SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24

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

Apr/17/24 3:18:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $200 a month is what the Liberal government thinks Canadians with disabilities are worth. The Liberals said that their long-overdue Canada disability benefit would end poverty for persons with disabilities, but what they have offered is not even enough for groceries for a month, yet the Liberals did manage to keep giving $60 billion to rich corporations, just like the Conservatives before them. It is unacceptable. Will the Prime Minister use his power and increase the Canada disability benefit immediately?

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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/17/24 3:19:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Canada disability benefit is a major milestone in our strong and unwavering commitment to creating a more inclusive and fairer Canada. There is always more to do, but $6.1 billion over the coming years is going to make a measurable difference in the lives of some of Canada's most vulnerable people. Hundreds of dollars a month, tax-free, will help with the cost of living. We recognize there is more to do. We will be working with provinces and territories to make sure, first of all, that this disability money is not clawed back and, secondly, that we can do even more in partnership with provinces and territories for Canadians with disabilities.

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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24

Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)

Apr/17/24 3:20:39 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this government has recognized for many years that Canadians living with disabilities are facing extreme challenges and disadvantages in our economy and in our communities. That is why we have stepped up regularly over the past years with initiatives to reduce barriers in Canada and to create a Canada disability benefit. We are now moving forward with that at the cost of over $6 billion over the coming years to put hundreds of dollars a month, tax-free, in the pockets of individuals with disabilities. The reality is that there always more to do, but this will help.

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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24

Mr. Mike Morrice (Kitchener Centre, GP)

Apr/17/24 7:27:10 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party platform in 2021 promised that the re-elected Liberal government would implement the Canada disability benefit and that “this new benefit will reduce poverty among persons with disabilities in the same manner as the Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Canada Child Benefit.” The Liberals were, of course, elected that year. In the time since, thanks to consistent pressure from the disability community to keep that promise, the government slowly put forward a bill that needed significant improvements every step of the way, including ones that my team and I secured, such as requiring an application process that is without barriers and indexing the benefit to inflation. The government then told those in the disability community that it was consulting with them, including inviting people from across the country to spend significant time completing a lengthy survey. Finally, yesterday, we got the government's proposal for the Canada disability benefit in budget 2024, and it was nothing that folks with disabilities were calling for. The maximum amount of $200 a month is far too little to actually reduce poverty levels among folks with disabilities. They have limited eligibility to those already receiving the incredibly burdensome application process for the disability tax credit, in contravention of the amendment I mentioned earlier that called for it to be barrier-free, and it will not even start until July 2025. The total cost is just over $1 billion a year. The Liberals promised the Canada disability benefit would reduce poverty in the same way that two other programs did. The guaranteed income supplement is about 15 times as much and pays out a maximum of just over $1,000 a month, and the Canada child benefit is 24 times as much annually and pays out a maximum of just over $600 a month. The Canada disability benefit, as proposed, does little to help the disability community and seems to be much more about convincing non-disabled Canadians that the government is helping people with disabilities than about doing what it said it intended to do. As a result, folks with disabilities are deeply disappointed, and that is putting it kindly. Here is a sampling of reactions from the past 24 hours that I would like to read into the record. Some of the language is quite raw, but it reflects the pain that some folks are feeling. Laura says, “I have never been so disappointed in something in my entire life.” Mitchell said, “This is the ultimate failure. What an atrocity. No fairness here”. Cody said, “$2400/year? That's not just a joke, but an outright slap in the face to the disability community. You should be ashamed of yourself.” Kate said, “This budget announcement of adding a max of 200 more a month to a select few disabled people is The Most Liberal Party thing I've ever seen”. Illandria said, “So much for 'Lifting Disabled People Out Of Poverty In Canada'...They REALLY put the 'NOTHING' in NOTHING WITHOUT US”. There are leading organizations that have been advocating for the benefit. Krista Carr from Inclusion Canada said, “Our disappointment cannot be overstated.... This benefit was supposed to lift persons with disabilities out of poverty, not merely make them marginally less poor than they already are.” Samuel Ragot from La Société québécoise de la déficience intellectuelle said, “this is worse than my worst case scenario. Not only is it not enough, using the DTC will gatekeep the benefit from SOOOO many people. My heart goes to the people living in poverty who will have to keep fighting everyday to survive.” Lastly, Michelle Hewitt from Disability Without Poverty said, “To say we are disappointed is an understatement. Yesterday's announcement on the CDB is woefully inadequate.” Again, it looks to me like the government is not even trying to do right by people with disabilities. Will the parliamentary secretary admit that the Canada disability benefit, as proposed yesterday, is a performative measure intended to make non-disabled Canadians think the government is doing something of substance for the disability community when it is clearly not?

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Context: House Hansard - 301 - Apr/17/24

Ms. Iqra Khalid

Apr/17/24 7:36:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate the member's advocacy. I have a nephew who has severe disabilities. Right now, in his first five years of life, is when he needs the most support to be able to grow and live a functioning life. I completely understand the need to ensure that the disability community has the support it needs so it can continue to flourish and thrive in a community that is barrier-free. During the past eight years, we have invested unprecedented amounts of money to further the inclusion and the financial stability of persons with disabilities. The Canada disability benefit represents the largest single item in budget 2024, of over $6 billion. This is not insignificant. This is the first time in Canada that there will be a federal benefit designed specifically to meet the needs of people with disabilities. Like all progressive programs that we have delivered, it is built to be enhanced and expanded. I look forward to working with the member and the disability community to ensure that we are continuing to advocate for a barrier-free community for them.

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