In a historic (and long over-due!) win for Canadians with disabilities, Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, has received Royal Assent which means it’s passed into law!
Daily Bread is grateful to the close to 1,400 people who participated in our Take Action and sent letters directly to party and house leaders to get this over the finish line. Thank you for your support in making this a reality!
We were pleased to see some of the amendments we recommended were included in the Bill, including adding an appeals mechanism and recognizing that people with disabilities require a higher income than the poverty line to account for the additional costs associated with their disability.
You can watch Daily Bread CEO Neil Hetherington’s testimony before the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (SOCI) here and you can read Daily Bread’s submission here.
Now the bill has received Royal Assent, it triggers a one-year period in which regulations must be developed. These regulations include the amount of funds, eligibility criteria, appeals mechanisms, and other important aspects of the Canada Disability Benefit.
Close to half of food bank clients in Toronto have a disability. This is a historic opportunity to reduce, and even eliminate, poverty and food insecurity among Canadians with disabilities.
Daily Bread will continue to work with our sectoral partners while centering the voices of clients living with disabilities in our advocacy efforts for income-based solutions.
Once again, thank you for your support!
