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.

On June 13th, 2024, Members of Parliament, Bonita Zarrillo and Laurel Collins, introduced a new federal bill (Bill C-403), which proposes that people receiving the Persons with Disabilities Benefit (PWD) receive automatic approval for federal benefits, including the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), Canada Pension Plan-Disability (CPP-D), and Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).  

A recording of the news conference can be found here and you can read the proposed bill here.  

DABC is in full support of Bill C-403; if adopted it will bring forward a change that we have advocated for over many years. Last year, in our submission to BC’s poverty reduction strategy, we advocated that “the level of stress and pressure placed on individuals to “prove” their disability can be mitigated against through finding ways to streamline the process” and that “individuals who have already gone through an application process for a different disability benefit should not need to go through the same validation process again.” If passed, Bill C-403 could reduce such stress and increase greater access to these benefits for countless people with disabilities in BC and across Canada.