Social Policy in Ontario

Ford government’s internal surveys expose failures in disability job training program

Posted on May 8, 2026 in Delivery System, Inclusion Delivery System

Source: TheStar.com — Authors: Moira Welsh

TheStar.com – Politics/ Provincial
May 7, 2026.   By Moira Welsh, Queen’s Park Bureau

Ford’s plan to get Ontarians off social assistance and into jobs is failing those with complex disabilities, according to the province’s own research.

Premier Doug Ford’s controversial plan to move people with complex disabilities off social assistance and into jobs is being hailed as a success, despite the government’s own research that exposes failures.

A Ministry of Labour slide show presentation from late last year, obtained by the Star, details how the province’s new Employment Ontario model has led to clients being rushed into jobs before they are ready, while organizations report diminished capacity to provide specialized supports.

The ministry conducted two surveys, one for people with disabilities and one for employment-service providers, which identified more than a dozen barriers hurting outcomes. Yet despite the findings, the province has not changed the system.

The presentation, summarizing feedback from organizations, said service providers have been underfunded for 15 years, employers “don’t know how to support” workers with disabilities, and performance targets are pressuring agencies to place clients into jobs too quickly — even when those with “complex barriers” need more time to prepare.

One of the surveys also found opposition to a rule requiring jobs to be at least 20 hours a week to count as successful employment, despite advocates saying many people with disabilities cannot manage those hours.

Operating funding for employment providers “has not increased in 15 years,” one ministry slide stated, leaving agencies “unable to meet the needs” of clients with disabilities and “compromising service quality and outcomes.”

The slides, however, also suggest the ministry believes it has made some progress, outlining a shift toward a “people first” model focused on flexible, person‑directed supports and more equitable, needs‑based funding.

The government research involved more than 200 sector stakeholders and interviews with 31 people with disabilities about their experiences finding work through the Integrated Employment Services (IES) system.

The Star asked Labour Minister David Piccini’s office why the government conducted the surveys only to ignore the opinions it sought.

Piccini’s spokesperson did not directly answer the question.

Instead, Michel Figueredo said the program reached “full province-wide operation over the past year and is already helping connect thousands of people to the support they need to find and keep meaningful work, and we are building on that progress.

“Our government will continue listening, consulting and carefully assessing any potential changes to strengthen service delivery and improve employment outcomes,” Figueredo said.

Piccini’s office previously called its program a success, leading to roughly 390,000 jobs at 20 hours a week, a number that includes nearly 124,000 people who “self-identified” as disabled on the program’s intake assessment form. The disabilities on the assessments can range from the use of hearing aids to one’s level of hyperactivity.

The ministry did not say how long a worker had to be employed to be defined as working. Nor did it respond when asked if those employment numbers back up the survey complaints that people are rushed out of employment preparation programs and into jobs.

“The government is not listening,” said Mark Wafer, who helped write Canada’s 2024 disability employment strategy and employed people with disabilities as an owner of Tim Hortons restaurants.

“The new model is a disaster,” Wafer said. “The strategies the government put in place will undo all the work we have done over the past few decades.”

Ontario’s 2019 launch of the “integrated employment services” system (IES) took employment training for those on the Ontario Disability Support Program away from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services, and merged it with training for people on Ontario Works benefits, who Wafer said have much different needs.

Instead of relying on the public servants, the Ford government hired third-party operators to oversee the program’s new rules for funding and contract renewals for the organizations that, for decades, provided employment training for people with disabilities.

A long-time Progressive Conservative supporter, Wafer calls the external oversight a “total waste of money.”

In a sector that is reliant on government money, Wafer is one of the few willing to speak out based on his years as an employer, but made clear that he was not speaking in his capacity as chair of Canadian Hearing Services (CHS), which closed its program in April after 81 years of service but still gets provincial funding for other programs. Its staff refused to be interviewed although a CHS note to its clients said the program could not continue because the current system fails to recognize the needs of people with complex disabilities.

Many leaders the Star contacted agreed with that assessment, but said they are silenced by non-disclosure agreements and, more recently, a “non-disparagement” media protocol issued by WCG Consulting International Ltd., the largest third-party operator.

After the Star began asking questions, WCG reminded organizations of “Section A8.3,” which requires program leaders to ensure “their employees do not publicly disparage” the company, the Employment Ontario program or “the province.”

WCG oversees Ontario’s most populated areas including Peel and York regions, Ottawa and Toronto. Despite launching in Canada more than 30 years ago, WCG is now owned by Australia’s APM Group, which has minority U.S. investment from the Chicago-based Madison Dearborn Partners, a private equity firm.

The ministry transferred $224 million to WCG in 2024-2025, according to the public accounts. At least part of that money is used to disburse funding to employment services providers but when asked, the ministry did not provide the breakdown, nor did WCG.

Some of the third-party operators are not-for-profit or fall under municipal governance. They all uphold the ministry rules — including job targets — and award contracts based on the success of service providers meeting those requirements.

Along with WCG, a subsidiary of the U.K. based Serco Group received $73.8 million in transfers from the ministry in the previous fiscal year, according to public accounts. Serco Canada did not respond to repeated questions.

https://www.thestar.com/politics/provincial/ford-governments-internal-surveys-expose-failures-in-disability-job-training-program/article_5d95111d-f53f-4632-9e72-dda9d6ee899c.html?source=newsletter&utm_content=a02&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=email&utm_email=0C810E7AE4E7C3CEB3816076F6F9881B&utm_campaign=pol_hl_35580

Tags: budget, disabilities, jurisdiction, participation

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