Canada Is Set To Get A New Federal Benefit & It Will Help Support People With Disabilities
The proposed benefit will support working-age Canadians.
A Government of Canada building.
The federal government has announced its plans to create a new benefit in Canada, which will aim to reduce poverty and support working-age people with disabilities.
In a recent notice, officials confirmed that legislation had been reintroduced to create a new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).
According to Employment and Social Development Canada, the proposed support will be informed through engagement with the disability community, as well as Indigenous organizations, academics and more.
Carla Qualtrough — Canada's Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion — explained that it is intended to help working-age people with disabilities in Canada, who have been left without adequate support from the feds.
She said there is already support out there for children with disabilities via the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and seniors can get the Old Age Security (OAS) and the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS), but working-age Canadians have been unable to access similar support.
"We're changing that," she said, per CBC News.
Qualtrough went on to explain that the CDB is being created to top up existing provincial benefits, not to replace them.
Bill C-35 was introduced back in June 2021. Although it received first reading, it was scrapped on the order paper when the federal election was called.
More recently, the NDP called on the feds to bring the option of the disability benefit back.
No details have been shared yet about the monthly monetary value of the proposed benefit, but its bill would enable the feds to set most of the conditions, including the eligibility criteria, the amount on offer and how it would be indexed to inflation.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.