SoVote

Mar/22/22 10:55:54 a.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for raising the issue of Canadians with disabilities. I have members of my own family who are in that situation and there are many families in my constituency of Burnaby North—Seymour who are also in that situation. The member opposite is correct that we need to do more to make sure that individuals with disabilities have the supports they need, not just the financial supports but the accessibility supports and the ability for many individuals with accessibility issues to be strong members of our workforce. Canada does not want to have any members of our team sitting on the bench when it is not necessary to do so. I would be very happy to sit down with that member to discuss any ideas he has on how we can go further. I can guarantee that any funding for programs that are going to help vulnerable Canadians with disabilities, who are also trying to deal with an inflationary crisis, would not be helped by the motion that is on the table today. In fact, it would cut revenue that could be invested in programs that could help Canadians with disabilities.

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Context: House Hansard - 43 - Mar/22/22

Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/22/22 12:58:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for his question, and it is a really good one. I want to remind everyone that since we were first elected in late 2015, we have been very focused on trying to support Canadians in terms of costs. To support seniors, we have increased the guaranteed income supplement. To support families, we have introduced the Canada child benefit and now the national child care system. There have been a number of items that we have introduced to support Canadians and reduce income inequality, and we will continue to provide additional supports for Canadians as we move forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 43 - Mar/22/22

Ms. Julie Dzerowicz

Mar/22/22 12:59:55 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I mentioned the old age security, the Canada pension plan and the child benefit in my speech because I wanted to remind everyone that all of these supports are actually indexed to inflation, which will help the most vulnerable in our society. This is not the case in many other countries. In terms of what additional supports we will be providing to Canadians, we have and continue to implement the national child care plan and we continue to provide support for our seniors. As I mentioned, we increased the guaranteed income supplement and we plan on supporting and increasing old age security for those seniors 75 and older. We are also looking at the housing affordability issue and we are looking to take urgent, concrete steps to help resolve this issue moving forward.

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Context: House Hansard - 43 - Mar/22/22

Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Mar/22/22 7:02:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by sharing with you about Hayden and his mom Rebecca from my community. Hayden was born with Cornelia de Lange syndrome with epilepsy and microcephaly. When Hayden was a child, he and Rebecca had access to various supports, including the disability tax credit and assistance for children with severe disabilities. His mom describes him as the most smiley, happiest, chattiest boy. When he turned 18, though, the supports his mom received dropped off like a cliff. The first three months, while waiting for the Ontario disability support program, they had no support at all. Then when ODSP did kick in, with nothing provided retroactively, it provided not nearly enough and very little supplemental for Hayden's additional needs. As an example, Hayden required a particularly special diet, for which they put in a request for an additional $1,000 a month, a request that was never approved. His mom, as a result, had to go about making impossible choices about what had to go and what could stay. For example cans of Ensure, a necessary supplement for Hayden's diet, were ratcheted way back. Hayden went downhill fast. Within a year, this past December, Hayden passed away. His mom describes her relationship with various government entities as like being in an abusive relationship. She shared with me that all she wanted were basic human rights. There were not enough funds provided even for a funeral, so they had a simple visitation instead. From this, Rebecca still owes $3,000. She is slowly paying it down. As a country, we let Hayden down. We let Rebecca down. There are so many others across the country. In fact, Rebecca herself has spoken with four other parents, each with similar devastating stories. We could choose to do so much better for them and for all Canadians across the country with disabilities. It is why the Canada disability benefit would be so critical, a guaranteed livable income for Canadians with disabilities. It is no wonder it is already supported by 89% of Canadians. Is there much of anything that 89% of us can all agree on? We know Canadians with disabilities are disproportionately living in poverty across the country. Over 40% of those living in poverty would be brought up through this support. We need to not only fast-track the Canada disability benefit, but also ensure that Canadians with disabilities are involved every step of the way, as we have been hearing, not only from individuals and organizations in my community but also from folks right across the country. There is a recent petition that secured almost 18,000 signatories, each of whom are just looking for a glimmer of hope. Can the minister share the progress made in working to fast-track the Canada disability benefit? As Rebecca would say, everybody has a Hayden. Every day that we wait for the Canada disability benefit, we risk losing another Hayden. This legislation would save lives, and it is far past time we get it done.

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