TORONTO – The Ontario government has named an advisory group of business and government leaders to help tackle persistently high unemployment rates among people with disabilities.
The 17-member group, called the Employers’ Partnership Table, will be meeting for the next two years to come up with strategies to encourage businesses to hire more disabled staff.
The group, which was promised as part of the province’s broader employment strategy for people with disabilities, features executives from corporate giants including CIBC, Loblaw Companies Ltd., Deloitte and Sodexo.
Other group members include operators of small businesses, an executive from the CBC and a senior official with the city of London, Ont.
The presence of public sector leaders is in line with the employment strategy, which stressed the need for government to take the lead in tackling unemployment among disabled residents.
Historically, roughly half of eligible people with disabilities are able to find work compared to roughly 80 per cent of able-bodied peers.