Update on the Canada Disability Benefit for provincial disability assistance recipients

DABC is relieved to learn that all people who are eligible for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) and receiving provincial disability assistance will be able to keep all of the CDB.

Read more here: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2024SDPR0014-001497.

What do you think of the proposed Canada Disability Benefit?

In June, the federal government published their proposed regulation for the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). The CDB will likely provide a maximum of $2,400 per year–$200 per month–to eligible Canadians with disabilities. Eligibility will also be limited to people who qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. Applications to the CDB are slated to open in Spring 2025.

Consultations on the proposed regulation are currently underway. DABC has been working on our in-depth review of the proposed regulation, which we hope to share with our networks very soon. This review will also be sent to the federal government as part of the consultation process.

 In addition to this advocacy work, we are also planning to discuss the topic of the Canada Disability Benefit in our next issue of the Transition magazine, and we want to hear from you!

What do you want to tell government to consider in their future deliberations around the CDB process or the benefit amount? Please send your short response of up to three sentences to transition@dabc.ca by September 12th for our upcoming edition on the CDB. We can publish your comments anonymously or with your name(s),  whichever you choose.

Community Update: DABC's Response to 2024 Federal Budget

April 16th, 2024

Today, the federal government released Budget 2024. Included in the Budget is new information about the Canada Disability Benefit Act (CDB), which received Royal Assent on June 22nd, 2023, but has yet to come into force.

Budget 2024 reveals the following updates about the CDB:

  • The CDB will likely provide a maximum of $2,400 per year to eligible Canadians with disabilities.
  • Only people with disabilities, ages 18-64, who live on low incomes and have been found eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) will be eligible for the CDB.
  • Eligible Canadians will likely begin receiving CDB payments as of July 2025.
  • The federal government will provide $243 million over six years, beginning in 2024-25, and $41 million per year ongoing, to cover the cost of the medical forms required to apply for the Disability Tax Credit, to expand access to the DTC and therefore the CDB.
  • The federal government is calling on provinces and territories to ensure that CDB payments are not clawed back from provincial or territorial income/disability supports.

While DABC is happy to see a timeline for the enactment of the Canada Disability Benefit and the government’s recommendation against clawbacks, we are extremely disappointed to learn about the Disability Tax Credit eligibility requirement and the proposed $2,400/year cap. It can be very difficult for people with disabilities to be approved for the DTC due to its strict eligibility requirements, and $2,400/year is woefully inadequate; it will not lift most people with disabilities who are eligible for the CDB out of poverty.

DABC will continue to provide feedback to the government on the development of the Canada Disability Benefit.

In more positive news for Canadians with disabilities, “Budget 2024 announces the government’s intention to amend the Income Tax Act to make additional expenses eligible for the Disability Supports Deduction, subject to certain conditions, such as:

  • service animals trained to perform specific tasks for people with certain severe impairments;
  • alternative computer input devices, such as assistive keyboards, braille display, digital pens, and speech recognition devices;
  • and, ­ergonomic work chairs and bed positioning devices, including related assessments.”

Read the full Budget plan here: https://budget.canada.ca/2024/report-rapport/budget-2024.pdf.