Read the Improved but Still Too Weak Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, With House of Commons Standing Committee’s Nine Amendments Added

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance Update

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

 

Web: www.aodaalliance.org

Email: aodafeedback@gmail.com

Twitter: @aodaalliance

Facebook: www.facebook.com/aodaalliance/

 

Read the Improved but Still Too Weak Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, With House of Commons Standing Committee’s Nine Amendments Added

 

December 20, 2022

 

SUMMARY

 

What does Bill C-22, the proposed Canada Disability Benefit Act, look like now? It is ready to go to the House of Commons for Third Reading some time on or after January 30, 2023. In this update, you can read it for yourself! Trust us. It is very short.

 

Below is the revised text of Bill C-22, incorporating the nine amendments that were passed by HUMA, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities. We also set out HUMA’s official report to the House of Commons, which lists the wording of the amendments themselves.

 

HUMA’s nine amendments help the bill, to a point. However, despite them, Bill C-22 is still too weak. For example, it:

 

  • Sets no minimum amount for the Canada Disability Benefit or a start date for the Government to start paying it, and doesn’t ensure it is indexed to inflation. It could be delayed for years and only amount to $1 per month.

 

  • Excludes almost one third of people with disabilities age 15 or older from qualifying for the Canada Disability Benefit solely because of their age, and regardless of their poverty. The Benefit can only be paid to “working-age” people with disabilities. Disproportionately, people with disabilities are seniors. Disability poverty doesn’t end at 65.

 

  • Gives Cabinet arbitrary power to make all the decisions if and when it wishes, over the size of the Benefit, when it will start, how much if any it will be increased due to inflation, and who is eligible for it. It imposes no deadlines for Cabinet to ever act.

 

  • Lets a future Cabinet unilaterally gut the Benefit, voting in a secret Cabinet meeting.

 

Would you like to know what HUMA did during its two days of clause-by-clause review of Bill C-22? Read the December 12, 2022 AODA Alliance Update that analyzes the first day of HUMA’s review of the bill’s wording, and the December 19, 2022 AODA Alliance Update that dives into the second and final day of HUMA’s study of the bill’s text.

 

If you want to know what’s wrong with Bill C-22, we invite you to watch either of the two captioned videos that show what AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky told HUMA during his November 14, 2022 testimony. You can just watch his 7 minute opening statement, or a 21 minute video that includes both his opening statement and his answers to MPs’ questions. Get others to watch these videos as well.

 

We need to correct something in our discussion of the HUMA amendment to the bill’s provision requiring Parliament to eventually review how this bill works. The original wording of the bill said that the first review would be three years after the bill goes into effect. Subsequent reviews would be held on five year intervals after that. The December 19, 2022 AODA Alliance Update correctly stated that HUMA amended the bill so that the first review would be one year after the bill goes into effect, and that the next review would be three years after that. However, we incorrectly said that there would be reviewed every three years after that. In fact, the third review would be five years after the second review. After that, reviews would be every five years.

 

We made this mistake because HUMA refused to release the full text of all amendments that it was considering, so we could study them before HUMA’s clause-by-clause discussions. That failure is disrespectful of the principle “Nothing about us without us” that MPs so often quoted.

 

People with disabilities languishing in poverty are unlikely to see any Canada Disability Benefit in their pockets until some time in 2025, if not later. It will be up to the Senate to put teeth into this bill some time in 2023, after the House of Commons passes it on Third Reading. The House resumes on January 30, 2022. It is very unusual for the House of Commons to amend a bill at Third Reading. We are hoping that the House will make an exception, to clean up the mess which HUMA made to Section 14 of the bill, a blunder we describe in the December 19, 2022 AODA Alliance Update.

 

To learn more about these issues, explore:

 

  • The November 14, 2022 open letter on Bill C-22, originally signed by 37 organizations (now increased to 41) from six provinces across Canada, that the AODA Alliance tabled with the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities.

 

 

 

 

  • The AODA Alliance website’s Bill C-22 page, which shows our efforts to strengthen this proposed new law.

 

 

MORE DETAILS

 

Text of Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, After Review by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities and Before Third Reading in the House of Commons

 

 

1st Session, 44th Parliament,

70-71 Elizabeth II – 1 Charles III, 2021-2022

 

HOUSE OF COMMONS OF CANADA

 

BILL C-22

 

An Act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act

 

Preamble

 

Whereas working-age persons with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than working-age persons without disabilities, because of economic and social exclusion;

 

Whereas persons with disabilities often face barriers to employment, including work disincentives such as the loss of income and other benefits as a result of becoming employed;

 

Whereas the Government of Canada is committed to the economic and social inclusion of persons with disabilities, as evidenced by its introduction of the Accessible Canada Act;

 

Whereas the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees persons with disabilities the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination;

 

Whereas reducing poverty contributes to the progressive realization of Canada’s international obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

 

Whereas Canada aspires to be a world leader in the eradication of poverty, and Parliament, with a view to this objective, enacted the Poverty Reduction Act;

 

Whereas progress made by Canada in reducing poverty for persons with disabilities and others contributes to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations;

 

Whereas the Government of Canada seeks to build on its successes in addressing poverty through providing benefits for seniors and for families with children;

 

Whereas, in the spirit of “Nothing Without Us”, the Government of Canada recognizes the importance, in developing support measures for persons with disabilities, of engaging with the disability community, in accordance with the Accessible Canada Act, which specifies that “persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services and structures”;

 

And whereas Parliament recognizes the leading role that the provinces and territories play in providing supports and services to persons with disabilities and the importance of engaging with them in developing income supports and other support services;

 

 

Now, therefore, His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

 

Short title

1          This Act may be cited as the Canada Disability Benefit Act.

 

Definitions

2          The following definitions apply in this Act.

 

disability has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act. (handicap)

 

Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development. (ministre)

 

Purposes of Act

3          The purposes of this Act are to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities.

 

Canada Disability Benefit

 

Eligibility

4          A person is eligible for a Canada disability benefit if they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the regulations.

 

Payment of benefit

5          The Minister must, in accordance with the regulations, pay a Canada disability benefit to a person who is eligible for the benefit, applies or has an application made on their behalf, in accordance with the regulations, and meets any other conditions set out in the regulations.

 

General

Obligation to provide information

6          An applicant or the representative of an applicant who is incapable of managing their own affairs must provide the Minister with any information that the Minister may

require in respect of the application.

 

Social Insurance Number

7          The Minister is authorized to collect and use, for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of this Act, the Social Insurance Number of an applicant.

 

Agreements

8          (1) In order to carry out the purposes of this Act, the Minister may enter into agreements with any department or agency of the Government of Canada and may, with the approval of the Governor in Council, enter into agreements with any department or agency of a province.

 

Publication

(2) The Minister must make public any agreement entered into under subsection (1).

 

Payments cannot be charged, etc.

9          A benefit under this Act

(a)        is not subject to the operation of any law relating to bankruptcy or insolvency;

(b)       cannot be assigned, charged, attached or given as security;

(c)        cannot be retained by way of deduction, set-off or compensation under any Act of   Parliament other than this Act; and

(d)       is garnishable moneys for the purposes of the Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act.

 

Consolidated Revenue Fund

10        All benefits payable under this Act are to be paid out

of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

 

Regulations

11        (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

 

  • respecting the eligibility criteria for a Canada disability benefit;

 

  • respecting conditions that are to be met in order to receive or to continue to receive a benefit;

 

  • respecting the amount of a benefit or the method for determining the amount;

 

  • requiring a benefit to be indexed to inflation and respecting the manner in which it is to be indexed;

 

  • respecting payment periods and the amount to be paid each period;

 

  • respecting applications for a benefit, including regulations providing for an application process that is without barriers, as defined in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act;

 

  • respecting the amendment or rescission of decisions made by the Minister;

 

  • respecting reviews or reconsiderations of decisions made under this Act;

 

  • respecting appeals;

 

  • respecting the circumstances in which retroactive payments may be made to persons who do not apply in the time specified in the regulations but are otherwise eligible;

 

  • respecting applications made on behalf of persons who are incapable of managing their own affairs, payments to those persons and reviews, reconsiderations or appeals commenced on their behalf;

 

  • respecting the circumstances in which the Minister may deem an applicant or beneficiary to be dead and may determine their date of death if the applicant or beneficiary has disappeared under circumstances that, in the opinion of the Minister, raise beyond a reasonable doubt a presumption that the applicant or beneficiary is dead;

 

  • respecting the application of this Act when an applicant or beneficiary dies;

 

  • authorizing the Minister to correct administrative errors;

 

  • respecting the identification of debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada;

 

  • respecting the recovery of overpayments and debts due to Her Majesty in right of Canada, including limitation or prescription periods;

 

  • establishing offences punishable on summary conviction for the commission of any of the following acts and setting fines or terms of imprisonment or both for such offences:

 

(i)   knowingly using false identity information or another person’s identity information for the purpose of obtaining a benefit for themselves,

(ii)  counselling a person to apply for a benefit with intent to steal all or a substantial part of it,

(iii) knowingly making false or misleading representations in relation to an application;

 

  • establishing a system of administrative monetary penalties applicable to the commission of either or both of the following acts and setting the amounts of those penalties:

 

(i)   knowingly making false or misleading representations in relation to an application,

(ii)  making an application for, and receiving, a benefit while knowingly not being eligible to receive it;

 

  • adapting section 44.2 of the Old Age Security Act for the purpose of applying that section as adapted to the verification of compliance or the prevention of non-compliance with this Act and to the use of copies as evidence;

 

  • authorizing the Minister, for any purpose related to verifying compliance or preventing non-compliance with this Act, to require an applicant, a beneficiary or the representative of an applicant or beneficiary who is incapable of managing their own affairs, to be at a suitable place — or to be available by audioconference or videoconference or in any other suitable manner — at a suitable time in order to provide any information or any document that the Minister may require in respect of the application; and

 

  • generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

 

Amount of benefit

(1.1) In making regulations under paragraph (1)(c) respecting the amount of a benefit, the Governor in Council must take into consideration the Official Poverty Line as defined in section 2 of the Poverty Reduction Act.

 

Distinguishing — classes

(2) Regulations made under subsection (1) may distinguish among different classes of applicants and beneficiaries.

 

Collaboration

11.1     The Minister must provide persons with disabilities from a range of backgrounds with meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to collaborate in the development and design of the regulations, including regulations that provide for the application process, eligibility criteria, the amount of a benefit and the appeal process.

 

Progress Reports

Engagement and collaboration

11.2     (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must table in the House of Commons a report that sets out the manner in which the obligation to engage and collaborate with the disability community in relation to the development of regulations has been implemented.

 

Regulatory process

(2)        Within one year after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament a report on the progress made in the regulatory process.

 

Referral to committee

(3)        The report stands referred to the committee of each House that may be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing the report.

 

Publication

(4)        The report must be published on the website of the Department of Employment and Social Development.

 

Parliamentary review

12        As soon as feasible after the first anniversary of the day on which this section comes into force, after the third anniversary of that day and after each subsequent fifth anniversary, a review of this Act and of its administration and operation is to be undertaken by a committee of the Senate, of the House of Commons or of both Houses of Parliament that may be designated or established for that purpose.

 

R.S., c. 1 (5th Supp.)

Consequential Amendment to the Income Tax Act

13        Paragraph 241(4)(d) of the Income Tax Act is amended by adding the following after subparagraph (vii.5):

 

(vii.51) to an official solely for the purposes of the administration and enforcement of the Canada Disability Benefit Act or the evaluation or formulation of policy for that Act,

 

Coming into Force

First anniversary

14        This Act comes into force no later than the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.

 

 

December 14, 2022 Report to the House of Commons on Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, by the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities

 

Originally posted at https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/HUMA/report-6/

 

Committee Report

Sixth Report

 

Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA)

 

44th Parliament, 1st Session

Study

Bill C-22, Canada Disability Benefit Act

 

In accordance with its Order of Reference of Tuesday, October 18, 2022, your committee has considered Bill C-22, An Act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act, and agreed on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, to report it with the following amendments:

 

Clause 2

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 2 with the following:

 

“2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

 

disability has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act. (handicap)

 

Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development. (ministre)”

 

Clause 8

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 17 on page 3 the following:

 

“(2) The Minister must make public any agreement entered into under subsection (1).”

 

Clause 11

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing lines 8 and 9 on page 4 with the following:

 

“(d) requiring a benefit to be indexed to inflation and respecting the manner in which it is to be indexed;”

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 12 on page 4 with the following:

 

“(f) respecting applications for a benefit, including regulations providing for an application process that is without barriers, as defined in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act;”

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by adding after line 39 on page 5 the following:

 

“(1.1) In making regulations under paragraph (1)(c) respecting the amount of a benefit, the Governor in Council must take into consideration the Official Poverty Line as defined in section 2 of the Poverty Reduction Act.”

 

New Clause 11.1

 

That Bill C-22 be amended by adding after line 3 on page 6 the following new clause:

 

“Progress Report

 

11.1 (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must table in the House of Commons a report that sets out the manner in which the obligation to engage and collaborate with the disability community in relation to the development of regulations has been implemented.

 

Tabling

 

(2) Within one year after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament a report on the progress made in the regulatory process.

 

(3) The report stands referred to the committee of each House that may be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing the report.

 

(4) The report must be published on the website of the Department of Employment and Social Development.”

 

That Bill C-22 be amended by adding after line 3 on page 6 the following new clause:

 

“11.1 The Minister must provide persons with disabilities from a range of backgrounds with meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to collaborate in the development and design of the regulations, including regulations that provide for the application process, eligibility criteria, the amount of a benefit and the appeal process.”

 

Clause 12

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 12, be amended by replacing lines 4 and 5 on page 6 with the following:

 

“12 As soon as feasible after the first anniversary of the day on which this section comes into force, after the third anniversary of that day and after each”

 

Clause 14

 

That Bill C-22, in Clause 14, be amended by replacing lines 18 and 19 on page 6 with the following:

 

“14 This Act comes into force no later than the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.”

 

Your committee has ordered a reprint of Bill C-22, as amended, as a working copy for the use of the House of Commons at the report stage.

 

A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 41 to 44 and 49 to 50) is tabled.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Robert Morrissey

Chair