Sadly many within our community look forward to turning 65 because they will get a better income benefit than they have had all their life living on social assistance.
Canada has done a good job. There's more to be done to address the poverty of seniors. We have not done a substantive job to address the poverty of Canadians with disabilities.
In this country having a disability means living in poverty. Living in poverty actually means you're likely to become more disabled. Frankly, the change of eligibility from 65 to 67 years will extend poverty for people with disabilities for two years unless we create a plan so people are actually employed. If you live on social assistance your whole life, you'll be better off on OAS and GIS.
On the registered disability savings plan, it's a great plan if you're eligible, and that eligibility is based on the disability tax credit. That eligibility works well for people who have visual, hearing, or mobility impairments. It works less well for people who have cognitive impairments or mental health concerns. Therefore, if we're going to base programs on the eligibility for the disability tax credit, we need to go back and look at what that definition is. It was designed to offset additional costs of disability and unfair tax treatment. It's now used as the gatekeeper for a variety of other federal programs.