| On June 22nd, 2023, a significant milestone was achieved as the federal government enacted Bill C-22, officially establishing the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). This landmark legislation marked an important step forward in addressing the issue of poverty within the disability community.
The purpose of the CDB is to address the financial challenges faced by working-aged individuals living with disabilities, particularly with rising inflation, increasing cost of living, added health expenses, and barriers to employment. By June 2024, the government must begin the next phase of developing the regulations of the act which will determine many important factors including eligibility criteria and how the CDB will affect other benefits. The government has not determined how much this benefit will be nor when it will be disbursed to those who need it. People with disabilities continue to wait, many living in legislated poverty.
According to Statistics Canada, 27% of Canadians have disabilities, and 1.4 million people with disabilities live in poverty.
With the impending announcement of the federal benefit in April, Plan Institute, alongside partnering organizations nationwide, has been campaigning to urge the government to allocate adequate funding for this vital initiative. It is important that the government prioritize this matter and promptly allocate the necessary resources to address the pressing needs of the disability community.
We are calling upon the federal government to fully fund the benefit and include the CDB in the next federal budget.
You can show your support by writing to your MP and signing the petition.
Thank you, Plan Insitute for writing up this update |
