Federal Government is Holding a Virtual Public Consultation on Regulations to Implement the Canada Disability Benefit but Still Hasn’t Proclaimed Bill C-22 in Force

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

United for a Barrier-Free Ontario for All People with Disabilities

www.aodaalliance.org aodafeedback@gmail.com Twitter: @aodaalliance YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aodaalliance

 

 

Federal Government is Holding a Virtual Public Consultation on Regulations to Implement the Canada Disability Benefit but Still Hasn’t Proclaimed Bill C-22 in Force

 

November 30, 2023

 

SUMMARY

 

The Federal Government is now holding a virtual or online public consultation on the Canada Disability Benefit. We set out the Government’s announcement below. We encourage interested people to take part in this consultation. Visit the Federal Government’s online public consultation page.

 

We are very troubled that over five months after Bill C-22 was passed by Parliament and given Royal Assent, the Federal Government has still not proclaimed this bill in force. We still don’t know:

 

  • When people with disabilities who languish in poverty will start to receive the promised Canada Disability Benefit.
  • How much they will get each month from the Federal Government.
  • Which people with disabilities will qualify for the Canada Disability Benefit.
  • Whether provincial or territorial governments or private insurance companies will claw back any or all of the Canada Disability Benefit.
  • What will be in place to protect people with disabilities from those clawbacks.
  • How, when and where people with disabilities will be able to apply for the Canada Disability Benefit.

 

Bill C-22 does not go into operation until the Federal Government proclaims it in force. They have up to June 21, 2024, to do so. They cannot enact any regulations or pay any money under this bill until it is proclaimed in force.

 

The Federal Government has no good reason for failing to proclaim it in force for over five months. It could have done so at any time.

 

It is not clear to us what more the Federal Government aims to learn from this new public consultation beyond the large consultation that former Disabilities Minister Carla Qualtrough told Parliament she had already been conducting for several months. It is also not clear to us why this is all taking so long. The Government could and should have launched this much sooner and had it wrapped up by now.

 

When the AODA Alliance and a good number of other disability organizations appeared before the House of Commons last fall or before the Senate last spring to plead for this weak bill to be amended, the Trudeau Government strongly resisted. They said that the need to pass the bill was so urgent that it should not be slowed down to make amendments. It was said to be so urgent because people with disabilities who languish in poverty needed to receive the Canada Disability Benefit as soon as possible. Now, all these months later, they are taking their time just to proclaim the bill in force. Watch a widely viewed AODA Alliance video that shows how the Trudeau Liberals flip-flopped on whether this weak bill would benefit from amendments to strengthen it.

 

Parliament should have included far more of these specifics in Bill C-22 itself, reducing the delays that impoverished people with disabilities suffer from now. We and several other disability organizations insisted on that over the year that Bill C-22 was before Parliament. Time has proven that we were all correct in that regard.

 

When this bill was before Parliament, some disability organizations wanted the Federal Government to agreed to “co-create” the regulations under Bill C-22 that would define who is eligible for the Canada Disability Benefit, what the amount would be, and other key details. By “co-creation,” they meant that the disability community would somehow have an equal seat at the table where decisions would be made.

 

The consultation, announced below, is nothing like “co-creation” of the regulations jointly by the Government and the disability community. We warned over and over that the Government was not offering or proposing to “co-create” the regulations with the disability community. These regulations are made in Cabinet, which meets in private. The disability community won’t even be in the room, much less will they have an equal seat at the table in that room.

 

Learn more about the efforts over last fall and this spring to get the weak Bill C-22 strengthened by visiting the AODA Alliance website’s Bill C-22 page.

 

MORE DETAILS

 

Federal Government Announcement of Its Online Consultation on Regulations under the Canada Disability Benefit Act

 

As you likely know, the Canada Disability Benefit Act received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, after being passed unanimously by the House of Commons and being passed by the Senate.

 

The Government of Canada is taking the next step in implementing the Canada Disability Benefit, with our launch of the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations Online Engagement Tool, which will give all Canadians, but especially Canadians with disabilities, the opportunity to have their say in the development of the benefit’s regulations. The engagement tool provides an overview of the regulatory areas under the Canada Disability Benefit Act, and space to comment on each of them. The engagement tool is accessible and available in American Sign Language and Langue des signes québécoise. See the news release for the launch of the engagement tool here.

 

The Canada Disability Benefit is a cornerstone of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan and has the potential to transform the lives of working-age Canadians with disabilities currently living in poverty. The benefit aims to reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age Canadians with disabilities by supplementing, not replacing, existing federal and provincial and territorial supports.

 

I am reaching out to ask for your assistance in getting the word out to your clients, organization and contacts to take part in an opportunity to help shape regulations for the Canada Disability Benefit. Our goal is to reach a diversity of persons with disabilities, caregivers of persons with disabilities, and Canadians, to ensure we receive a wide breadth of input from everyone who wishes to contribute.

 

There are a number of avenues to comment and provide input outside of the online engagement tool, including by mail, phone, and video relay. There are also alternative ways to access the information provided through the online engagement tool, including in the form of a Word document or alternate format. Find details about these options on the consultation page for the regulatory engagement process.

 

To support you in promoting this engagement opportunity, attached is an outreach kit that includes key messages, social media posts and shareables, a digital poster and postcard.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Office for Disability Issues at

edsc.pcph-cdb.esdc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca.

Thank you in advance for your support.

 

Krista Wilcox

 

Director General

Office for Disability Issues

Employment and Social Development Canada

Government of Canada

 

Canada Disability Benefit Regulations Online Engagement Tool

Outreach Kit

Overview

The Government of Canada is taking the next step in implementing the Canada Disability Benefit, with our launch of the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations Online Engagement Tool, which will give all Canadians, but especially Canadians with disabilities, the opportunity to have their say in the development of regulations for the benefit.

 

We would appreciate your assistance in getting the word out about this opportunity to shape the Canada Disability Benefit.

 

To support you in promoting this engagement opportunity in your region, attached is an outreach kit that includes key messages, social media posts and shareables, a digital poster and a postcard.

 

You can also follow and share posts from @AccessibleGC on Twitter and from Accessible Canada on Facebook.

 

Key messages

  • The Government of Canada is taking another step forward to create and implement the new Canada Disability Benefit.
  • The Canada Disability Benefit is a cornerstone of Canada’s Disability Inclusion Action Plan and has the potential to transform the lives of working-age Canadians with disabilities currently living in poverty. The benefit aims to reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age Canadians with disabilities by supplementing, not replacing, existing federal, provincial and territorial supports.

 

  • In the spirit of “Nothing About Us Without Us”, and as required by the Canada Disability Benefit Act, the Government of Canada is conducting an engagement process with persons with disabilities, disability stakeholder organizations and others, to inform the development and design of regulations for the Canada Disability Benefit.

 

  • Today, the Government of Canada is launching the Canada Disability Benefit Regulations Online Engagement Tool that is open to all Canadians. The tool will be open for comments until December 21, 2023.

 

  • Canadians will have additional opportunities to provide input after the formal publication of the draft regulations, which is expected to take place sometime in 2024.

 

  • The Government of Canada is aware that many Canadians with disabilities need the additional financial support the benefit will provide. The intent is to move forward as fast as possible with the regulatory development process, while also ensuring that all Canadians, especially Canadians with disabilities, have an opportunity to provide their feedback and input into the design of regulations for the benefit.

 

Suggested social media messages for Twitter and Instagram

 

General messages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messages close to December 21, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested social media messages for Facebook and LinkedIn

 

General messages

 

 

 

 

 

 

Messages close to December 21, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested hashtags

  • #CanadaDisabilityBenefit
  • #PWD
  • #disability

 

Suggested promotional visuals

Social media shareables

Alt text: A young man with amputated legs uses a tablet. An older woman sits next to him looking on. Have your say on regulations for the Canada Disability Benefit.

Alt text: A woman in a wheelchair. Have your say on regulations for the Canada Disability Benefit.

Alt text: A man with Down’s syndrome. Have your say on regulations for the Canada Disability Benefit.

Digital poster to print

Alt text: A woman walking with a cane and an assistance dog. A man with a prosthetic leg walking. Share your thoughts on the Canada Disability Benefit regulations. Visit the online engagement tool.

Postcards to print

 

Alt text: A woman walking with a cane and an assistance dog. A man with a prosthetic leg walking. Interested in shaping the Canada Disability Benefit? Now is your chance. Visit the online engagement tool.