Document Type
Article
Abstract
This article, written shortly after the framework legislation for the Canada Disability Benefit was introduced, discusses the key benefit design elements and options facing policymakers. We contrast these elements with the directional parameters set in the legislation. In the intervening months, the Government of Canada released an estimate of the annual costs of the new benefit and eventually drafted regulations that detail the actual design of the benefit in the Summer of 2024. These developments are outside the scope of this article, but the analysis in this article provides a foundation for other researchers and stakeholders to interpret and critique the costs and regulations that have now been released. This article describes several alternate policy choices that could have been made and situates the proposed Canada Disability Benefit amongst the other key federal and provincial programs for persons with disabilities.
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Citation Information
Robson, Jennifer and Tedds, Lindsay.
"The Canada Disability Benefit: Battling Ableism in Design and Implementation."
Osgoode Hall Law Journal
61.2 (2024)
: 577-608.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.4014
https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol61/iss2/11
EPUB version (e-reader software required)
References
Body Footnotes
1 Jennifer Robson is an Associate Professor, Political Management, Carleton University (jennifer.robson@carleton.ca). Lindsay Tedds is an Associate Professor, Department of Economics, University of Calgary (lindsay.tedds1@ucalgary.ca). The authors declare they have no competing interests, either financial or community in nature. We would like to thank Jinyan Li and Hengameh Saberi along with participants in the “Women with Disabilities: Income Security and Tax Policy” workshop and those who provided anonymous comments. All inferences, opinions, and conclusions drawn in this text are those of the authors.
2 SC 2023, c 17 [Act].
3 See “Bill C-22, An Act to reduce poverty and support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada disability benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act,” 2nd reading, House of Commons Debates, 44-1, No 98 (20 September 2022) at 7397 (Stephanie Kusie), 7401 (Louise Chabot), and 7404 (Bonita Zarrillo) [Bill C-22 Debate].
4 At the time of writing, Bill C-22 had passed third reading in the House of Commons and was under study by the Senate. As drafted, the Act would come into force not later than one year following royal assent. The draft regulations were later published in the summer of 2024.
5 See Bill C-22 Debate, supra note 3 at 7392 (Hon Carla Qualtrough).
6 Michelle R Nario-Redmond, Ableism: The Causes and Consequence of Disability Prejudice (Wiley Blackwell, 2019).
7 See US Joint Economic Committee, Studies in Public Welfare: Concepts in Welfare Program Design (US Government Printing Office, 1973); Eugene Bardach & Eric M Patashnik, A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem-Solving, 5th ed (CQ Press, 2016); William N Dunn, Public Policy Analysis: An Introduction, 5th ed (Routledge, 2016); Lindsay M Tedds, Daria Crisan & Gillian Petit, “Basic Income in Canada: Principles and Design Features,” (2020), online: bcbasicincomepanel.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Basic_Income_in_Canada_Principles_and_Design_Features.pdf, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3781834.
8 David A Green et al, Basic Income and a Just Society: Policy Choices for Canada’s Social Safety Net (Institute for Research on Public Policy, 2023); Gillian Petit, “An Inclusive Systems-Based Analysis of a Basic Income for the Province of British Columbia” (28 April 2022), [unpublished, archived at University of Calgary PRISM Repository] online: University of Calgary PRISM hdl.handle.net/1880/114635, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39750.
9 Anna I Cameron & Lindsay M Tedds, “Canada’s GBA+ framework in a (post)pandemic world: Issues, tensions, and paths forward” (2023) 66 Can Pub Admin 7, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/capa.12508; Jennifer Robson & Lindsay M Tedds, eds, Impacts of COVID-19 on Women in Canada (Royal Society of Canada, 2022).
10 See Petit, supra note 8 at 8.
11 Ibid at 54.
12 See Act, supra note 2.
13 Ibid.
14 See Robson & Tedds, supra note 9 at 33-35.
15 See Michelle Maroto & David Pettinicchio, “Disability, Structural Inequality, and Work: The Influence of Occupational Segregation on Earnings for People with Different Disabilities” (2014) 38 Research in Soc Stratification and Mobility 76, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rssm.2014.08.002.
16 See, for example, Gillian Petit et al, “Less Income and More Hours of Work: Barriers to Work for Income Assistance Recipients in B.C.” (2020) 13 The School of Pub Pol’y Publications, online: www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Less-Income-More-Work-Petit-et-al.pdf, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v13i0.69731.
17 See Statistics Canada, A Demographic, Employment and Income Profile of Canadians with Disabilities Aged 15 Years and Over, 2017, by Stuart Morris et al, Catalogue No 89-654-X2018002 (Statistics Canada, 2018), online: publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/statcan/89-654-x/89-654-x2018002-eng.pdf [“Morris et al”]. Collection of 2022 data for the Canadian Survey on Disability is currently underway.
18 Ibid at 7.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid at 11.
21 Ibid.
22 Ibid at 13.
23 Ibid at 19.
24 Department of Finance Canada, Report on Federal Tax Expenditures: Concepts, Estimates and Evaluations 2023 (DFC, 2023) at 350, online: [perma.cc/K5TY-YYFA] [2023 Tax Expenditures].
25 Lower and modest-income subscribers may benefit from a government-paid disability savings bond that is not conditional on private savings. However, the bond is capped at one thousand CAD per year, which is less than half the maximum annual value of the matching grant on personal savings and substantially less than the combined value of the matching grant plus foregone taxes on the savings and investment income. See Government of Canada, “Canada disability savings grant and Canada disability savings bond” (27 March 2023), online: [perma.cc/LB94-PQ92].
26 See 2023 Tax Expenditures, supra note 24 at 348.
27 See David A Green, Jonathan R Kesselman & Lindsay M Tedds, Covering All the Basics: Reforms for a More Just Society (British Columbia Expert Panel on Basic Income, 2021), online: [perma.cc/XZ3U-JC3D], DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3781825.
28 Only EI sickness benefits include persons with mild or temporary forms of disability. All other programs included in our summary are aimed at persons with severe and prolonged disability.
29 See Michael Mendelson, Options for a Refundable Disability Tax Credit for ‘working age’ persons (Caledon Institute of Social Policy, 2015).
30 Government of Canada, “Disability Tax Credit (DTC)” (2023), online: www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/segments/tax-credits-deductions-persons-disabilities/disability-tax-credit/eligible-dtc.html.
31 Disability Advisory Committee, First Annual Report of the Disability Advisory Committee (Canada Revenue Agency, 2019).
32 2023 Tax Expenditures, supra note 24 at 349-50.
33 Ibid at 345.
34 Some claimants may rely on third-party fee-for-service consultants to help them with a DTC application. The enduring number of for-profit firms who specialize in DTC applications on a fee-for-service model provides further evidence that many eligible Canadians find the application process too demanding to manage successfully on their own.
35 Auditor General of Canada, Report 1: Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations, (Office of the Auditor General of Canada, 2022) at 5.
36 Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2023: A Made-in-Canada Plan: Strong Middle Class, Affordable Economy, Healthy Future, Catalogue No 1719-7740 (DFC, 2023) at 38-39 [Budget 2023].
37 Gillian Petit et al, “Policy Forum: Re-Envisioning the Canada Revenue Agency-From Tax Collector to Benefit Delivery Agent” (2021) 69 Can Tax J 99 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32721/ctj.2021.69.1.pf.petit; Jennifer Robson & Saul Schwartz, “Policy Forum: Should the Canada Revenue Agency Also Be a Social Benefits Agency?” (2021) 69 Can Tax J 87, DOI: https://doi.org/10.32721/ctj.2021.69.1.pf.robson.
38 See Tedds, Crisan & Petit, supra note 7; Green, Kesselman & Tedds, supra note 27.
39 Act, supra note 2, s 3.
40 See e.g. Statistics Canada, “Insights on Canadian Society: Low Income Among Persons with a Disability in Canada,” by Katherine Wall, Catalogue No 75-006-X (Statistics Canada, 11 August 2017), online: [perma.cc/BM9K-7JUJ]; Peri J Ballantyne et al, “Poverty status of worker compensation claimants with permanent impairments” (2016) 26 Critical Pub Health 173, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09581596.2015.1010485; Wen-Hao Chen et al, “Poverty and Sources of Income Support Among Older People with Disabilities and Out of Work: Comparison of Canada and the United Kingdom” (2021) 51 J Soc Pol’y 792, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279421000209; Shannon Dinan & Normand Boucher, “Disability and Employment Policy in Canada: National Policy Variation for Working Age Individuals” (2021) 52 JL & Soc Pol’y, 719, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0047279421000878.
41 Craig WM Scott et al, “Disability Considerations for Measuring Poverty in Canada Using the Market Basket Measure” (2022) 163 Soc Indicators Research 389, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-022-02900-1.
42 We would argue that the legislation should have instead used the phrase economic security. Economic security depends on three conditions: financial security, financial stability, and financial continuity. Financial security is the ability of a person or household to secure a basic quality of life. Financial stability is the ability of households to weather unexpected income shocks, such as unexpected expenses or declines in income. Financial continuity is a reasonable expectation that a base level of income will continue in both the near term and the future. Economic security is, therefore, more expansive a concept than financial security. While the latter is more concerned about income and assets alone, the former acknowledges that publicly provided services are an important element in addition to income and assets. This is a particularly salient point as the CDB should be designed and implemented to work cohesively within a system that provides valuable public services to people with disabilities and not consider cash transfers as a substitute for public services. See Anna Cameron & Lindsay M Tedds, “Gender-Based Violence, Economic Security, and the Potential of Basic Income: A Discussion Paper,” (2021) Women’s Shelters Canada, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3837386.
43 Factors commonly taken into account through equivalence scales are the size of the household and the age of its members. A typical method is to use a square root equivalence scale, which takes the per capita benefit, multiplies it by the number of beneficiaries in the household, and then divides it by the root of the number of beneficiaries. For example, if the individual benefit is one thousand CAD per month, then the monthly benefit for a household composed of two people is $1,414. Many basic income proposals in Canada are designed to base the benefit on the number of adults between the ages of eighteen and sixty-four living in the household, leaving children to be covered by existing programs such as the Canada Child Benefit and seniors to be covered by various pension-style programs. While it may seem that a choice of equivalence scales is a minor technical detail, the choice is based on assumptions about the economics of scale in consumption and on value judgements about the priority assigned to the needs of different individuals. In societies where it is common to have multigenerational households, care needs to be taken to ensure that these assumptions and judgements are applied appropriately. In particular, when dealing with multigenerational households, it may not be appropriate to assign a lower weight to additional adults, especially elders. See OECD, Project on Income Distribution and Poverty, “What are Equivalence Scales?” online: [perma.cc/5W23-QUHY].
44 See Table 1, note 8.
45 See Green, Kesselman & Tedds, supra note 27 at 29.
46 See Act, supra note 2 at s 4.
47 Ibid at s11(1)(b).
48 See Anne Tweddle & Hannah Aldridge, Welfare in Canada, 2018, (November 2019), online: Maytree [perma.cc/4DH4-A587].
49 See Income Tax Act, RSC 1985, c 1 (5th Supp), ss 122.6, 122.7 [ITA].
50 See Government of Canada, “Guaranteed Income Supplement: What these benefits offer” (5 October 2023), online: [perma.cc/YHE7-KAXM].
51 See Act, supra note 2 at s 7.
52 Ibid at s 8.
53 In fact, the government’s legislation for the CDB amends the Income Tax Act explicitly to enable the CRA to disclose taxpayer information for the purpose of enforcing any part of the Act. See Act, supra note 2 at s 13.
54 While benefits received from provincial disabilities programs are reported on the T5007 and included on an individual’s tax form, the T5007 form, as it currently exists, does not distinguish between disability benefits and other social assistance benefits. This means this information cannot currently be used to determine eligibility for a disability benefit. While the form could be modified to include this information, it is important to note that not all provincial social assistance programs include a targeted benefit to persons with disabilities. This is particularly poignant for persons with disabilities living in Nunavut, a territory where it is also difficult to obtain the medical services needed to be diagnosed with a medical condition that could be considered as a disability. See Anna Cameron, Gillian Petit & Lindsay M Tedds, “A Basic Income for Nunavut: Addressing Poverty in Canada’s North” (2024) 50 Can Pub Pol’y 311.
55 See Act, supra note 2 at s 4.
56 Ibid at s 5.
57 See Government of Canada, “Opening an RDSP” (December 2021), online: [perma.cc/KHT7-3AKN].
58 See ITA, supra note 49 at ss 122.6, 122.7.
59 Tammy Schirle, “Supporting Women as they Enter and Re-enter the Workforce” (Paper delivered at a discussion with Ontario’s Task Force on Women and the Economy, 29 July 2021) [unpublished], online: [perma.cc/3GCQ-QYRS].
60 See Act, supra note 2 at s 11(1)(d).
61 Ibid at s 11(1)(e).
62 See Bill C-22 Debate, supra note 3 at 7391 (Hon Carla Qualtrough).
63 Here we note that eligibility for full OAS payments for persons living in Canada depend on citizenship or permanent residence and a minimum of ten years of residency in Canada since the age of eighteen. Reduced benefits may be paid for newcomers with less than ten years of permanent residence in the country. See Government of Canada, “Old Age Security: Do you qualify” (5 October 2023), online: [perma.cc/UWF2-7CUC].
64 See Public Health Agency of Canada, Provincial and territorial child protection legislation and policy - 2018, (PHAC, 2019) at Table 3, online: [perma.cc/4W5K-9U27].
65 See Indigenous Services Canada, “Reducing the number of Indigenous children in care” (15 February 2023), online: [perma.cc/4ELU-SCAS].
66 For more information on Canada’s official poverty measure, see Statistics Canada, “Dimensions of Poverty Hub” (10 October 2023), online: [perma.cc/J9AX-R27N].
67 The one exception was the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit which permitted only one member of a family benefit unit to claim the benefit at a time, on the assumption that two adults would not be simultaneously required to reduce or stop working to provide care to one or more dependent children. The merits of this assumption are open to some debate, especially with regard to parents with dependent children with severe disabilities. See Government of Canada, “Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)” (8 November 2022), online: [perma.cc/S34W-7WAH].
68 One notable exception are the federal transfers and savings incentives for Registered Disability Savings Plans which are conditioned on family income, making them more like a family-level benefit program. However, the intent of that program is to encourage long-term savings, particularly among parents of children with disabilities, where the beneficiary of the saving will be a person with a disability but the target for the behavioral incentive of the policy is the family unit.
69 Here we note that provincial programs for persons with disabilities delivered through social assistance do use family as the benefit unit. See Tabbara, Table 1, note 15.
70 See Maroto & Pettinicchio, supra note 15.
71 See Statistics Canada, Family Caregiving: What are the Consequences?, by Martin Turcotte, Catalogue No 75-006-X (Statistics Canada, September 2013), online: [perma.cc/BF87-36RR].
72 See Morris et al, supra note 17 at 6.
73 This is true under either a definition of working age of fifteen to sixty-four, consistent with national practice in the Labour Force Survey, or age twenty-five to sixty-four to reduce the representation of students. See Statistics Canada, Persons with and without disabilities aged 15 years and over, by age group and sex, Canada, provinces and territories, Table 13-10-0374-01 (Statistics Canada, 28 November 2018), online: www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1310037401.
74 See Statistics Canada, Housing Experiences in Canada: Persons with disabilities, by Jeff Randle & Zachary Thurston, Catalogue No 46280001 (10 June 2022), online: [perma.cc/9XZY-W3NQ].
75 See, e.g., Zhiqi Chen & Frances Woolley, “A Cournot-Nash Model of Family Decision Making” (2001) 111 The Econ J 722, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0297.00657; Statistics Canada, Gender differences in the financial knowledge of Canadians, by Marie Drolet, Catalogue No 75-006-X (Statistics Canada, 23 March 2016), online: [perma.cc/FF3E-PQ8X]; Shek-Wai Hui, Carole Vincent & Frances Woolley, “Understanding Gender Differences in Retirement Saving Decisions” (Paper delivered at the Canadian Economics Association Annual Meeting, Ottawa, 2011) (2021), online: Social Research and Demonstration Corporation [perma.cc/374H-7EPP]; Jennifer Robson & Johanna Peetz, “Gender Differences in Financial Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors: Accounting for Socioeconomic Disparities and Psychological Traits” (2020) 54 J Consumer Affairs 813, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12304; Eva M Sierminska, Joachim R Frick & Markus M Grabka, “Examining the Gender Wealth Gap” (2010) 62 Oxford Econ Papers 669, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oep/gpq007; Kar-Ming Yu et al, “Gender Differences in Financial Literacy Among Hong Kong Workers” (2015) 41 Educational Gerontology 315, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2014.966548.
76 See Scott et al, supra note 41.
77 See Jennifer Robson, “Radical Incrementalism and Trust in the Citizen: Income Security in Canada in the Time of COVID-19” (2020) 46 Can Pub Pol’y S1, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-080.
78 See e.g. Evelyn L Forget, “A Guaranteed Minimum Income Would be More Effective than Current Government Programs” (16 November 2020), online: Policy Options [perma.cc/VVR3-WZ3L]; Hugh Segal, Keith Banting & Evelyn Forget, “The need for a federal Basic Income feature within any coherent post-COVID-19 economic recovery plan” (2021) 6 Facets 394, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2021-0015; UBI Works, “Ask to Turn CERB into Universal Basic Income” (2021), online: [perma.cc/YQN7-CBKH].
79 See Mary Farrell et al, Welfare Time Limits: An Update on State Policies, Implementation, and Effects on Families (MDRC, 2008), online: [perma.cc/A8N9-WLYU].
80 The Canada Workers Benefit and Canada Child Benefit rely on annual verification of eligibility through tax filing, with an option to voluntarily provide information on important changes of circumstance within the benefit year. Employment Insurance regular benefits are payable for a set duration of time per claim, according to local unemployment conditions and past program use, but continued payment of benefits is contingent on bi-weekly reporting. Likewise, provincial social assistance programs require monthly reporting by recipients for benefits to continue to be paid.
81 André Picard, “Opinion: The CRA makes life more difficult for people with disabilities,” The Globe and Mail (2 July 2018), online: [perma.cc/2RFF-6C4H].
82 See Table 1, note 5.
83 ESDC reports $48.9 billion in CPP benefits paid annually and $13.5 million in benefits overpayment recovered via integrity measures. See Table 1, note 6.
84 See e.g., Younghee Lim, Michelle Livermore & Belinda Creel Davis, “Tax Filing and Other Financial Behaviors of EITC-Eligible Households: Differences of Banked and Unbanked” (2011) 22 J Financial Counseling & Planning 16, DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1992998; David Neumark & William Wascher, “Using The EITC to Help Poor Families: New Evidence and a Comparison with the Minimum Wage” (2001) 54 Nat’l Tax J 281, DOI: https://doi.org/10.17310/ntj.2001.2.05.
85 See Saurabh Bhargava & Dayanand Manoli, “Psychological Frictions and the Incomplete Take-Up of Social Benefits: Evidence from an IRS Field Experiment” (2015) 105 Am Econ Rev 3489, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.20121493; Damon Jones, “Inertia and Overwithholding: Explaining the Prevalence of Income Tax Refunds” (2012) 4 Am Econ J Econ Pol’y 158, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1257/pol.4.1.158.
86 See Robson, supra note 77.
87 See Gillian Petit & Lindsay M Tedds, “Income and Social Support Programs in B.C. and B.C. General and Health Supplements (data visualizations)” (2019), online: [perma.cc/J2SF-88KX].
88 See Laurie Monsebraaten, “Ottawa to the provinces: Don’t claw back CERB for workers on social assistance,” Toronto Star (13 April 2020) online: [perma.cc/G86N-5XH4].
89 See Gillian Petit & Lindsay M Tedds, “The Effect of Differences in Treatment of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit across Provincial and Territorial Income Assistance Programs” (2020) 46 Can Pub Pol’y S29 at S29, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2020-054; Gillian Petit & Lindsay M Tedds, “Fiscal Policy Trends: COVID-19 & Trends in Income Assistance Caseloads” (2021) 14 School of Pub Pol’y Publications, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v14i.71907; Gillian Petit & Lindsay M Tedds, “Interactions Between Federal and Provincial Cash Transfer Programs: The Effect of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit on Provincial Income Assistance Eligibility and Benefits” in Kathy L Brock & Geoffrey E Hale, eds, Managing Federalism through Pandemic (University of Toronto Press, 2023).
90 Robert Moffitt, “An Economic Model of Welfare Stigma” (1983) 73 Am Econ Rev 1023.
91 Jennifer Robson & Saul Schwartz, “Who Doesn’t File a Tax Return? A Portrait of Non-Filers” (2020) 46 Can Pub Pol’y 323, DOI: https://doi.org/10.3138/cpp.2019-063.
92 Eligible non-participation refers to persons who are otherwise eligible but do not take action to receive a government program or benefit and, as a consequence, do not receive the support they are entitled to.
93. Supra note 91.
94 See National Taxpayer Advocate, “EITC Audits Will Once Again Begin; Proactively Responding to an EITC Audit Is Crucial” (23 March 2022), online: [perma.cc/FP96-LHED].
95 The authors’ calculation used data in the Employment Insurance Annual Monitoring and Assessment Report for pre-COVID-19 years. See Canada Employment Insurance Commission, 2020/2021 Employment Insurance Monitoring and Assessment Report (ESDC, 2022) at 460, online: [perma.cc/WC4T-KKSN].
96 See e.g., Anna Cameron et al, “Tax Policy Trends: The Merits of Automatic Income Tax Assessments for Low-Income Canadians” (2019) 12 School of Pub Pol’y Publications, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11575/sppp.v12i0.69854; Robson & Schwartz, supra note 91.
97 See Dental Benefit Act, SC 2022, c 14, s 2 at s 5(c).
98 See Prime Minister’s Office, News Release, “Prime Minister announces supports for Canadians with disabilities to address challenges from COVID-19” (5 June 2020), online: [perma.cc/T4DV-BAQG].
99 See Government of Canada, “One-time payment to persons with disabilities” (27 July 2022), online: [perma.cc/8WVD-RPKC].
100 See Government of British Columbia, “Annual earnings exemption” (last visited 24 January 2024), online: www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/family-social-supports/services-for-people-with-disabilities/disability-assistance/on-disability-assistance/annual-earnings-exemption.
101 See 2023 Tax Expenditures, supra note 24.
102 See Disability Advisory Committee, 2020 Client Experience Report of the Disability Advisory Committee (Canada Revenue Agency, 2021), online: [perma.cc/ZX2E-Y4R2].
103 See Table 1, note 12.
104 See Budget 2023, supra note 36 at 146.
105 See Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, “Policy on Regulatory Development” (27 September 2022), online: [perma.cc/SH9R-ET8N].
106 The draft regulations for the CDB were eventually published in summer 2024 and provided eighty-six days for interested parties to respond. Canada Disability Benefit Regulations, (2024) C Gaz I, 2213.
Table Footnotes
1 See Government of Canada, “EI sickness benefits: What these benefits offer” (2 May 2023), online: [perma.cc/PP5H-JTT2].
2 Increased to twenty-six weeks effective 18 December 2022. Benefit is indexed to inflation. See Employment and Social Development Canada, News Release, “Government of Canada improves sickness benefits under the Employment Insurance system” (25 November 2022), online: [perma.cc/L9RE-4GYJ].
3 Ibid.
4 See Government of Canada, “Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefits” (28 December 2022), online: [perma.cc/F8QK-DA85]. The details for the CPP-D are provided. There is a separate program for those between the ages of sixty and sixty-five who meet the definition of disability under the CPP-D but who were already receiving CPP-D (CPP Post-Retirement Disability Benefit, which pays a maximum monthly amount of $524.64. There is also a CPP children’s benefit, but the focus here is on benefits targeted at the working-age population).
5 See Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Pension Plan Disability Benefit Toolkit - Your Complete Guide, (ESDC, 2018), online: [perma.cc/DZ7Q-DZBE].
6 Employment and Social Development Canada, Canada Pension Plan: Annual Report 2019-20, Catalogue No HS1-6E-PDF (ESDC, 2021), online: [perma.cc/9BH4-255F].
7 See Veterans Affairs Canada, “Disability Benefits” (25 June 2020), online: [perma.cc/GAU6-RZKV].
8 See Veterans Affairs Canada, “Schedule 3 - Pain and Suffering Compensation” (1 January 2022), online: [perma.cc/6CMM-YFL9].
9 See Veterans Affairs Canada, “Rates: Disability Pension” (29 June 2023), online: [perma.cc/KK8E-673A].
10 Disability Credit Canada, “The Disability Tax Credit Resource Guide” (2 March 2023), online: [perma.cc/ZKN3-CEN6].
11 Amount is indexed to inflation. See Canada Revenue Agency, “Line 31600 – Disability amount for self” (2022), online: [perma.cc/DDQ4-HY96]; Richard Sklar, “Canadian Disability Tax Credits & CRA Debt Forgiveness” (28 September 2023), online: David Sklar & Associates [perma.cc/TSY5-444Y].
12 Authors’ calculations using data published by the Canada Revenue Agency for the 2019 tax year. See Canada Revenue Agency, “T1 Final Statistics 2021 edition (for the 2019 tax year)” (17 April 2023), online: [perma.cc/XM5Q-MDD8].
13 Canada Revenue Agency (21 August 2022) Opening an RDSP, online: www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/registered-disability-savings-plan-rdsp/opening-rdsp.html.
14 See 2023 Tax Expenditures, supra note 24 at 283.
15 Note that several provinces and territories do not have a specific income assistance program for persons with disabilities. See Mohy Tabbara, Social Assistance Summaries, 2021 (July 2022), online: Maytree [perma.cc/6FTR-BX5T]; Jennifer Laidley & Mohy Tabbara, “Welfare in Canada,” 2022 (July 2023), online: Maytree [perma.cc/VQ2A-2LS7].
16 See Laidley & Tabbara, ibid.
17 See Tabbara, Table 1, note 15. The actual number of persons with disabilities receiving provincial income assistance will be higher. We are only able to report on the number of those receiving disabilities supports through these programs, yet several provinces do not have supports directly targeted to persons with disabilities.
