Mr. Speaker, since today is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, I want to pay tribute to three organizations that are here on Parliament Hill today: the Comité d'action des personnes vivant des situations de handicap, the Confédération des organismes de personnes handicapées du Québec and the Environmental Health Association of Quebec. They have come here to call on the government to take meaningful action.
It has been 18 months since Parliament passed the bill creating the new disability benefit, a crucial measure for lifting thousands of people out of poverty. However, 18 months on, the regulations needed for paying out this benefit are still not in place.
In the meantime, persons with disabilities are poorer and poorer, trapped in a system that does not meet their most basic needs. How much longer do persons with disabilities have to wait before the government takes action to protect their dignity and their right to a decent life? The Bloc Québécois supports their fight.