The Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) has been criticized for failing to meet the needs of Canadians with disabilities.
In 2023, Disability Without Poverty and Campaign 2000’s Disability Poverty Report Card graded the federal government an 'I' for 'Incomplete' on its promises to Canadians with disabilities. In 2024 year, that was downgraded to an unequivocal 'F' because the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) falls woefully short of the expectations it raised, and the needs it promised to address.
With an inadequate benefit amount, narrow eligibility criteria, and a protracted timeline for implementation, the CDB reflects a stunning failure to deliver on commitments that once inspired hope. In 2022, then-minister Carla Qualtrough described the CDB as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to lift hundreds of thousands of people out of poverty.” The Canada Disability Benefit Act’s preamble invoked the country’s international human rights obligations, and its aspiration to be a global leader in poverty eradication. These lofty words sparked optimism in a community long underserved and overlooked. However, the reality of the CDB has been profoundly disappointing. Michelle Hewitt is chair of the board of Disability Without Poverty. A federal budget allocation of $2,400 annually per recipient is insufficient to meet basic needs. Worse still, the government projects that the CDB will eventually lift only 25,000 working-age persons with disabilities out of poverty annually—a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of people it claimed to aim to help. Luca 'Lazy Legs' Patuelli is a board member of Disability Without Poverty. Adding to this betrayal is the timeline for implementation. Delivery of the benefit is slated for July 2025, reflecting a shocking lack of urgency in addressing a crisis that has left so many in dire need. Promises to eradicate poverty lose all meaning when those they are meant to help must wait years for relief. Recent developments only reinforce why the government has earned its failing grad
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