In Conversation with Senator Petitclerc

The Finale: A Chat with Minister Khera

In the final episode of this special season of the 2030 Project Podcast focused on the Canada Disability Benefit, we are joined by the Honourable Kamal Khera, who was recently appointed Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities on July 26, 2023. In the season finale, Minister Khera discusses how the Canada Disability Benefit will help break barriers down by fostering accessibility, inclusiveness, and supporting employment efforts for persons with disabilities. She underlines that the Canada Disability Benefit is a supplement to, not a replacement for, other benefits received by persons with disabilities, and stresses the importance of increasing the financial stability of the most vulnerable by reducing the barriers they face. As a committed advocate, Minister Khera emphasizes the use of intersectionality in her approach, and leaves listeners with a parting message urging them to continue to engage and collaborate with their communities and the government, to realize a future where persons with disabilities do not have to live in poverty.

In Conversation with Senator Petitclerc

In this episode, we are joined by one of the key policymakers behind the Canada Disability Benefit, The Honourable Chantal Petitclerc, a gold medal Paralympian and a sitting Senator from Quebec. Senator Petitclerc shares her perspectives and experiences as a policymaker living with a disability, and discusses her efforts in the Senate to ensure that the Canada Disability Benefit takes into account the additional cost of living with a disability and the importance of co-design. Senator Petitclerc remains a strong advocate as the development of regulations continues to take place, and offers insights to listeners looking to get involved.

Is It Enough?

A key objective of the Canada Disability Benefit is to reduce, and potentially, eliminate poverty among people with disabilities while ensuring that people are not left worse off than they were before. This means that the amount of the benefit needs to be adequate to lift people with disabilities out of poverty, which raises the billion-dollar question: how much money is needed to eliminate poverty among people with disabilities? Should everyone get the same benefit, or should it reflect living expenses and specific disability related needs? How can we ensure that private insurers and provinces don’t claw back the benefits? In this episode, we are joined by Andrea Hatala, Recipient Co-Chair of the ODSP Action Coalition; Bill Adair, Executive Director of Spinal Cord Injury Canada; and Adrian Merdzan, Staff Lawyer at the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC).

How Do You Get It?

As we examined eligibility of the Canada Disability Benefit in the previous episode, we now turn to accessibility, and explore how the government can ensure that application and appeals processes are accessible to all people with disabilities. Should it be automatic qualification by proxy if someone is already receiving other disability benefits? What are the downsides to using the tax system to roll out the benefit? What should the appeals process look like if someone is denied the benefit? In this episode, we are thrilled to be joined by Ron Anicich, Member of the ODSP Action Coalition and an ODSP Recipient; Sarah Kennell, National Director of Public at Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA); and Jonathan Lai, Executive Director of Autism Alliance. Join us to learn more on how to define equal and meaningful accessibility of the Canada Disability Benefit from coast to coast to coast.

Who Gets It?

As the federal government begins to develop the Canada Disability Benefit, the question of who's eligible, and how they will qualify for this program, comes to the forefront. Who determines the eligibility of this program? How will the federal government work alongside provincial and territorial governments, and private insurance companies, to ensure those who need it actually get it? How does it account for the diversity in language and cultures across the country? How is disability defined, and will it include those with episodic and/or invisible disabilities? In this episode, we are joined by Trevor Manson, Secretary Co-Chair of the ODSP Action Coalition and Michelle Hewitt, Chair of the Board for Disability Without Poverty (DWP), who will take us on a trip from Ontario to BC and back, as advocates continue to push for inclusion for all people with disabilities.