Question Period Note: The Proposed Canada Disability Benefit

When will this government address poverty for persons with disabilities?

• On June 2, 2022, I was proud to stand before the House and table Bill-C22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

• This is a very important piece of legislation. We know that working age persons with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty and less likely to be able to earn income through employment compared to other working age Canadians.

• That is why our government is taking action through the creation of a new Canada Disability Benefit.

• Given the Bill received unanimous support in Second Reading, I know there is strong support for this legislation and we will work with the other parties to continue to build this support to meet the objectives of this legislation to reduce poverty amongst working age persons with disabilities.

• In the spirit of “nothing without us”, our government will continue our engagement with the disability community on the design and delivery of the benefit.

• We will also continue our engagement with provinces and territories to ensure persons with disabilities are better off because of this measure.
 

On June 2, 2022, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, Carla Qualtrough, reintroduced in the House of Commons the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) Act, Bill C-22. This Bill received unanimous, all-party support in its second reading on October 18, 2022 and is currently being studied by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. This 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. This approach will allow the Government to continue engaging on the specific design of the proposed benefit while the Bill moves through the parliamentary process.

The Canada Disability Benefit is a key component of Canada’s first-ever Disability Inclusion Action Plan. The Action Plan, which was released on October 7, 2022, is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive of persons with disabilities based on the principles of equality, anti-discrimination, participation and inclusion in the development of our programs and policies.

The 2020 Speech from the Throne committed to bringing forward a new CDB. This commitment was reiterated on December 16, 2021 in the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion’s mandate letter, which asks the Minister to “move forward with the design, introduction and implementation of a Canada Disability Benefit Act and Canada Disability Benefit for low-income working age persons with disabilities.”

As currently envisioned, the benefit would:
• Supplement existing federal, provincial and territorial (F-P/T) income support;
• Help address inequalities in accessing the current F-P/T social safety net;
• Minimize negative impacts on work incentives; and
• Be income-tested.

Engagement:

In the spirit of “Nothing Without Us”, where persons with disabilities have demanded to be included in the development of policies and programs that affect their lives, the design of the proposed CDB is being informed by ongoing stakeholder engagement. There have been a number of engagement activities to date:
• A DIAP Online Consultation Survey (which ran between June 4, 2021 and September 30, 2021) and included questions on the CDB. This engagement included an online survey that received input from approximately 8,600 Canadians.

Four DIAP/CDB roundtables:
 Roundtable with Minister Qualtrough, MP Ryan Turnbull and Disability Organizations to launch online survey (June 4, 2021);
 Roundtable with the Prime Minister, Minister Qualtrough and Persons with Disabilities (June 25, 2021);
 Roundtable with Minister Qualtrough and Disability Without Poverty (July 27, 2021);
 Roundtable with Minister Qualtrough and Disability Organizations (July 28, 2021).
• Four CDB roundtables:
 Roundtable with Disability Researchers and Academics (January 14, 2022);
 Roundtable with Organizations who work with members of Racialized Communities (January 28, 2022);
 Roundtable with National Disability Organizations (February 15, 2022);
 Roundtable with Disability Service Providers (February 28, 2022)
Concurrently, community-led engagement efforts are underway to inform the DIAP and CDB:
• Funding agreements in place with National Disability Organizations to lead community-level engagement (funded through the Social Development Partnerships Program-Disability component).
• Funding through ESDC Engagement Protocol Agreements for National Indigenous Organizations to provide community perspectives.

P/T governments are critical partners in developing the proposed CDB. F-P/T Ministers Responsible for Social Services met for an initial discussion on the DIAP and the proposed benefit in July 2021.
Bilateral and multilateral engagement at all levels with provinces and territories has been ongoing.

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