A government measure aimed at lifting disabled Canadians out of poverty is making its way through the Senate after MPs overwhelmingly approved it earlier this week.
The Canada Disability Benefit Act, or Bill C-22, if passed by the Senate, will give a tax-free monthly payment to low-income Canadians with disabilities under the age of 65.
It would be the first federally guaranteed income supplement for working-age Canadians with disabilities, designed to replace inconsistencies in provincial and territory payments and bring persons at least up to the poverty level.
The amount of the benefit and who will be entitled to receive it have yet to be determined. That and other issues will be decided when rules are drafted, which will take place within a year of the Act going into effect.
“This law will make a significant, significant impact in the lives of many people,” said Al Mills, executive director of Extend-A-Family Waterloo Region, on behalf of the organization and the 2,000 adults and children with developmental disabilities who utilize its services. “In Canada, disability should not equal poverty… but it now does for many, many individuals,” Mills told the National Observer.
Our Mississauga disability lawyers have a wealth of expertise and knowledge in the field of disability law. An understanding of the particular standards that must be met in order to be eligible for disability benefits can help you in putting together a persuasive case to back up your claim. We are here to help provide you with the expertise you deserve, whether you are dealing with a denied claim or need assistance with the appeals process. Do not hesitate and contact us as soon as possible.
According to the most recent Canadian Survey on Disability, about 917,000, or 23% of working-age Canadians with disabilities, live in poverty.
“We frequently hear about how divided Parliament is… But for disabled people, the sense that everyone was behind us, and we’ve seen them do it twice now, for second and third reading, is just a wonderful testament that Parliament can come together to do the right thing,” Michelle Hewitt, co-chair of the board of Disability Without Poverty, told Canada’s National Observer in an interview on February 3. Hewitt has moderately advanced multiple sclerosis and uses a motorized wheelchair full-time.
She claims that the delay in working out the specifics will guarantee that the new benefit is implemented correctly. The creation of rules provides time and space for persons with disabilities and organizations that assist them to be consulted on the workings of the law, which would not have been feasible if everything was spelled out in the legislation.
“It’s a huge leap of faith,” Hewitt added. “If there isn’t a full participation of handicapped people in rules, disabled people will feel sold down the river.”
The motto of disabled people worldwide is “nothing about us without us,” and the 2019 Accessible Canada Act was developed on the idea that “complete consultation and inclusion of disabled people in everything the government undertakes that includes us,” she added.
The first big test will be developing these regulations.
Hewitt stated that she is “working very hard” to maintain her optimism that handicapped people would be brought to the table with bureaucrats to help write the regulations.
Hewitt and Mills also praised federal Employment, Workforce Development, and Disability Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough’s commitment to including persons with impairments in the process.
Qualtrough has been legally blind since birth, according to Hewitt, and the minister “has fought like crazy” to get Bill C-22 enacted, with help from the disability community, Green MP Mike Morrice, and NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo.
Morrice told Canada’s National Observer in an interview that disability activists, Canadians with disabilities, and disability-serving organizations from around the country led the drive to enhance and approve the measure.
While the bill’s passage in the House is a significant victory, Morrice pointed out a “very regrettable” eligibility restriction.
“The Canada Disability Benefit will expire at the age of 65. However, poverty does not disappear until a person reaches the age of 65. “Nor should the Canada Disability Benefit,” he added.
One certainty is that the payment would be adjusted to inflation, something disabled people fought hard for and Morrice successfully proposed as an amendment in December.
He explained that ensuring the payment is adjusted to inflation was critical because the Ontario Disability Support Program had not been updated in over a decade until this year.
Morrice and Zarrillo are urging the federal government to include funding for the benefit in Budget 2023. Simultaneously, groups are launching a letter-writing campaign to push Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to pay the benefit, according to Morrice.
On the same day that MPs from all parties supported Bill C-22, Justice Minister David Lametti said that the expansion of the medical aid in dying (MAID) statute to include persons suffering primarily from a mental condition will be delayed until 2024.
According to Hewitt, MAID and the Canada Disability Benefit are diametrically opposed.
On the one side, you have death assistance, and on the other, you have a benefit that allows individuals to live a better life with dignity, she explained.
“I already know which one I like… “I choose a life lived with dignity,” Hewitt remarked.
“We hope that the Canada Disability Benefit, rather than being a piece of legislation for the government that’s aimed at disabled people dying, we hope that this is going to be the start of our country recognizing that disabled people need to live in dignity, and that the money that people get from this … will stop people accessing MAID for social reasons.
“Yesterday was our day to rejoice. “We’re back to work today,” Hewitt remarked.
Jonathan Goldbegr is an experienced disability lawyer who has been practicing law for over 20 years. Mr. Goldbegr specializes in helping people with disabilities navigate the complex legal system, including ensuring that they are receiving proper care and support from their families and communities.