Hon. Renée Dupuis: Would Senator Seidman agree to take a question?

Senator Dupuis: As part of its study of the bill, as you suggested, don’t you think the Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs should also consider the aspect of human rights in relation to persons with disabilities?

In other words, people say they think it’s too bad and that we have a moral obligation to lift people out of poverty; however, there is also a body of legislation that says that we don’t have the right to discriminate on the grounds of a disability.

In that sense, don’t you think that the committee should also look at the issue from the point of view of the discrimination persons with disabilities suffer in the workforce, in order to see how this new benefit might help address this discrimination? It isn’t just a moral obligation. There is a clear legal obligation in our system that seeks to ensure that people who want to have a job can do so, including if they have a disability.

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