ANALYSIS: The Shifting Narrative Around the Canada Disability Benefit

Since it was first announced in 2019, the narrative surrounding the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) has undergone a dramatic shift. Originally proposed to offset the pressures imposed by the expansion of medical euthanasia, the benefit is now reduced to a maximum of $200 per month — less depending on household income.

Despite criticism from the disabled community, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and many other professional groups, the program was launched late in mid-June amid celebration from federal officials. On July 14th, Leslie Church, parliamentary secretary to Minister Patty Hajdu, who oversees the disability portfolio, published a glowing article in National Newswatch titled  “Canada Disability Benefit: Building a Canada that Works for Everyone.”  

The piece presents an overly optimistic and inaccurate view of the benefit and reframes the value of disabled Canadians’ in terms of workforce participation. 

A Focus On Disabled Canadians in the Workforce

Before discussing any of the systemic barriers or ableism that disabled Canadians face, Church focuses on their economic value.  

Church writes that: “Inclusion and accessibility are advantages that strengthen our communities, our economy, and our country” and “Employment rates for persons with disabilities remain disproportionately low.” 

She argues that educational attainment would lead to near 80% employment among disabled Canadians, providing no references or statistics. This is in line with the government’s regulatory impact analysis statement, which writes that the CDB is “designed to recognize and support the importance of work.” 

The narrative erases critical barriers that affect the disabled community. Although 16.8% of disabled Canadians live in poverty, it isn’t mentioned at all in the piece. It fails to engage with the discrimination that disabled Canadians face in higher education. 

The framing puts the onus on disabled Canadians rather than the many systemic barriers that the Federal government has not addressed. Similar rhetoric in the U.K. is leading to legislation that will cut back benefits for many disabled individuals who cannot work. With the Carney government already implementing austerity measures and public service cuts. 

The CDB is Not “Similar in Spirit” to Other Benefits

Church writes that the “CDB is a new monthly benefit – similar in spirit to the Canada Child Benefit and Old Age Security.”

First off, the CDB is not a monthly benefit for all applicants. Those assessed to receive $20 per month or less will receive one lump sum payment. The Ministry has not released data showing how many applicants are receiving monthly payments and how many will get a lump sum.

The CDB is also by no means, “similar In spirit” to other benefits. The CDB offers up to $200 per month, while the Canada Child Benefit provides as much as $666.41 per month and Old Age Security provides up to $808.45 per month. 

The Evolution of the CDB

Initially, the CDB was intended to provide much more for recipients which may have been more in line with other benefits. 

While campaigning in 2019, Trudeau announced that benefits and support would provide more financial support to help those with disabilities “live in dignity” as medical euthanasia expanded to non-terminal conditions. The 2020 Throne speech described the benefit as one modelled after the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. In 2021, the legislation for the benefit was introduced as a way to bridge “the gap between the poverty line and what people receive in their respective provinces.”

Minister Hajdu herself appeared to be unaware of this history. In a recent interview detailed by The Canadian Press, she said: “I don’t think that disability (benefit) is what a person needs to sustain themselves, and I don’t think it was designed in that way.” 

She also mentioned the benefit should supplement “whatever other earnings or income” that disabled Canadians may have, again differentiating the CDB from other benefits. 

Late Rollout, Wrong Messaging

Despite promising to open up applications for the benefit at the start of June, the application portal only went live on June 20th. 

Rather than getting this information from the Ministry, many in the disabled community learned about its launch by calling the CDB hotline. As previously documented, some of the info shared by hotline operators was inconsistent with the Ministry. 

Church’s article does not mention any of the delays or confusion caused by the late rollout. She writes first payments begin in July, but this is only for those who could submit an application and have it approved by the end of June 30th. Service Canada operators had mentioned that it would take on average 28 days to process 80% of applications (though the Ministry said that a service standard was not yet set). We aren’t sure yet how many people who submitted a successful application in June will need to wait until August to receive their July payment. 

The article avoids going into the details of how benefit eligibility is assessed. Many people will not receive the full $200 per month, as it depends on the other benefits they receive. One woman in a single-parent household with a child under 18 will only receive $150 per month, because of these kinds of adjustments. 

The rollout of the CDB benefits was evidently confusing to multiple Members of Parliament who echoed incorrect information about the benefit and have yet to correct it.

Julie Dzerowicz, MP for Davenport, wrote that eligible Canadians can register (rather than apply) to receive the benefits and that recipients will receive the full $200 per month. Judy Sgro, MP for Humber River - Black Creek, also incorrectly shared that eligible applicants will receive $200 per month. 

Community-Based Organizations to Navigate Applications

Church writes that the government has funded community-based organizations to help navigate the application process. 

But the Federal government is not funding one of the most expensive barriers toward obtaining the CDB: Qualifying for the Disability Tax Credit. Disabled Canadians sometimes pay hundreds of dollars to have these forms filled out, as each clinic is allowed to choose the out-of-pocket fee they charge to fill out the DTC forms.

The proposed 2024 Budget offered funding doctors to fill out these forms promised to fund this necessary step, but reneged when the budget was finalized as “the funding is not part of this regulatory proposal and therefore is not included in the cost-benefit analysis as offsetting the costs to applicants to qualify for the Benefit.” 

Announcing the funding of community-based organizations also opens the door for predatory companies that use ads and SEO-tactics to game their way to the top of Google search and offer to “help” with CDB applications for exorbitant fees. 

The Fiction that No One is Left Behind

Church writes that we must work together “to make sure all Canadians are supported and enabled to reach their full economic and social potential” and that it is “working closely” with other provinces and territories to prevent clawbacks. 

The previous Minister of Disabilities, Kamal Khera, noted ongoing negotiations in 2024 to prevent clawbacks, but it hasn’t worked. Alberta will clawback disability benefits and the Federal government apparently can’t do much about it. 

Alberta is not stopping there. It will require all recipients of AISH disability recipients to apply for the CDB. Those who have not communicated the status of their application to the provincial government by September 5, 2025 will have a full $200 clawed back from their benefits regardless. In order to apply for the CDB, recipients will also need to pay for and fill out the forms required for the disability tax credit, which can cost more than the amount that province is clawing back each month. With a shortage of primary care practitioners, some individuals will struggle to even find someone to fill out the medical forms.

In a statement for a previous article, a spokesperson for Hajdu said that “the federal government cannot dictate to provinces and territories how they will treat the CDB.” 

In addition, Church discusses clawbacks from other provinces and territories without detailing the ways that the Federal government may garnish the $200 benefit based on other supports that individuals are receiving. 

Church writes that the CDB “is a bold step toward closing gaps and ensuring that no one is left behind.” 

That is incorrect as the CDB will lift less than 2% of applicants out of poverty, leaving many who qualify left behind. 

Previous Health Minister Mark Holland admitted that many disabled Canadians will not qualify for the disability tax credit, which is key for qualifying for the CDB. "We freely acknowledge that it isn't everybody, but it's a lot of folks," he told CBC News. "This was a good place to start."

Misquoting “Nothing About Us Without Us”

“This benefit was built in close partnership with the disability community,” Church writes. 

Many in the disability community have vocally condemned the problems with the CDB and left public comments and the suggestions were ignored and declined. 

Church writes that the CDB was developed in the spirit of “Nothing Without Us.” The phrasing is actually “Nothing about us without us.” The article launders a simple narrative around the CDB that fails to engage with legitimate concerns about the benefit and its rollout. Misquoting “Nothing about us without us” epitomizes the ways that the disabled community has been sidelined in the development of the benefit. 

If politicians want to make a genuine effort to address the concerns of the disability community, they need to openly engage with people who are disabled and actually listen.

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I'm a science and health journalist who is disappointed and fed up with the lack of news coverage surrounding Long COVID, ME/CFS, chronic illness, and disability issues in Canada. I decided to start this newsletter to provide a home for the news stories that don’t get coverage in Canada’s news ecosystem, which lacks outlets for good, science-based reporting.