Current Public Policy Campaigns
- The Canada Disability Benefit Initiative
As one of the many who are part of the Disability Without Poverty movement, we are focused on ensuring that the government follows through on its commitment for a Canada Disability Benefit. Furthermore, that this new benefit gets into the hands of Canadians with disabilities as soon as possible, and without clawbacks to existing supports and benefits. As a grassroots and pan-disability lead movement, we will make this happen by consulting with Canadians with disabilities to understand what they need the most, then designing a benefit to significantly reduce disability poverty.
- The Disability Tax Credit (DTC)
– Reform the eligibility for the DTCto include people with severe intermittent mental health issues and people with mild developmental disabilities
– In general, simplify the DTC application and process
- Disability Assistance
– Exempt employment income entirely from Disability Assistance eligibility
– Exempt legal aid and long-term care from calculating Disability Assistance eligibility
- Encourage the federal government to provide additional retirement help for families who had to give up a career to care for their disabled children
- Permit TFSAs and RRSPs to be held by trusts
- Encourage the Ontario Government to increase disability benefits, increase asset limits, and exempt gifts from the Ontario Disability Support Plan (ODSP)
- Replicate a supported-decision making model like the BC Representation Agreement across all provinces and territories
- Families can contribute funds or goods to their relatives with disabilities without clawbacks from BC Disability Benefits
Specific to the Registered Disability Savings Plan
- Harmonize the treatment of trusts and structured settlements with that of RDSPs across the full range of provincial programs used by people with disabilities
- Allow the rollover of an RDSP from one beneficiary to another
- Increase RDSP age limit by 2 years to match with increase in retirement age
- Add physical disabilities to the list of who can be eligible for the retirement rollover to RDSPs
- Allow Retirement Rollovers into RDSPs at any age (not just under 60)
- Make RDSP’s creditor Proof
- Harmonize the treatment of trusts and RDSPs within the Federal Guaranteed Income Supplement Program
- Let RDSP beneficiaries always keep their plan open. Only new contributions would be disallowed on failure to re-qualify for the DTC. Families ask why it is necessary to repay grants and bonds retroactively when they were rightfully earned during a period of disability
- Create an RDSP-asset housing fund