44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 12, 2024 02:00PM
- Jun/12/24 3:17:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the government repeatedly said that the Canada disability benefit would lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty. In doing so, it gave the disability community hope, but now we know it was all a charade. Documents recently tabled show, by the government's own estimates, that less than 2% of folks with disabilities will be lifted above the poverty line, and not until 2028.
How does the Deputy Prime Minister justify extinguishing this hope, and will she right this wrong?
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- Jun/12/24 3:18:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for the first time in Canadian history, we have a federal disability benefit that is going to strengthen the financial security of more than 600,000 persons with disabilities. The initial investment of $6.1 billion in budget 2024 is the next step to get this benefit out to Canadians.
We know that there is more to do. We are committed to doing this work alongside provinces and territories to make sure that there are no clawbacks. We are committed to this, and we are going to get it done.
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- Jun/12/24 6:22:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am back again tonight to continue calling on the government to fix the Canada disability benefit.
To sum up where we are now, this is critical because 40% of the people living in poverty across the country are folks with disabilities. This is the case because provincial and territorial programs are all below the poverty line. In the province of Ontario, for example, the Ontario disability support program totals just over $1,300 a month. In Kitchener, for example, that does not get most people one month's rent on an apartment, and it is about $1,000 below the poverty line.
Folks with disabilities across the country and the disability community advocated for the government to introduce a federal benefit that would supplement these inadequate provincial and territorial programs. It was promised by the government years ago. It was in the Liberals' 2021 election platform, which they campaigned on. It was to be called the Canada disability benefit, and they put forward that it would lift at least hundreds of thousands of folks with disabilities out of poverty.
Now, as a result of those commitments, we did see legislation get passed, and we saw the first version of a proposal for the Canada disability benefit in this year's budget. However, the issue is that what is being proposed is not what the disability community had been calling for. The Liberals are proposing it to be a maximum of $200 a month, or about $6 a day. They are proposing for it to only be delivered to folks who have access to the disability tax credit, which is an incredibly burdensome credit to get access to, and they are proposing that it not start until July of next year, which is about three months before the next fixed election date.
Here is what folks in the disability community have to say, and I will just share two briefly tonight. Krista Carr from Inclusion Canada said, “Our disappointment cannot be overstated.... This benefit was supposed to lift persons with disabilities out of poverty, not merely make them marginally less poor than they already are.”
I have read the words from Kate before in the House. She said, “This budget announcement of adding a max of 200 more a month to a select few disabled people is The Most Liberal Party thing I've ever seen”.
As a result, at committee, I asked the minister a series of questions, including how many people with disabilities would be lifted out of poverty and who in their consultations asked for this.
Last week, we finally got some answers, and they were disappointing. The minister has not met with all of her provincial counterparts, including Ontario. Nothing is scheduled there. The benefit will not lift hundreds of thousands out of poverty, but it will be about 25,000, or about 2% of folks with disabilities living in poverty. Also, for all they talk about “nothing without us”, only 3% of respondents to the Liberals' online survey indicated support for the disability tax credit to be the sole eligibility criteria. It is clear now that the Canada disability benefit that they are proposing did not come from the disability community.
My question to the parliamentary secretary is the same that I asked months ago. If this proposal did not come from the disability community, who is it that asked for what the government is proposing to be in the Canada disability benefit after three years of supposedly consulting with the disability community?
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- Jun/12/24 6:26:44 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first, I want to the thank the member for Kitchener Centre for his continued advocacy on behalf of persons with disabilities.
We are on track to deliver the first-ever federal disability benefit. The design and implementation work is in progress. We must get this additional support to the people who need it as quickly as possible.
The Canada disability benefit is a major milestone in a strong and unwavering commitment to create a more inclusive and fairer Canada. In budget 2024, we are committing to invest $6.1 billion over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $1.4 billion per year ongoing. To repeat, budget 2024 has $6.1 billion, which is the single largest line item in the budget of 2024, so it is really important.
I want to thank all of those who have been relentless in their advocacy and their championing the needs and priorities of people with disabilities. In the spirit of “nothing without us”, we will continue to listen and engage with the disability community in the next phase of delivering this historical benefit as we work towards the regulatory process.
Members can rest assured that, in July, 2025, eligible Canadians will receive their first payment. It will help over 600,000 Canadians with the cost of groceries, transit and equipment.
The Canada disability benefit has a clear objective: to help reduce poverty among working-age persons with disabilities. We have said it before and I will say it again: The benefit is intended to complement, not replace, existing provincial and territorial income supports for persons with disabilities.
We need to work with the provinces to make sure there would be no clawbacks. We aspire for the benefit to grow over time in a responsible and meaningful way in collaboration with the provinces. Our goal is that all persons with disabilities would be better off because of the benefit.
As everyone can see, the process is a huge undertaking, and we must ensure that it is done right. We cannot cut corners, and we need to let the consultation play out. Broad, meaningful and barrier-free consultation with the disability community is important, not just because it is required in the new Canada Disability Benefit Act but also because it is fundamental, and we believe it is the way to go to make sure that we improve the lives of people with disabilities. The work is ongoing. It is working well. We are on track towards providing the first benefit payment in July 2025.
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- Jun/12/24 6:29:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary is a friend, and I know he is speaking from the heart, but if he and others in the government are calling the benefit a major milestone but the disability community, the community that is meant to be supported by the benefit, is not, we have problems here. One of the problems is the consultation process the member mentioned.
The consultation is in there because it is an amendment I had added to the bill almost two years ago. The issue, though, is that for all the talk of listening, consultation and “we hear you”, the fact is that the disability community is trying to tell the government that the things folks with disabilities have been calling for are not in the benefit. What they are trying to get the government to understand is that it must do better.
There is talk that it might grow over time. What we need to see is that it is a matter of urgency to recognize that the number of people with disabilities living in poverty, in my community and others, is a crisis. I hope he is going to step up and do more about it.
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- Jun/12/24 6:30:55 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, since 2015 we have cut the poverty rate in half in Canada. We have lifted more than two million Canadians out of poverty, including more than 650,000 children.
We are not slowing down. We have focused our efforts on our social safety net to support the most vulnerable, including people with disabilities. It is unacceptable that people with disabilities should be more likely to live below the poverty line than people without disabilities.
The benefit would be the first-ever federal benefit for persons with disabilities, with extra financial security to over 600,000 Canadians who need it the most. By 2028, the Canada disability benefit would lift, as the member mentioned, 25,000 working-age persons with disabilities and 15,000 of their family members out of poverty each year. This is the next step in the progression of disability rights in Canada, not a destination. Our government will continue to champion the needs and the priorities of people with disabilities as we build a fairer and more inclusive Canada for all.
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