What’s new: Documents obtained through the Access to Information Act show that Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) proposed an initiative to the Canada 150 fund in April 2015 titled: “Canada 150: Mentoring the Disability Leaders of Tomorrow Today.”
It was one of seven initiatives put forth by the department. However, all were ultimately rejected except for the 2017 Canada Summer Jobs Program.
The initiative planned to reach out to a national disability organization and have them identify 150 “disability leaders” across Canada. Those leaders would then be paired up with 150 Canadians living with disabilities for a mentorship opportunity. The ultimate goal was for leaders to pass on “knowledge, tools, and best practices with the next generation of leaders within disability community.”
Why it’s important: Canada’s 150th birthday is a major milestone, and the federal government has paid it special attention.
Programs and events related to the anniversary have been heavily advertised by all levels of government, and at the helm of this is the Canada 150 fund. According to the department of Canadian Heritage, the fund has received over 3,000 applications so far, and has a 200 million-dollar budget to give out.
But to date, only 430 of those applications have been approved for funding. Canadian Heritage says 38 of these are large-scale “signature projects”, and 392 are smaller “community projects”.
What’s unclear is if there’s a specific allocation for initiatives targeted to help disadvantaged groups, like people living with disabilities.
An initiative “screening tool” provided by the Canada 150 fund to ESDC asks how a proposed initiative will contribute to themes like “Canada’s cultural, ethnic, linguistic, and geographic diversity” and “Leaving a legacy for future generations.”
But despite these socially-minded guidelines, many of the approved initiatives are centered on celebratory events. Examples range from a citywide game of snakes and ladders in Calgary, to the “Red Couch Tour”, where a couch will move from coast to coast to bring Canadians together to share stories.
What the government says: When asked why the disability initiative was rejected, the ESDC said in an e-mail statement only that: “ESDC’s contribution to Canada 150 has evolved since the briefing note was prepared.”
Tim Warmington, a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage, says the department cannot discuss or provide information about why certain applications have been rejected.
What others say: Dr. Mary McColl, academic lead at the Canadian Disability Policy Alliance, finds it hard to understand why the ESDC’s disability initiative wouldn’t be attractive to the Canada 150 fund.
She says she understands that Canada 150 is about celebrating and having fun, but feels there should be a certain amount of money set aside for projects “that are actually making a difference in Canadian society.”
This is particularly important, she says, for Canadians living with disabilities. “People with disabilities make up about 15 per cent of the Canadian population, and so arguably 15 per cent of the money should’ve gone to disability topics.”
Overall, she believes the rejection of this initiative speaks to a larger problem: the federal government’s lack of proper attention to disability issues.
What’s next: Canadian Heritage is expected to continue announcing approved projects in the coming weeks, right up until the exact 150th anniversary on July 1st.
Of the large-scale “signature” projects approved thus far, one is related to disability issues. Titled “Access4All”, it provides funds to the Rick Hansen foundation, an organization that helps communities create more accessible environments for those living with disabilities.
A media relations representative for ESDC says the department is unsure whether it will try to continue to move forward with their own disability initiative.
Pages relevant to the final story: *The following four pages are all from Employment and Social Development Canada
First page: This gives a brief outline of the disability initiative, and indicates which branch put it forth (Office for Disability Issues). This information was helpful because it details what the project would entail, and also how much it would cost ($2.5 million).
Second page: This page shows how the ESDC filled out an “initiative screening tool” provided to them by the Canada 150 fund. The tool was supposed to help evaluate the efficacy of a proposed initiative It’s helpful because it shows what exactly the Canada 150 fund was looking for in this regard, and how well the disability initiative fit in to that.
Third page: This is another filled out initiative screening tool, but for the Canada Summer Work Experience Program (SWEP). This was the only initiative of the seven from ESDC to receive money from the Canada 150 fund, so it’s helpful in that it provides an opportunity to compare and contrast how each initiative fit in to the requirements for the fund.
Relevant Correspondence for final story:
Final ATIP Story – Relevant Correspondence (Text)
Other Requests – Relevant Correspondence (ATIP Story) (Text)