A federal disability benefit is important!

The Canada Disability Benefit (Bill C-22) is on its way back to the Senate on Tuesday, June 20th, and hopefully for royal assent. 

As we cross our fingers for the bill to pass its final stage before the end of June. 

(To learn about what step the bill is before it becomes law, visit here!) 

Once the bill passes, then the regulation talks begin. We will need to speak to our MLAs about no clawback on the benefit and for it not to interfere with provincial/territorial benefits. 

Alex created this comic to help people learn about why the bill is so important for the Disability Community.
To make the cartoon bigger click on the picture or link. 

Alt Text in images: 

Frame 1 Group on stage singing

"We deserve enough to live"
"The Federal government needs to give."

Frame 2 - Two people talk in a home

Elderly male "The federal disability benefit needs to include seniors with disabilities.
Mid-Age female "Yes, disability does not disappear when you turn 65."

Frame 3 Two people in front of a home in the winter

A female in winter clothing stands shivering "I live in a rural area and everything costs so much more out here." 
A female in winter clothing says "My provincial disability benefits just aren't enough to cover my basic needs." 

Frame 4 Two people in a medical office talk to each other

A male approximately in his 30s in a wheelchair says  "Sometimes I have to go hungry because I spend so much on medical supplies." 
A female approximately 30 years old and also in a wheelchair says "I need a special diet which is very expensive and not covered by provincial benefits."

Fame 5 Two people in art studio talk, one before an easel
Female artist mid-40s says "I love making art but I often can't because the supplies and classes are too expensive." 
A male in his late 20s says "You deserve to follow your dreams and passions and to have a good quality of life." 

Frame 6 Two people in the kitchen cooking and wearing chef coats and chef hats

A female in her 40s says "People with disabilities don't deserve to live in poverty."
A female in her late 60s says "Let's cook up a benefit that leaves no one behind."

Congratulations to Premier Danielle Smith and Minister Jason Nixon of Seniors, Community and Social Services

Members of the Disability Action Hall wanted to share our letter of congratulations to Premier Danielle Smith and Minister Jason Nixon

Plain text to read our letter is below. 

June 13th, 2023

 

Dear Premier Danielle Smith and the United Conservative Party (Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services, Jason Nixon,

 

Congratulations on your re-election as Premier of Alberta and as Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services. Members of the Disability Action Hall, based in Calgary, have been active in Alberta for over 20 years. We are a group of proud people with disabilities and allies who share stories, take action and change lives. We look forward to working with you and your government on many issues that are important to us including affordability. We appreciated the indexing of social assistance to help us with inflated costs of groceries, rent and utilities. We are doing our best to stretch our dollar, however many of us are having to make many hard choices.

 

Other areas which we feel are important to collaborate with you on are:

 

•   Affordable, accessible, safe housing,

•   Affordable public healthcare and mental health services,

•   Affordability through social assistance programs to be permanently indexed to inflation on an annual basis,

• Create a barrier-free accessibility act,

•   Continued funding the affordable transit passes across the province, 

•   And a continued commitment to help people access community, services and supports we need.

 

Again, congratulations and looking forward to working with you and your government.

 

Sincerely

 

Members of the Disability Action Hall

 

Happy National AccessAbility Week! May 28 to June 3rd, 2023

Be on the lookout for the "Our and About" summer events in honor of Speak Out 2023 coming up in the summer. June is celebrated as pride month, where the voices and pride of all our communities are honored and celebrated.