An Update on Bill C-22: Canada Disability Benefit

https://inclusioncanada.ca/

Thank you to everyone for your amazing support in 2022. It was a challenging year, but progress was made on Bill C-22 and we are optimistic we can make more. This year, we continue to fight for the Canada Disability Benefit and to end disability poverty in Canada.

Before the holiday season, the Bill was passed by the HUMA Standing Committee and presented back to the House of Commons. Unfortunately, it was not brought back for a final reading and vote before the Parliamentarians left for their holiday break. This was disappointing and a missed opportunity.

We are now at a critical point.

The House of Commons returns on January 30th, and will sit until February 17th before it takes it's scheduled winter break. With such a small window, it is important that we advocate for Bill C-22 to be the first order of business when Parliament returns.

Your continued support has helped us get to the stage we are at now, and we need your help in a final push to help the bill get through the final stage in the House of Commons and off to the Senate.

There's still work to do, and we still need your help!

There have been many letters sent to Members of Parliament (MPs) urging their support of the Canada Disability Benefit, and it has helped tremendously. We recognize we have come asking many times on this. But this is a major deal for our community and potentially a game changer for the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities. We are asking once again to help support and advocate to your local MP's. If you are comfortable, request a meeting with your MP or simply call, email or write urging support.

We have created an updated letter for you to send. Join us in asking our MP's to prioritize and fast-track the bill for Third Reading as the first order of business when the House of Commons returns on January 30th.

As Parliamentarians prepare to return to the House of Commons on January 30th, the timing is crucial between now and the next week to contact them. They are actively working within their own parties now to set the legislative priorities for when they return.

If you've sent a letter before, send this new one. Tell your family and friends as well. Personalize the letter and tell your MP why this is important and matters to you, your family, and your friends. 

Let's amplify our collective voices on this important issue.

What's next?

Once this bill passes successfully through the House of Commons, it will have to go through the same process in the Senate. After it passes through the Senate, it will receive Royal Assent and become law! The faster it passes through the House of Commons now, the closer we are to having a benefit that will support the financial security of people with disabilities who need it.

Living with a disability should not mean living in poverty. Lets pass this bill now!

Inclusion Canada is a national federation of 13 provincial/territorial member organizations and over 300 local associations working to advance the full inclusion and human rights of people with an intellectual disability and their families. Inclusion Canada leads the way in building an inclusive Canada for people with an intellectual disability and their families by strengthening families, defending rights, and transforming communities into places where everyone belongs.

Everyone should have the same access to opportunities to lead a regular, fulfilled life: grow up at home with your family; be included in school with friends and peers; immerse in a hobby or sport; have a career; travel; make friends; find a soulmate; have a home of your own; and contribute to your community. These are the common building blocks for life for most people in Canada, and the dreams and aspirations of people with an intellectual disability are no different.

Inclusion only happens when the lives of children and adults with an intellectual disability unfold no differently – immersed together with their peers without a disability in the same pathways and experience of life common to us all.

We know a serious challenge people with an intellectual disability often face is the stereotypes and negative perceptions in response to unique and different ways of learning and communicating.

We are changing this mindset.

We are at the forefront of a national movement of people who believe in an inclusive Canada, one in which people with an intellectual disability and their families are equally valued and fully included in every aspect of community life. We are a grassroots family-based association with representation from across Canada, working in collaboration with our federation members and other national partners and disability organizations who share our vision of a Canada where everyone belongs.

We are strengthening families by helping them create a vision for an inclusive life for their family member with an intellectual disability and then supporting them to make that dream a reality. We are transforming communities by inspiring and motivating community leadership and encouraging them to adopt inclusive practices. We are defending rights by promoting public policies and legislation that furthers legislation.

By enabling inclusive lives for people with an intellectual disability we are building a Canada where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and prosper. This benefits us all. We invite you to join us.

Vision and Mission

Values and Beliefs

Our core values and beliefs inspire and guide our work.

We believe:

• The lives of people with an intellectual disability should unfold no differently than those without disabilities; immersed together with their peers without a disability in the same pathways and experience of life common to us all.
• All people are entitled to equal access and opportunity. Equality demands protection from all forms of discrimination or harm, and access to the supports necessary to enable equal participation.
• In the fundamental value and dignity of all people, and honour and respect diverse identities and experiences. Our humanity and uniqueness cannot be reduced to words, labels, categories, definitions, or genetic patterns.
• In speaking up and taking action on our values and beliefs, even when it is difficult.