44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 20, 2022 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, it is encouraging to hear members of the Conservative Party stand in their place and say they will be supporting the legislation.
What I have witnessed in listening to the debate, just as the member has in listening to the debate, is there are concerns with regard to the depth and the details, or lack thereof. That is being implied by the opposition parties. I have indicated that it is in fact a framework. The minister responsible for the legislation indicated that she is open to thoughts and ideas with regard to improving it.
Based on the member's comments, is it safe to assume that the Conservative Party will be bringing forward amendments, and one specifically to ensure there would be annual cost-of-living increases in the program? Is that what the member is advocating for?
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Madam Speaker, yes, of course. In clause 11, the regulations, right now the government is proposing that the indexation to inflation will be determined by cabinet, both the day it would happen and the amount it would be. It seems infinitely reasonable, when we are talking about a cost-of-living crisis in Canada, that we protect the most vulnerable, to whom we are trying to extend the benefit.
I think the member and others on the government caucus benches have said this is about legislating a principle into law. Well, principles are not legislated. Those are seen in government motions they could put forward. There is a lot to fix in this legislation, and I am sure we will have many amendments at committee to propose.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague from Calgary for his speech. To be clear and to the point, the framework is lacking, as my friend said earlier. There is not much of a framework, and we are having a hard time seeing what the end result of all this will be, even though we support in principle what we see on paper.
My question is this: How does my colleague explain the fact that consultations will follow?
We are talking about three years of consultations. Does he think that is a reasonable time frame?
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Madam Speaker, my colleague is quite right. It seems to me that we have been waiting several years for this bill, which was introduced today, to be debated in the House. The bill has some flaws. The framework lacks substance considering what is being proposed, and there are no details, either.
It will be up to the Council of the Federation, the provinces and the federal government to negotiate the details later. Thus, people will not have access to these benefits for all those years and will have to wait. I think they are being given false hope and we must avoid doing that in the House.
When we propose a benefit, we have to ensure that once the bill is passed by the House and the Senate, people can count on receiving it the following year or the year after that at the latest.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his acknowledgement of my private member's bill, Bill C-223, to put in place a guaranteed livable basic income.
I share many of his concerns, certainly, like the very clear lack of detail in the bill, the fact that there are no protections in the bill that would actually lift anyone out of poverty and the fact that the minister has stated it would take three years before the first person would even receive the benefit when people are struggling now. This is deeply concerning.
The member seems to be really compassionate in his understanding of human rights and the need to lift people out of poverty. I am wondering if he supports a guaranteed livable basic income for individuals who currently do not have it. We know that a significant number of those with disabilities live in abject poverty, with a lack of response from consecutive Liberal and Conservative governments. We can turn the page on that, and I am wondering if my hon. colleague supports Bill C-223 to put in place a framework for a guaranteed livable basic income.
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Madam Speaker, I think debate on Bill C-223 is outside the scope of this legislation.
I approach legislation like this as a father of a young daughter who had a disability when she was born and who passed away from her disability. I met a lot of parents over that time who are taking care of their children until the age of maturity, and the biggest fear they always had is that their children would not be able to provide for themselves. The parents would save through their registered disability savings plan, the RDSP, which was one of the great contributions to the parental system in Canada for looking after children. It was introduced by the late Jim Flaherty when he was the Minister of Finance.
A lot of parents would come to my office and tell me how good it was for them to be given the certainty that when they pass away, it will be a way to look after their children. However, also, nowadays a lot of parents are looking to find out how their child with a disability can both work and have the confidence that comes from work. For those who are unable to work, is there a benefit out there, or is there a way they can get government support for them as well?
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Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-22. However, before I do so, I would like to begin by saying that working alongside Canadians with disabilities and helping parents with children who have disabilities have been a passion of mine my entire life before I entered politics.
For the past eight years, I have volunteered with the Township of King, the municipality I live in, as part of its accessibility advisory committee. As a member of the committee, I have worked together with the mayor and council and made recommendations to the township to ensure that community parks, buildings and facilities are accessible to all residents regardless of their abilities. This way, everyone may feel a sense of belonging in their own communities and fully enjoy the facilities provided for them.
I also spent 10 years volunteering with Creating Alternatives, a not-for-profit organization that supports young adults with developmental disabilities by helping them practise literacy and social and work skills as they transition into adulthood. During my time there, I worked with individuals with a wide range of disabilities to create an environment where they felt safe, accepted and confident.
As the member of Parliament for King—Vaughan, I have many constituents in my riding who have children with disabilities or struggle with disabilities themselves who take the time to share their personal stories of hardship with me. Because of the rising cost of living, a resident in my riding with a disability cannot afford to drive and is forced to commute using public transit. Her commute to get to her specialist appointment now takes six hours. Let me repeat that. It takes six hours.
Let me share yet another prime example of a hard-core effect that inflation has had on people with disabilities. One man's son had benefited from participating in the activities offered by a local organization five days a week. However, due to “Justinflation”, these same programs have doubled in cost, making them no longer affordable. This father, whom I spoke with just a few short days ago, also shared with me that his wife has since had to leave her job to stay home to care for their son with disabilities, while he has now had to take on a second job. This has taken a serious toll on his mental health and physical well-being. This is only one example of the heartbreaking challenges the government has put on Canadians.
According to Statistics Canada, one in four Canadians is currently living with a disability, 90% of them living below the poverty line and earning less than $18,000 a year. Let me be clear when I say that I completely understand how important it is that we take care of Canadians with disabilities. We must be there to support our country's most vulnerable residents, but we must do it with an effective plan that will really and truly help them.
We cannot do it with rushed bills. We need to consider important factors when introducing a national disability benefit. We need clear examples and guidelines on how this benefit will impact provincial programs. Canada is a country with many provinces and territories that all have their own set of rules, but Bill C-22 does not account for any of them. We must ensure that Canadians with disabilities and their families can feel confident that their financial security will not be put at risk when applying for this benefit.
In my home province of Ontario, over 600,000 Canadians with disabilities receive benefits from the Ontario disability support program, also known as ODSP. These Canadians rely on programs like ODSP to make ends meet. How will the new Canada disability benefit impact how much money they receive as part of their ODSP? What about other federal programs, like the registered disability savings plan? The lack of information in Bill C-22 does not show how this will impact any provincial program. If the federal program provides additional funds for our constituents, how will this affect any current benefits received at all levels of government? The Liberal government has completely failed to truly consider how this benefit will impact Canadians with disabilities across this country.
Let me remind this House that we have all seen this movie before. This is exactly what happened to millions of seniors after they applied for the Canada emergency response benefit. The government did what it does best: It printed cash and asked questions later. What happened then? Millions of seniors who collected CERB could no longer qualify for the guaranteed income supplement. Once they stopped collecting CERB, they could not receive GIS. Seniors across Canada were forced to foot the bill because of the government's short-sighted legislation.
We need more benefits and services for Canadians living with disabilities. People are struggling now more than ever to pay their bills and keep up with inflation. Parents are doing everything they can to provide a life of dignity and happiness for their children living with disabilities. However, Bill C-22 would not be able to help them unless it is carefully considered and works with other provinces and territories. The Canada disability benefit would be of no use if it would give money to Canadians with disabilities while reducing the funds they receive from other programs. We need to do our vulnerable communities justice while providing them with the assistance they so desperately need through an effective and well thought-out plan. However, as of right now, Bill C-22 would not provide these details to ensure current programs are in place.
Through the eyes of the international community, Canada is a compassionate and caring country that acts as a force for good. In today's uncertain world, other countries look to us for aid, assistance and hope, but as we are instructed on an airplane, people must put their own oxygen masks on first before they can help others. Therefore, before we consider helping abroad, we need to focus on helping the most vulnerable Canadians here at home. We cannot do that with a vague, unfinished plan like Bill C-22.
I want to end my speech here by quoting one very famous lady who lived with disabilities her entire life. I am sure everybody will recognize Helen Keller. She said, “We are never really happy until we try to brighten the lives of others.” She also said, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”
I lost a sister who lived with disabilities through no fault of her own, by an accident. When she was four and a half years old, she was hit by a drunk driver. Her disability benefits did not cover the basic needs that she required. Thank God for family support or she would have ended up in the streets.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the intervention from my colleague from King—Vaughan, in particular her talking about her own personal examples at the beginning and toward the end of her speech. However, I was quite surprised by the manner in which she aggressively attacked the rolling out of CERB.
CERB was a program that was intended to get money into the hands of people as quickly as possible. Over five million people had money in their bank accounts within five weeks of the World Health Organization's declaring a global pandemic. Indeed, the intent was to take care of Canadians as quickly as possible. Canadians were relying on their government at the time to do exactly that.
Would the member have preferred to see the CERB program roll out much slower back in March and April 2020? Does she think that it would have been better for the money not to arrive at the beginning of April but rather perhaps in June and July if it meant that we could meet the standards that she is proposing?
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Madam Speaker, all I am saying is that CERB was a program that had to be implemented given the circumstances, but the program did not stipulate the conditions. Unless we can provide clarity on any funds that are delivered to individuals, we cannot administer programs and expect individuals to pay the consequences after they are over.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from King—Vaughan for her speech and for sharing her own experiences.
I myself had an uncle who was in a motorcycle accident when he was 19, and it had long-lasting effects. He lived with disabilities for the rest of his life. These experiences leave a mark.
Getting back to Bill C‑22, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on an important topic that she touched on briefly. Quebec has a significant social safety net in place, so this bill must complement the programs that exist already and must not override them. The measures in the bill must also respect the jurisdictions of the federal government, Quebec and the provinces.
I would like to hear her thoughts on these two big and very important points that remain to be clarified in Bill C‑22.
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Madam Speaker, if I understood the question correctly, we need to ensure that the program that is going to be implemented at the federal level offsets or coordinates with the provinces. We cannot give money with one hand and expect to take it back with the other. That is not going to help.
In our province alone, we have programs for individuals with disabilities. Unfortunately, due to the cost of inflation, those programs are not affordable to everyone. We need to ensure that we are going to increase that money without affecting the provincial programs.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague across the way for what she has said and for fighting for people living with disabilities. It is so incredibly important. We have heard in the House about the rising inflation and how it is hitting those living with disabilities harder.
Uniquely, some provincial members of Parliament in our province of Ontario have put themselves on what they call a “welfare budget”. They are trying to live on what people who are in the Ontario disabilities program or Ontario Works receive. I think they are trying to live on $47.60 for groceries each week to show how incredibly important it is for them to receive increases.
Now, the provincial government has only given 5% and those members are calling for that to be doubled. I wonder if the member supports initiatives like that as she has been so positive about ensuring that people living with disabilities have the income they need to survive.
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Madam Speaker, last week I visited an organization in our community called Reena, which provides housing for people with disabilities. It has created an environment where people with disabilities can share their experiences. There are staff there who will help and assist them. One of the things it does is that it has programs to assist with funding. The funding is not always enough, because some of these programs cost money. I agree that we need to include an increase so that they can at least buy the minimum. Right now, out of the $895 that one recipient is receiving at Reena, $500 of that goes to housing. There is not much left over, so we do need to do better.
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Madam Speaker, I will be sharing my time with the member for Malpeque.
It is a privilege to be part of this debate today. I would like to start by talking about poverty reduction. Simply put, the legislation before us today would reduce poverty for hundreds of thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities. We are working to implement Canada's first poverty reduction strategy. That strategy includes concrete poverty reduction targets on top of establishing Canada's official poverty line to track progress.
One of these targets was a 20% reduction in poverty relative to 2015 levels by 2020. I am proud to say that we reached this objective ahead of schedule. We did so because of the actions we have taken and the investments we have made since 2015. Those investments include the Canada child benefit, the Canada workers benefit, a strengthened guaranteed income supplement and Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan.
However, we all know that more needs to be done. Poverty has many faces, and we know that under-represented groups are among the most affected. Poverty impacts vulnerable groups such as single-parent families, older single adults and persons with disabilities. I am proud that Canada's first poverty reduction strategy recognizes that vulnerable groups of Canadians are more at risk of poverty.
Canadians with disabilities have historically been affected by economic disparities. According to a 2017 Canadian survey on disability, working-age Canadians with disabilities are twice as likely to live in poverty as working-age persons without disabilities. A third of people with severe disabilities were living below the poverty line. That is why we have been working hard to build a more accessible and inclusive Canada.
In 2015, Canada got its first-ever minister responsible for persons with disabilities. In 2019, the Accessible Canada Act came into force, followed by the accessible Canada regulations in 2021. These help to remove and prevent barriers to accessibility. Most recently we made two key appointments to advance accessibility and disability inclusion as Canada's first chief accessibility officer and first accessibility commissioner assumed their duties.
Over the past two years, the global pandemic highlighted and deepened the entrenched inequities faced by Canadians with disabilities. Persons with disabilities already face a higher cost of living, and because of the pandemic, these additional costs have been exacerbated. They are facing increased costs for medical supplies, medication, transportation and assistive services.
As part of Canada's COVID-19 economic response plan, we provided a one-time payment for up to $600 for persons with disabilities to help face the increased costs during the pandemic. After further consultations with stakeholders, we expanded that one-time payment to include nearly two million Canadians with disabilities who are receiving federal disability benefits.
However, today we are talking about Bill C-22, and we know that could help us do even more. Establishing the new Canada disability benefit would create a more accessible and inclusive Canada, while also addressing long-standing financial hardships. It is a proactive approach in its creation and delivery. This legislation would help reduce poverty and benefit thousands of working-age Canadians with disabilities. This new benefit would help lift working-age persons with disabilities out of poverty and bring long-term financial security. Its aim is to supplement, not replace, existing federal, provincial and territorial supports. This benefit would make it easier for persons with disabilities to access federal benefits, programs and services, and help to foster a culture of inclusion.
The Canada disability benefit would help working-age persons with disabilities to fully participate in our society and our economy. It is an investment in the realization of a fully inclusive society. For many people with disabilities and for those who care for them, daily life may not be easy. Disabilities affect the entire family. Meeting the complex needs of a person with a disability can put families under a great deal of stress: emotional, financial and sometimes even physical.
Only a few days ago I spoke to a mom in my community, Angela, and her son Lucas, who is living with cerebral palsy. She, like any parent, is concerned for Lucas and his ability to live independently. Angela is hoping Bill C-22 could assist with the transition and living expenses for Lucas when he begins to live independently. For her and for Lucas to take the time to meet with me at the Woolwich Memorial Centre, where I set up a remote office for the day, told me how much she cares about Lucas. She told me of many others in our community who are focused on helping those who need more support.
By the way, Lucas was very at home in the hockey rink where we met. He is a defenceman for the Woolwich Thrashers Sledge Hockey team. With a nickname of “Bulldozer”, I am glad we met off the ice and not on it.
I have also recently spoken to another couple, parents Grant and Carol, on a number of occasions, at a local town hall on affordability and also at a sit-down meeting in Elmira.
They are caring for their son, who is working as a paralegal while living with cerebral palsy. At some point, caring parents like Grant and Carol know they might not be around to care for their son. They want to ensure that he has the best chance at success.
It is stories like these and others that I have heard in my community that motivate and drive me. People with disabilities need health care and health programs for the same reasons as everyone else: to stay well, active and a part of our community. Having a disability does not mean a person is not healthy or cannot be healthy. Being healthy means the same thing for everyone: staying well so that we can lead full, active lives, to be able to enjoy a full life and have the support we need to fully engage in society. We want to build a community where everyone can, and does, belong.
There are things we can do to reduce poverty. There are policies that can make a difference and, as we know, we are already seeing results. As policy-makers, we are responsible for improving the lives of all Canadians, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities. As policy-makers, our responsibility today is to support Bill C-22 and move forward together with the Canada disability act.
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Madam Speaker, there has been discussion today about how we are going to work with the provinces and territories to make sure they are not clawing back benefits.
How is the government going to harmonize all the other federal disability benefit programs that exist to ensure that people are supported but there is not overlap?
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Madam Speaker, one of the themes we are hearing today is making sure we are protecting the most vulnerable and protecting people with disabilities. We want to make sure this benefit is supplementing what we are doing and is not going to be clawed back. We heard those words. We do not want that to happen. I am encouraged to hear that all parties are looking out for people. We want to make sure we can work together with the provinces.
It is going to be different with each province. We are going to have to get there in negotiating, but I think we are all on the same side on this one. It is encouraging to hear that we want to make sure this benefit is a supplement to all the other benefits that already exist, as opposed to being a replacement for them.
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Madam Speaker, I commend my colleague from Kitchener—Conestoga on his speech and also for the week he spent in Quebec City this summer perfecting his French. I hope to hear him give his response partly in the language of Molière.
Since the beginning of the debate on Bill C‑22, I have been hearing a lot about how this is a framework that we need to build on. There is indeed a lot missing from this bill. We keep hearing about good intentions, and obviously we agree in principle that we must do more to include persons with disabilities. We must improve their living conditions. Everyone agrees on that. No one can be against apple pie, as they say back home.
What I am seeing, however, is that not only are members getting used to doing the government's work at our riding offices, but it has now gotten to the point where we have to do the government's work in committee too. Bill C‑22, as introduced, is clearly incomplete and inadequate. We must work on it to improve it, which is what the Bloc Québécois intends to do.
My question for the member for Kitchener—Conestoga is this: Why introduce a bill with so little content, on a subject that is so incredibly important?
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Madam Speaker, now I am nervous. I am going to try to say a few words in French, for my colleague and my French teacher.
It is important for me and for all Canadians that we work together with the provinces and territories.
We left room because we need to work together. Different provinces look different. Some are more advanced than others. Quebec has set a strong standard for what we can do together, and I think we can learn from each other. I am not afraid of that work. Leaving space, I am especially encouraged, because it feels like everyone is on the same side. We can work on the details and we can make sure that this works across Canada. I have every confidence that we can do it.
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Madam Speaker, people with disabilities have been suffering from higher bills, but big corporations are making gross profits on the backs of vulnerable people. Since 2015, the Liberals have wanted to look like they care about people with disability, but these empty bills will offer no concrete help and risk delaying help to people desperately in need of it for another three years. They promised to deliver this without delay, yet here we are.
Instead of helping people now, why are the Liberals delaying this support for people with disabilities?
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Madam Speaker, I was so engrossed in the question that I forgot I was the one who had to answer it.
It was before my time, but since the Liberals took government in 2015, the Canada child benefit was one of the things we did that was targeted support. The guaranteed income supplement was targeted support. Canada's worker benefit was targeted support, as was raising taxes on the wealthiest Canadians and lowering taxes for the middle class. It is that targeted support that we have been working on. It is slow progress. We are working on it and we are going to keep going there. I would disagree that we have done nothing, but I think we can work together and get more done.
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