Ottawa, ON – Just a week after the House of Commons gave final passage to the Canada Disability Benefit Act (Bill C-22), the bill has passed in the Senate and received royal assent from the Governor General to become law.
“While it is far from perfect, this is a huge moment to celebrate after years of advocacy by the disability community,” said Mike Morrice, Member of Parliament for Kitchener Centre. “Much of the work remains in setting regulations that will finalize the details of this much needed benefit, but I’m thrilled Canadians with disabilities won’t have to wait another summer to at least see C-22 pass.”
Morrice actively advocated for the rapid passage of the bill for a year and a half, while ensuring Canadians with disabilities’ suggested improvements to the bill formed the basis for nine amendments he proposed, of which five were secured at committee. This included requiring the Canada Disability Benefit to be indexed to inflation and imposing a maximum one-year timeline for the government to put the bill into force.
Bill C-22 received royal assent on June 22, 2023, and it will come into force no later than one year after this date. This will help to ensure that the government establishes the necessary regulatory framework to administer the benefit and that eligible recipients receive the benefit as soon as possible.
Having previously refused to extend the Canada Disability Benefit to seniors, the government more recently rejected a key Senate amendment to the bill, which sought to protect recipients from having their benefits clawed back by private insurance providers. This amendment was widely supported by the disability community and was endorsed by every Provincial Trial Lawyer Association in Canada, which together represent thousands of lawyers who advocate on behalf of hundreds of thousands of clients with disabilities.
By rejecting this amendment, the government has opened the door for private insurance companies to profit from public funds. Allowing the benefit to be clawed back could leave many people with disabilities with no more financial support than they have now.
“Now we turn our focus to the most ambitious possible regulations possible and continue to push the governing party to fund the benefit,” said Morrice. “Nothing changes for Canadians with disabilities living in poverty until the Canada Disability Benefit is in their bank account.”
Background:
The Canada Disability Benefit could make a significant impact on poverty in Canada, as people with disabilities make up 40 per cent of Canada’s low-income population.
After more than a year of advocating for the federal government to fast-track the Canada Disability Benefit, in December 2022 Morrice secured support for five of his amendments to the bill that will provide a guaranteed income for Canadians with disabilities.
Among the amendments Morrice proposed, the committee accepted:
- To include a definition for the term ‘disability’ to ensure consistent and equitable access and eligibility, with unanimous support
- A requirement for the federal government to make public the agreements they sign with the provinces and territories (opposed by the Liberals but narrowly passed 6-5)
- Direction for those who write the regulations to require the benefit to be indexed to inflation, which passed with unanimous support
- For the benefit to be barrier-free, meaning recipients shouldn't have to complete a cumbersome application to be eligible and could include a potential recipient being automatically enrolled when completing their taxes.
- For people with disabilities to have meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to give input into regulations as they’re developed
These five amendments from Morrice made up more than half the nine that passed, part of a collaborative process of strengthening the bill.
Morrice has been working alongside organizations like Disability Without Poverty for the past year, sponsoring a petition that attracted almost 18,000 signatures and drafting a letter of support co-signed by 79 MPs from four different parties.
"As someone currently living off of disability payments, this fight to secure financial freedom for all disabled peoples is one that I feel on a personal level. At a time when Conservative provincial governments are keeping us in legislated poverty, a global pandemic has devastated our communities, and Liberals approach MAiD expansion with little to no concern for our economic well being, now is the time for action", said Harmon Pope. "Not 24 months from now like the legislation suggests, but soon enough that we no longer have to choose between homelessness and MAiD. People with disabilities deserve to be prosperous and thriving. Not barely surviving. It'll be on all of us to hold the Liberals accountable in the coming months."
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For more information please contact:
Rosalind Horne
Senior Communications Advisor
MP Mike Morrice
226-749-2198