DABC has signed on to the following statement from the National Disability Network regarding Budget 2025.

You can also download the statement in English here and in French here.

For immediate release – Ottawa, November 6, 2025

Budget 2025 Leaves 27% of Canadians Without a Plan to Participate in the Economy

Budget 2025 takes some steps to improve access but fails to recognize the economic imperative of including people with disabilities in Canada’s economy. People with disabilities (27% of Canadians aged 15 and over) contribute as workers, entrepreneurs, and consumers, yet remain excluded from meaningful economic participation. This budget provides no clear roadmap to enable this participation, offers no new adequacy funding for the Canada Disability Benefit, and creates a potential risk to disability programs given significant savings targets at Employment and Social Development Canada.

What the budget includes

• Steps to ease benefit access, including simplified tax filing for low-income Canadians
• Measures to support Disability Tax Credit (DTC) medical certification
• Signals that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) may become ‘exempt from income’ for qualifying for other benefits.
• Measures to address negative effects on the value of the DTC as a result of reductions to marginal tax rates

We are pleased with these measures which should reduce some access barriers. However, without adequate benefits and supports, people with disabilities cannot fully participate in the economy.

What’s missing and what’s at risk

• No commitment to increase the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)
• ESDC directed to achieve significant savings with no clarity on which programs face cuts (creating potential risk to disability-related programs)
• Eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) remains tied to the restrictive Disability Tax Credit (DTC)
• Major federal housing and infrastructure investments lack clear, measurable accessibility requirements

What the National Disability Network is calling for

The National Disability Network calls on the federal government to:

• Publish a plan for the Canada Disability Benefit outlining a clear timeline for a fully funded and adequate benefit
• Broaden CDB eligibility beyond the Disability Tax Credit through co-design with disability-led organizations
• Ensure provincial and territorial governments do not claw back the CDB by reducing provincial and territorial disability benefits, so people receive the full value of the CDB
• Embed measurable accessibility requirements across all major federal investments
• Clarify the impact of ESDC program reductions and consult disability-led organizations consistent with CRPD Article 4.3, and advance Articles 12 and 19 by protecting legal capacity and funding community-based supports

The Government of Canada cannot advance its growth and prosperity agenda – and Canada cannot reach its full economic potential – if people with disabilities continue to be undervalued and excluded.

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Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians
Canadian Association of the Deaf (CAD-ASC)
Autism Alliance of Canada | Alliance canadienne de l’autisme
Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf
Canadian Down Syndrome Society
CCRW
CNIB
Council of Canadians with Disabilities
Daily Bread Food Bank
Disability Without Poverty
Environmental Health Association of Canada
Environmental Health Association of Québec
L’Arche Canada
March of Dimes Canada
Muscular Dystrophy Canada
People First of Canada
Plan Institute
Realize Canada
Rick Hansen Foundation
Spinal Cord Injury Canada
Thunder Bay & District Injured Workers Support Group
Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility
Inclusion Canada
Independent Living Canada
Indigenous Disability Canada
Disability Alliance BC

About the National Disability Network

The National Disability Network (NDN) is a pan-Canadian coalition of over 40 member organizations committed to advancing inclusion, accessibility, and equity for people with disabilities in Canada. The NDN advocates for systemic change through collaborative policy development, government engagement, and community mobilization. It operates on the principle of “nothing about us, without us,” ensuring that people with disabilities are meaningfully involved in shaping the policies and programs that affect their lives.

Media contact

National Disability Network / Réseau national pour les personnes en situation de handicap
Email: info@nationaldisabilitynetwork.ca

Yesterday, November 4th, 2025, the federal government announced Budget 2025. The budget contains several items that pertain to people with disabilities and people living on low incomes. We’ve listed them below. DABC will issue a statement with our thoughts on the budget in the near future.

Read the full budget here: https://budget.canada.ca/2025/home-accueil-en.html.

Have questions? Email taxaid@dabc.ca or call 236-477-1717  for questions specifically relating to tax measures, and email dtc@dabc.ca  or call 604-923-8136 for all other questions.

Delivering Automatic Federal Benefits for Low-Income Individuals

• Automatic Federal Benefits for the 2026 tax year. These individuals will be able to review and confirm a pre-filled income tax return, and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will automatically file these individuals’ taxes to ensure they receive government benefits they qualify for—including benefits that these Canadians may not be aware they are entitled to.
• To help individuals with lower incomes receive the benefits to which they are entitled, Budget 2025 also proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to allow the CRA to file a tax return on behalf of certain eligible individuals with lower incomes in simple tax situations who do not owe tax and do not file themselves.

Protecting Against Economic Abuse in Financial Institutions

• Budget 2025 proposes to introduce a voluntary Code of Conduct for the Prevention of Economic Abuse for federally regulated banks. This code, to be overseen by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, will set clear expectations for how banks can identify, prevent, and respond to economic abuse to better protect Canadians.

Personal Support Workers Tax Credit

• Budget 2025 proposes to introduce a temporary Personal Support Workers Tax Credit, under which eligible personal support workers employed in the remaining provinces and territories could claim a refundable tax credit equal to 5 per cent of their eligible earnings, providing support of up to $1,100 per year.

Lowering Barriers to Access the Canada Disability Benefit

• Budget 2025 proposes funding of $115.7 million over four years, beginning in 2026-27, and $10.1 million per year ongoing, for a one-time supplemental Canada Disability Benefit payment of $150 in respect of each Disability Tax Credit certification, or re-certification, giving rise to a Canada Disability Benefit entitlement. This one-time payment would be retroactive to the launch of the Canada Disability Benefit. Following successful completion of the regulatory process, the first supplemental payments are expected to be made to Canada Disability Benefit recipients before the end of 2026-27.
• In addition, the government is committed to looking at ways to provide such a payment in respect of other Disability Tax Credit certifications as part of its work to review and reform the process to apply for the credit.
• Budget 2025 confirms the government’s intention to bring forward legislation to exempt the Canada Disability Benefit from being treated as income under the Income Tax Act.

Top-Up Tax Credit

The rate applied to most non-refundable tax credits is based on the first marginal personal income tax rate. In very rare cases where an individual’s non-refundable tax credit amounts exceed the first income tax bracket threshold ($57,375 in 2025), the decrease in the value of these credits may exceed their tax savings from the rate reduction.  To ensure that no one in this circumstance has their tax liability increased by the middle-class tax cut, and to help Canadians transition to the lower credit rate, Budget 2025 proposes to introduce a new non-refundable Top-Up Tax Credit. The credit would effectively maintain the current 15-per-cent rate for non-refundable tax credits claimed on amounts in excess of the first income tax bracket threshold.

Qualified Investments for Registered Plans

Budget 2025 proposes the following amendments to simplify, streamline, and harmonize the qualified investment rules for Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs), Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs), Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSPs), First Home Savings Accounts (FHSAs), and Deferred Profit Sharing Plans (DPSPs).

As of January 1, 2027,

• RDSPs would be permitted to acquire shares of specified small business corporations, venture capital corporations, and specified cooperative corporations
• Shares of eligible corporations and interests in small business investment limited partnerships and small business investment trusts would no longer be qualified investments.

Home Accessibility Tax Credit

At present, if the eligibility criteria for both credits are met, taxpayers can claim both HATC and Medical Expense credits in respect of the same expense. Budget 2025 proposes to amend the Income Tax Act such that an expense claimed under the Medical Expense Tax Credit cannot also be claimed under the Home Accessibility Tax Credit. This measure would apply to the 2026 and subsequent taxation years.

Canada Carbon Rebate

With the removal of the federal fuel charge as of April 1, 2025, the government provided a final quarterly CCR payment starting in April 2025 to eligible households. To support the winding down of mechanisms to return fuel charge proceeds, Budget 2025 proposes to amend the Income Tax Act to provide that no CCR payments would be made in respect of tax returns, or adjustment requests, filed after October 30, 2026.

DABC recently submitted our recommendations for Budget 2026 to the Select Standing Committee on Finance and Government Services. Our submission is below. 

You can also download a copy of our submission here and learn more about the consultation process here: https://consultation-portal.leg.bc.ca/consultations/40.

Please note that we were only able to submit a maximum of three recommendations. We made additional recommendations in our election priorities document, which was sent to each political party in September 2024. You can see our post about this here and download the document here.

Disability Alliance BC (DABC) is a provincial cross-disability non profit organization and registered charity, advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. The focus of our submission will be on ensuring that the BC Government invest in programs which will improve the financial security of low-income people with disabilities across our province, particularly focused on Disability Assistance, Public Transportation, and Affordable, Accessible Housing.

Recommendation 1 (300 characters): Indexing Disability Assistance rates to inflation, and removing clawbacks from employment insurance income and spousal income for people on Disability Assistance.

Explanation (2000 characters):

DABC calls upon the BC government to make good on their commitments to poverty reduction as listed on page 34 of the 2024 Poverty Reduction Strategy, specifically: “considering the case for indexing rates to inflation”, and “Considering income exemptions that could stack benefits and help people retain more income – Examples could include changing the rules around spousal income or exempting federal benefits like Employment Insurance from income.”

People on PWD deserve to feel financially secure; they should have reassurance that their PWD income will increase if inflation increases; and they should feel secure in knowing they can access their federal right to Employment Insurance (EI) without having their PWD income clawed back.

EI should be treated as a form of earned income, not unearned income, because workers contribute their employment earnings to EI through a deduction in their pay cheque. Everyone who pays EI premiums can rely on EI benefits being there when they need them, including PWD clients, however the difference is that PWD clients “are required to pursue and accept the other income or means of support,” meaning that they must accept EI if they are eligible, but have no recourse to stop their PWD income from being clawed back. We believe this clawback of EI benefits discriminates against PWD clients, which hinders them from escaping the cycle of poverty.

Lastly, people with disabilities who need to access Disability Assistance should feel financially secure without relying on income from their spouse or partner. Relying on spousal income expects that the non-disabled partner is responsible for the disabled partner’s livelihood and well-being. The current PWD system is actively encouraging people on PWD to remain single or make it very difficult to obtain and sustain a relationship. The spousal cap is in direct opposition with a person’s right to independence and equal opportunity, and therefore discriminates against people with disabilities.

Recommendation 2: Streamlining the provincial bus pass program for people with disabilities to include HandyDART rides.

Explanation:

DABC calls upon the provincial government to make good on a campaign promise within the BC NDP’s action plan that was launched ahead of last year’s election, namely “Improve transit for people with disabilities by bringing BC’s HandyDART service into government, instead of sub contracting the service to a private company.” DABC wishes to see HandyDART brought within government control not only because it will guarantee greater accountability to the public and the disability community on the state of its operations, but will also pave the way for HandyDART to more easily become integrated into the BC bus pass program, which is available to seniors and people on Disability Assistance.

Transport 2050 states that its goal is “a “fairer and more just and inclusive transportation system that truly delivers on the promise of Access for Everyone.” A more inclusive public transportation system would involve bringing HandyDART into the BC bus pass program so that low income people with disabilities who are unable to navigate conventional public transit would be able to access this much-needed service. Currently, people on Disability Assistance have to pay out of pocket for HandyDART, which we believe is a form of financial exclusion.

Recommendation 3: Build more affordable, accessible housing that includes two, three, and four-bedroom units.

Explanation:

While DABC is heartened to hear of the BC Government’s investments being made to combat the housing crisis in our province, people with disabilities in need of accessible, affordable housing are falling through the cracks.

DABC’s Right Fit program is the only program of its kind in Canada that matches wheelchair users to accessible housing. In our experience detailing the inventory of accessible housing in Metro Vancouver, we have observed a strikingly critical gap of multi-bedroom accessible housing. The vast majority of accessible units that have been built over the past few decades are one-bedroom or studio units. This neglect for multi-bedroom accessible units actively excludes families, particularly newcomer families, in need of accessible housing. There are over 70 families on our waitlist that have waited years for a multi-bedroom accessible unit to become available. Instead, they have no choice but to live in in-accessible housing, which by the Canadian definition, are considered homeless; they are the unseen and unserved component of the homeless population.

DABC calls upon the provincial government to make dedicated commitments to building multi-bedroom accessible units, as well as providing targeted financial support through rental subsidies for low income people with disabilities who have been priced out of the rental housing market. Rental subsidies are crucial to reducing the effect of poverty on people with disabilities who depend upon a scarce supply of accessible, affordable housing.