Question Period Note: CANADA DISABILITY BENEFIT: PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICER REPORT

What is the Government’s response to the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s report and model on the Canada Disability Benefit? Will the Benefit resemble the scenarios laid out in the report?

The Government of Canada is committed to increasing the financial security of working age persons with disabilities

The Government would like to thank the Parliamentary Budget Office for its Report on the Canada Disability Benefit.

The details of the benefit, such as the amount and eligibility criteria, will be made public when the regulations are published in the Canada Gazette.

Regulatory design engagement is ongoing, including the launch of an online engagement tool, roundtables, and bilateral meetings with disability community representatives, experts, and other stakeholders.

The Canada Disability Benefit Act received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023. The benefit is a key component of Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The Act is framework legislation, establishing the benefit and enshrining the main objective of the benefit which is to reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age Canadians with disabilities by supplementing existing income support measures, such as provincial and territorial social assistance. The details of the benefit will follow in regulation.

Note that the Canada Disability Benefit Act lays out a few requirements and timelines:

“The Minister must provide persons with disabilities from a range of backgrounds with meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to collaborate in the development and design of the regulations, including regulations that provide for the application process, eligibility criteria, the amount of a benefit and the appeal process.”

Coming into force of the legislation must happen by one year after Royal Assent – so by June 22, 2024

Progress reports on the regulations: within six months of coming into force; then on by the first anniversary of coming into force.

The requirement to make regulations by June, 2025 and in turn, the regulations will then set a date on which they take effect.

Parliament reviews: first anniversary of the coming into force; third anniversary of the coming into force; then, every five years thereafter.

On November 16, 2023, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report and costing model for the proposed CDB. While acknowledging that the design of the benefit has yet to be announced, the report contained costings for three potential scenarios, with maximum amounts ranging from $14,356 to $22,701 and costs ranging from $2.1 billion to $20.0 billion in the 2024 calendar year. An online tool also allows the public to enter their own design parameters (such as the maximum benefit amount and the income threshold at which the benefit is reduced), and the tool will calculate an estimated cost.

“I know the disability community is counting on us to make the Canada Disability Benefit a reality. As the new Minister of Diversity, Inclusion, and Persons with Disabilities, this is my top priority.”

The Hon. Kamal Khera

Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities

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