Light It Up! For NDEAM™ unites communities, workplaces, and landmarks across the country in celebration of disability inclusive employment. Whitby, ON — October 9, 2025 — From the CN Tower in Toronto to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria, communities across Canada will light up purple and blue on Thursday, October 16 for…
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Toronto, ON — October 3, 2025 — Mayor Olivia Chow has proclaimed October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in Toronto, Canada’s largest city and home to the third-largest labour force in North America, underscoring the importance of disability inclusive workplaces in one of the world’s top destinations for global talent. “By embedding accessibility…
ODEN’s National Disability Employment Awareness Month campaign highlights $50B in economic growth potential Whitby, ON — October 1, 2025 — Canadian businesses are at an economic crossroads. Job losses in August pushed unemployment to 7.1%, the highest level in this cycle, according to TD Economics. Labour market pressures, weaker consumer demand, and continued trade dependence on…
Driven by vision of fully inclusive Ontario, eager to get down to business building on ODEN accomplishments WHITBY, ON — After an extensive executive search process, the Ontario Disability Employment Network’s (ODEN) Board of Directors is pleased to announce Amy Widdows has been selected as the new permanent CEO of ODEN, effectively immediately. Widdows had been…
Ontario Disability Employment Network Receives $1 Million Grant to Expand Project SEARCH Initiative That Readies Youth Who Have a Disability for Success in Work Force Five-year project is a “win-win” that will help create more inclusive workplaces in Ontario; help youth achieve full potential; help businesses build talent pipelines to meet future labour needs WHITBY,…
Over 800 Locations in Almost 200 Communities Across Canada Shone Purple and Blue Thursday Night — Light It Up! For NDEAM 2024 a Record-Smashing and History-Making Success For Sparking Continuing Conversation About Disability Inclusion in Employment Scope makes the annual national disability-awareness lighting event unique in North America Whitby, ON, October 18, 2024 — There’s…
Over 500 locations in almost 160 cities and towns across Canada taking part — many “first-time” new locations; federal government illuminating almost 50 buildings across Canada including in The Yukon for the first time; Ontario Government Lighting 13 buildings; famous landmarks including Niagara Falls, CN Tower, Olympic Stadium, Terry Fox Memorial, “Jumbo” Monument; Legislatures in…
Toronto, ON, October 3, 2024 — Toronto mayor Olivia Chow’s proclamation of October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in Ontario’s capital — and largest — city again this year serves as a strong reminder that Toronto businesses should be proactively and intentionally making their workplaces truly and fully disability inclusive, not just “ticking…
Whitby, ON, October 1, 2024 — Ontario businesses approaching disability inclusion and accessibility strictly from a narrow “compliance” mindset to meet standards under the 2005 Accessibility for Ontarians With Disabilities Act (AODA), and employment standards and human rights laws — are hindering the ability of their employees to achieve their full potential, and thereby hampering…
Community Living Ontario and the Ontario Disability Employment Network (ODEN) have published Tangled in Red Tape, a report showing the extent to which Ontario’s Employment Services Transformation has been impacted by underfunding and overwhelming administrative burdens. It has been five years since the provincial government announced its plan to make Ontario’s employment service system “more efficient,…