I believe that I'm already familiar with the population of people with disabilities, which most people do not know very well.
Statistics Canada does not do very precise studies. Even we don't understand who the people with disabilities are and how to define this population in order to be able to serve it and support it.
Programs are based on things like population statistics, and that's the crux of the problem. During the pandemic, we found that support for persons with disabilities was virtually nonexistent. Financial support to persons with disabilities was at the bottom of the list and yet it had already been determined that the cost of as food basket had increased enormously. But no one thought of disabled people, who don't even have their own financial resources and have to rely on social assistance. I'm talking not only about people living in Quebec, but elsewhere too. They only came to mind at the very end. A list of poverty priorities for the entire population was drawn up.
We know our population groups. We've asked the Canadian and Quebec governments to take persons with disabilities into account. The WHO and the UN made a declaration to this effect. Persons with disabilities need to be included in all measures implemented to combat the pandemic and provide people with support. They shouldn't be an afterthought. The problem is that measures are created for the general population and only adapted later to certain groups. We need to think more globally.
We've been told about inclusive societies, and our programs should reflect that. Persons with disabilities have significant financial needs.
The last budget provided for assistance to person with disabilities, but not enough. Not all disabled people have access to the tax credit for persons with disabilities, and don't even know how to go about getting it. It's important to talk about it.