Barrier Free Manitoba

Work on the AMA's Accessible Employment Standard started almost three years ago, back on November 12, 2015. It's been a long long time coming but Minister of Families recently committed to finalizing it and having it come into force as a regulation before the end of October 2018. 

That's very good news. What's covered by the standard remains to be seen. Will it be strong and effective and will to have the capacity to make significant headway in removing barriers to labour market inclusion and success that continue to face tens of thousands of Manitobans with disabilities?

Notably, this is the first of the AMA accessibility standards that will have been developed and come into effect since the April 2016 provincial election - very first under the new government.

We will be watching to see if it sustains the essential strengths that we had identified in the Minister's final proposed for this standard: 

• Staggered compliance dates over a three-year period, with the government having the responsibility to demonstrate leadership by being first to comply with the standard’s requirements one year after it comes into force.
• Greater documented requirements related to compliance for employers with 20 or more employees and lesser requirements for organizations with smaller work forces.
• The requirement that employers provide related training to all employees and other personnel with duties related to implementation of the standard.
• The requirement that this training be provided in a timely manner with ongoing updates when changes are made to an employer’s policies and practices related to accessible employment.
• The requirement that employers with 20 or more employees document their training policy, including the content of training and when training is provided.

 We will also be watching to see if the final standard incorporates or, at the very least, addresses our recommendations for stronger measures to ensure that:

• All employees in the province are covered by return to work policies.
• All employers are required to develop, implement and maintain explicit policies that clearly state their commitment to the human right to accessible employment.
• All employers promote workplace cultures that acknowledge and support the human right to accessible employment.
• The standard addresses the accessibility barriers faced by persons with disabilities related to volunteer, internship and unpaid positions.
• Employers are required to make reasonable efforts to reach out to agencies that specialize in disability employment services as part of recruitment activities.

 Finally, we will be watching to see if the government acts on our recommendations that it:

• Commit to developing a robust strategy for the implementation of the accessible employment standard, including identifying and ensuring the availability of the requisite financial and human resources.
• Require that large employers participate in a measurement system to track the effectiveness of the standard and to support evidence-based decision-making.

Barrier-Free Manitoba also recommended that the government commit to develop and enforce a strong accessible education standard. This standard is required to address the many barriers still faced by Manitobans with disabilities in our educational systems that contribute to limited labour force opportunities and outcomes.

We're very pleased that over 300 concerned citizens and over 40 organizations supported our recommendations made back in January 2018. Click here for more info.

Oh there is one more rather important thing. A recent letter sent to us on behalf of the Minister advised us that Ms. Theresa Harvey-Pruden, the consultant responsible for the four-year comprehensive review of the AMA, might be approaching the Minister with recommendations for final changes to the standard. We're not sure where this fits into the review's Terms of Reference. We also concerned that her input is at the very last minute and is being provided outside the process established under the AMA that had already provided extensive opportunity for public and stakeholder feedback.

As the Act requires that the final report from Ms. Harvey-Pruden's review be tabled in the Legislative Assembly and made public, we have formally asked the Minister if interim recommendations (like for changes to the employment standard) will also be made public.

We have yet to receive an answer from the Minister.

We are pleased to post the Minister's final proposal and our final brief for your review:

• Minister's final proposal (PDF)
• Final BFM brief (Executive Summary - Word / PDF / Full Brief - Word / PDF )