Thread by @ODSPoor

This was a national group effort in response to yesterday's HUMA committee meeting on Bill C-22
#DERB #CDBby23 #CanadaDisabilityBenefit #canpoli #canada #candis #PWDAllies #MAiD

1. PRESS RELEASE

ADVOCACY GROUP SHOCKED BY LACK OF PREPARATION BEFORE FIRST FEDERAL DISABILITY BENEFIT MEETING
Even committee members question the amount of time and round table studies that produced hardly any data for Bill C-22

2. [Parliament, Ottawa,] — There were twelve people from across Canada all on mute taking in yesterday’s first meeting of Bill C-22’s HUMA Committee. The disappointment was palpable as we were let down again by a lack of preparation on behalf of the legislation’s author and team.

3. This same concern was voiced loudly by several committee members, no matter their partisanship.

In Ottawa yesterday, the first official meeting of the Canada Disability Benefit Act committee took place.

4. It was the first time that each member got to question the team involved with putting forth a so called ‘framework’ bill. There was a commonality to the questions in that the committee members wanted to know where the information was coming from and why it was not included.

5. The lackluster responses seemed to be referencing ongoing studies with no timeline at all. We feel let down by the delays and excuses offered by a government that subdues this life-changing and groundbreaking bill.

6. There was some information to be had, for instance that 917,000 working age, disabled adults live in poverty. For the most part, however, there was no information regarding provincial disability support programs and benefits, no estimated timeline, essentially an empty bill as

7. one committee member put it. Also, several of us found this data easily with a google search. For example, there were 295,397 singles who receiving ODSP (Ontario Disability Support Program) in Ontario this past August.

8. “When calculated against Nunavut’s current population of 39,000, the calculated result is approximately 12,480 people living with disabilities in Nunavut.”

We ask, just as committee members did, where is the data?

9. Why have we been left out in the cold, figuratively and literally? As Bonita Zarrillo pointed out there are people with disabilities seeking Medical Assistance in Dying due to homelessness and poverty.

10. As guest committee member Mike Morrice pointed out, this needs to proceed expeditiously and there seems to be no interest in a disability emergency relief benefit (DERB). The MP from Kitchener Centre was also denied unanimous committee consent for all documents which would

11. help to maintain transparency and oversight. This is a priority for almost a million disabled Canadians who just want to survive after years of stigma and neglect.

12. We are a group of solo advocates across the nation, working in unison with no funding or representation.
Written by Mitchell Tremblay with input from Canadians with disabilities and their allies.
END

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