A life-saving bill

Asarial, let’s make 2023 the year of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).

The CDB – Bill C-22 – is back in the House of Commons. It recently passed through the Senate after a long review process, with a series of amendments to strengthen the bill. [1] It’s time for the bill to become law so people with disabilities can receive the support they need to live with dignity.

Nearly 917,000, or 23%, of working-age Canadians with disabilities live in poverty, and the rising costs of living and housing have only made that situation worse. [2]

Trudeau first promised the CDB three years ago, and it’s been stuck in a bureaucratic loop since then. [3] If the House doesn’t accept the amendments, it will take months for the bill to go back through Senate once again. People with disabilities living in poverty can’t wait any longer to receive this life saving support.

That’s where we come in. The House breaks for summer in just a few weeks – we need to pressure MPs to pass the Canada Disability Benefit into law before then. Sign the petition now calling on MPs to pass Bill C-22 and the CDB so Canadians with disabilities can receive the financial support they need to live with dignity.

The Senate made some incredibly helpful amendments to strengthen Bill C-22 and the CDB. These amendments make it so that:

1. Insurance companies can’t take the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) back from people who already receive long-term disability benefits through an insurance policy.
2. There is a right to appeal enshrined in the bill that allows people who have been denied the CDB the right to appeal.
3. When deciding the benefit rate, the HoC must take into account not only the poverty line but the additional costs of living with a disability, barriers to earning income, intersectionality and international human rights obligations.
4. The bill now has clear, required timelines for its rollout. Once the bill becomes law it will automatically come into force one year later. [4]

The last time Bill C-22 was in the House of Commons, it passed unanimously across all parties. But even though the bill is stronger with these amendments, there is no guarantee it will pass this year. Unless we apply pressure, Bill C-22 could get stuck behind red tape for another year. We can’t let that happen.

The Leadnow community worked hard to pressure the Senate to pass Bill C-22 with urgency – with 13,852 of you signing the petition calling on Senate to pass the bill – and now, we must demonstrate that same urgency to MPs. Bill C-22 needs to pass now to meet the urgency of the crisis being experienced by Canadians with disabilities living in poverty. Sign the petition now to call on MPs to pass Bill C-22 and the CDB.

act.leadnow.ca/bill-c-22-hoc-petition/

In solidarity,
Ellen and Rivka for Leadnow

Sources:
[1] https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/HUMA/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=11860383
[2] https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/news/2023/02/house-of-commons-adopts-legislation-to-create-the-canada-disability-benefit.html
[3] https://liberal.ca/our-platform/introduce-a-disability-benefit/
[4] http://incomesecurity.org/update-on-bill-c-22-canada-disability-benefit-may-2023/