Part I – Context Of Monitoring Efforts The Toronto monitoring site

Current data on the demographics of people with disabilities is not available at the local level but it is possible to make estimates about Toronto based on data that has been collected by various organizations at the national and provincial levels.  According to Statistics Canada, in 2001, approximately 1.5 million people in Ontario, or 13.5% of the population, lived with disabilities.  From this data, it can be estimated that about 335,000 Torontonians had some form of disability (Statistics Canada).  It should be noted, however, that it is also possible that this estimate is too low. Toronto has a greater number of services and advocacy groups, as well as more accessible infrastructure such as audible crosswalk signals and the Wheel-Trans system, all things that would make Toronto more attractive to people with disabilities. 

(Statistics Canada)

Income

According to Statistics Canada, in 2006, the average weekly earnings of Canadians with disabilities was $696.36, in contrast to the $747.08 made by Canadians without disabilities (Statistics Canada). According to the Canadian Council of Social Development’s Urban Poverty in Canada, A Statistical Profile (Read the profile on the Canadian Council of Social Development website), compiled in 1995, of the total population of persons with disabilities (252,600), 94,700 people were living below the poverty line.  That is, 37% of Torontonians with disabilities were poor. In order to prevent persons with disabilities from sinking below the poverty line, the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services has the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP)¹.  The ODSP is designed to aid people with disabilities who are in financial need.  According to an article posted by DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWN Ontario) in 2003, entitled “Denial by Design” (read the article on the DisAbled Women’s Network website ), ODSP offers a number of income and employment supports, but many people with disabilities encounter difficulties benefitting from these supports because of the complicated application process involved.

Note #1

Since the study was carried out, the provincial ODSP rates have changed.

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People with disabilities may be in greater need of income support given that they might need accommodation supports and services for their specific disabilities. Those with physical disabilities might require wheelchairs or other mobility devices, for instance.  Persons who are blind or have low vision might require adaptive technology in their homes in order to operate computers or read. 

Employment

According to Statistics Canada, of the 2,168,260 Torontonians over the age of 15, 1,320,020 were employed while 107,190 were unemployed and 741,060 were not in the labour force (Statistics Canada).  According to PALS:

• 46.1% of women in Ontario with disabilities did not work during the year 2000
• 20.6% of women in Ontario without disabilities did not work during this time
• 35.3% of men in Ontario with disabilities did not work
• 11.5% of men in Ontario without disabilities did not work

Provincial funding has made available under the Ontario Works Program, which provides employment assistance to those who are in financial need, read more about the Ontario Works Program on the website. In addition to the Ontario Works program, services include the following: workshops on employment skills, resume writing, and preparing for interviews; referrals to job counselling or training; access to telephones, faxes, computers, and job banks; and information on who is hiring. The ODSP also has an employment support component specifically for people with disabilities that provide such services as transportation assistance, adaptive technologies, assistive devices and interpreter services. People with disabilities may require labour force adaptions including additional job support, or part-time or episodic work, or different productivity standards.  This has resulted in a need for increased eligibility in benefits, income support, and employment supports.

Housing

People with disabilities face greater challenges with respect to finding homes suitable to their lifestyles and needs.  According to the 2007 Street Health Report(read the report on the Street Health website), conducted in Toronto, when homeless people were asked what main reasons were preventing them from finding and maintaining housing, the second most frequent response (33%) was physical or mental disability.  Seventy-eight percent of those asked identified economic reasons including the high cost of rent and unemployment or underemployment People with disabilities encounter these problems more frequently than others for several reasons. Housing that accommodates disability tends to cost more than regular housing.  The cost of living can be higher for people with disabilities if they need adaptive technologies and generally housing is not built to accessible standards.  The rates of unemployment are also higher for people with disabilities and so they lack the income needed for housing in a rental market that is expensive.  There are some organizations in Toronto that make housing easier to find and afford including: Access Apartments (visit the Access Apartments website), Mary Centre of the Archdiocese of Toronto (visit the Mary Centre of the Archdiocese of Toronto website), Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf (visit the Bob Rumball Centre for the Deaf website), and the Toronto Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation (visit the Toronto Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation website). An important component of many of these housing services is that they allow and encourage individuals with disabilities to live in community with one another.

People interviewed

Participants in this study included 43 men and women of different ages, who were living with a number of different disabilities. The key socio-demographic attributes of this sample were as follows:

This sample may not represent the entire population of people with disabilities living in Toronto. It is well-educated with 58% of participants having completed a college or university degree and almost 40% being employed at the time of the interview. Moreover, women as well as persons with mobility impairments are overrepresented, and the sample is primarily composed of middle-age adults (41-55 years old). The characteristics suggest that this group would likely be well informed about its rights and proactive when it comes to protect and claim them. These attributes must be taken into account when interpreting the findings of the study.

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