Call for feds to fully fund disability benefit

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This article was published 21/03/2024 (564 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

To ensure disability is not a life sentence to poverty, Harvest Manitoba has joined with a coalition of 40 partners to lobby the federal government to fully fund the Canada Disability Benefit.

Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, was unanimously passed by the federal government last summer. It’s a new income support program that will be used to reduce poverty among low-income, working disabled Canadians.

It’s integral that the federal government fully fund the act through its upcoming budget, and ensure that no claw-backs on the benefit ever exist, Meghan Erbus, director of network advocacy and education and Vince Barletta, president and chief executive officer of Harvest Manitoba, told the Sun.

According to a press release sent out by Harvest Manitoba at the end of last month, the increased cost of living is leading to more Canadians to use food banks, and people with disabilities are being impacted at a higher rate than those without. One in seven people who use food banks are currently relying on provincial disability income supports of around $1,500 per month, which puts them well below the poverty line, the release stated.

As a response, Harvest Manitoba joined the coalition because 40 per cent of the people who use food banks across Manitoba have some kind of disability, Barletta said.

“It’s a huge piece of why people are food insecure, and so many organizations, from anti-poverty groups, disability activist groups, have been lobbying the federal government for a long time to create a national disability benefit,” Barletta said.

Chrystia Freeland, deputy prime minister and the country’s finance minister, will deliver the 2024 federal budget in the House of Commons on April 16. Harvest Manitoba and the groups it’s working with believe that fully funding the disability benefit must happen if the federal government is serious about lifting people with disabilities out of the cycle of poverty.

Up to 77 per cent of the people with disabilities who use food banks across the province report they’re unable to find steady employment and therefore struggle to afford food and necessities, Erbus said.

“The goal of our social safety net is to ensure that there’s a standard, adequate income for folks that need it.”

Disability can happen to anyone, and if someone isn’t personally affected, it’s likely that they know someone who is, Barletta said. Some people are born with disabilities, while others become disabled later in life for many reasons.

“We need to do better in this country than the situation we have now, which is that for really hundreds of thousands if not millions of Canadians, having a disability or being born with a disability condemns you to a lifetime of poverty. We need to do better,” he said.

Every year, Harvest Manitoba releases its Harvest Voices report, which details the results of a yearly survey of people who rely on food banks within the province. The report also acts as a call to action and outlines recommendations to governments on how to best fight hunger.

The 2023 edition of Harvest Voices states that across the province, one in six people live with a disability, and that people with disabilities disproportionately use food banks, making up nearly half of the survey respondents.

It’s important for governments to take note of the suggestions in Harvest Voices, Erbus said, including that the disability benefit be exempt from claw-backs. It’s also important that the eligibility to access the benefit be streamlined and without the requirement for reapplication.

“If you’ve already qualified for disability benefit programs, you shouldn’t have to re-qualify for them,” she said.

By the time the budget is passed, Harvest Manitoba and it’s lobbying partners hope that the disability benefit will be fully funded, barrier-free and inclusive of people with varying types of disabilities, and will supplement existing disability supports and be exempt from all claw-backs.

To find out more about the work Harvest Manitoba and its partners are doing, visit fundthebenefit.ca. At the website, concerned citizens can send letters to their member of parliament, calling on them to fully fund the benefit. They can also share information about the benefit and it’s necessity on social media platforms.

Harvest Manitoba’s campaign partners include the Autism Alliance of Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Association, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, the Canadian Down Syndrome Society, the Daily Bread Food Bank and more.

“We are on a mission to eliminate food insecurity, and advocate for solutions to end poverty,” the Daily Bread Food Bank’s website states. “Together, with your support we can work to feed our communities and end hunger.”

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