(Ottawa) The federal Liberal government has not asked to debate its disability benefits legislation before the summer recess, despite promising action since 2020 and recent advocacy from organizations across the country. .
Posted at 5:34 p.m.
Jobs Minister Carla Qualtrough reintroduced the bill in early June, but without any new details on who would qualify, how much they would receive, when the money would start flowing and the process for getting it. appeal if requests are denied.
When the bill was reintroduced, Mr.me Qualtrough did not commit to a timeline, saying consultations were underway even though it took months for the government to put the same bill back on the table for debate.
More than 75 groups representing Canadians living with disabilities called on the government in a letter last week to hold a second reading before the House adjourns for the summer recess.
The chair of the New Brunswick Disability Coalition, who lives with a disability, Shelley Petit, said the financial situations currently facing Canadians with disabilities are “horrible.”
“I know people who eat a piece of bread a day, that’s what they can afford,” said Ms.me Little.
She explains that every month she has to make difficult decisions and she wonders if she will be able to pay her “basic” bills or even if she will be able to eat this month. She also wonders if she will be able to visit her elderly and sick mother, who lives 45 minutes away.
Bill to create a monthly benefit check for working-age Canadians with disabilities would be a game-changer, says Ms.me Little. This would add about $500 more each month to his pocket to the benefits received from the New Brunswick government.
“It’s food, it’s medicine, it’s being able to get socks that aren’t full of holes or buy new underwear,” she listed, adding that the money could also help people pay for treatments that might provide relief but are not covered by government health care plans.
“I live in Canada and have a master’s degree in education. But I can no longer work because of my disability. My life should be better than this, denounced Mme Little. I’m angry because no one should have to live like this because they have a disability. »
Supplement to provincial benefits
The Canada Disability Benefit is expected to be modeled after the Guaranteed Income Supplement, in line with a promise first made by the Liberals in September 2020.
By the way, M.me Petit believes the bill should have been passed by now. As the debate and the process for adoption are postponed until Parliament resumes in September, she fears that the bill will become law only in a year and a half.
On Wednesday, Green Party MP Mike Morrice denounced the government’s slow work to bring the benefit to the House.
“It’s been 20 days and we haven’t discussed it once yet. Nine other bills have since been prioritized,” said Mr. Morrice.
“Canadians with disabilities continue to live disproportionately in poverty across the country. They want to see emergency support measures. They want to see action. »
The new bill is identical to the original, creating the benefit in principle, but leaving nearly all the details of how it will work to regulations that are not yet complete.
There is concern, however, that the benefit may interact negatively with provincial programs, resulting in cuts to other programs, which is not the intention.
Jane Deeks, spokesperson for Mme Qualtrough, said in a statement Friday that alongside the legislative process to create the Canada Disability Benefit, the government must work closely with the disability community to inform the design of the benefit, work that is ” well advanced “.
The federal government must continue to work with the provinces and territories to ensure that the benefit complements existing provincial and territorial benefits, “and that everyone who receives it does better,” said Ms.me Deeks.
“We will continue to work hard, both in the House of Commons and with the disability community across Canada, to make this a reality.”
The original bill introduced nearly a year ago died on the order paper without passing when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election last summer.
NDP MP Bonita Zarrillo, the party’s Disability Inclusion Critic, said Friday, “It is deeply disappointing that people with disabilities in Canada are left without support as the cost of living soars in arrow, without the Canadian disability benefit that was promised to them by this government. »
Mme Zarrillo argued that for the second year in a row, the Liberals waited until the last minute to introduce legislation on the benefit, giving MPs no opportunity to debate or improve the assistance offered to Canadians.
“People with disabilities have been given false hope and are now grappling with rising costs of basic necessities,” she said, adding that by failing to act, the Liberals are reminding people with disabilities that they are not a government priority.
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This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchanges and The Canadian Press for the news.