Watch video of AODA Alliance Testimony on Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, at House of Commons Standing Committee

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act Alliance

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

Twitter: @aodaalliance

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Watch video of AODA Alliance Testimony on Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, at House of Commons Standing Committee

November 16, 2022

We invite you to watch an important new 21-minute video. It shows AODA Alliance Chair David Lepofsky as he explains to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities why they must strengthen the weak Bill C-22. That is the proposed Canada Disability Benefit Act. If the video isn’t already fully captioned, it will be captioned in the next day or so.

The first 7 minutes of the video is David Lepofsky’s opening statement. It summarizes the AODA Alliance’s concerns with Bill C-22 and our recommendations. After that, the video includes the questions that MPs asked him and his answers, edited together. This video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kq-DVtTu1s

To see the entire hour, including the presentations by two other witnesses, visit https://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20221114/-1/38043?Embedded=true&globalstreamId=20&viewMode=3

Believe it or not, none of the Liberal members of the HUMA Committee asked a single question of David Lepofsky, in response to his detailed analysis of Bill C-22 and its weaknesses. In contrast, both the opposition Conservative and NDP members asked him a range of questions. We regret that the Liberals were unwilling to engage with us at all, our concerns having been backed by an impressive open letter, tabled with the Standing Committee, that was signed by 37 organizations that span six provinces.

We encourage you to share this video with friends, family and others. Encourage one and all to watch it. Send it to your local media. We will have more to say in future AODA Alliance Updates on the hearings on Bill C-22 held on Monday November 14 and Wednesday November 16, 2022.

For more background:

The November 14, 2022 open letter on Bill C-22, signed by fully 37 organizations 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 brief to the House of Commons on Bill C-22.
The AODA Alliance’s guest column in the November 7, 2022 edition of the Toronto Star, and the powerful Toronto Star editorial that day that cites the AODA Alliance’s concerns with Bill C-22.
The painfully short Bill C-22
An analysis of how the first day of HUMA’s public hearings on Bill C-22 on October 31, 2022, and the hearings’ second day on November 2, 2022 together show why this bill needs to be strengthened, and
The AODA Alliance website’s Bill C-22 page, which shows our efforts to strengthen this proposed new law.

We always welcome your feedback. Write us at aodafeedback@gmail.com