Canada’s labour market is facing massive shortages. Employers right now just can’t fill jobs. Meanwhile, people with disabilities face much higher rates of poverty and unemployment than non-disabled people. With International Day of Persons with Disabilities upon us, our guest this episode is Rebekah Young, Vice President and Head of Inclusion and Resilience Economics at Scotiabank. She’ll explain how a more inclusive labour market can not only help Canadians with disabilities, but also help solve a persistent economic problem. 

Read Rebekah’s report here. 

Key moments this episode:  

1:27 — Some big picture numbers around disability in Canada 

2:13 — How do those numbers tie into the challenges that labour market is facing? 

3:38 — The “mind-blowing” number of Canadians with disabilities who have the potential to work but aren’t getting the chance 

4:02 — What’s holding back that large amount of people from being employed?  

5:50 — What governments could do to help solve this issue 

7:54 — What role private- sector employers could play and why 

9:25 — How companies and governments can come together to make the labour market more inclusive 

11:28 — A call to action