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Contact UsWe are always open to feedback. If you have comments questions or concerns, we want to hear from you.

Connect Employment Services188 Goulet StreetWinnipeg, MB, R2H 0R8Tel. 204.474.1959www.connectemployment.ca

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Employee EntitlementsThe Employment Standards Act establishes the rights and responsibilities of most employees and employers in Manitoba and outlines employee entitlements to unpaid breaks, unpaid leave, vacation and general holidays.

Employees are entitled to a 30 minute unpaid break after completing five hours of work. They are entitled to another unpaid break after completing a second, five-hour work period. Employees are also entitled to at least one day of rest per week.

After 30 days, employees are allowed 3 unpaid days a year for Family Leave. This time can be used to take care of yourself or your family when sick. Employees are allowed 8 unpaid weeks a year for Compassionate Care Leave. This time can be used to take care of a very sick or dying family member. Employees are allowed up to 3 unpaid days for Bereavement Leave. This time can be used to deal with the death of a family member.

After completing one year with an employer employees must receive at least 2 weeks of vacation. After completing their fifth year of work with the same employer, employees must receive at least 3 weeks of vacation.

General holidays are sometimes referred to as statutory holidays or stat holidays. They are days recognized by legislation as holidays. Employees either have this day off with pay, or, if they work, are paid differently. There are 8 general holidays in Manitoba:

New Year’s Day (Jan 1) Louis Riel Day (3rd Monday in Feb)

Good Friday (Friday immediately before Easter) Victoria Day (last Monday before or on May 24th)

Canada Day (Jul 1) Labour Day (1st Monday in Sept)

Thanksgiving Day (2nd Monday in Oct) Christmas Day (Dec.25th)

Most employees are paid general holiday pay for these days , however if you work on a general holiday you are entitled to 1.5 times your normal wage unless you are provided with another paid day off in the next 30 days.

Passion for Skiing Leads Connect Client to the OlympicsMost athletes dream about going to the Olympics, but for most that dream never becomes a reality.

For Steven Roy, the fulfillment of that dream came in an unexpected form - as a volunteer.

Steven is an accomplished alpine skier and former member of the Summit Ski Club. While now retired from active competition, Steven still enjoys participating in and supporting his sport, so when he was presented with an opportunity to volunteer for three weeks at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he jumped at the chance. Steven and his father travelled to Vancouver in February and volunteered as members of the course crew for the downhill ski events. They were part of a huge team responsible for preparing and maintaining the courses for the skiing competitions.

The same drive, passion and persistance that led Steven to his opportunity to volunteer at the Olympics has also helped him progress in his pursuit of employment.

As one of the first students to participate in Connect’s SETs Project, Steven found his first job while attending high school. He joined the staff of Grapes on Pembina, where he was employed for over a year as a dishwasher, and like many of his high school peers, Steven continued his studies while holding down his part-time job.

Upon graduation from the Culinary Arts & Design Program at Winnipeg Technical College, Steven joined the staff of the Holiday Inn South under the mentorship of Executive Chef Eldon Brink, where he continues to build his culinary skills and gain valuable experience.

And as he continues in his career, we know that Steven’s positive attitude and constant drive to learn and grow as an employee will lead him to great things!

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In the early 1990’s, when the concept of community-based employment for people with intellectual disabilities was a relatively new concept, Boston Pizza was one of the first businesses to jump on board and provide opportunities to this historically under-represented group in the workforce.

Connect’s partnership with Boston Pizza began humbly in 1992 with the initial placement of one client at a Boston Pizza on Pembina Highway. From that first placement, the partnership has grown to span 7 Winnipeg locations and has led to 25 placements over the course of 17 years.

In addition to the obvious benefits that these individuals experienced through earning a wage, they also experienced the intrinsic benefits that come through working, such as having a valued role in the community and an opportunity to interact and develop meaningful relationships with members of their community.

Throughout the years, the management and staff of Boston Pizza have continued to demonstrate a strong and lasting commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion. Consistently, they have viewed each candidate from Connect as an individual with unique skills and abilities, and have supported them to grow and become valued members of their staff.

The sheer number of employees that Boston Pizza has hired speaks to their achievements in improving employment opportunities for people with disabilities. But the impact of those jobs goes far beyond the individual employed. When such a high profile employer demonstrates a belief and a commitment to hiring people with disabilities, its sets an example for other businesses in the community.

New Partnerships

Blockbuster Video Regent

Boston Pizza Pembina

Burger King Osborne

Canad Inns McPhillips

Canadian Union of Postal Workers

Carlisle Tire

Celebrations Dinner Theatre

CJL Specialy Catering

Earl Grey Community Club

Ellice Cafe & Theatre

YMCA-YWCA Daycare

Kings Park Day Care Centre

Manor Adult Day Club

McDonalds Regent

Petland Regent

Seven Oaks General Hospital

Silver City St. Vital

Special Olympics Manitoba

St. Mary’s Road United Church

University of Winnipeg

Transportation Key to InclusionAsk people with intellectual and other disabilities to name the barriers they experience to community inclusion and participation, and near the top of that list will be problems accessing transportation. To travel around their communities at the times that meet their needs and to the locations they desire requires that, as individuals, they have transportation options available and the skills and supports to use them.

People with disabilities in our community have very few transportation options. They want to access public transportation but this choice has its challenges. With regular city transit not all busses are accessible so you are limited to certain routes and times. Weather is a major factor as well, for some people the regular transit system is only a viable option for six months of the year.

Due to the difficulties accessing regular transit people with disabilities require a specialized transportation system. Private transportation systems are very expensive. The public system is affordable but challenging to access. There is a lengthy process involved to qualify for the service and once you qualify your trips are booked according to where you fall on their priority list. The system in place to book and confirm rides is very complicated and time consuming. People require support just to navigate through the system. You can plan and book your trips for the week, but there is no guarantee you will receive them. Imagine how frustrating it is when you call to confirm your trips to find out they have booked you a trip to work but no trip home. The trip you booked to go to the doctor has you arriving an hour and half before your appointment or you have no rides at all. So now the only option is to stay home.

Unfortunately, due to the lack of reliability and flexibility of the public system, many people with intellectual disabilities still rely on service agencies to provide transportation through agency owned and operated vehicles.

All levels of government need to address these key challenges and work together to facilitate access for individuals who choose to use public transportation. It is important to have a public system that offers a variety of options and is designed to meet the needs of all citizens.

Boston Pizza employee Debbie Baziniak and her manager Gerri McCaughan

In recognition for their efforts in promoting the employment of persons with disabilities, Boston Pizza was selected as the winner of the 2009 Large Business Award from the Manitoba Business Leadership Network, an organization whose mission is to engage the business community in promoting the benefits of hiring qualified individuals with disabilities and providing Manitoban’s with disabilities the opportunity to acquire meaningful employment.

Congratulations to all the staff and management at Boston Pizza for this outstanding achievement!

Boston Pizza Recognized for Leadership in Employing Persons with Disabilities

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Thank you to our sponsors:

Sweet Success!Connect Employment Services (Connect), in partnership with The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba (WCB) presented its 4th annual “Sweet Success” dessert tasting gala on April 16th 2009 at the University Club. Guests celebrated the successes of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their employers. During the evening awards were presented in recognition of the outstanding achievements of the following individuals:

Outstanding Connect Staff &Outstanding Employer

Left: Connect staff Paul Parisien-GuerinRight: Jean Swaffer, Canad Inns

Outstanding Natural Support

Left: Claire NewlandsRight: Award winner Jacqueline Thompson of Manitoba Hydro

Outstanding Volunteer

Birgit Hall

Upper Crust Sponsor

Take the Cake Sponsor

Sweetie Pie Sponsor

Sugar Spice Sponsor

Clean & Green Professsional Cleaners

Annual General MeetingFirst Unitarian Universalist Church of Winnipeg

603 Wellington Crescent7:30pm

Featuring Guest Speaker:

The Honourable Gord Mackintosh

Misister of Family Services and Consumer Affairs

Congratulations to....THAD ALLARY for being selected as Employee of the Month for February 2009 at Burger King Unicity.

BRITA HALL for achieving 15 years of service at the University of Manitoba.

ANDREW MONSMA for being selected as Employee of the Month for February 2010 at Canad Inns Club Regent.

JASON & AMANDA POPE on their marriage on July 4th, 2009.

DEBORAH CRELLIN on her engagement and upcoming marriage to Douglas Epps. In-Kind Sponsor

Lightvisions

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Connect receives Grant Funding!Connect is happy to announce that it has been awarded two generous grants in support of the SETS project, a pilot project supporting high school students with intellectual disabilities to work and participate in the community. Our thanks to The Winnipeg Foundation and The Canada Safeway Foundation for helping us continue this important and groundbreaking project.

Connect’s Agenda focused on WellnessConnect Employment recently organized a Wellness Workshop for employees at Breezy Bend Country Club on Saturday, November 7, 2009. The theme of the workshop was “Setting Realistic and Achievable Wellness Goals” and was jointly attended by our sister organization, SCE LifeWorks.

We commissioned practitioners to provide wellness sessions on Nutrition, Posture & Balance, World Beat Dance, Cardio Fun, Circuit Training & Yoga (including Traditional Yoga, Chair Yoga and Laughter Yoga)…Yes Laughter Yoga!!!

We got on our comfortable clothes and experienced a full day of wellness and fun, together with our co-workers.

Overall the workshop was very enjoyable and an awesome way to understand that Connect Employment knows the value of employees that are feeling good, have energy and value their own wellness!! Hats off to everyone!!

The Closing Session was a Community Drum Circle, which was facilitated by our own Shelly Ferec-LeGall. The room was filled with hand drum rhythms that encouraged us to explore the rhythm of team building as we orchestrated our own “in the moment” drumming masterpiece. Way to go Team!!

Client Advisory CommitteeThe Client Advisory Committee was created with the goals of having clients’ voices heard within Connect Employment Services, and to provide an opportunity for client representation within the Agency. We meet every second month.

Some of the objectives for the Client Advisory Committee are to listen to client issues and concerns; to share information between clients, staff, board members, and sometimes the community; and to share information among clients of Connect Employment Services.

The Client Advisory Committee is always looking for client participation, either by becoming members or coming to meetings to voice concerns. If you are interested in participating, please feel free to contact Todd Lettley, the Agency Representative, at 474-1959.

Sweet SuccessCelebrate | Indulge | Enjoy

Toast the successes of people with intellectual disabilities working in the community, while enjoying a decadent dessert tasting party.

April 29th, 20107:00pm – 9:00pm

University of ManitobaTickets $30 per person

Presented by:

Connect Employment Services &

The Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba

Nomination forms at: http://www.connectemployment.ca/event_main.htm