Disabled people across Canada continue to feel the weight of the cost-of-living crisis, often struggling to pay rent, find stable housing, and put food on the table. A report released December 2024 by Campaign 2000 and Disability Without Poverty found that 1 in 6 disabled Canadians live in poverty: approximately 1.5 million disabled people (as of 2022). In addition to the daily expenses the average able-bodied person has, people with disabilities often have more expenses related to medication, mobility aids, and other assistive devices. Because of this, Campaign 2000 and Disability Without Poverty found that disabled people are twice as likely to live in poverty compared to their able-bodied counterparts. In response to concerns around disability poverty, the federal government has not done nothing, but it also has not done much. As one part of their Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), the federal government introduced the Canada Disability Benefit in July 2025. It is ...
In July of 2025, the Canada Disability Benefit began rolling out for eligible disabled Canadians. The federal government describes the CDB as “a new monthly benefit for low-income working-age persons with disabilities… The Canada Disability Benefit is a key commitment and cornerstone of Canada's Disability Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP), which is a blueprint for change to make Canada more inclusive for persons with disabilities.” According to the Government of Canada’s website, to receive the CDB you must be 18 to 64 years old, approved for the Disability Tax Credit, filed your 2024 tax return, and be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. In short, the Canada Disability Benefit is an extra $200 per month in the pocket of low-income disabled individuals across Canada…well, in theory. The largest hurdle applicants have faced in applying for the CDB is receiving approval for the Disability Tax Credit. To receive the DTC, you must have a medical practitioner certify that you are, i...
As a kid growing up with two disabled sisters, disability was never something foreign to me. Hospital visits, odd questions from friends, and overpacking on camping trips were just another part of life. But, as someone who grew up middle class, my knowledge of disability issues was quite limited to only what my sisters experienced. The disability issues I was seeing included inclusion in education, physical barriers in public and private spaces, and home-care nursing shortages. Our lives haven’t been simple (far from it!), but the world of disability I grew up in was a world largely inhabited by other middle-class families with disabled kids. Emily and her siblings in 2010. As I became more interested in politics and advocacy in my late teens and early 20s, I learned more about the issue of disability poverty. In the third year of my film degree at Humber College, I started developing a documentary idea about the poverty people face on the Ontario Disability Support Program. Afte...
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