The ongoing postal strike may impact the delivery of benefits and services from various governmental bodies. Below, we’ve compiled information about what these governmental bodies are doing and the actions clients can take to minimize disruptions.

Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction (MSDPR) Clients:

DABC has received the following information from MSDPR, regarding options for Ministry clients during the ongoing postal strike:

“Clients whose address is in the community of the ministry/Service BC office:

• The cheque can be picked up at the office with photo identification that matches the name and address on the envelope.
• If the client does not have photo identification, we can confirm identity using the in-office identity verification process.
• If a client is not able to attend an office in-person, we can arrange for the cheque to be delivered by staff (where appropriate).

Clients who are in a different community than where they have normally received their “mail” cheque, whether permanently (e.g., just moved) or temporarily, can go into any ministry/SBC office to get their monthly “mail” cheque. If the “mail” cheque is in another community, it will be cancelled and re-issued in the office that the client attends.

This is a regular process provided to clients who find themselves in a community other than their home community during the distribution of monthly payments.”

If you encounter any issues, please reach out to DABC at 604-872-1278/1-800-663-1278 or advocacy@dabc.ca.

Service Canada

Employment and Social Development Canada and Service Canada have measures in place to ensure that clients continue to receive services and benefits during a disruption of Canada Post services. More information: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/corporate/portfolio/service-canada/postal-disruption.html

If you encounter any issues, please reach out to DABC at 604-872-1278/1-800-663-1278 or advocacy@dabc.ca.

Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Clients:

The CRA has provided information about delays to benefit payments: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/canada-post-mail-service-disruption-impact-cra.html

The CRA has also posted on its website that clients needing to get time-sensitive info to the CRA may be able to do so using drop-boxes. More information is available here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/corporate/contact-information/office-locations.html.

If you encounter any issues, please reach out to Tax AID DABC at 236-477-1717/1-877-940-7797 or taxaid@dabc.ca.

Open: December 9, 2024
Closes: January 13, 2025
Location: Vancouver, BC
Category: Community and Social Services Job
Type: Full-time
Salary: $54,000

Who We Are

Since 1977, Disability Alliance BC (DABC) has been a provincial, cross-disability voice in British Columbia. We champion issues impacting the lives of people with disabilities through our direct services, community partnerships, advocacy, research and publications.

Our mission is to promote a more inclusive and equitable society for people with all disabilities through direct services, community partnerships, systemic advocacy, research, and publications.

Job Description

DABC is seeking a Community Advocate to join our Advocacy Access Team. The Advocate will be responsible for individual and community advocacy relating to provincial disability benefits (known as PWD).

Responsibilities:

• Assist people with disabilities with applications and appeals relating to provincial disability (Persons with Disabilities and Persons with Persistent and Multiple Barriers)
• Conduct workshops/webinars about provincial disability benefits for community organizations, people with disabilities, healthcare professionals, and other interested individuals and groups
• Be a provincial resource for community advocates and individuals on policy and legislation governing PWD/PPMB

Working hours and location

This position is full-time for 5 days per week at 8 hours a day (including 1 hour as a paid lunch break) and is a hybrid work opportunity; the successful candidate may be required to work at the Downtown Vancouver office two or three days a week, and at home the rest of the time. The position may also require occasional travel to other BC communities. During your initial training, you will be required to be in the office 5 days a week until successful completion of training.

The position is located in downtown Vancouver, on the traditional, ancestral and stolen lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples.

The successful applicant must:

• Have a minimum 2 years combined post-secondary education and/or applicable work experience
• Have strong verbal and written communication skills and ability to communicate complex concepts in plain language
• Be able to work effectively with people with disabilities from a client-centered approach
• Be self-motivated, adaptable, and able to work effectively with a team
• Have strong analytical and research skills
• Have excellent organizational skills
• Be computer literate and proficient with word-processing software including the Microsoft Office Suite
• Maintain the integrity and confidentiality of sensitive client information

The following are strong assets for this position:

• Experience with provincial disability benefits (PWD/PPMB)
• Experience in the non-profit sector
• Background in law, social work, or a related field
• Lived experience with a disability and/or supporting people with disabilities
• Experience with legal research
• Understanding of anti-oppression principles

Salary: $54,000 per year

This position offers the following benefits after a three-month probationary period:

• 15 days of paid vacation annually
• 18 days of paid sick leave annually
• 100% of the cost of extended health and dental care benefit premiums
• 2 weeks of paid time off during DABC’s annual holiday office closure in December
• Generous health spending account

DABC is an open and diverse organization that promotes inclusive hiring practices. We encourage applications from qualified applicants who identify as visible minorities, Indigenous persons, and of all sexual orientations, gender expressions and identities. People with disabilities are especially encouraged to apply.

Importantly, we are looking for people who want to make a long-term commitment to our organization and have a strong desire to uphold the rights and dignities of people with disabilities.

To Apply:

Please submit a resume and brief covering letter addressed to Sharareh Saremi, Program Manager of Advocacy Access at sharareh@dabc.ca – no phone calls please.

Applications are due no later than midnight on January 13, 2025. DABC welcomes all applications, however, only shortlisted applicants will be contacted for an interview.

This article was written by Michael J. Prince.  It originally appeared in the edition of DABC’s Transition magazine, Canada Disability Benefit: What protection does it actually offer? (Fall/Winter 2024).

Read the full edition in PDF format here and in text-only format here.

If you’re interested in contributing to Transition as an individual or an organization, please email transition@dabc.ca.

_________________________________________________________________________

A few days after the April 2024 federal government budget outlined key details about the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), I contacted the Honourable Kamal Khera, Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities, and gave formal notice of my resignation from the Minister’s Disability Advisory Group effective immediately.

The Trudeau government’s decisions around the Canada Disability Benefit announced in the federal budget triggered my resignation.

The budget fails to heed the long-declared recommendations by national disability organizations and other groups for a properly-funded benefit, one that recognizes the additional costs of living for people with disabilities.

The benefit, although depicted as a key pillar in the government’s plan to provide direct support to those who need it most, does not adequately address the serious needs of more than one million adults living with disabilities across the country, many of whom live in poverty.

I initially thought the benefit amount of $200 was a misprint. The benefit is too low and too few people in need are covered. It is complicated to access, lacks collaboration, and waits too long to meaningfully reduce poverty.

In 2020, the federal government described the CDB as modeled after the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) for low-income seniors aged sixty-five and older.

In 2024, the maximum benefit amount of the GIS is $12,785 annually. For the CDB, the proposed maximum benefit amount is $2,400 per year for low-income people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64. The proposed maximum annual payment for the CDB equates to about two months of the support for low-income seniors.

A Retreat from Real Poverty Reduction

The government estimates that more than 600,000 low-income people with disabilities may qualify for the CDB. However, Employment and Social Development Canada later revealed the CDB might, at most, lift only 25,000 recipients out of financial poverty.

These numbers for coverage and poverty reduction fall well short of the estimated 1.2 million people with disabilities across Canada living in poverty. In contrast to previous statements about the intended effects of the CDB, it simply may not bring significant poverty-reduction effects.

So Much for “Nothing About Us, Without Us”

The budget included a statement that, in the spirit of “nothing about us without us”, the government would provide meaningful opportunities for people living with disability to collaborate.

However, not on everything. Whatever the eventual design of the program, the budget adds the fundamental constraint that “the design will need to fit the investment proposed in Budget 2024.”

This fiscal condition, set down by the Minister of Finance, means that the issues of benefit adequacy, effectiveness as a poverty-reduction policy and the coverage of the program are not truly up for discussion.

In the words of this budget, the federal government “aspires to see” that, one day, the combined amount of federal and provincial or territorial income supports for people with disabilities grow to the level of Old Age Security and the GIS to tackle disability poverty.

Significant Investments are Required

The history of social policy in Canada teaches us that major reform in income support often comes from federal leadership in investments and program reform. It has long been apparent that not all provinces and none of the territories have the financial capacity to tackle disability poverty in a fundamental and sustainable way.

Out of sync with public opinion and community needs, this budget announcement fails to take strong federal responsibility for income security for working-age adults with disabilities who are working hard to join the middle class.

I concluded my voice was no longer making a difference on this advisory group and that by remaining, people would assume I supported this benefit design. So I resigned.

However, I continue to work with self-advocates and community allies in other ways and places.

Michael J. Prince is Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria. From 2018 to 2024, he was Board Chair of Community Living BC. He was also a member of the federal Ministerial Disability Advisory Group from April 2020 to April 2024.