QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Jobs and Families
Employment Gap
December 9, 2025
Minister, you said in 2025 that Canada cannot afford to waste the talent of disabled workers, yet the disability employment gap remains at 16%, and advocates note that federal programs often do not reach workers directly.
Minister, can you tell disabled Canadians that your department recognizes the scale of the employment gap and is prepared to explore measurable national targets co-created by disabled workers and produce transparent annual reporting on outcomes achieved?
Your Honour, I think we have a theme emerging for this Question Period, which is the unavailability of data across our federation and how the challenges of data sharing, or the lack thereof, are inhibiting our ability in terms of planning for the next steps.
Yes, we will continually work with provinces and territories to ensure that whatever happens federally, we will support either provinces and territories directly or we will support individuals and organizations to achieve employment. This will be subject to conversations and negotiations pertaining to tracking and data. Canadians deserve to know the outcomes for the money that the government is spending on a variety of different programs and initiatives.
