Yesterday, in a surprising series of events, the Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Chrystia Freeland, resigned just hours before tabling the Fall Economic Statement (FES) in the House of Commons. However, as the day unfolded, the government moved ahead with releasing their FES and announcing the new Finance Minister, Dominic LeBlanc.
Despite this political uncertainty and a ballooning federal deficit, there are a few positive measures in the FES that have been central calls to action from Daily Bread. If implemented, they can go a long way in addressing poverty and food insecurity.
The FES proposes to exempt benefits received under the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) from being treated as income under the Income Tax Act. This is an extremely positive step as it will enable the CDB to supplement existing income-tested benefits like the Canada Child Benefit and provincial disability supports without clawbacks. We expect to see provinces like Ontario follow suit and ensure that any remaining programs are exempt from clawbacks to enable genuine improvements in the lives of people with disabilities living in poverty.
This is one of the key changes that the Daily Bread Food Bank and our 40+ Fund the Benefit coalition partners have been calling for. Since the passage of the 2023 Canada Disability Benefit Act, the coalition has worked tirelessly, mobilizing thousands of Canadians to advocate for a fully funded Benefit that is adequate, accessible and free from clawbacks.
However, several issues remain. Out of over 1.5 million Canadians with disabilities living in poverty, only 600,000 will be eligible and only 25,000 will be lifted out of poverty by 2028. The Benefit also requires people to obtain a Disability Tax Credit certificate which is known to be an extremely onerous process that puts needless pressure on an already strained healthcare system, at approximately 3 hours of a doctor’s time per application. Further, with only $6.1 billion in funding over 6 years, the Benefit is limited to a maximum of merely $6.66 a day per recipient. This when the poverty rate for people with disabilities is two times higher than those without disabilities and 25% of Toronto food bank clients reported having a disability, as per Daily Bread’s Who’s Hungry 2024 report.
Given grossly inadequate disability income support across every province and territory, Daily Bread will continue to advocate for an improved CDB that has the potential to lift hundreds of thousands of people with disabilities out of poverty and food insecurity across the country.
The federal government has also announced its intention to develop a legislation that will allow the CRA to automatically file a tax return on behalf of certain lower-income Canadians, starting in 2025 tax year.
We know that people living in poverty are less likely to file their taxes compared to others. As a result, low-income Canadians too often miss out on critical benefits, rebates and programs they are entitled to, like the forthcoming CDB. According to Daily Bread’s Who’s Hungry 2022 report, nearly 1 in 5 (19%) food bank clients in Toronto did not file their 2021 taxes.
That’s why Daily Bread Food Bank has long advocated for automatic tax filing for all Canadians, to mitigate barriers and ensure that our clients can access the benefits they need. We are glad to see commitment to this important poverty-reduction measure in the FES and will continue to monitor government activity to ensure we see meaningful progress in the coming months.
With a precarious political environment, a federal election on the horizon, and unprecedented food bank use across our city and country, the future is rife with uncertainty. The measures announced in the FES are important in reducing food insecurity and poverty, but much more needs to be done to ensure that all food bank clients can afford their basic needs and live with dignity. Daily Bread will therefore continue to work with our partners and all political parties to ensure that yesterday’s FES measures are implemented, and further government action is taken to tackle rising food insecurity and poverty at their core.
Use our online tool to join us in urging the federal government to create a Canada Disability Benefit that is adequately funded and barrier-free.
