Federal disability support money needs to flow now, Londoner says

Jeffrey Salisbury was elated in June to see the federal government pass Bill C-22, legislation that creates Canada's first national disability benefit. Now he says it's time for the money to start flowing right away, not months down the road. 

"Why wait? We've waited more than three years since Prime Minister Trudeau promised this benefit," he said. "Nobody waited that long for CERB." 

The Canada Disability Benefit will provide federal money as a top up to low-income, working-age people with disabilities at a time when provincial disability rates have been roundly criticized as far too low in an age of rising rent and inflation.

Salisbury, 38, is challenged by developmental disabilities, obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. 

His sole income source is the Ontario Disability Benefit Program (ODSP) which pays him $1,228 a month. That payment includes a monthly rent component of less than $600. 

"You'd need a time machine to find an apartment in London for that," he said. 

The Trudeau government announced plans to create a disability benefit in its 2020 Throne Speech, but the legislation hadn't passed when parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2021 federal election. 

In June, then Employment and Diversity Inclusion Minister Carla Qualtrough told the Globe and Mail that benefit payments would likely be a year and a half away. 

However, Salisbury says he and others receiving disability benefits are struggling to cover daily expenses and can't wait that long. 

He's filed a petition with parliament calling on the federal government to start payments immediately and on an emergency basis, even it it means sending out payments before details of the program are worked out. The petition has more than 1,600 signatures and is sponsored by Kitchener Centre Green Party MP Mike Morrice.

As it stands now, Salisbury has no idea how much the benefit will pay monthly when the payments do eventually start.

"It could be a dollar for all I know," he said. 

Morrice said that's because the legislation passed is "framework in nature" and doesn't spell out many basic details about the program. 

"Almost every important decision is being left to regulations," said Morrice. "So we don't know who is going to be eligible for it or how much it's going to be." 

The rollout of the new plan and its details are being handled by MP Kamal Khera in her new role as minister responsible of diversity, inclusion and persons with disabilities. 

In a statement to CBC News, Khera said Ottawa is moving to develop the benefit plan "as quickly as possible." 

The statement says the next step is the "engagement process with the disability community and stakeholders on developing regulations to inform the design details and implementation of the new benefit." The statement also said Ottawa needs to consult with provinces on details of the plan's rollout. 

As for an interim benefit while the program's details are sorted out, the statement says that would require new legislation which could slow things down further. 

"We are focusing our resources on getting the Canada Disability Benefit out of the door as quickly as possible," the statement says.

Payments could help with homelessness crisis

Chuck Lazenby is the executive director of the Unity Project, a London homeless shelter. She said the federal payments are needed right away.

"We've been asking for increases to social assistance rates for decades," she said. "It's something that is long overdue." 

She said increases are a crucial way to deal with a homelessness crisis that is confounding governments at every level across the country.

As for how much the payment should be, Lazenby would like to see something in line with the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) the federal government rolled out during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was $2,000 a month. 

"I hope that we're looking at a payment that's along those lines and not something that is pitiful," said Lazenby. 

In the meantime, Salisbury said he can only wait and share links to his petition out on various disability Facebook groups in hopes the federal government can find a way to twist open the taps a bit sooner. 

"I've been speaking to people all over the place," said Salisbury. "It doesn't matter where you are in Canada, disability rates are not enough."