Speech (committee meeting)

{
    "time": "2016-11-24 10:05:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Mark Wafer",
        "fr": "M. Mark Wafer"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"4682366\" data-originallang=\"en\">The unemployment rate has not changed really in the last 30 years, so we know that the initiatives that we've had to date have had limited success. Where we see the most success now is when we talk about this from an economic point of view. More importantly, who is going to communicate that message to businesses? It has to come from businesses themselves. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682367\" data-originallang=\"en\">As a small business owner with 250 employees, I can have a conversation with the CEO of General Motors, for example. We understand each other. Yes, it's on a completely different scale, but we understand each other. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682368\" data-originallang=\"en\">Three years ago, I co-founded Canadian Business SenseAbility. That was the first real national organization that was created for business by business. We're having those types of conversations with Canadian corporations. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682369\" data-originallang=\"en\">Just a few days ago in Canada, Diversity 50 was announced. I happened to be at the reception, and the discussion around diversity in corporate Canada is still on the low-hanging fruit. They're still talking about women in executive positions. They're still talking about culture and LGBT. That's wonderful, but we need to move the conversation toward the other end of the spectrum of diversity, and that gets harder and harder to do. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682370\" data-originallang=\"en\">Indigenous people, first nations, and of course, people with disabilities are largely being ignored. All of that is based on fear. CEOs tell me that all day long. They are very fearful of stepping into what they believe is a minefield. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682371\" data-originallang=\"en\">Education is the key. Awareness is the key. Explain the message of the economic benefits of inclusion, not only to the company but to the economy at large and to the individual.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"4682366\" data-originallang=\"en\">Le taux de ch\u00f4mage n'a pas vraiment \u00e9volu\u00e9 au cours des 30 derni\u00e8res ann\u00e9es et force est de constater que les initiatives men\u00e9es jusqu'\u00e0 pr\u00e9sent n'ont connu qu'un succ\u00e8s limit\u00e9. En revanche, ce sont les initiatives de nature \u00e9conomique qui sont les plus payantes \u00e0 cet \u00e9gard. Plus important encore, la question est de savoir qui va communiquer ce message aux entreprises? Il doit venir des entreprises elles-m\u00eames.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682367\" data-originallang=\"en\">Moi qui suis propri\u00e9taire d'une petite entreprise de 250 employ\u00e9s, je peux m'entretenir avec le PDG de General Motors, par exemple, Tous les deux, nous pouvons nous comprendre. Certes, nos entreprises ne sont pas de la m\u00eame taille, mais nous parlons le m\u00eame langage.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682368\" data-originallang=\"en\">Il y a trois ans, j'ai cofond\u00e9 Entreprises canadiennes SenseAbility qui a \u00e9t\u00e9 la premi\u00e8re v\u00e9ritable organisation nationale cr\u00e9\u00e9e pour des liaisons d'entreprise \u00e0 entreprise. Nous avons d\u00e9j\u00e0 eu ce genre de conversation avec d'autres soci\u00e9t\u00e9s canadiennes.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682369\" data-originallang=\"en\">Il y a quelques jours, on a annonc\u00e9 le lancement de Diversity 50, au Canada. J'\u00e9tais pr\u00e9sent \u00e0 la r\u00e9ception et l'on voit bien qu'il est encore facile de parler de diversit\u00e9 dans le milieu des entreprises canadiennes. On continue de parler de la question des femmes dans les postes de cadre sup\u00e9rieur. On continue de parler de culture et de LGBT. Tout cela est merveilleux, mais il faut passer \u00e0 l'autre extr\u00e9mit\u00e9 du spectre de la diversit\u00e9, ce qui est de plus en plus difficile \u00e0 faire.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682370\" data-originallang=\"en\">Les Autochtones, les membres Premi\u00e8res Nations et, bien s\u00fbr, les personnes handicap\u00e9es sont les oubli\u00e9s du d\u00e9bat. Tout cela vient de la crainte. C'est ce que me disent les PDG r\u00e9guli\u00e8rement. Ils craignent de s'avancer dans ce qu'ils per\u00e7oivent comme \u00e9tant un terrain min\u00e9.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"4682371\" data-originallang=\"en\">La cl\u00e9, c'est la sensibilisation. Il faut expliquer les avantages que repr\u00e9sente l'inclusion sur le plan \u00e9conomique, non seulement aux entreprises, mais aussi \u00e0 tous les acteurs de l'\u00e9conomie en g\u00e9n\u00e9ral et aux particuliers.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/committees/human-resources/42-1/31/mark-wafer-12/",
    "politician_url": null,
    "politician_membership_url": null,
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "9260307",
    "document_url": "/committees/human-resources/42-1/31/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fcommittees%2Fhuman-resources%2F42-1%2F31%2F"
    }
}