On June 20^th, 2023 Bill C-22 was passed by the Senate! The Bill proposes to create a federal income supplement for low-income, working-age people with disabilities, modelled after the Guaranteed Income Supplement. As of June 22^nd, Bill C-22 has now received Royal Assent and becomes law by “written declaration” by the Governor General.

We applaud everyone—from the disability community (individuals and organizations) to those in Government—who tirelessly advocated for the passage of this Bill.

Prior to its passing of the Bill, the Senate had recommended 4 amendments[1], and the Bill was sent back to the House of Commons for re-consideration. The House approved 3 of the 4 amendments. The amendment the House rejected would have protected the Benefit from potential private insurance claw backs; the reason given for the rejection was due to “concerns over provincial jurisdiction over the regulation of the insurance industry.”[2] DABC has concerns over the omission of this amendment and will continue to advocate for a Canada Disability Benefit that safeguards against any clawbacks to a disabled person’s income.

We know that this work isn’t done. There is a 12 month deadline to develop the new Act’s regulations. DABC looks forward to working collaboratively to help develop these regulations over the next months. We will continue to provide updates through social media, email and our newsletter when possible. 

[1] https://archdisabilitylaw.ca/tell-the-senate-to-pass-a-stronger-bill-c-22/

[2] https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/canada-disability-benefit-bill-passes-parliament-1.6448999

Big news: Bill C-22 has just been passed! Soon the Bill will receive Royal Assent as the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

We applaud everyone—from the disability community (individuals and organizations) to those in Government—who tirelessly advocated for the passage of this Bill.

This work isn’t done, and DABC looks forward to working collaboratively to help develop the new Act’s regulations over the next months.

Looking for help with a PWD Application booklet? Our advocates can help!

In order to receive assistance from the Advocacy Access program with a PWD application please ensure that you have met the following three criteria to be placed on our waitlist:

1. Applied for income assistance online at myselfserve.gov.bc.ca.

2. Have a blank PWD Application booklet

3. Have a medical professional (general practitioner, specialist or nurse practitioner) who is willing to support you with the application.

Advocates will schedule an appointment with you and ask in depth questions in order to assess how your disabilities impact your daily living activities in order to accurately assist you with your PWD application. Appointments can be done over the phone or in person depending on the clients preference. Appointments can typically take anywhere from 1-3 hours depending on the medical situation of the client.

Our advocates can support you with section 1 of the application, as well as support your medical practitioner with section 2 and connect you with an assessor for section 3.

You can place yourself on our waitlist to receive assistance by calling 604-872-1278 or by emailing us at advocacy@disabilityalliancebc.org. Please note that our services are in very high demand, and our PWD waitlist is currently roughly 14-18 weeks long.