Barrier Free Manitoba

Minister Scott Fielding, the Minister responsible for the landmark Accessibility for Manitobans Act, has now released his final proposal for the Accessible Employment Standard.

The final proposal represents the next to last step in a long process that started way back on March 14, 2016 with the first meeting of the Standard Development Committee for Employment. The public and interested parties are invited to review and provide feedback up until Friday, January 12, 2018.

Thereafter and taking into consideration the feedback received, the Minister will take the last step - finalizing the standard and establishing it as a regulation that has the force of law.

Based on our preliminary review, there are many strong, positive elements featured in the Minister's final proposal. However, it falls short on in a number of key areas that were clearly identified in the major brief BFM submitted back in February 2017 and a subsequent letter to the Minister sent this July.

These significant shortfalls include but are not limited to:

1. Not addressing the accessibility of volunteer, internship and other positions to which the Manitoba Human Rights Code also applies
2. Not requiring that employers provide information on employment opportunities to community-based agencies and organizations that specialize in providing employment services to Manitobans with disabilities.
3. Not requiring that large employers participate in a measurement and monitoring system that would provide the basis for assessing the standard's impact and the province's progress toward achieving a fully accessible labour market.

BFM will be conducting and releasing a more thorough review of the Minister's final proposal in the near future.

A link to the Minister's final proposal is posted at: http://www.accessibilitymb.ca/employment-standards.html

For more information on BFM's previous brief and letter to the Minister, go to: http://www.barrierfreemb.com/whatsnew/173/390