HUMA Committee Report

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LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS

RECOMMENDATION 1

The Subcommittee recommends to the Government of Canada that it report on when it intends to implement recommendation 5.1 in the report of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 2

The Subcommittee recommends that the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada identify as promptly as possible premises where the activities of the Office for Disability Issues could be housed as of 2006. These premises will serve as a model for fully barrier-free installations and will have to be compliant in all respects with the 2004 edition of standard B651 (CAN/CSA B651 04), as formulated by the Canadian Standards Association.

RECOMMENDATION 3

The Subcommittee recommends that the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada establish in 2005 an ongoing audit program of the compliance of federal buildings with technical standard CAN/CSA B651 04, as formulated by the Canadian Standards Association. A progress report should be tabled in 2007, and all federal buildings must be audited by no later than 2009.

RECOMMENDATION 4

The Subcommittee recommends that no application for disability benefits under the Canada Pension Plan be rejected for medical reasons without this rejection being a decision made by a physician.

RECOMMENDATION 5

The Subcommittee recommends that the medical report form accompanying an application for Canada Pension Plan disability benefits be amended to include at least one question allowing the applicant’s physician to give an opinion on his patient’s ability to hold a job.

RECOMMENDATION 6

The Subcommittee recommends that the Department of Social Development compile statistical data, on an ongoing basis, on the reasons for rejecting Canada Pension Plan disability benefit applications, as well as on rejected applicants’ socio economic circumstances.

RECOMMENDATION 7

The Subcommittee recommends that the Minister of Transport immediately order an independent study of the comparative advantages of the regulatory and voluntary approaches to improving accessibility for persons with disabilities to modes of transportation under federal jurisdiction.

The parameters of this study should be determined by the Minister of Transport’s Advisory Committee on Accessible Transportation, and presented to the Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities. It should take into account the experiences of other countries. With an irreproachable methodology, the study would serve as a basis for discussion in which the viewpoints of government, advocacy groups for the rights of persons with disabilities and the Canadian transportation industry could all be voiced, in order to arrive at a long-term solution by no later than 2007.

RECOMMENDATION 8

The Subcommittee recommends that, without neglecting representation statistics, the performance of the federal Public Service with respect to the employment of persons with disabilities from now on be measured on the basis of hiring statistics. This change should be reflected explicitly in the next employment equity report tabled by the Public Service Human Resources Management Agency of Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 9

The Committee recommends:

that the Speaker of the House of Commons take immediate steps to develop a communications strategy to promote a greater awareness of and sensitivity toward the abilities of persons with disabilities and the services available to accommodate people with disabilities within the Parliamentary Precinct; and
that the strategy provide separate emphasis for managers, health and safety personnel, and employees with disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 10

The Committee recommends:

that the Speaker of the House of Commons, in collaboration with the Senate, undertake a thorough accessibility audit of all facilities in the Parliamentary Precinct to ensure that barrier free design principles included in the CSA Standard CAN/CSA B651 04 are respected, except where this standard will significantly reduce the heritage quality of the facility;
that, based on the results of this audit, a Parliamentary Precinct accessibility plan be developed highlighting what needs to be done to eliminate remaining barriers;
that an accountability framework be developed, approved and implemented to assign responsibility for ensuring that the Parliamentary Precinct is fully accessible to people with disabilities (including sensory or mobility disabilities); and
that the framework set out performance indicators and reporting mechanisms; and that its ongoing implementation be reported yearly in the performance report of the House of Commons.

RECOMMENDATION 11

The Committee recommends:

that the House Administration, under the responsibility of the Speaker of the House of Commons, collect information and conduct an analysis of its workforce in order to determine the degree of underrepresentation of persons with disabilities in that workforce, as defined in the Employment Equity Act and regulations;
that based on this analysis, the House Administration, under the responsibility of the Speaker of the House of Commons, be encouraged to continue to develop, approve, implement and monitor employment equity initiatives with clear and measurable outcomes in the areas of recruitment, retention, accommodation, and career progression of persons with disabilities; and
that the progress made in the implementation of employment equity initiatives be reported yearly in the performance report of the House of Commons.

RECOMMENDATION 12

The Committee recommends:

that the Board of Internal Economy create an accessibility fund to pay for modifications or retrofits needed to make constituency and House of Commons offices of Members of Parliament fully accessible to persons with disabilities;
that the Board of Internal Economy determine the amount of this fund and establish the rules and limitations regarding its use;
that the Board of Internal Economy provide guidance to MPs when selecting office space;
that, on approval of this recommendation, the Board of Internal Economy amend the Members’ Offices By-Law (By Law 301) to include the newly created accessibility fund and approved expenditures; and amend the Manual of Allowances and Services for the Members of the House of Commons to reflect such changes. Listing these expenditures separately will increase awareness of the importance of access, and make it easier to assess the commitment of the House Administration to improving accessibility for persons with disabilities.

RECOMMENDATION 13

The Committee recommends:

that the Speaker of the House of Commons take immediate steps to ensure that the protocol for the emergency evacuation of persons with disabilities is up to date and widely disseminated; and
that emergency fire drills and information sessions on emergency preparedness be held at least once a year.

RECOMMENDATION 14

The Committee recommends:

that the Speaker of the House of Commons take the necessary measures to develop and adopt a policy requiring the application of an “access and inclusion lens” to the design, retrofit and procurement of all information services and information technology infrastructure, including, but not limited to network services, Web sites, printing services, electronic publications and Chamber technology infrastructure; and particularly,
that all parliamentary Web sites fully comply with the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Priority 1 and Priority 2 requirements within a year; and
that closed captioning and sign language of House of Commons proceedings and committees’ broadcast be provided in both official languages, and that this issue be referred to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Official Languages.

RECOMMENDATION 15

The Committee recommends that Public Works and Government Services Canada ensure that all authorities undertaking renovation or construction projects in the Parliamentary Precinct consult with experts in addressing accessibility issues and persons with disabilities to make certain that their needs will be well integrated into all projects.

RECOMMENDATION 16

The Committee recommends:

that, on approval of the recommendations, an implementation team, led by the Clerk of the House of Commons, be established to begin work on recommendations 9 to 15 of the report;
that the names of people assigned to this implementation team be forwarded to the Subcommittee for its review within the next 120 sitting days; and
that the implementation team report back to the Subcommittee on its progress within a year.