Accommodation, in the form of human or technical supports, is crucial to women with disabilities. In the training agreement signed by the province of Ontario, for example, there is no provision for funds for such accommodation. However, the language of Bill 96 states that the Ontario Training and Adjustment Board will "seek to ensure access and equity in labour force development programs and services, so as to lead to the full participation of workers and potential workers in the labour force" (8).

To what extent we will be accommodated depends very much on how the labour market partners and the government interpret access and equity.

To me, ensuring access and equity means providing the accommodations that enable women with disabilities to participate in all federally and provincially funded training programs. It means providing accommodation, such as human and technical supports, and it means being able to choose from the same training and apprenticeship programs that everyone else can.

Money saved by government in Social Assistance ($806/ month) and Medical/ Dental/Special ($200/month). Money paid to government in federal and provincial taxes and CPP and UI contributions.

Decades of "vocational rehabilitation" have not moved enough women with disabilities into the work force. We must ensure that those who are under-served now are not excluded from new training opportunities. Women with all forms of disabilities, regardless of severity, must have equitable access to education and training. Geographic barriers that place women with disabilities in rural and isolated communities at a further disadvantage must also be addressed.

Any action or work undertaken for women with disabilities, whether in research, training or actual employment opportunities, should respect the diversity of women's disabilities. Disability is not a standardizing factor and even similar disabilities affect different people in various ways. Efforts made to improve the situation of women with disabilities should not have an adverse impact on women with more severe disabilities and those who face multiple barriers.

Women with disabilities should be recognized as also facing sexism, racism, and homophobia. Women's issues need to be addressed within all training programs and training programs for women must include women with disabilities. In all cases, regional differences, especially the rural/urban and north/south disparity, should be taken into consideration for planning and implementation. The proposed democratization of training in Canada includes a commitment to social equity. But is that enough? I have seen few positive results in the two and a half years since the federal government formally announced the National Strategy for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (9). As a constituency, women with disabilities remain under-represented in the labour force. We have been subjected to segregated and substandard education. And we have been unable to access training at the federal level in any meaningful way.

What I do know is that while federal training policy and regional programs may impact on individuals in varying ways, it is at the local level that women live, learn and work. All efforts made by and for women with disabilities should be guided by the participation and experiences of disabled women across the country. Informed decision-making should reflect the realities, in all their diversity, of women with disabilities in Canada.

Helen Wagle is a disability rights activist. She is currently the Provincial Coordinator of the Ontario Network of Independent Living Centres. She has worked with the National Reference Group of People with Disabilities at the Canadian Labour Force Development Board (CLFDB) and participated in the CLFDB's 1993 Annual National Women's Conference on Employment and Training Issues.