Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

disabled person

personne handicapée

disabled person means a person who because of physical or mental impairment is incapable of pursuing regularly any substantially gainful occupation; (personne handicapée)

Minister

ministre

Minister means the Minister of Human Resources Development; (ministre)

vocational rehabilitation

réadaptation professionnelle

vocational rehabilitation means any process of restoration, training and employment placement, including services related thereto, the object of which is to enable a person to become capable of pursuing regularly a substantially gainful occupation. (réadaptation professionnelle)

Agreements Authorized

Marginal note:Agreement authorized

• 3 (1) The Minister may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into an agreement with any province, for a period not exceeding six years, to provide for the payment by Canada to the province of contributions in respect of the costs incurred by the province in undertaking in the province a comprehensive program for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons.

• Marginal note:Contributions payable

  (2) The contributions payable by Canada to a province under an agreement made pursuant to this section shall be fifty per cent of the costs incurred by the province in providing the program referred to in subsection (1).

• Marginal note:Definition of "costs"

  (3) In this section, costs incurred by a province means the costs incurred by the province determined as prescribed in the agreement made under this section between the Minister and the province, but does not include any amounts expended by the province in respect of

  • (a) any disabled person eligible for vocational rehabilitation under the Veterans Rehabilitation Act, chapter V-5 of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1970; or

  • (b) any disabled person whose disability is the result of an injury in respect of which benefits are payable to him under any workman’s compensation law.

• Marginal note:Definition of "comprehensive program for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons"

  (4) In this section, the expression comprehensive program for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons, in respect of a province, means a vocational rehabilitation program for disabled persons as defined in the agreement made under this section between the Minister and the province, and, without restricting the generality of the foregoing, includes such of the following services and processes of restoration, training and employment placement as are specified in the agreement, namely,

  • (a) assessment and counselling services for disabled persons;

  • (b) services and processes of restoration, training and employment placement designed to enable a disabled person to dispense with the necessity for institutional care or the necessity for the regular home service of an attendant;

  • (c) providing for utilizing the services of voluntary organizations that are carrying on activities in the province in the field of vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons;

  • (d) the training of persons as counsellors or administrators to carry out programs for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons;

  • (e) the coordination of all activities in the province relating to vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons; and

  • (f) such other services and processes of restoration, training and employment placement in respect of disabled persons as are specified in the agreement.

• Marginal note:How services made available

  (5) An agreement made under this section between the Minister and a province shall set out how and by what manner the various services and processes of restoration, training and employment placement in respect of disabled persons that constitute the provincial program for the vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons as defined in the agreement will be made available to disabled persons in the province.

Marginal note:Amendments

4 Any agreement made under this Act may be amended or terminated by the mutual consent of the parties thereto with the approval of the Governor in Council.

Marginal note:Maximum contributions

4.1 Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any agreement made under this Act, the contributions payable to a province pursuant to an agreement made under this Act in respect of any fiscal year ending after March 31, 1995 shall not exceed the contributions to that province in respect of the fiscal year ending on March 31, 1995.

Federal Programs and Research

Marginal note:Coordination of federal activities

5 The Minister may undertake to coordinate federal activities in the field of vocational rehabilitation of disabled persons in cooperation with the ministers or heads of any other departments or agencies of the Government of Canada carrying on activities in that field.

Marginal note:Research program

• 6 (1) The Minister may undertake research in respect of vocational rehabilitation for disabled persons and may, where he deems it appropriate, undertake that research in cooperation with any province.

• Marginal note:Publication of research

  (2) The Minister may collect, compile, analyze, abstract and publish information relating to any research undertaken by him pursuant to this section.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

7 The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

Report to Parliament

Marginal note:Report to Parliament

8 The Minister shall, within three months after the termination of each fiscal year, prepare an annual report on the work done, moneys expended and obligations contracted under this Act and cause the report to be laid before Parliament forthwith on the completion thereof or, if Parliament is not then sitting, on any of the first fifteen days next thereafter that either House of Parliament is sitting.