You Can’t Spell Inclusion Without a D

Research shows, having the disability conversation with children is just as, if not more important than, the adult business and workplace disability-inclusion conversation. One study by researchers at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain noted, “attitudes towards disability begin to form in childhood.” The study says childhood is when we “first develop our first notions of justice, empathy and acceptance of difference. There are a lot of parental and educational ways to instill positive disability awareness and acceptance of difference in kids. This sets the stage for workplace disability inclusion and awareness later. One of the ways is through fostering a love of reading — while fostering disability awareness — through storytelling and children’s literature that’s inclusive. That’s what Paul McAllister is doing. He has lived experience being one of those kids who was different. And he grew up to become the founder and publisher behind Monster House Publishing. In this episode, Paul shares his story and perspective on why getting kids to become disability aware is so monstrously important for all of us.   SHOW NOTES Episode 46 transcript (PDF) Find out more about Monster House Publishing University of Deusto study, Raising Awareness About People With Disabilities Among Primary School Pupils: Impact of an Educational Intervention SickKidsHealth blog post, Facial Differences: Confronting the Challenges of Bullying

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs estimates that worldwide, there are between 180 million and 202 million youth who have a disability. In Canada alone, there are well over half a million youth who have a disability — 546,410 to be more precise. That’s the figure from Statistics Canada. Over 100,000 of these young people are what’s known as NEET — not in employment, education or training of any kind. And of those, 83,000 have been identified by Statistics Canada as potential employees. There’s a unique program called Project SEARCH. And it’s playing a significant role in helping businesses make sure they have up-and-coming talent to fill roles while at the same time training youth who have a disability to succeed in the workplace.   In this episode — to mark the 30th anniversary year of Project SEARCH — we find out all about the program. It started as a recruitment and retention strategy in the health care sector, in Cincinnati, in 1996. There are now over 750 Project SEARCH sites worldwide, including 29 in Canada. Why is it so important for businesses to get involved in Project SEARCH? What’s the ripple effect in a community when they do? And how can businesses bring Project SEARCH to the communities they serve? Carolyn Mcdougall from Holland Bloorview Children’s Hospital in Toronto has some insightful answers to these questions, and others. She’s the Ontario and Canada Co-ordinator for Project SEARCH Canada.   SHOW NOTES Episode 45 transcript (PDF) Find out more about Project SEARCH Canada Get in touch about being part of Project SEARCH: [email protected]

Whether you love it, hate it, embrace it or avoid it — or try to, AI is ubiquitous now. It’s an integral part of everything from manufacturing, to writing resumes, to recruiting and hiring processes. Including both screening out candidates and interviewing them. In hiring and recruitment in particular, AI is a double-edge sword. It can help level the playing field for job seekers, including those who have a disability. And it also can be a significant barrier. There’s no single reliable statistic that shows how many resumes are screened out by AI before they ever reach a human. But research shows, 87% of companies say they’re using AI somewhere in their recruitment process. AI can screen out candidates at scale — including in ways that may disproportionately affect job seekers who have a disability. At the same time, job seekers who don’t use AI — or who use it irresponsibly, risk falling behind in a market where the majority of both employers and candidates are already using the power of AI tools. In this episode, we explore these questions and more: Why do employment service providers and job seekers who have a disability need to use AI? What are the real benefits of using it? What can go wrong when AI is used poorly, irresponsibly or not at all in hiring and job-search processes? This is a engaging — and sometimes humourous — conversation with: Jesse Preston, Disability Employment Specialist for Epilepsy Toronto Jeff Waldman, the founder of ScaleHR   SHOW NOTES Episode 44 transcript (PDF) TechXplore feature (June 2026) — AI hiring software screens millions of applicants, but new evidence shows racial bias can hide job by job Research study: Algorithmic Monocultures in Hiring

About eight million Canadians 15 and older have at least one disability. But there aren’t any statistics on exactly how many of them live in rural and remote parts of the country. Almost two-thirds of the 5,123 municipalities in Canada are consider moderately remote, more remote or most remote by Statistics Canada. In remote communities there are some distinctly different challenges compared to experiencing urban life with disability. For this discussion, we wanted perspectives from some of the most remote parts of Canada. So we picked the far northwest, and the remotest part of down east in The Maritimes. The Northwest Territories covers 1.1 million square kilometres, and much of it is remote. Down east, over 80 per cent of the province of New Brunswick is forest.                                        It’s the most rural province of the three Maritime provinces — New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island — that have coastlines on the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean. Be sure to catch this conversation with: Denise McKee, Executive Director of the Northwest Territories Disability Council Shelly Petit, Chair of the New Brunswick Coalition of Persons With Disabilities   SHOW NOTES Episode 43 transcript (PDF) Government of Canada report, Age-Friendly Remote and Rural Communities: A Guide (HTML version | PDF version) Canadian Association of Supported Employment report by Janet Morris-Reade for ASPECT BC, Building Fair Employment Services in Rural and Remote Communities in Canada Website — Northwest Territories Disability Council Website — The New Brunswick Coalition of Persons With Disabilities

Twenty twenty-six is a big year for big sporting events. In February, there were the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, in Italy. Then — the geopolitical climate aside — there’s the 2026 FIFA World Cup with matches being played in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada from June 11 to 19. And then there’s the twenty-third Commonwealth Games happening in Glasgow, Scotland from July 24 to August 2. Glasgow 2026 will be the biggest sporting event of the year in the U.K. All of these events happen in numerous venues in their host cities. With thousands of athletes competing. And thousands of people attending — and working at — the events. But there’s a huge issue with mega-sporting events such as the World Cup, the Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. Accessibility. From how they’re promoted to the built environment of venues they’re held in, how accessible are these kinds of mega sporting events? And what’s the lasting social impact of making them accessible and inclusive? That’s what we’re exploring in Episode 42. And we’re doing that with two guests who are two of the most authoritative voices on sporting events accessibility in Canada. Don’t miss this engaging conversation with Brad McCannell and Jenn Bruce, PhD!   SHOW NOTES Episode 42 transcript (PDF) Read this article on The Conversation.com about how more Canadians are watching the Paralympics Read this article on sirc.ca by Paula Baker about the lasting social impact of inclusive creating mega-sporting events Sporting Information Resource Centre (SIRC) website Read the new SIRC blog Rick Hansen Foundation and becoming accessible