44th Parl. 1st Sess.
April 18, 2024 10:00AM
- Apr/18/24 10:06:20 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the 24th report of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development, entitled “Including Every Child, Benefitting All: International Disability-Inclusive Education”.
I can assure the House that all the members worked very hard to present this report. Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the committee requests that the government table a comprehensive response to this report.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise to present a petition on behalf of over 1,200 people who note, first of all, that people with disabilities often face barriers to employment, along with higher costs associated with health care and housing. They go on to note that the Canada Disability Benefit Act was delayed for over two years; the first attempt to establish the law, known as Bill C-35, was postponed because of the 2021 election.
The Canada Disability Benefit Act was meant to provide much-needed financial support for people with disabilities, many of whom live in poverty. They note that the minister responsible has told Canadians that implementing the Canada disability benefit is estimated to take a minimum of 18 months, following the passage of Bill C-22, which received royal assent last June. They note that there are insufficient supports in current disability programs federally and, particularly, provincially. This presents a significant risk to life and health for people with disabilities across the country who live in legislated poverty. They note that the federal government has refused to provide people with disabilities with an interim disability emergency response benefit and that the government has yet to bring the Canada disability benefit into force. The government is not starting the 12-month regulatory time clock, which is further delaying the benefit.
As a result, the petitioners call on the Government of Canada to bring the Canada disability benefit into force within two weeks of this petition being presented in the House.
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- Apr/18/24 12:42:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to start by recognizing that there is no coalition government in the House, that the NDP is in a supply and confidence agreement with the government, meaning its support is what allows the governing party to continue.
I appreciate that the member for Vancouver Kingsway called out the shamefully low amount set aside for the Canada disability benefit and the complete lack of a windfall profit tax on the record-breaking profits of the oil and gas industry in the midst of a climate crisis.
Will the NDP withhold its support for this budget on the condition that the government at least increase the Canada disability benefit above the poverty line and put in place a windfall profit tax on the oil and gas industry?
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- Apr/18/24 12:55:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my question is around the benefit for people living with disabilities: the Canada disability benefit. The community has made its displeasure with this benefit very clear. What this would work out to is about $200 a month for people.
We know that, during COVID, Canadians said very clearly that everyone needed $2,000 to survive, to pay their rent, to be able to buy groceries and to be able to live with dignity. However, the government is saying to people living with disabilities that $200 a month is all they are going to be able to get. For many of them, with their provincial benefits, it is far below $2,000 a month, and that was before the cost of groceries and the cost of living skyrocketed. People living with disabilities in our communities are among the most vulnerable, and the government has abandoned them. What does the member have to say about that decision?
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- Apr/18/24 5:11:42 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, one of the most significant line item expenditures is the Canada disability benefit. It is a substantial—
An hon. member: One billion a year?
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- Apr/18/24 5:12:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, $1 billion is a considerable amount of money, believe it or not, for the member across the way.
At the end of the day, I find it a little confusing. I am trying to understand the Conservatives' policy on the Canada disability benefit. That should not surprise anyone, because we do not know what their policy is on the pharmacare plan or the dental plan. We assume, based on their voting patterns, that they are against those initiatives.
Does the member support the allocations in the budget for programs such as the dental program, the pharmacare program and the disability program?
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- Apr/18/24 5:12:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I cannot believe the government is applauding the disability program. It over-promised and under-delivered.
If we want to talk about line items in the budget, let us talk about debt servicing costs. Debt servicing costs are now the exact same amount that the GST is to require. I have a bunch of friends I like to see on Fridays at Frank's compound, Waxy and Frank. Those guys go for lunch once a week. Now, every time they get a bill that has GST on it, they are paying interest on the debt.
There might be some good things in the budget, but people do not buy a house because they like the curtains.
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- Apr/18/24 5:48:59 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it was a very interesting speech, to say the least. I would love to sit down and talk with the member, as a person who represents coastal communities, about the amount of plastic we see in our oceans.
He compared a friend of his who had a short-term injury to a person living with a disability.
What I am trying to get clear about is this: My mother had a stroke close to seven years ago. She is physically disabled on one side of her body. She does not have the use of the right side of her body. She uses a straw to drink because of that limitation. She uses metal straws.
There are particular people who have disabilities, who may need to use a plastic straw. I am just wondering if he could be very specific about who they are, because it felt like he was saying that all people living with disabilities have the same need, and I do not think that is the case.
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