SHAPING DIAP: A BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

What is the Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP)?

Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive of the more than 22% of persons – or 6.2 million people – that identify as having a disability in our country.

The Action Plan has four pillars:

financial security;
employment;
accessible and inclusive communities; and,
a modern approach to disability.

Simply put, the Action Plan aims to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in Canada.

Project

The project was launched in January 2022 with a distinct goal: to shape, inform and maximize the impact of the plan by focusing on participation and incorporating input from a broad range of Canadians with disabilities, both visible and non-visible, especially those that live at the “margins of the margins” (e.g., the unhoused, new immigrants and refugees). We are committed to taking a “nothing about us, without us” approach in this project, and ensuring persons with disabilities are fully participating in all development and implementation stages.

What We Heard – Shaping Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan

This report aims to provide insights into how persons with disabilities can be socially and economically included, highlight the obstacles they encounter when accessing federal programs and benefits, and articulate the perspectives and requirements of persons with disabilities to ensure that the Government’s policies and programs are inclusive and attend to their experiences. The data and insights provided in the report are intended to facilitate the implementation of the DIAP.

Final Report

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary of Shaping Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan is currently available in the following alternative formats:

Plain Language

Executive Summary
Plain Language Version

ASL

Timeline

Who’s Involved

MDC and Independent Living Canada are working with:

There are many disability organizations located across Canada collaborating on this project – named Bridging the Gap Between Lived Experience and Policy: A Community-Led, Capacity-Building and Knowledge-Exchange Approach to the Disability Inclusion Action Plan.