SoVote

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Dec/6/23 2:55:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in Canada, over half of women with disabilities are living on less than $10,000 a year. They cannot afford the medication they need, nutritious food or housing. Women with disabilities who are facing intimate partner violence cannot afford to get away or to move out of their homes. The Liberals have failed these women. Will the Prime Minister stop endangering women with disabilities by releasing the Canada disability benefit now?

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Context: House Hansard - 263 - Dec/6/23

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo (Port Moody—Coquitlam, NDP)

Dec/6/23 7:24:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, persons with disabilities are continuing to live in poverty with no relief from the government. We have seen rents soar over the last year, pushing many Canadians out of the housing market and into being unable to afford safe and adequate housing. For persons with disabilities, accessing housing that meets their needs is nearly impossible. Add discrimination on top of that, and more and more stories are coming out from across Canada about the reality of persons with disabilities having to live rough. In Duncan, British Columbia, Jon Harry was forced onto the street to sleep on a tarp when he lost his housing. He and many other persons with disabilities are forced into homelessness because of the lack of affordable housing options. Organizations, including food banks and shelters, are at a breaking point because more people are relying on these services. Many persons with disabilities also do not have the level of income due to discrimination. Many persons with disabilities are currently paying 80% to 90% of their income on housing. In British Columbia, that leaves many people with less than $200 for all of their monthly expenses. I tabled a petition earlier this year, and very recently I tabled a petition brought by the community around a disability emergency relief benefit. This week, the government responded that, given its limited resources, rolling out an emergency relief could have an effect on delaying the Canada disability benefit. That response from the government is an insult to persons with disabilities because it is the government that is delaying the rollout of the Canada disability benefit. Canadians need support now, and without a clear timeline of when in 2024 this Canada disability benefit will be rolled out, persons with disabilities are left with questions, not solutions, and deteriorating living standards. The government must deliver, with the Canada disability benefit, an adequate and timely benefit. While the government is holding back on rolling out that benefit, and even during the rollout of the benefit, it must be building more affordable, accessible homes. I will take this moment to recognize the member for Nunavut, who continues to stand up in the House to talk about the absolutely devastating conditions of housing in Nunavut. Without adequate income supports for persons with disabilities, they are being legislated into poverty by the current Liberal government and the Conservative governments before it. Federal support was needed yesterday, as I mentioned in the House already this week in question period, and persons with disabilities cannot wait any longer. My question to the minister is this: When will the government deliver the Canada disability benefit it promised? It has been seven years of promises, and it is still not here, which it is hurting people.

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Context: House Hansard - 263 - Dec/6/23

Ms. Bonita Zarrillo

Dec/6/23 7:32:28 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can feel that there is support and desire there, and I really appreciate that. However, the problem is there are people who are unable to pay their rent and unable to pay for food and medication. With the cost of living, they cannot wait any longer. The government is hiding behind consultation, trying to scare people by saying that the success of this benefit is tied to how long it is delayed, which is a cop-out. There has been plenty of consultation, and the number one pillar that persons with disabilities expressed to the government over years of consultation is the need for economic support. They need it to uphold their human rights and for us as a country to uphold our commitments on the rights of persons with disabilities. To ask again, why does the government—

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