The federal government today reintroduced legislation to create a monthly benefit payment for working-age Canadians with disabilities.
“With Canada’s disability benefit, we have a unique opportunity for a generation to correct the long-term social and economic exclusion that is the experience of too many people with disabilities in our country,” he said. Employment, Workforce Development. and Inclusion of Disability Carla Qualtrough said in a statement to the media.
The Liberal government introduced Bill C-35 in June 2021, during the last Parliament. The bill received its first reading, but it died in the order paper when the 2021 federal election was called.
Earlier this month, the New Democrats filed a motion asking the federal government to re-offer disability benefits. The NDP’s non-binding motion was passed unanimously in the House of Commons. The party said it had tabled a motion to urge the government to act.
Qualtrough told CBC News at the time that any delay in introducing the bill was due to his government’s efforts to make sure the benefit worked and would not lead to a reduction in other benefits.
“We are … working with the provinces and territories to ensure that Canada’s disability benefit will increase the monthly income of Canadians with disabilities living below the poverty line and will not adversely affect their entitlement to other programs and services.” say the minister.
When the C-35 was first introduced, it was not clear how much funding people would get or how. However, it did allow the government to establish most of the design elements of the benefit, including the conditions that must be met to receive it, the monetary value of the benefit, and how it would be indexed to inflation.
It is unclear whether these conditions will be maintained when the Liberals reintroduce legislation.
An election promise
During the 2021 federal election campaign, the Liberals said there were more than a million Canadians with disabilities living in poverty and promised to address the issue.
The Liberals ’2021 platform pledged to introduce the benefit to help with the cost of transportation, medical procedures and other expenses.
The platform said that once the benefit was implemented, it would offer “a direct monthly payment … for low-income Canadians with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64”.
The post-election letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Qualtrough led her to re-introduce the bill.
On Wednesday, a multi-party group of senators and members of parliament called for the government to re-introduce the bill, saying that while 22% of the population is made up of people with disabilities, 41% of Canadians they live in poverty have a disability.
“We have to live up to our promise to create a new benefit for people with disabilities. It’s as simple as that,” said Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.
Senator Chantal Petitclerc, a Paralympic athlete appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Trudeau in 2016, is part of the Independent Senators Group. He said now is the time to take action.
“As one of the 22 per cent of Canadians with disabilities, I am aware of the barriers and inequalities that still exist and persist,” he said.
“As a senator, I am committed to ensuring that, in our country, everyone has the same opportunities and the tools to reach their full potential and actively contribute to society.”