e-5094 Social affairs and equality
Petition to the Government of Canada
Whereas:
1.5 million medically assessed and designated Persons with Disabilities (PWD) live in government-imposed poverty at the hands of the individual provincial governments;
The recently created Canada Disability Benefit is poorly designed, overly regulated, includes discriminating barriers and will be financially ineffective in providing meaningful support; and
There is an ongoing cost of living crisis, inflation, out of control housing crisis, overwhelming food costs and lack of proper financial support from the individual provinces.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1) Immediately amend the Canada Disability Benefit to remove the Canada Disability Tax Credit eligibility requirement, increase the monthly support level to $1500/month or up to when the level of financial supplement when added to the Provincial Disability Income Support, without claw-back, and not including earned income, totals the Official Poverty Level of Canada as per low income cut-offs (LICO) or the Market Basket Measure (MBM), based on monthly take-home;
2) Immediately provide this Canada Disability Benefit utilizing the provincial method of distribution and updated PWD lists, with a roll out by January 2025;
3) Immediately release a one-time, emergency, tax-free, claw-back free, poverty relief cheque of $5000 to all medically assessed and designated PWDs in Canada based on current provincial lists, including those on CPP living in poverty, in provinces that do not provide Disability Income Support, given that this $7.5 billion can be covered by the corporate taxes the government loses by allowing offshore tax havens; and
4) Factor in a reasonable amount of earned income above and beyond the co-government Poverty Level Financial Support and balance any over payments via taxes on an annual basis.
Whereas:
1.5 million medically assessed and designated Persons with Disabilities (PWD) live in government-imposed poverty at the hands of the individual provincial governments;
The recently created Canada Disability Benefit is poorly designed, overly regulated, includes discriminating barriers and will be financially ineffective in providing meaningful support; and
There is an ongoing cost of living crisis, inflation, out of control housing crisis, overwhelming food costs and lack of proper financial support from the individual provinces.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1) Immediately amend the Canada Disability Benefit to remove the Canada Disability Tax Credit eligibility requirement, increase the monthly support level to $1500/month or up to when the level of financial supplement when added to the Provincial Disability Income Support, without claw-back, and not including earned income, totals the Official Poverty Level of Canada as per low income cut-offs (LICO) or the Market Basket Measure (MBM), based on monthly take-home;
2) Immediately provide this Canada Disability Benefit utilizing the provincial method of distribution and updated PWD lists, with a roll out by January 2025;
3) Immediately release a one-time, emergency, tax-free, claw-back free, poverty relief cheque of $5000 to all medically assessed and designated PWDs in Canada based on current provincial lists, including those on CPP living in poverty, in provinces that do not provide Disability Income Support, given that this $7.5 billion can be covered by the corporate taxes the government loses by allowing offshore tax havens; and
4) Factor in a reasonable amount of earned income above and beyond the co-government Poverty Level Financial Support and balance any over payments via taxes on an annual basis.