As Members of Parliament return to Ottawa on September 21st for the Fall session, the Government of Canada is being urged to create an “action plan” to safeguard our economic well-being. Any action plan must include people with disabilities. This week, Inclusion Canada is is putting forward five public policy measures to advance inclusion, bring disability income supports closer to the true cost of living and help people with disabilities live fully inclusive lives. Today, we begin with the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). At a maximum of just $204.20 per month—or approximately $6.71 a day—the CDB is not only inadequate; it is disconnected from the lived reality of the people it is intended to support. The benefit remains too small, too restrictive and too difficult to access for many of those who need it most. Inclusion Canada is calling for a phased increase to the CDB over three years. At a minimum, the benefit should reach $1,393 per month, consistent with the Guaranteed Income Supplement available to low-income seniors, with an additional adjustment recognizing the costs associated with disability. The CDB must supplement—not replace—provincial and territorial disability income supports. Together, these supports should provide people with disabilities with an adequate income and a genuine pathway out of poverty. Provincial governments should not be permitted to claw back the benefit. Read Inclusion Canada’s five recommendations for the upcoming federal budget: ourcommons.ca/Content/Commit… We urge the Government of Canada to ensure that people with disabilities are central to any economic action plan. No person with a disability should be legislated into poverty.

As Parliament resumes, Inclusion Canada’s second federal policy recommendation is clear: modernize the Disability Tax Credit and reform how people qualify for federal disability benefits. The Disability Tax Credit was never designed to determine eligibility for income-support programs. Yet DTC certification is now required to access the Canada Disability Benefit and other important supports. For many people with intellectual disabilities, the DTC application process is inaccessible, burdensome and duplicative—particularly when they have already undergone a rigorous assessment to qualify for a provincial or territorial disability income program. Approximately 40% of people with intellectual disabilities who qualify for provincial and territorial disability programs are nevertheless denied access to the DTC. As a result, many are also shut out of the Canada Disability Benefit. Disability policy should not be driven by tax policy. Inclusion Canada is calling on the federal government to: • Decouple eligibility for the Canada Disability Benefit from the DTC; • Automatically recognize recipients of provincial and territorial disability income programs as eligible for the CDB; • Continue modernizing the DTC and the broader federal disability eligibility system; and • Align DTC eligibility criteria with the broader definition of disability in the Accessible Canada Act. Read Inclusion Canada’s five recommendations for the upcoming federal budget: inclusioncanada.ca/resource?…

📣 REMINDER: Our program Barrier-Free Benefits helps people with disabilities and their family or supporters navigate the application process to access federal disability supports. Our trained and experienced Navigators will offer free one-on-one person-centered support, to help people with disabilities apply for benefits like the Disability Tax Credit, the new Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), tax filing, Canadian Dental Care Plan, and more. We will be there at every step of the way, from application right through to the appeals process if necessary. 💜 You don’t have to figure this out alone. 👉 For more information, please check out our web portal inclusioncanada.ca/page/barr… Contact one of our Navigators today, they are waiting to hear from you. --- 📣 RAPPEL: Notre programme Prestations sans obstacles aide les personnes en situation de handicap, ainsi que leur famille ou leurs proches, à naviguer dans le processus de demande pour accéder aux soutiens fédéraux liés au handicap. Nos accompagnateurs formés et expérimentés offriront un soutien gratuit, personnalisé et individuel, pour aider les personnes en situation de handicap à présenter une demande pour le Crédit d’impôt pour personnes handicapées, le nouveau Régime canadien de prestation d’invalidité (RCPI), le Régime enregistré d’épargne-invalidité (REEI), la production de déclarations de revenus, le Régime canadien de soins dentaires, et plus encore. 💜 Vous n’avez pas à faire ce chemin seul. 👉 Pour plus d’information, consultez notre portail web inclusioncanada.ca/page/fr/b… Communiquez dès aujourd’hui avec un de nos accompagnateurs — ils sont prêts à vous aider !