Ed: Synopsis of presentation February 28, 2008 to PEI Legislature Committee on Social Development. For a free copy of the full report click here.Impact of Poverty on Islanders with Disabilities
Poverty negatively impacts the lives of many of the 22,000 Islanders living with disabilities. This number is projected to reach 38,000 by 2024. Statistics Canada has been providing reliable data on the number, severity and needs of persons living with disabilities for twenty years.
Children represent 1,000 of those with disabilities, working age adults 12,000 and seniors 9,000 with seniors growing at the fastest rate. Disability is primarily a function of the aging process.
Stats-can classifies disabilities as mild, moderate, severe and very severe. On PEI, 8,000 people have severe to very severe disabilities requiring assistive devices like a wheelchair or are bed-ridden. Seniors are more likely to have very severe disabilities.
Recommendations on Employment and Income
60% of Islanders with disabilities are not working due to social factors and their disability. Unless they have large savings to rely on they become poor within a few years of disability. Low income Islanders with disabilities relying on CP Disability Pension or social assistance are living at 60% of the poverty line or low income cut off (LICO).
Employment Equity programs have been used in other jurisdictions to assist more of them to re-enter the work force at their skill level. For those who remain unemployed, the Guaranteed Annual Income model is recommended.
We recommend the Province or Prince Edward Island remove discriminatory barriers to employment for persons with disabilities with new Employment Equity legislation; implement an affirmative action program for the employment of persons with disabilities to be phased in over five years; begin a process of education of the private sector on the benefit of hiring workers with disabilities and use its persuasive power with those private sector employers who deal with the Province; remove the restriction to provincially assisted drug plans for persons on CP Disability pension; and implement Guaranteed Annual Income that would see supports for persons of low income up to the statistical poverty line.
Recommendations on Housing
Housing is the foundation of our living, the safe hearth from which we dispel our dangers. For those with a disability affordable barrier free housing is a necessity but one that is not readily available. A recent study showed the demand for barrier free rental accommodations in Queens County was two and one half times greater than the supply. Those units available cost 60% or more of a disability pension or support.
For homeowners with a disability on PEI, the cost of home adaptations can be as great as $90,000 but even modest assistance is only available one third of the time.
We recommend the Province provide a housing income supplement to maintain housing costs below 35% of income for persons with disabilities; adopt barrier free building codes to increase the supply of barrier free accommodations; adopt programs that encourage home sharing among for persons with disabilities and seniors living alone; negotiate with the Federal Government for program increases in CMHC RRAP Disability; and encourage alternative community based models or home ownership.
Recommendations on Disability Supports
Islanders with disabilities need a variety of supports to maintain inclusion with society and function on a day-to-day basis, namely technical or assistive devices, daily activity supports, academic and work supports.
The PEI Disability Support Program while providing these types of supports is inadequate to the task. It is materially under funded by government and excludes 9,000 Islanders with disabilities simply because they are seniors. It also excludes those with a mental and learning disability. The unmet needs of Islanders with disabilities have been determined by studies that the Province has agreed with.
The program has several policies that are not appropriate in dealing with persons with disabilities and has consistently lost Human Rights and Privacy Commissioner complaints.
The Province should return the $1 million dollars taken from the Disability Support Program budget in April 2006 (a pre-election promise); remove the age restriction and provide assistance for our seniors with disabilities (a pre-election promises); provide support for those with learning and mental disabilities; align its support programs to meet the needs identified in legitimate government studies; fund the DSP to a reasonable level required by Islanders with disabilities; design processes that look at the individual; provide an appeals process that is equitable and independent; perform a full and independent review of the department considering its past history of mismanagement.
Funding
Many of the recommendations are cost neutral or positive to the Province. Others such as seniors’ coverage will require new budget allocation that can be met through internal government savings.
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