Accessible Workplaces: Is the Canadian Nonprofit Sector Falling Behind?

CharityVillage Connects

Episode 25 – Accessible Workplaces: Is the Canadian Nonprofit Sector Falling Behind?

According to the 2022 Canadian Survey on Disability, the employment rate for persons with disabilities
currently sits at 62%. While this figure has risen in recent years, it’s clear that more work can be done to
create more inclusive and accessible workplaces that welcome Canadians with disabilities. In this
episode of CharityVillage Connects, we talk to accessibility experts from across the sector to find out
about the challenges and barriers that contribute to this employment gap, along with what nonprofit
organizations like yours can do to address these barriers within workplaces, programming, and
communities.
Meet Our Guests in Order of Appearance
 Ryan Straschnitzki, Founder, Straz Strong Foundation
 Ingrid Muschta, Director of Special Projects and Innovation, Ontario Disability Employment
Network (ODEN)
 Wanda Deschamps, Founder and Principal, Liberty Co
 Lorin MacDonald, Human Rights Lawyer and Accessibility Advocate
 Anthony Frisina, Speaker, Author, and Consultant
 David Lepofsky, Chair, Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance
About your Host
Mary Barroll, president of CharityVillage, is an online business executive and lawyer with a background
in media, technology and IP law. A former CBC journalist and independent TV producer, in 2013 she was
appointed General Counsel & VP Media Affairs at CharityVillage.com, Canada’s largest job portal for
charities and not for profits in Canada, and then President in 2021. Mary is also President of sister
company, TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s No.1, award-winning job board and online career resource that
connects top employers with top students and grads.
CharityVillage Resources from this Episode
 CharityVillage eLearning: OHSA and AODA Compliance Training for Employees
 CharityVillage eLearning: OHSA and AODA Compliance Training for Leaders and Supervisors
Additional Resources from this Episode
We've gathered the resources from this episode into one helpful list:
 Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017-2022 (Statistics Canada)
 Employment Strategy for Canadians with Disabilities (Government of Canada)
 Canadian Income Survey, 2021 (Statistics Canada)
 $956-million downtown Toronto courthouse plagued by accessibility issues, provincial report
finds (Toronto Star)
 Billion-dollar Accessibility Bungle, Video by David Lepofsky, 14- min version, 49-min version
 New Toronto Courthouse’s Disability Barriers Hit the Toronto Star’s Front Page (AODA Alliance)
 Roadblocks on the career path: Challenges faced by persons with disabilities in employment
(Canadian Human Rights Commission)
 Ontario Disabilities Employment Network (ODEN) Training Opportunities

 Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (Government of Ontario)
 Will Toronto ever lose its basement bathroom problem? (NOW Toronto, 2017)
 Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact (Job Accommodation Network, US, 2020)
 Canadian Human Rights Act (Canadian Human Rights Commission)
 Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification Professional Training
 Canadian Association for Supported Employment
Learn more and listen to the full interviews with the guests here.