer trip to Kenya.

Now, initially, I was like "Have you lost your mind? Standing on my hands, I'm 2 ft 7 in tall. I'm pretty sure that's a snack to half the animals in Kenya and I don't want to be meals on wheels, thank you." I hung up the phone.

But I couldn't stop thinking about that conversation and realized that if I was truly gonna start a new journey, I had to get outside of my comfort zone and take a risk.

So in March of 2008, I went to Kenya and it was a life-changing experience. In East Africa, I fell in love with the scenery, I fell in love with the sunsets, and more specifically, I fell in love with the people.

We were also there to help build a school, which we did. And then, we got to visit one of the new schools that they were just opening. And literally 300 kids came running out, they circled around me and they were laughing, and giggling, and pointing and talking a mile in a minute. A mile a minute.

I had no idea what they were saying. They were eager to give me a tour of their school. And after they gave me a tour, we sat in the grass, they asked me every question under the sun to get to know me.

After I answered everything, a young girl raised her hand and she said to me that she didn't know something like this, meaning the loss of my legs, could also happen to white people too. And that one phrase helped me in so many ways that I wasn't expecting.

At first, it helped me recognize how I could use my story to potentially empower other people to look at challenges differently, but also to empower people to get involved with something they were passionate about.

The other thing that I realized is I had never claimed my disability as an identity. Up until that point, it was just something that happened to me. When she said this to me, I thought: there's gotta be something more to this. I must be missing something. So then I spent the next decade speaking on behalf of this organization, which is what brought me to live in Canada.

And I really started to dive deeply into my disability as an identity and understand how proud I was to be disabled, and what that meant, and to understand what disability justice looks like and how I could lend my voice to that.

But my entire journey over the last 45 years of my life has been very successful because of all of the help I received along the way. Which is what brings me in front of you here today. We need your help. As a disability community, we need your help to advocate for us for accessibility.

And although you may not need access right now, we are the only marginalized group of people that everyone will experience at some point in their lives, either temporarily or permanently, whether that's now or later as you get older.

So although I might need access now and you may not, you will need it eventually. And we all need to work together because this will affect every single person. And you might be thinking to yourself: "OK, well that's fine, but like, what can I do right now?" I got a couple things for you.

The first is: the next time you go to that favourite coffee shop, bookstore, corner store or whatever that is and you go inside... Were there a couple of stairs to get in? Is there an accessible washroom? If not, maybe ask the owner why, and if they could install a ramp and if they could look into getting an accessible washroom.

Now I know that's not as comfortable for everyone to confront people, so the other thing is to really pay attention to how you're voting and who you're voting for. Are the candidates talking about accessibility? Is that part of their policy plan?

These are important things to think about. And if that's too difficult, let me give you some very basic things to start with. The first: the next time you're in a building and you have the opportunity to take the stairs, an escalator or an elevator, if you have the ability to take the stairs or an escalator, take those and leave the elevator open for the folks that need it.

The next time you're in a public or an accessible washroom, if there's an accessible stall, if you don't need it, don't use it.

These are two really ways that you can start to show up for the disability community and be an ally for us. We're gonna be very loud and keep pushing for accommodations and accessibility, but we can't do this by ourselves.

We need your help. We have to all work together because this is an issue that will affect everybody. So in the words of Helen Keller: "Alone, we can do so little. Together, we can do so much." Thank you.

Narrator:

Thank you, Spencer, for sharing your remarkable journey and for reminding us to rethink what's possible.

Narrator:

On behalf of the CCDI team, a heartfelt thank you to our speakers for sharing such powerful and practical examples of what accessibility and inclusion look like across communities, sectors and lived experiences.

These stories remind us that meaningful change happens when ideas are put into action. As we come to the final part of our program, it has truly been a pleasure to spend this time with you all today.

I'm pleased to welcome back parliamentary secretary Leslie Church, who will deliver the closing remarks.

Leslie Church:

Good afternoon, everyone. Bonjour à toutes et à tous. It is a pleasure to join you again as we close out this year's Canadian Congress on disability inclusion. I want to begin with a sincere thank you to everyone who joined us today from across the country and to everyone who helped shape this congress.

To our panellists, speakers, facilitators, accessibility service providers, interpreters, organizers and all those working behind the scenes, thank you.

Thank you to all of those who shared their expertise, their lived experience, their leadership and their commitment today. Events like this are only as meaningful as the people who make them possible.

And today, we heard from people who brought not only expertise, but lived experience, creativity and a real commitment to action. That matters. Because accessibility and disability inclusion are not abstract ideas, they are about people's lives.

They are about whether someone can get to work, access a service, participate in their community, use a digital tool, apply for a job or feel that they belong in a country that we are building together.

That's why this year's theme, building a strong, accessible Canada, is so powerful. It reminds us that accessibility is not something we add in the end, it's not an afterthought, it is foundational.

Accessibility must be part of our decisions from the get-go and not after, not as an afterthought, an option, but as a priority.

When we design with accessibility in mind from the beginning, we build stronger programs, better services, more inclusive workplaces and communities that work better for everyone. And when we remove barriers, we do more than improve access, we unlock potential.

In the Spring Economic Update, the prime minister made clear that building a stronger Canada means strengthening productivity, unlocking the full potential of our workforce and making sure that economic growth is shared by everyone.

Accessibility and disability inclusion are central to that vision. Because Canada cannot reach its full potential if millions of people are still facing barriers to participation. We cannot build a stronger workforce while leaving talent on the sidelines and we cannot build a more resilient country unless everyone has a fair opportunity to contribute, lead and thrive.

It is both an economic, social and mostly deeply human issue.

Over the past few years, Canada has taken important steps forward. We've continued implementing the Accessible Canada Act, advanced work toward a barrier-free Canada by 2040, invested in community accessibility through the Enabling Accessibility Fund and moved forward with measures like the Canada disability benefit.

But today's conversations also remind us that progress is not only measured by policies or programs, it's measured by whether people feel the difference in their daily lives, it's measured by whether our workplace becomes more inclusive, whether our public space becomes easier to navigate, whether a young person sees a future for themselves, whether a person with a disability is meaningfully included in decisions that affect them.

That's why the principle of nothing without us has to remain the centre of this work. Nothing without us, this principle must continue to guide our work because the best solutions are those that are conceived with the people directly impacted.

The insights shared today made clear that lived experience is not just valuable, it is essential. It helps identify barriers that others may not see. It leads to better design, better policy and better outcomes.

And it reminds us that accessibility is not a destination that we reach once, it is a practice, it is something we have to keep building, improving and embedding into the way we work.

As we mark National AccessAbility Week, we also celebrate the contribution of more than 8 million Canadians who identify as having a disability. Their leadership, advocacy, work and creativity strengthens this country every day. But celebration alone is not enough. This week also calls for action.

So as we close today's congress, I encourage everyone joining us to take what you heard back to your own organizations, workplaces, communities and networks. Ask where barriers still exist, ask who has not been included in the conversation, ask what can be changed now, not years from now, and keep learning from the people whose experiences must guide that work.

Let's continue to learn from one another. Let's continue to work together. But mostly, let's continue to transform our commitments into concrete actions.

The recordings and transcripts from today's event will be available online in the coming weeks, so I encourage you to share them with colleagues and partners who were not able to join us.

You will also receive an opportunity to provide feedback on today's event and I hope you will take a few moments to share your thoughts. Your input helps make this congress stronger and more accessible every year.

Before I close, I want to once again thank our amazing accessibility service providers, including captioning, English and French interpretation, American sign language and Québec sign language interpretation as well as the organizers and the Proof Experiences team for helping make today's event possible.

On behalf of the government of Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney, minister of Jobs and families Patty Hajdu and the whole team at Employment and Social Development Canada, I wish you a meaningful and energizing National AccessAbility Week.

Thank you for your leadership, your work and your commitment towards a more accessible inclusive Canada. Thank you for everything you do to build a stronger, more accessible Canada for everyone and I look forward to seeing you at the next Canadian Congress on Disability Inclusion.