The Ontario Government has launched a new Strategy to help increase employment for people with disabilities and connect businesses to talent.
Access Talent: Ontario’s Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities signals a clear government opportunity to address mental health in the workplace, which is a significant and costly economic issue. Every week, 400,000 people will not go to work because of a mental health issue. The economic cost of mental health problems and illnesses costs the Canadian economy at least $50 billion per year.
CMHA Ontario is pleased to have been an active member of the broadly-based and multi-sectoral working group that facilitated the development of the provincial Strategy. The advice and recommendations of the working group were used to inform and guide the strategy’s vision, goals/principles, strategic priorities and desired outcomes, as well as an action plan.
In Ontario, local CMHA branches provide a wide range of supported employment programs, such as At Work/Au travail, a national employment support program led by CMHA Toronto for people living with mental health and addictions issues. CMHA Ontario has also developed Think Outside the Box, free online resource designed to help employers, employees and the public learn more about mental health accessibility and disability accommodation.
To learn more about the new Strategy, visit the Government of Ontario website.