Canada, like other OECD nations, is working to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its policies for persons affected by sickness and disability. The employment picture for these persons is poor and as in other countries, this is associated with a heightened risk of being in or close to poverty and dependent on disability and other social welfare payments. The fall in labour demand since the start of the current economic downturn is especially concerning for such persons because they were already having difficulty finding work in the earlier part of this decade when the Canadian economy was growing strongly.

At this moment, countries around the world are urgently seeking ways to manage the ongoing economic crisis and to respond to widespread associated job cuts which are dominating the headlines. Unemployment has risen fast during the recent downturn in many countries, including Canada, with the average OECD unemployment rate projected to reach almost 10% by end-2010.

The previous chapter shows that Canada has some of the major problems seen in most OECD countries, such as low employment and high unemployment of persons with disabilities. At the same time, the international trend towards increased use of disability benefits among the working-age population is not as apparent. While Canada is doing better than other countries in this respect, closer scrutiny of the shift to non-contributory payments as well as high poverty levels suggests low take-up does not necessarily mean that all persons with disabilities are getting the help they need to find work or the degree of income support they need to stay out of poverty. Attention is needed here as the current economic downturn is expected to make access to the labour market for marginalised groups such as persons with disabilities even more difficult, once they become unemployed. Poverty is already an issue for persons with disabilities and could become a major challenge for Canada as the effects of the crisis continue to unfold.

Canada is facing similar sickness and disability policy challenges to many other OECD countries: low rates of employment and high rates of unemployment of people with health problems or disability; a much higher poverty risk for this population group; and growing dependence on disability benefits (though the latter varies by province). Some global trends are, however, less pronounced in Canada, such as the gradual shift from unemployment to disability and the rising incidence of mental illness as a basis for disability benefit claims. Other problems are more pronounced than on average across the OECD, in particular the large proportion of persons with disabilities facing poverty – an outcome in part related to the lower generosity and limited accessibility of its benefit system.