Vote to end disability poverty
The Canada Disability Benefit is an historic promise.
No Canadian government has ever made such a promise. Indeed, no other government in the world has ever declared their commitment to end disability poverty.
It took advocates years to get the issue of disability poverty on the national agenda. If it slips off, who knows how long it will take to get it back on again.
This is an incredible accomplishment – but the work continues.
You can help. Between now and the election:
Review each party’s platform commitment to issues affecting the disability community. Here is a handy summary prepared by Inclusion Canada.
Read Disability Without Poverty’s Five Election Asks.
Let your local candidate know the importance of all-party support for a Canada Disability Benefit.
Reach out to family and friends and tell them about the importance of a Canada Disability Benefit.
Get Out the Vote: Assist people who face accessibility barriers to vote on September 20th.
Vote for the party that you feel will best end disability poverty for all Canadians with disability.
A brief snapshot of poverty and disability in Canada
- 40 per cent of people who are poor in Canada have a disability (1.4 million people).
- They include those who can’t find work or can’t work, as well as people who are under employed, working part-time and earning minimum wage or less.
- Poverty rates are highest for disabled people with mental, psychological, cognitive and developmental disabilities.
- Poverty rates are highest for persons with disabilities who are Indigenous, those who live alone, are single parents or recent immigrants.
For more information, read this interview with Roxanne Ulanicki of Edmonton on the financial crisis people with disabilities continue to experience.
After the Election
The next Canadian government must fulfill the promise of the Canada Disability Benefit, make it a top priority for action and fast track the design so that funds can be available quickly and without years of study.
That means involving disabled people in the design of the benefit. Read our list of 12 critical design principles for the Canada Disability Benefit.
Also read Spencer van Vloten on one of those principles: disabled people should not be prevented from receiving the Disability Benefit if they are married or living with a partner.
Disability Without Poverty is a grassroots initiative led by disabled people. We came into existence to hold governments’ feet to the fire and to make sure the Canada Disability Benefit lives up to its potential.