RDSP Awareness Month Event in Victoria

On October 5th, Disability Alliance BC (DABC), Plan Institute, British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS), Inclusion BC, and BC’s Human Rights Commission, came together to promote the Registered Disability Savings Plan in front of the Victoria Parliament Buildings! The event was organized by BCANDS.

We were thrilled to answer questions about the RDSP and to promote awareness. “Less than one-third of eligible residents in Canada (up to age 59) have a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)—about 31.5% in 2020″ (source).

The RDSP was created by the federal government as a long-term savings plan for people with disabilities and their families. Disabled people can benefit from an RDSP even if they cannot put any money into the plan and it will not affect their other disability benefits. Individuals who qualify for the RDSP, can gain up to $90,000 in grants and bonds for their retirement from the government.  

We handed out free RDSP t-shirts and had delicious RDSP themed cakes! Thank you to everyone that enjoyed our free coffee and popcorn as well. We were visited by our local MLAs, including the MLA for Chilliwack and Parliamentary Secretary for Accessibility Dan Coulter and Minister of Social Development and Poverty Reduction Nicholas Simons, and MLA for Fraser-Nicola and Assistant Deputy Speaker Jackie Tegart. RDSP Awareness Month and the importance of the RDSP was mentioned in Parliament that afternoon. Additionally, the non-profits, including DABC were acknowledged in Parliament for our work surrounding the RDSP.  

Thank you to everyone that came by to learn about the RDSP. For more information on the RDSP, please visit: www.rdsp.com or contact rdsp@disabilityalliancebc.org/

604-872-1278 Toll Free 1-800-663-1278.

November is Indigenous Disability Awareness Month!

As we mentioned above, one of our Access RDSP partners is BC Aboriginal Disability Network Society (BCANDS). BCANDS created Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAM) in 2015, designating November as IDAM.

From BCANDS’ website, where you can learn more about IDAM: “Indigenous peoples of Canada experience a disability rate significantly higher than that of the general population. Indigenous Disability Awareness Month (IDAM) brings awareness of these barriers and the issues that Indigenous peoples living with disabilities and their families face every day. More importantly though, in spite of these barriers, IDAM celebrates the achievements of Indigenous peoples living with disabilities and recognize the significant and valuable contributions they make to our communities socially, economically, and culturally every day.”

At the RDSP Awareness Month in Victoria discussed earlier in this post, BCANDS provided us with Access RDSP t-shirts! Enjoy the picture of DABC staff in their new t-shirts above!