(Ottawa) A national disability rights organization says the federal government has set aside little money for a new benefit, even though the minister responsible initially said it was the most important part of the recent budget.
The Liberal government has set aside $4.8 billion over five years for this new program, which will provide low-income disabled people with a benefit of up to $200 per month.
Last week, the government released data showing that this Canada disability benefit is ultimately expected to lift only 25,000 Canadians out of poverty – a far cry from the hundreds of thousands of people the Liberals promised to help.
The Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and People with Disabilities, Kamal Khera, has repeatedly defended this new program by affirming that it was the “most important item in the 2024 budget” – this which is false.
His office later clarified that it was the most significant “new program” in the most recent federal budget.
The national director of the “Disability Without Poverty” movement, Rabia Khedr, emphasizes that the annual expenditures devoted to this new benefit will be much lower than those of other programs such as the Canada Child Benefit or the Guaranteed Income Supplement for old people.