Disabilities are on the rise as Canada's population ages, a new federal report stated.

The study said that more people with disabilities have access to jobs but the wage gap between those with disabilities and those without is widening.

"The challenges people with disabilities face in their day-to-day lives are numerous," Human Resources Minister Diane Finley says in the introduction to the 2009 Federal Disability Report.

The analysis cites disability rise was seen in all age groups but adults over 65 saw the rise more. Women have a higher disability rate than men but in children it is the opposite.

Anna MacQuarrie, director of policy and programs for the Canadian Association for Community Living said 750,000 Canadians lived with intellectual disabilities and these are the poor people in Canada.

Helpful programmes have been introduced by the federal government like the Registered Disability Savings Plan and the disability supplement to the Working Income Tax Benefit.

Two parliamentary committees also recently recommended a move that would benefit the poor with disabilities. They recommended that the disability tax credit be made refundable, in separate reports.