QUESTION PERIOD — Finance
Canada Disability Benefit
April 17, 2024
Senator Gold, my question is about yesterday’s budget announcement on the Canada disability benefit. The community, as you know, was hopeful and now feels that promises have been broken. I personally want to join Inclusion Canada in stating that it would be an understatement to say we are disappointed.
We remember the verbal commitment to eligible persons with disabilities receiving their cheques by June 2024. Now we’re talking about July 2025. We also remember it was said time after time in committee and here in this chamber that the goal of this benefit was not to be of minor help but to lift persons with disabilities out of poverty.
I have a question, and Canadians living with disabilities deserve an answer: How is it realistic to conclude that we will actually lift persons with disabilities out of poverty with a maximum of $200 a month?
Thank you for your question. I understand the disappointment of many in the disability community, and beyond, that the benefits will not begin until July 2025. The government, in the spirit of its engagement with communities and persons with disabilities, will continue to consult on the proper design of these programs. The government has made the decision that those benefits, which are significant and will be of significant benefit to those in need, will begin in July 2025.
In the interim, the decision was made and I understand the disappointment. It was thought necessary to fit it within the framework of this budget.
During the study of the bill, every stakeholder warned us that, in order to leave no one behind, the eligibility should not be determined through the disability tax credit. Yet this is what was announced yesterday, meaning that out of the 1.6 million Canadians with disabilities living below the poverty line, only 600,000 would qualify. Is there a reason why the government chose this path when they keep repeating “nothing about us without us”?
Thank you for the question. There were serious consultations before the design, when the government made its policy choice. There will continue to be consultations going forward with regard to further designs of the program.
