44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 1, 2023 02:00PM
The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business is now expired, and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.
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Mr. Speaker, I am here again to ask about the urgency for persons with disabilities for immediate income support as they continue to wait for the Canada disability benefit.
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There was news today that there will be a vote tomorrow, and the House wants to push this through quickly, but we still have to wait for those regulations to be made. We know that persons with disabilities face too many challenges, which are only increasing with the rising costs of living, such as food and skyrocketing home and rent prices.
Throughout the course of the committee study on Bill C-22, we heard about the suffering of those living in poverty. We heard from the minister that ESDC had supplied information that the average gap for persons with disabilities between their income and the Canada poverty line is $9,000. That is $9,000 below the poverty line.
Overwhelmingly, we heard that almost one million persons with disabilities living in poverty are not eating enough meals daily and cannot keep up with the rising costs. They are making impossible choices between housing, food, heating and transportation, and the provincial support programs have remained stagnant.
As we know, no single province is even close to the poverty line. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick show the highest gaps, in excess of $12,000 a year, while two of the most affluent provinces, Ontario and B.C., have gaps nearing $10,000. I have no doubt that the gaps have only grown worse. It is essential that the federal government step up with some interim benefit immediately.
The government has international obligations, including the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, to ensure dignity and full equality for all. This includes necessary and adequate income, but it is not happening right now. Dire financial circumstances are the reality for too many people with disabilities, and the longer they must wait for the promised Canada disability benefit, the more they are left feeling abandoned by the government.
Another common theme from witness testimony in committee for Bill C-22 was that income supports are needed now. With the rising hopes and expectations of a Canada disability benefit, persons with disabilities are calling for assistance to get them through until the disability benefit is a reality. In the last several months, we have been hearing a growing call for an emergency response benefit to offset the cost of living.
Will the Liberal government acknowledge the dire financial situation for one million persons with disabilities in this country? What is the plan to protect their human rights? Will the Liberals explore an interim benefit as we wait for the Canada disability benefit?
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Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Port Moody—Coquitlam for her advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities.
I want to especially acknowledge the advocacy of the hon. Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion. She has worked tirelessly throughout her career to promote the rights of persons with disabilities.
I understand my colleague is looking forward to knowing all about the Canada disability benefit, and I too want nothing more than to see Canadians with disabilities receive the new Canada disability benefit as quickly as possible. I remind my colleague that, as set out in this legislation, the details of the proposed benefit will be addressed in future regulations. Those details include the benefit amount, eligibility criteria and other features, such as the treatment of employment income. We will work out all of those details in consultation with our partners, including persons with disabilities and disability stakeholders, as well as with the provinces and territories.
The Canada disability benefit will be a groundbreaking income supplement. It has the potential to lift hundreds of thousands of working-age persons with disabilities out of poverty, and that is why we are taking the time to get it right.
In the spirit of “nothing without us”, we will continue engaging with the disability community at every turn to ensure that the Canada disability benefit is designed with their voices at the table. We will keep their voices at the forefront to ensure that we truly reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age Canadians with disabilities.
I am pleased to say that engagement activities began in the summer of 2021. A series of virtual round tables with stakeholders took place during the winter and spring of 2022, and community-led consultations will continue over the coming months.
We have also been working closely with provincial and territorial governments, because they play a key role in providing benefits and supports to many Canadians with disabilities. This will help us ensure that every person who receives the Canada disability benefit will be better off. It will also help us harmonize delivery of the CDB and ensure that there are no clawbacks to other benefits.
The Canada disability benefit has the potential to make a profound difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities. For that to happen, we need to take the time to do things the right way, and that is exactly what we are doing.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciated working with the member throughout the whole process of Bill C-22 since Parliament began to sit.
Right now, the cost of living is limiting persons with disabilities who are living in poverty the opportunity to eat a meal. I am asking the member if the Liberal government is willing to consider an emergency interim benefit as we wait for the Canada disability benefit to get into their bank accounts. I want to know from the member if it is on the Liberals' radar to make sure that people living with a disability in this country are having their human rights upheld and can afford to live in a home, eat a decent meal, and buy fresh fruits and vegetables.
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Mr. Speaker, the proposed Canada disability benefit has the potential to reduce poverty and improve financial security for hundreds of thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities. That is why we are taking the time to consult with our partners, including the disability community, indigenous organizations, disability researchers and experts, persons with disabilities, and disability stakeholders, as well as the provinces and territories.
Persons with disabilities know what they need. With their input, we will determine all details of the Canada disability benefit, which we look forward to sharing with everyone, including my colleague, the member for Port Moody—Coquitlam.
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- Feb/1/23 7:38:18 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am here tonight because I am deeply concerned about the state of our immigration system in this country. I am overwhelmed by the horrific stories of people's lives being ruined because the government has failed to provide a service it is required to provide for people who are trying to come to Canada or who are trying to bring their loved ones to Canada.
I do not think anyone in this place is going to be surprised when I say that my office is dealing with non-stop stories about IRCC issues. Every single member of the House of Commons is getting non-stop calls about how our immigration system is failing to meet the needs of Canadians. It is failing to meet the needs of all those people who are trying to make Canada their home.
We have a government right now that is promising things. It promised to bring in “unlimited of this” and “40 of that.” It makes tons and tons of promises like “500,000 of this”.
The way I have described this in the past is that we have a goat track. Our immigration system right now is a goat track. Do not promise to buy me a Lamborghini when what one has is a goat track. The system is broken, and the government has an obligation to fix our immigration system.
The fact of the matter is that we have people who are trying to come to Canada to go to school. The question I asked the minister, and that I am bringing forward again today, is about students who want to study in universities in Canada. My goodness, we want these people to come to Canada. We want these people to study at our universities. Our universities need that tuition. Our country benefits from having these people come to our country, yet they cannot come because our immigration system is so broken.
This question was about students and their ability to come to Canada to study, but I need to take this opportunity to tell the House a little about some other folks. Yesterday, I was walking into the House of Commons. There was a man from Afghanistan who worked for the Canadian government. His family and his loved ones are still in Afghanistan. He cannot get them out. He was sobbing on the steps of the House of Commons because he is so worried his family will be murdered. It breaks my heart.
I have been working with members of every party in the House to bring female members of Parliament from Afghanistan to Canada and to safety. I woke up a week ago to news that one of those members of Parliament had been murdered, so I do not want to hear from the government that it is going to bring in 100,000, 20,000, or whatever the number of people is, because it is not fixing the immigration system. The problem, when it does not fix the immigration system, is that it ruins people's lives. It ruins our chance of having people come to be part of this beautiful country that is Canada.
I do not want to hear that the government is doing enough. I want to hear what it is going to do to fix the deeply broken immigration system in this country now.
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- Feb/1/23 7:41:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am happy to highlight our government's progress as we continue working to improve our immigration and refugee system.
In addition to the challenges brought by the pandemic backlog, Canada is the top destination in the world for immigration. There are record levels of people wanting to come to Canada. We also saw back-to-back humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine, which significantly impacted processing capacities as more resources were reallocated to these crises.
Our government has added the tools and resources, with more than 1,250 new employees in 2022 to tackle this challenge for students and all others, and the results of 2022 show it. Last year, IRCC processed over 5.2 million applications, nearly double those processed in 2021. This is thanks in part to improvements to the immigration system, including digitized applications, the hiring and training of new employees, streamlined processes and the harnessing of automation to increase efficiency while protecting the safety and security of Canadians.
The results for study permits were even better. IRCC processed approximately 739,000 study permit applications, compared to 555,000 in 2021. The fact is that we have made international study permits a priority, which is why there has been a 100% increase in international students since 2015.
Canada is on track to meet its goal to process 80% of new applications within service standards of 60 days and provide shorter wait times for clients.
We have been taking concrete steps to reduce our backlogs, which, to be clear, are the applications that have been in inventories longer than the service standards. The government knows the wait is too long and is working hard to address the problem and return to service standards. That is what Canada's future students, workers, permanent residents and citizens expect.
To support greater transparency, we have implemented solutions like online status trackers that provide reassurance to clients by allowing them to view progress on their applications. Our case status trackers are in place for citizenship applicants and certain permanent resident applications. We will continue to expand these trackers to more applicants across our system in the coming months, including study permits. To keep Canadians up to date on our progress on reducing backlogs, the department has also been publishing monthly updates on its websites.
These actions demonstrate our commitment to improving processing, reducing backlogs and ensuring our immigration system works for everyone.
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- Feb/1/23 7:44:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, universities in Canada are losing millions of dollars because study permits are not being processed in time.
Iranians trying to escape from their murderous terrorist regime are waiting years for news on whether loved ones can come and when they can come.
In Afghanistan, there are nine female members of Parliament. The current government could get them out today. It could get them to safety today, and it is choosing not to do that.
For Hong Kongers, right now there is a program that is going to expire, and the current government has done nothing to ensure that it is extended.
Ukrainians in my riding have not been able to study at university because the current government has failed to give them a study permit.
That is not a solution.
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- Feb/1/23 7:45:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is not just promises; it is action. Our government added the tools and resources, such as 1,250 new employees in 2022, and we see the results with 5.2 million applications processed, which is nearly double the applications processed in 2021.
The results for study permits were even better. IRCC processed approximately 739,000 permit applications, compared to 555,000 in 2021. With hard work and timely investments, we are processing more student applications than we ever have.
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- Feb/1/23 7:46:11 p.m.
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The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).
(The House adjourned at 7:46 p.m.)
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