Yes, I absolutely agree. One thing we've learned as a community as we've tried to move forward with a disability and family support agenda in this country is that there's so much to be done. We find that when we put the full agenda on the table, people go, “Oh my gosh, this is just too much.” We're trying to narrow it down and do some pieces one at a time.
There's no question that families are being driven into poverty in this country; families who have children with significant disabilities are twice as likely to be living in poverty, and twice as likely to run out of money for food in a month. We've made families the front line of care for Canadians with disabilities and for seniors.
When we talk about funded disability supports, people with disabilities get their supports funded and served by community agencies. Only 20% to 25% of people with disabilities get all their needs met by community services, and 75% to 80% of supports in this country are provided directly by families. The cost to women primarily is extraordinary. They're not in the labour market. They don't have income security in their future years and they're much more likely to live in poverty. They're much more likely to have lower health status than other women.
There is no question that we need to work on both sides of this equation. Help create a floor that's going to have 100% more Canadians with disabilities begin to get out of poverty and begin to provide families with an opportunity to participate in the labour market while they care for their child or family member. Also, to significantly increase the infirm and caregiver credits and allowances in the tax system is one way to go.
We believe another possible measure is to provide some recognition in the Canada Pension Plan to women who have stayed out of the labour market their entire lives to do front-line care for family members with disabilities.