March of Dimes Canada is pleased to present its Pre-Budget Submission to the Minister of Finance for Canada’s fiscal year 2023-24. As a contracted agency and key stakeholder in delivering an array of services for people living with disabilities and their families, caregivers and friends, March of Dimes Canada welcomes the opportunity to deliver insights into how we can build a more equitable and inclusive Canada. In developing this submission, March of Dimes Canada has listened to the priorities of our community and stakeholders.
Recommendations
Summary of Recommendations
-
Recommendation 1: That the federal government prioritize the design and implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit, including an accessible user access point and interface.
-
Recommendation 2: That the federal government invest in equitable, accessible employment opportunities for people with disabilities by increasing federal funding for employment services.
-
Recommendation 3: That the federal government develop a program which provides people with disabilities and seniors the means to modify their homes and/or vehicles to facilitate independence and community-dwelling.
-
Recommendation 4: That the federal government invest in healthcare to reduce health inequities by increasing the Canada Health Transfer to provinces and territories.
Recommendation 1: Canada Disability Benefit
In Fall 2020, March of Dimes Canada conducted a survey of more than 1,000 members of our community impacted by disability. The survey results reinforced that financial security remains a key issue for people with disabilities in Canada. Indeed, of all systemic barriers they face, financial concerns were found to be the most common, with 66 per cent of respondents identifying finances as a barrier.1 Publicly-funded social assistance programs simply don’t cover monthly expenses such as food and rent, let alone the additional costs that come with having a disability.
In fact, people with disabilities are twice as likely than those without disabilities to live in poverty and make up 41% of low-income earners.2 The 2017 Statistics Canada Canadian Survey on Disability clarified the economic challenges and sacrifices people living with disabilities must contend with in their day-to-day lives. The costs of living with disability, which vary widely based on an individual’s unique needs, may range from hundreds to thousands of dollars annually. As a result, some forgo needed aids and devices, medications and other supports; in fact, as many as 26 per cent – or over 1.6 million – of people with disabilities in Canada report having an unmet need in these areas due to cost.3
With the goal of ending disability poverty in Canada once and for all, March of Dimes Canada encourages federal investment in financial supports that enable people with disabilities to not just survive but thrive. March of Dimes Canada applauds the Prime Minister and Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion’s commitment to passing Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act and implementing the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). The CDB will make a major contribution to lifting people with disabilities in Canada out of a cycle of poverty and toward true security and independence. Iff implemented according to the principles of inclusion, equity and accessibility, the CDB will provide people with disabilities a basic income to access the benefits of living in Canadian society.
Time is of the essence, as people with disabilities in Canada continue to struggle to afford the necessities, especially as high inflation creates additional financial pressures.
March of Dimes Canada requests that the federal government, with leadership from the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, act swiftly to fund and put in place the infrastructure needed to implement the CDB.
Further, March of Dimes Canada requests the Minister and Cabinet work in partnership with their provincial and territorial counterparts to ensure all relevant federal, provincial and territorial programs are successfully harmonized with the CDB, and that employment is not disincentivized for people who rely on income support programs as they transition back to work. In addition, the CDB must be made non-taxable income (like the Canada Child Benefit) to ensure minimal impacts on recipients’ eligibility for existing programs and other downstream benefits and services.
Optimized Infrastructure and Interface Processes for Federal Disability Benefits
Accompanying the design of this new federal benefit, it is crucial that investments are made to ensure that there are no barriers to access for eligible recipients. Over decades of work with people with disabilities, and in results from our Fall 2020 survey, March of Dimes Canada has learned that recipients continue to face barriers in accessing the federal disability benefits they are eligible for. These barriers to federal disability benefits are well documented, as detailed by the Canada Revenue Agency’s Disability Advisory Committee regarding the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).4 It is estimated that only 40% of eligible recipients utilize the DTC due to barriers such as “unnecessarily rigid, complicated and costly” administration.5
March of Dimes Canada applauds the federal government’s commitment to providing a highest standard of service delivery and access for all government programs, services and benefits, through “undertaking a comprehensive review of access to federal disability programs.”6 March of Dimes Canada encourages the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion to consult broadly with stakeholders to determine a path forward.
We recommend the Minister ensure that the Canada Disability Benefit application and administrative processes are designed according to person-centered accessibility standards and co-creation principles.
In October, 2022, March of Dimes Canada partnered with Prosper Canada to hold a Co-Creation session with individuals, allies and stakeholders (alongside federal government observers from ESDC, the CRA and Department of Finance) which identified barriers throughout benefit systems, and principles for how the federal government can leverage internal and external expertise to build truly accessible benefit systems. Once finalized, the report from this session will deliver validated advice and guidance from the disability community to build a model for delivering benefits to a world-class standard of accessibility. In the interim, these principles include:
-
Nothing about us without us: Iterative input and feedback from those who will be most impacted will enable the government to avoid inadvertently and unnecessarily impeding access to the new benefit, as has so often been the case with other disability benefits.
-
Ensure equitable access: To ensure equitable access to the CDB, it is critical that the federal government design the benefit outreach and application process, and CDB administration processes more generally, to work for those who are hardest to reach and face the most barriers.
-
Foster dignity: There are many ways in which respect and dignity can be integrated into the CDB application process, including using language that frames people with disabilities as equally valued members of society and centres the positive contributions they can make to society with the right supports in place.
-
Minimize burden: To maximize CDB take-up and retention, the government must simultaneously seek to simplify related processes and requirements and ensure support is available to those who need help to navigate CDB processes successfully.
-
Enable trust and support agency: The government should ensure all administrative processes are fully accessible and that all program personnel are trained to meet the highest standard for accessibility in how they communicate, interact with, and support program applicants and beneficiaries.
-
Do no harm: The government must become far more knowledgeable about the ways in which benefit design and administrative choices impact applicants and recipients and to aim for, and achieve, a far higher standard than previous disability benefits when it comes to designing for and responding to the needs of CDB recipients.
These principles emphasize meeting the accessibility needs of those the benefit will serve, and the importance of reaching all who are eligible, including people with disabilities in hard-to-reach communities. An approach to CDB administration rooted in these principles would be a tremendous step forward in meaningfully and positively impacting how people with disabilities interact with the system that provides their income, eliminating what is currently a significant stress for a community that needs their government to act as a compassionate and helpful facilitator.
Recommendation 2: Employment services for people with disabilities
An important piece of the financial security puzzle for many people with disabilities is access to inclusive, accessible and meaningful employment. But for far too many people with disabilities, there are still too many barriers to work. In our 2020 survey, more than half (57 per cent) of respondents indicated that they experienced employment barriers such as difficulty finding a job and/or work environment that properly accommodates them.7 People with disabilities who can work need to know there will be a job for them which meets their needs and gives them the opportunity to participate in the workforce.
To that end, March of Dimes Canada recommends that the federal government, with leadership from the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, and support from the Minister of Labour,
build upon recent investments in federally funded employment services for people with disabilities to ensure equitable, inclusive access to employment.
Investments in employment programs for people with disabilities should be diversified, offering multiple types of support for jobseekers to find employment based on their unique, individualized needs. For example, at March of Dimes Canada, we increasingly see the need for specialized employment supports for jobseekers with disabilities to access employment in a tech-enabled economy. Our recent partnership with CIBC and Microsoft, “
SkillingUp”, delivers, free-of-charge, clear pathways for people with disabilities to gain the digital skills needed to participate in the digital workforce and pursue in-demand roles in a changing economy. Learning pathways allow individuals to gain technical training and certifications ranging from entry-level digital literacy to advanced skills for tech and tech-enabled jobs. SkillingUp also provides mentorship and additional resources to prepare for our digital future. Supporting jobseekers to succeed in tech-enabled roles requires a specialized approach that diverges from traditional job readiness programs. Access to devices, internet and transportation can all pose barriers for jobseekers with disabilities and must be addressed via employment programs.
Recommendation 3: Accessible home and vehicle modifications
March of Dimes Canada has a long history of providing direct service to people with disabilities of all ages and stages of life. We understand the challenges people face every day in trying to figure out how to afford to adapt their homes to meet their changing needs, or in finding reliable and accessible transportation to work, to health appointments, and to be active in their communities.
People living with disabilities of all ages need to know they will always be able to choose to remain in their homes and get where they need to go. In fact, a 2021 survey commissioned by March of Dimes Canada found that while 78 per cent of Canadians want to age in their current homes, just 26 per cent predict they’ll be able to do so.8
For this reason, March of Dimes Canada encourages investments that will enable people with disabilities to remain safe and independent in their homes and communities. While the doubling of the Multigenerational Home Renovation Tax Credit and the Home Accessibility Tax Credit in Budget 2022 represented good first steps, many seniors and people with disabilities are simply unable to pay up front and wait up to a year before getting tax credits for renovations required to remain in their own homes. We were disappointed that the federal government missed its next opportunity to provide direct support to seniors and people with disabilities through the Age Well at Home Initiative Fund. Unfortunately, this fund specifically excludes scaling up successful programs that invest in capital projects like our Home and Vehicle Modifications Program.
March of Dimes Canada recommends that the federal government, with leadership from the Minister of Seniors and supported by the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion and the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development,
invest in the development of a program which provides people with disabilities of all ages with grants to modify their homes and/or vehicles. Home and vehicle modifications of this nature enable people with disabilities to remain in, or return to, safe, accessible homes and have accessible transportation.
A federal home and vehicle modifications program would make an immediate and escalating impact in ensuring seniors can successfully age-in-place at home, and people with disabilities of all ages can be independent and participate meaningfully in their communities. March of Dimes Canada has more than twenty years’ experience partnering with the government of Ontario on the successful Home and Vehicle Modification Program, which has enabled thousands of Ontarians with disabilities to achieve their goals of avoiding hospital or long-term care, improving access to their homes, enabling essential activities of daily living and enhancing independence in their communities. We propose that piloting a similar program in lesser-served jurisdictions outside Ontario would support the Minister of Seniors’ mandate to work with community-based organizations to help provide practical support to low-income and otherwise vulnerable seniors to promote their independence and support them to ‘age in place’.9
Recommendation 4: Investing in health
Many of the people served by March of Dimes Canada – including people with physical disabilities, brain injury and stroke survivors, and seniors – are struggling to access healthcare across our country. In regions like the Maritimes, where the healthcare crisis is particularly acute, community organizations like ours are stepping in to provide self-advocacy resources and training for people with disabilities, recognizing that they are unlikely to access the care they need without fierce advocacy on their own behalf. But access to essential medical services should not be dependent on how strongly a person advocates – it should be a guarantee.
March of Dimes Canada recommends that the federal government, under the leadership of the Minister of Health and Minister of Finance,
increase the Canada Health Transfer to address the urgent needs in provincial and territorial health systems, and to reduce inequities for vulnerable people with disabilities in accessing essential care.
1 March of Dimes Canada. March of Dimes Canada Strategic Planning Stakeholder Consultation Project, 2020. Unpublished report provided by Strategic Navigator.
7 March of Dimes Canada, 2020.
