DABC has signed on to following letter, sent to The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families. Read it below or download it here: Letter to Minister Hajdu.
October 15, 2026
The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Jobs and Families
Government of Canada
Re: Budget 2026 Recommendation to Double the Child Disability Benefit
Dear Minister Hajdu,
We are writing as a collective representing families, advocates, organizations, researchers and community members from across Canada to urge your government to double the Child Disability Benefit in Budget 2026, as recommended by the Standing Committee on Finance (FINA) in their September 2026 report.
Families raising children with disabilities across Canada are facing increasingly extraordinary and unavoidable costs related to disability, including for affordable, accessible housing. At the same time, many parents face reduced employment opportunities due to barriers to accessing inclusive child care and education, and limited availability of home care support. For many families, the result is a difficult combination of higher costs and reduced earning capacity.
The Child Disability Benefit is an important part of Canada’s social safety net, but its current level does not adequately reflect the realities facing families. For July 2026 to June 2027, the maximum Benefit is $3,480 per child annually, or $290 per month.
The call to double the Child Disability Benefit is not new. In a 2019 mandate letter, the federal government committed to doubling the benefit, and in 2021, the National Advisory Council on Poverty explicitly recommended that the government “deliver on the commitment to double the Child Disability Benefit to improve support to families caring for children with disabilities.” Since then, BC Complex Kids Society and advocates across Canada have continued to call for this increase through federal pre-budget consultations.
In 2025, Canada’s progress on implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was reviewed. In its Concluding Observations, the CRPD Committee recommended that Canada “ensure adequate support to children with disabilities and their families, to parents with disabilities, and to prevent separation of children from their families on the basis of disability.” Budget 2026 is an opportunity to make progress on Canada’s commitment to the CRPD.
Double the Child Disability Benefit to better offset the additional costs associated with disability-related care and support.
In addition we recommend raising the threshold at which the Benefit starts to be reduced and work with provinces and territories to prevent clawbacks.
We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you to share the experiences of families from across Canada and discuss how this investment can make a meaningful difference. Thank you for your consideration and for your commitment to building a Canada where every child and family can thrive.
Sincerely,
Brenda Lenahan Executive Director, BC Complex Kids Society
Helaine Boyd Executive Director, Disability Alliance BC
Dr Keiko Shikako Canada Research Chair in Childhood Disability
Neil Belanger Chief Executive Officer, Indigenous Disability Canada
Raihanna Hirji-Khalfan National Director, Race and Disability Canada
Rabia Khedr Chief Executive Officer, Disability Without Poverty
Krista Carr
Chief Executive Director, Inclusion Canada
Leila Sarangi National Director, Campaign 2000: End Child and Family Poverty
Jennifer Zwicker Canada Research Chair in Disability Policy for Children and Youth and Chief Scientist for Kids Brain Health Network
Rachel Martens University of Calgary Research Knowledge Broker, Parent Advocate
Emily Gruenwoldt President and CEO, Children’s Healthcare Canada and Executive Director, Pediatric Chairs of Canada
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Prime Minister Mark Carney
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of FInance and National Revenue Leslie Church, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Jobs and Families Anna Gainey, Secretary of State – Children and Youth
Wayne Long, Secretary of State – Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions
Karina Gould, Chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance
Ask our experts your questions about the Disability Tax Credit (DTC)!
Getting DTC approval is a big step toward starting your Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). Join us on October 22 for a live Q&A (webinar) about the DTC and the benefits you can access with approval.
This #RDSPAwarenessMonth, don’t miss the chance to learn what you may be eligible for.
One of the biggest challenges with accessing the Disability Tax Credit is the application process. Luckily, changes are coming into effect that will make the application process easier. The DTC is based on the effects of disability or impairment, not simply having a particular diagnosis. Applicants have traditionally needed a qualified medical practitioner to provide detailed information about how their impairment affects specific activities of daily living and whether the impairments meet the legislated requirements for the DTC.
The process can be time consuming for applicants and medical practitioners. However, things are being made simpler. As part of the federal government’s 2026 Spring Economic update which announced changes to the DTC, the application process is being streamlined for people with certain long-lasting medical conditions as of 2027. At the same time, beginning with DTC certificates issues after 2026, more types of health professionals will be able to certify certain impairments. These changes will make the DTC easier to access for many Canadians.
Under the new streamlined approach, if an individual has one or more of the medical conditions on the designated list, a qualified medical practitioner will generally only need to certify that the individual has the condition. This means the practitioner will no longer have to complete the same detailed assessment of how the condition affects the person’s daily living activities. However, the CRA still retains the authority to request additional medical information when necessary, and the underlying legislative requirements for the DTC are unchanged.
What this means is that instead of asking a medical practitioner to document the functional consequences for a condition that the CRA has identified, the new process puts greater emphasis on the diagnosis itself for these specific conditions.
Conditions included are:
Alzheimer’s disease
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Angleman syndrome
Autism spectrum disorder, level 3
Bilateral blindness
Severe or profound bilateral hearing loss
Severe Cerebral Palsy
Stage III or higher COPD
Cystic Fibrosis
Dementia
Down Syndrome
Advanced or severe Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
Huntington Disease
Permanent colostomy or ileostomy
Severe Intellectual disability
Paraplegia
Advanced or severe Parkinson’s disease
Quadriplegia or Tetraplegia
Renal failure requiring lifelong dialysis
Lifelong continuous supplemental oxygen
Severe schizophrenia
Severe Sickle cell disease requiring transfusions
Spinal muscular atrophy types I and II
Severe stroke with no functional recovery
Severe traumatic brain injury
Certain upper and lower limb amputations
And a number of other specified conditions that can be found here.
Another important change is beginning in 2027; the list of health professionals who can certify certain types of impairments will expand.
For example, podiatrists will be able to certify impairments affecting walking within their scope of practice. Physiotherapists will be able to certify impairments affecting feeding and dressing, in addition to walking and certain cumulative effect assessments. Speech language pathologists will be able to certify certain impairments affecting feeding in addition to speaking, and certain cumulative effects assessments. Occupational therapists will be able to certify impairments affecting eliminating bodily waste, in addition to their existing areas. This means that instead of having to find another practitioner, many people wil be able to work with a practitioner who already understands their condition and functional limitations.
Overall, the changes coming into effect in 2027 may make it easier for many people to navigate the DTC, and understanding these changes is important. If you have a condition included in the streamlined list, talk to your medical practitioner about the new certification requirements. If you have been told in the past that applying for the DTC would be too complicated, it may be worth revisiting the question, considering the new rules. Don’t assume you aren’t eligible; the DTC may be more available to you than you think.
DABC has joined a collective representing families, advocates, organizations, researchers and community members from across Canada in signing on to a letter to The Honourable
