There have been a number of new developments today on the proposed Canadian Disability Benefit (CDB), which the federal government promised to implement in its September 2020 Speech from the Throne. The CDB, if implemented, will likely be modelled after the seniors’ guaranteed income supplement, and we hope it will supplement instead of replace existing federal and provincial supports.

Bill Tabled

The Bill for the CDB (Bill C35) was tabled (formally introduced for discussion) by Minister Qualtrough earlier this morning. The Prime Minister gave a press conference at 11:15 am Eastern, followed by Minister Qualtrough at noon. The text of the Bill is available here: https://www.parl.ca/LegisInfo/BillDetails.aspx?Language=e&Mode=1&billId=11446219.

Angus Reid Report

Angus Reid has just released a report on the results of its survey on disability and poverty. The report, which can be found here, indicates that 89% of Canadians are in favour of a CDB.

New Website: Disability Without Poverty

Disability Without Poverty is “a movement led by people with disabilities, supported by our families, friends, service providers, supporters, allies and organizations.” The movement’s goal is to “make sure the Canadian Disability Benefit becomes a reality.” DWP launched its new website today, which can be viewed here: https://www.disabilitywithoutpoverty.ca/. A French version of the website will be available soon.

This is all very exciting news, and DABC will be closely following any further developments.