Krista Carr on MAiD, Disability, and Federal Policy

The Liberals have won the 2025 election and with Mark Carney staying on as Prime Minister, what does that mean for the roughly one in four Canadians with disabilities?

Prior to the election, PM Mark Carney’s cabinet eliminated the Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities and the Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Youth.

While the new cabinet has added in a Minister for Women and Gender Equality, and a new Secretary of State focused on sport, there is no Minister for Disability. The disabilities portfolio will be under the Minister of Jobs and Families, Patty Hajdu.

I spoke with Krista Carr, the CEO of Inclusion Canada, prior to the announcement of the new Cabinet. We spoke about the United Nations report that condemned Track 2 MAiD, the lack of acknowledgment of this report by the Liberal, Conservative, and NDP candidates, and what she thinks the federal government should do now that they’re elected.

The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What did you make of the UN CRPD report and the lack of acknowledgement of that report during the election?

We were happy that the United Nations Committee came out so strongly on so many of the issues that matter a lot to people with disabilities in this country. So that was a very positive development.

The lack of any kind of acknowledgement by any political party about the concluding observations report was obviously quite disappointing. And it in fact, you know, the lack of discourse about disability issues during the election campaign was disappointing.

With Carney now being elected, what are you expecting in terms of disability legislation?

When we look at the platform that the Liberals put out in the election, there was very little about disability. There was one commitment to doing some work on the on the disability tax credit, and some stuff around a disability justice framework. Those are great things, of course, but there wasn't much of anything on disability more generally, and so I don't know what to expect.

I can tell you what I'm hoping for. I'm hoping that we will, in fact, dive in and fix the broken Disability Tax Credit once and for all. I also hope that we will that the Liberals will do something about the low amount of the Canada disability benefit. I also hope that they will use whatever power they have to keep provinces from clawing it back, like we've seen in Alberta. I would like to see much more of a commitment to some of the things that were in the concluding observations around deinstitutionalization and people living in community and homes of their own, better supports for people to find and keep jobs, better income support, as I mentioned, through the Canada disability benefit.

For our organization, the Canada Child Disability Benefit for families is also in desperate need of an infusion of money. But also, I would like to see them implement the advice of the United Nations Committee when it comes to MAiD Track Two, where the committee has very, very clearly came out and said that it is in violation of the CRPD and must be repealed.

In the meantime, we're seeing other countries like the UK and even some states in the US considering expanding their MAiD regimes to match Canada.

I would like to think that in countries where they haven't yet expanded that they will in fact, heed the advice of the UN committee, particularly when they signatories to the convention [on rights for person’s with disabilities].

We just did a webinar not too long ago in Ireland, because Ireland is looking at medical assistance in dying legislation. They don't have it right now. So they're not looking at an expansion. They're just looking at bringing in legislation.

We did a webinar with the National Disability Authority and different people from government departments, and it was really when we told them what was happening in Canada with Track Two MAiD. It put them on their heels a little bit.

I at least hope that our efforts around making the UN committee aware of what’s happening in Canada and the effect it’s having on people with disabilities, but also getting that in the report is going to be a tool that other disability advocates in other countries are going to keep this legislation from either expanding or coming in the first place.

At the same time as the UN CRPD report was being released, the Carney cabinet eliminated the Minister for diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities moving all of those responsibilities to another Minister's portfolio. Is this something that's concerning?

I think it's quite concerning. It's really important to have ministers responsible for those portfolios to give them the attention and the focus that they that they deserve. The disability community made their disappointment about that known in the when that happened right before the election.

I'm hoping that the cabinet that he appoints here, coming up very soon, will be a bit more expanded, and we will get those positions back. Frankly, I would like to see disability as its own ministry. I I think when it gets lumped in with diversity, equity, inclusion, it's such a huge, broad mandate that disability often gets lost in that.

What can the federal government do to prevent disability benefit clawbacks?

I would like to see the government come out and say that they will not deliver the benefit in provinces where it's only going to be clawed back. If they say they're going to claw it back, then they don't get it at all. People will say, well, then people with disabilities don't get it. If your provincial government is going to claw it back, people with disabilities and that problems aren't getting it anyway.

A lot of people I've spoken with in the disability community feel disenfranchised with politics and politicians. What do they need to do to show that they care and and win back that trust.

They need to start talking about disability issues. If they want to show they care, first of all, start putting it in platforms. Start going out and talking to people with disabilities, start asking them what it is that they need and want. Start showing you actually care by listening to what people with disabilities are saying and do the types of things that they are saying you need to do. 

People with disabilities in this country are 23 to 25% voting block. We have not been good at harnessing or galvanizing that, but nobody [politicians] pay attention. Yet, seniors are a huge voting block, and they pay attention.

So what are we doing wrong in in our community? And I wish I had the answer, because I haven't cracked the code.

In terms of effective actions that people can take to try and get their voices heard, is there anything that you'd recommend?

We've got a brand new parliament. Right off the bat, the first thing is, you know, get meetings with your local representatives, even if they're on Zoom, even if they're on the telephone. Reach out, send emails, send letters, ask for meetings. Get your thoughts and concerns and issues on the table.

What you want is people going to Ottawa, going to Parliament, going to caucus, going to meetings. It doesn't have to be 1000s [of calls or messages] for people [in political offices] to go, “Oh, it seems to be a problem.“

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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.