Bill C-403

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Canada Pension Plan (deeming provision)

This enactment amends the Income Tax Act to add a deeming provision in relation to the credit for mental or physical impairment set out in section 118.3.
It also amends the Canada Pension Plan to add a deeming provision in relation to disability pensions and benefits.

Canada Disability Benefit

[Blake Desjarlais, NDP, Edmonton Griesbach, AB]

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to rise today to table e-petition 5035. Nearly 1,000 Canadians have signed the petition, demanding action on the Canada disability benefit.

The petitioners say that people with disabilities often face barriers to employment along with higher costs associated with health care and housing and that the proposed Canada disability benefit restricts eligibility to individuals receiving the disability tax credit known for its many barriers. There is a risk to life due to insufficient supports on current disability programs federally and provincially. They say that Canadians living with disabilities on provincial and federal disability benefits are struggling immensely with benefits significantly below the poverty line, with the cost of living crisis and with the ever-increasing amount of homelessness.

According to petitioners, the proposed Canada disability benefit outlined in budget 2024 is not what the disability community called for, falling short of the government's promises and the disability community's needs. They say that the proposed maximum amount of $200 per month is insufficient to alleviate poverty levels.

Petitioners are calling for action on the implementation of the fast track of a private member's bill, Bill C-403 from the member for Victoria and to allow Canadians who qualify for a provincial disability benefit or program or CPP disability to automatically qualify for the disability tax credit and the Canada disability benefit, in addition to several other measures which they urge the government to act on.

Income Tax Act

[Laurel Collins, NDP, Victoria, BC]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-403, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act and the Canada Pension Plan (deeming provision).

Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to present my private member's bill to amend the Income Tax Act and the Canada pension plan. I want to thank the member for Courtenay—Alberni for seconding the bill, as well as for his continued advocacy for disability justice. The bill aims to make it easier for people living with disabilities to access the benefits they are entitled to. Currently, applicants to provincial and federal disability benefits and the disability pension plan need to finalize two different applications, which require many steps and a lot of bureaucracy. With my bill, people with disabilities would only need to apply to their provincial plan; the federal government would recognize their application immediately.

I am grateful for all the work of the advocates in my riding who have brought this issue forward, including Mark Schuller, Steve Palmer, and people across the country who dedicate their lives to disability justice.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)