The Centre announces four new projects to increase access to the Canada Disability Benefit

The Maple Leaf Centre for Food Security (The Centre) has a goal, in collaboration with non-profits, businesses and government, to reduce food insecurity by 50%. In 2022 we learned that 50% of people over the age of 15 living in food-insecure households had a disability and we recognized that we needed to be doing more.

We ran an awareness campaign that year advocating for the creation of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). After legislation to create the benefit received unanimous support in the House of Commons, the CDB was announced in Spring 2024. While this CDB will bring much-needed financial support to people with disabilities, the amount is much lower than expected and will not have the impact promised. In addition, the gateway to access the benefit, the Disability Tax Credit Certificate (DTC), is complex to navigate.

We are excited to announce four new partnerships with disability organizations who are working to increase awareness and uptake of the CDB and DTC.

Plan Institute is a national non-profit and social enterprise based in Burnaby, BC that empowers people with disabilities and their families to live a good life. They provide educational material and resources, collaborate on community-based projects, and engage with a wide array of partners to host innovative initiatives for change and policy reform.

From 2024-2027, the Centre is partnering with Plan Institute to provide free, accessible information and 1:1 support to individuals and families across Canada to apply for the DTC and CDB, develop resources for medical practitioners and other professionals to complete the DTC application, and outreach to community organizations across the country to increase awareness of and access to the DTC and CDB.

Disability without Poverty (DWP) is an independently funded, non-profit, grassroots organization led by disabled people to end disability poverty in Canada. DWP has advocated tirelessly for a CDB for many years.

DWP will design an awareness campaign to address a critical gap in access to the CDB for individuals with disabilities, especially those who are racialized, newcomers, institutionalized, and further marginalized due to intersectional experiences. The campaign aims to raise public awareness and encourage those eligible to file their taxes, apply for the DTC, and ultimately gain access to the CDB. The campaign will include radio PSAs, billboards, ads in ethnic papers and on social media in diverse languages.

L’Arche Canada works to create communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities live and work together, recognizing the dignity and rights of every individual. They are committed to advancing the social inclusion of persons with intellectual disabilities through partnerships, leadership development, and advocacy.

L’Arche Canada will pilot DTC clinics in five L’Arche community spaces across Canada. The pilot clinic services, provided by trained staff and medical professionals, will support persons with disabilities and, when needed, their families, service providers and allies as they navigate the DTC application process. The approach aims to shift existing structures toward more inclusive and supportive practices, ensuring that barriers to accessing essential resources are reduced, and that the rights and autonomy of persons with disabilities are fully respected and upheld.

March of Dimes Canada (MODC) is a leading national charity committed to championing equity, empowering ability, and creating real change that will help people with disabilities across the country unlock the richness of their lives. MODC is a recognized leader in disability service design and delivery, supporting people at home, work, and in their communities with unparalleled reach and impact.

In a one-year project, MODC will carry out a needs assessment with their service users and then develop DTC and CDB resource packages and trainings as well as pilot training sessions with their managers and supervisors. MODC will evaluate the project enumerating lessons learned, recommendations for adaptations required to continue the project, and considerations for scaling the model to service providers, resource centres, and advocacy organizations seeking to support larger-scale DTC, tax filing, and benefit take-up.

Stay tuned! We will continue to share what we and our partners learn through these projects over the next couple of years.