In honour of the United Nations' 24th International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Michelle Stilwell, Minister of Social Development and Social Innovation issued the following statement:

Two new Job Creation Partnerships with the Gabriola Arts Council will provide skills training and paid work experience to four Gabriola Island residents, resulting in a year’s worth of arts and culture programming and a renovated community cultural centre.

A government-funded skills training program is giving eight people real-world work experience and training in the public works sector to help them find full-time employment and join in on British Columbia’s growing economy.

A Community and Employer Partnerships program with a successful history of helping unemployed individuals find high-paying careers as retail automotive sales professionals is being funded again in the Lower Mainland.

Individuals and families with low-to moderate-incomes and people with disabilities are benefiting from 71 new units of affordable rental housing at Chorus Apartments, which officially opened in Surrey.

A successful hospitality training project is being expanded to cover two more cities.

The Province has proclaimed November as the second annual Aboriginal Disability Awareness Month in British Columbia, recognizing the unique contributions Indigenous people living with disabilities make to communities throughout the province. 

A first-of-its-kind incubator seed farm created with the help of a government-funded Job Creation Partnership officially opened in Duncan.

A new Job Creation Project with the Rick Hansen Foundation will increase accessibility in British Columbia communities and provide work experience for up to 14 people with disabilities.

Following on a strong annual tradition, the Province is commemorating October as Community Living Month, a time to recognize and celebrate community inclusion and the significant contributions people living with developmental disabilities make to British Columbia communities year round.