In the lead-up to the highly anticipated federal budget on April 16, Canadians from coast to coast are raising their voices in unison, advocating for a cause that transcends partisan lines: the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB).
A recent survey, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with Daily Bread Food Bank and Disability Without Poverty, has unveiled that over nine-in-ten (91%) Canadians support the Canada Disability Benefit.
This includes at least four-in-five past Conservative voters (83%), and near unanimous support among past Liberal (98%), NDP (99%) and Bloc Québécois (98%) voters. It’s worth noting that the CDB was passed unanimously with all party support in both the House of Commons and the Senate last year.
The survey was a follow-up of a 2021 version, where 88% of Canadians said they supported the CDB, indicating an increase this time around. However, most Canadians (71%) believe that the government is moving too slow to implement it, and only one in 20 (5%) believe that the government will follow through on its commitment. Meanwhile, more than a third of the government caucus had signed a letter addressed to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland asking for the budget to fund the CDB.
Underpinning the urgency of a fully funded CDB is that current financial supports available to Canadians with disabilities leave them trapped in deep poverty, having to rely on food banks or choose between life’s basic necessities. This is unacceptable.
Most Canadians (61%) agreed and said that current financial support available to Canadians living with disabilities is inadequate (38%) or far too little (23%).
Further, when asked about the amount of the CDB, three-in-five (58%) said there should be a minimum income level above the poverty line to help account for the increased cost of living with a disability. This means the CDB needs to be fully funded to reduce poverty among Canadians with disabilities, otherwise it won’t be sufficient to bring recipients above the poverty line.
Canadians living with disabilities can’t afford to wait any longer. The CDB has the potential to provide a life of dignity, and we must get it right – right now.
Click here to read the full report.
