While I don’t claim privileged epistemic access to the nature of justice, I believe I can recognize obvious injustices when I see them.
Consider, for instance, the conditions facing people with disabilities in Canada. Poverty is relatively rampant among Canadians experiencing disability, with an estimated 10.6 per cent of people with disabilities over 16—or almost one million people—having faced poverty in 2021. This was twice the national rate among Canadians without disabilities.
For many such individuals, paying next month’s rent is never a guarantee, nor is having enough food this month. ‘Luxuries,’ like a cup of coffee, a night out at the movies, or buying a book, are commonly, and entirely, out of the question.
This is real, not fictional. It’s a reality for hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens. If you’re not someone with a disability, or don’t know anyone who is, pause for a minute to consider what this means.
Politicians often express shock over the plight of our disabled neighbours, but really the situation is not surprising. Rather, it’s a logical, and entirely predictable, implication of our political economy. The market economy is structured to distribute income exclusively to the ‘factors of production,’ such as labour and capital.
As a consequence, individuals who neither work, nor own capital, receive no income from the market. To ensure all Canadians have access to a basic livelihood, a welfare state is thus in-principle necessary to transfer income from workers and owners to non-workers.
Since many Canadians experiencing a disability cannot work, through no choice of their own, they cannot choose, under our current economic model, to avoid poverty. The hardship faced by so many Canadians who are disabled is therefore the expected outcome of our mode of economic organization. This isn’t a shocking aberration.
Though the status quo is not surprising, I would argue it’s nevertheless deeply unjust. Everyone in our society should have access to the social and material goods required for a flourishing life, regardless of their ability to ‘succeed’ in the market.
Our elected officials fail to adequately recognize this, as consecutive governments of different parties have, for years, largely permitted the plight of disabled citizens to continue.
Despite the bleak historical record, cause for hope arose in April, at least briefly, when the Trudeau government released the 2024 federal budget. Among the initiatives therein, the Liberals announced their intention, after years of promising, to create a new federal program to Canadians living with disabilities. Over the next six years, $6.1 billion will be allocated to create a Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) to provide to Canadians with disabilities in the form of monthly cheques, supplementing existing provincial programs.
The allocated funding will provide a maximum benefit of only $2,400 per year to eligible individuals—a mere $6 a day. Previous analysis conducted by the CSA Public Policy Centre has shown that to address the deepest poverty experienced by disabled Canadians, a benefit of at least $7,200 per year—or $19 per day—is required, corresponding to Canada’s poverty benchmark. Rather than “offering real hope,” experts say the new CDB will likely instead leave many “still well below the poverty line.”
Concern has also been raised over the CDB’s application process being tied to a professional health assessment. This could potentially cost hundreds of dollars and prevent many from applying. If individuals successfully apply, they won’t receive benefits until at least June 2025, five years after the government initially promised to help in the throne speech of 2020. One man from London, Ontario, currently receiving from the Ontario Disability Program, called it something which will “not do anything to help anybody,” another called it a “slap in the face.”
Since the new benefit will, according to experts, likely be insufficient to address the poverty faced by Canadians with disabilities, the program therefore actively permits serious societal injustice. Coming as the conclusion of a years-long process promising, to some of our society’s most marginalized, that adequate help was on the way, it is particularly cruel.
The Prime Minister, and the relevant ministers involved, ought to be ashamed of themselves. Our elected leaders are showing that as a society we still don’t care about our disabled neighbours, and it’s just tragic.
The government’s attempts at self defense have been pitiful. Pressed on these points, Crown ministers argue—after first equivocating, in typical Liberal fashion, on how there’s ‘more work to do’—that while the new benefit is inadequate, it can only be expanded once provinces guarantee they won’t claw it back as it’s meant to supplement existing provincial programs.
The claim, implicit in this defense—though not explicitly said—is that ensuring new federal programs adhere to proper principles of federal-provincial jurisdiction is more important, morally speaking, than immediately ending the suffering of disabled Canadians.
Made explicit, few would accept this: ensuring the most disadvantaged in our society don’t suffer is of greater importance than petty jurisdictional squabbles. Consequently, the clear moral onus on the government is to make the CDB large enough to raise recipients out of poverty even if provinces claw back their own programs entirely, and to negotiate with provinces to shift funding responsibilities afterwards if necessary.
No doubt, in addition to jurisdictional concerns, the government’s also worried that imbuing the CDB with actual efficacy would be untenably expensive. But if the Liberals did avoid making the benefit adequately sized to keep costs down, they therefore implicitly regard the ability of Canadians with disabilities to live with dignity as not worth, morally speaking, the price it would cost to bring that dignity about.
This, too, is an indefensible position, given the common and plausible intuition that justice requires our national income to be distributed in a manner respecting the dignity of all citizens. By implication, justice plausibly demands the government ensure all are able to live with dignity, whatever that may economically ‘cost.’
At the very least, I hope even readers who disagree with my views of justice will me in expecting and demanding honesty and clarity from our government.
Instead of being satisfied with equivocations, we ought to demand the Liberals publicly defend the true arguments motivating their decisions. If they truly think either jurisdictional concerns, or concerns of cost, can justify the continued suffering of Canadians experiencing disability, they should at least have the courage to stand up and make that argument explicitly.
If the government refuses to do right by our disabled neighbours—when doing so is well within its power—then at the very least, I think we are all owed a real explanation as to why.
Brock is an MA student in the economics department and an ArtSci ’23 graduate
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Craig M
This article does a great job exploring the ways that insufficient funding can actually be more damaging to social programs than not funding them at all. When a social program fails due to underfunding it becomes a cautionary tale used to discourage further attempts to our most vulnerable or adress social problems. Gradual half-measures may appear better than no program at all, but as has been seen throughout history, it’s often easier to pull back funding than expand greater funding for a program. If the fear really is ‘over funding’ a social wellfare program for the disabled then that belies an insidious belief that proponents know would be unpopular to say out loud.
Kevin
I am on ODSP and receive $14,400 a year after paying rent, hydro and phone I am left with $45.00 a month for food, Yes after working for 35 years I now live below the poverty line noted by the government of Ontario at $28,700 I barely receive 1/2 that amount
Stephen
Trudeau doesn’t care nor ford . They’re too busy helping everyone else in the world,paving a way for them. What about your own people in the country. Trudeau has to go.
Kim Odowd
Well said .
We in the disabled community are considered unworthy of anything.
The government stopped caring nine years ago. We should be reduced to nothing and BURIED. Obliterated from society.
The application process for the CBD benefit at this point and time weeds out those whom cannot afford that hundred dollars to get the 16 page document filled out.
We don’t need to worry about if we will receive the benefit or not.
We live under a veil of oppression and stress because we are the ones having to put important items back at the check out in the grocery store, or doing most of our canned goods shopping at the dollar store because we can afford more there.
Unless someone lives like us nothing will wake them up.
Thanks to those who have the power to change things for us,
Our loudest weapon is our voice and our ability to vote.
We have learned rather quickly that talk is cheap when the story is good.
Enough said.
Raymond Marratt
This is Raymond. E.Marratt..believe me and others in the same situation and we have exhausted all other Ave.s and you live on just what the government give you a month and your rent and in some cases power plus gas to come to more then you get..I don’t like going to the food bank and asking for food or explaining to the landlord why I’m short on rent or living in a area of the city that’s unsafe for your kids and yourself..This is all first hand..I didn’t want my life to turn out like this but it has and the same for millions of other Canadians..We all live in a first world country but the people with disabilities in canada it feels like we are in a third world country. Sometimes it’s hard to hold your head up…I hope our government helps us Canadian,s.
Johan Spapen
Hi In 2016 i got in to a work incident .
after one surgery to the next surgery .i needed a knee replacement. than covit and got to rollercoaster. after one cancelation after another do to covid. i did got my finall knee replecement . Than after four years arguing with wsib .to get compensation i was dinied .for the reason i went back to work . I had no choice no work i could not pay rent .. So i could not do my old job had to change my job .I did keep working for the reason high cost rentall, food and all the necessary things .i finally retired ..And live on 650$ a month.I had to move out off the rentall . and my daughters let me stay with them for now .Im looking for help and no where to turn .
this is what I got after 40years hard work .If i had knowen this .i would have never bring my kids
Cathy
As an individual who relies on ODSP to live comfortably, I thank the Queen for standing up for all on disability .
Robert Hagley
Amen!
Karyn K
I am one of those Canadians. I am fed up and disgusted with the Government’s refusal to afford us a quality of life that would also give us dignity stability.
Let’s also discuss the fact that the government will happily cover the cost of euthanasia (MAiD) to help people end their lives rather than meet their commitment to helping us afford the basic necessities of living. I know people who are waiting for MAiD to be opened up for mental illness because they can’t get their basic needs met like food they need to be well and a safe place to live.
When it’s cheaper to kill people than it is to lift them out of destitution, using MAiD as a means to reduce the number of people dependant upon our social safety nets is a dangerously slippery slope that should be terrifying for EVERY Canadian.
Moreso when you think about the Conservatives likely coming into power in the next election, because historically, they do everything in their power to avoid caring for those who are unable to “contribute” by working.
For this reason, when Poilievre drones on and on about bringing home stronger paycheques, it turns my blood to ice.
If the Liberals, who, on the surface, are about fairness and justice for ALL Canadians, still BLATANTLY refuse to keep their own committments to help those of us who are stuck through no fault of our own, how much more (or less, really) will the Conservatives do?
Since Conservative governments have a long and storied history of legislating people (and keeping them) into poverty, I worry deeply that they will further advance the use of MAiD as a way to cull the population of those of us who are considered a drain and therefore have no “value”.
As someone who once was able to work a good job, was paid well and a hard worker with a stellar reputation, I can’t tell you how soul crushing it is to realize that I no longer have any value, and that the contributions made up to the point I could no longer work mean nothing.
I personally know too many people who are so sick that they cannot work; but who, if they had the s they needed to be stronger and healthier, might actually be able to work again, even part time, but can’t get them. It’s enraging. My own father couldn’t get the s he needed when his kidneys failed and he needed dialysis. He couldn’t get help to eat well because his ODSP only covered rent in subsidized, bug infested housing, and the cheapest food he could find. Which we all know is typically highly pricessed with very limited nutritional value all things that directly contributed to how fast and severely he got sick.
He needed psychiatric care, access to healthy food and physical therapy s to get moving again, as he quickly lost his mobility. Adding insult to injury, they refused to put him on the kidney transplant list because he needed to lose a significant amount of weight which he couldn’t, because he could barely walk and couldn’t afford healthy food. They essentially condemned him to die.
He ended up having two heart attacks, two open heart surgeries, several other surgeries and spent time in a hyperbaric chamber. After a few YEARS of not being able to leave the hospital, and unable to get the psychiatric and nutritional s he needed, he chose to end his life by refusing dialysis.
How much money do you think was spent keeping him alive in hospital for several years, open heart surgeries and dialysis every two days? My guess is that it was significantly more than would have been spent on the front end of he’d have received the s he needed when it all began. But the government seems willing to spend endless amounts of money on barely keeping sick people alive instead of INVESTING in their health. If my dad, who’d been a small business owner for years, had received the help he needed early on, he would have been able to get back to working and being a contributor to our economy. And he’d probably still be alive!
Watching my government give BILLIONS of (HARD EARNED by Canadians) dollars in aid to foreign countries while we struggle to afford food, meds, safe housing and a shred of dignity makes me truly and deeply ashamed to be Canadian.
What’s so incredibly maddening about all of it is that most Canadians don’t care because this doesn’t affect them personally.
But what so many fail to realize is that this could be them – or a loved one – at any moment.
And when it happens, it will be too late because their voice will no longer matter.
As Canadians living with disabilities, being treated as “less than” our Countrymen (and even people in foreign countries), coming to the realization that we have no value and no voice is a level of soul crushing that I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
We desperately need people to become allies and stand with us to demand all levels of Government in Canada step up and give us all a quality of life. To demand that we invest in CANADIANS BEFORE sending money all over the world.
The excuse that governments give about not having the money is simply a diversion tactic. If they INVESTED here in ing Canadians FIRST, if they helped people (where applicable) BEFORE they became completely reliant upon the healthcare system; if they stopped wasting OUR HARD-EARNED money, there would be more than enough to give us enough to move beyond barely surviving and maybe thrive. Or at least not spend way too much time questioning if there’s even a point in continuing to live.
I don’t have hard stats to back this up, but I guarantee that nearly every Canadian who has to depend on government programs to survive, has at least once questioned whether they should end their lives or continue to struggle.
For myself, I continue to soldier on because I’m a mother and my child needs me. I will tell you the honest truth though:
If she didn’t need me, I would have ended my life already.
No one wants to live – barely surviving – especially with the knowledge that things will NEVER get better.
When they first announced the Disability Benefit, I had hope for the first time in a long time that maybe life would get a little more tolerable.
But now, seeing that the Liberals have taken the cowardly way out by lauding this INSULTING new program, I realize that I should have know better than to trust a politician to do the right thing by their own countrymen.
Candy Beggs
Unfortunately, it’s even worse then that. What’s expected that you speak of is, in order to receive the “extra” you have to claim the Disability Tax Credit on your income tax. Even though I’m eligible to get that status, I can’t, because the paperwork has to be filled out by your family doctor, which I don’t have. I’ve asked no one else will/can do it. Beyond that, the cheapest bach. suite in my city would leave me with $25 after I pay rent. No utilities, no food, only rent. We watch as billions are sent out of country, it’s humiliating.
Melanie Jenkins
In addressing the financial provided to disabled individuals in Canada, it is important to acknowledge the government’s substantial efforts and ongoing challenges. The federal government, despite critiques, has shown a committed stance toward ing disabled Canadians.
Firstly, the Trudeau government’s introduction of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) marks a significant step forward. The allocation of $6.1 billion over six years demonstrates a commitment to enhancing the welfare of disabled Canadians. While critics argue that the benefit amount is insufficient, this initiative lays a foundational framework for future enhancements and improvements. It reflects a recognition of the importance of ing vulnerable populations and provides a platform for further discussions and adjustments.
The claim that the benefit is a “slap in the face” overlooks the complexities involved in federal-provincial coordination and the necessity of a phased approach. The government’s insistence on ensuring that provinces do not claw back the benefit is crucial. Without these safeguards, any new federal could be rendered ineffective if provincial programs simply reduce their own contributions in response. Ensuring that federal efforts supplement rather than replace provincial is essential for maximizing the impact on recipients.
Moreover, the government’s focus on maintaining proper principles of federal-provincial jurisdiction is not a trivial matter. Effective governance requires balancing immediate needs with long-term sustainability and intergovernmental cooperation. By setting up a framework that respects these principles, the government ensures that systems are robust and less susceptible to future political shifts.
Addressing the assertion that the benefit amount is insufficient, it is crucial to recognize that social systems are subject to abuse. Instances of fraud and misuse divert resources away from those in genuine need, undermining the system’s overall efficacy. By ensuring stringent application processes and checks, the government can better allocate resources to deserving individuals. If the system were free from abuse, it is plausible that the benefits could be more generous, as funds would not need to be diverted to policing and fraud prevention.
It is also essential to understand that creating and implementing social programs is inherently complex and resource-intensive. The government’s efforts to introduce and refine the CDB should be viewed as part of an ongoing process aimed at progressively improving the lives of disabled Canadians. This incremental approach allows for the identification and rectification of issues as they arise, ensuring a more effective and sustainable system in the long run.
In conclusion, while the government’s current efforts may not be perfect, they represent a significant and commendable step toward ing disabled Canadians. The introduction of the Canada Disability Benefit, coupled with measures to prevent provincial clawbacks and ensure proper jurisdictional alignment, underscores the government’s commitment to creating a fair and sustainable system. Moving forward, continuous improvements and increased public awareness about the importance of safeguarding these systems from abuse will be crucial in further enhancing the financial assistance provided to disabled individuals in Canada.
Tia Brown
Not to mention aside from the cost of the assessments being prohibitive, the fact that many in Ontario in particular, are without a family doctor creates a barrier that is impossible to overcome. I have recently reached out to my MP and MPP’s office in order to receive on this issue. I have been told despite being on federal P-D, I am not able to access services (like the new dental benefit, or a particular tax benefit) without a doctor (that is impossible to get) to fill out the required paperwork. Neither government office has been particularly helpful or ive in finding a resolution to this issue.
Loriann Cooper
I love the manner in wich you describe the challlenges people with disabilities are facing and the truths of the injustices government have impose on our people and continue to do so without explanation. The world can become a better place with more articles and advocacy in relation to the reality of social injustices. I appreciate your position and respect your knowledge.
Deborah Shea
My 36 yr old son has Down Syndrome, lives on $685.00 a month on D. He has an eye condition called Keratoconus, which if left untreated, can cause blindness. His doctor at Sunnybrook Hospital has recommended a procedure called Cornea Cross Linking, which is NOT covered by medical insurance. He would have to pay out of pocket to cover up to $4,000.00 per eye! The risks are lower & recovery time much faster. Compared to corneal transplants, 1-2 year recovery & almost triple the cost, which is covered! Does any of this make sense? I’m at a loss as to why this CXL treatment is not covered & why people’s vision cannot be saved?
Vincent Quinn
As a P Disability recipient, I recieve the princely sum of $1582 per month from the government of Canada. With the average rent of $ 2400 per month for an apartment, the government reminds me each and every month that I am not worth the dignity of a one bedroom apartment. The best I can hope for is to rent a room or part thereof in somebody’s basement. Did I mention I am disabled and have mobility issues that make stairs unsafe? Even during COVID, the government figured people needed $2000 per month to survive. This did not apply to the disabled. Somehow we can majically live on way less. I, like many others in my position just have to deal with the fact the government of Canada doesn’t give a damn .