The draft rules to help Canadians with disabilities pay for the higher living costs are out for public feedback.
We made a 2-page infographic guide to help readers read through "the summary" of the rules, which are also in plain text below the image.
We also created this short video if you like to see each regulation on a single slide.
Once you have read the guide, post directly to the Canada Gazette website by September 23rd, 2024, your comments will also become public.
The Gazette website is the most common way to share your thoughts however, you may also send an email, video or by mail:
- By email: edsc.pcph-cdb.esdc@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
- By video: use the email above to send us a link to a recorded video of your comments
- By mail:
- Canada Gazette, Part I, Canada Disability Benefit Regulations c/o Office for Disability Issues, Employment and Social Development Canada, 105 rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville, 1st floor Gatineau, QC J8X 4H7
Link to the draft regulations to post comments.
Link to a summary of the draft regulations (Plain text copied below)
- be a resident of Canada (for the purposes of the Income Tax Act)
- have a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate
- be between the ages of 18 and 64
- have filed an income tax return with the Canada Revenue Agency for the previous tax year. For example, to receive benefits for the July 2025 to June 2026 payment period, the person must have filed a return for the 2024 tax year
- a Canadian citizen
- a permanent resident
- a protected person
- a temporary resident who has lived in Canada for the past 18 months
- someone who is registered or entitled to be registered under the Indian Act
Applying for the Canada Disability Benefit
- Online: An application that could be completed and submitted online
- Hard copy: A paper application that could be printed out and completed by hand. The completed application could then be mailed to Service Canada or dropped off at a Service Canada Centre
- In person: An applicant could visit their nearest Service Canada Centre. A staff member would help them fill out and submit the application
- By phone: An applicant could call Service Canada and a staff member would help them complete the application. The application could then be mailed or dropped off at a Service Canada Centre
Income thresholds
- $23,000 if the beneficiary is single
- $32,500 if the beneficiary is married or has a common-law partner
- the benefit would be reduced by 10 cents for each person for every dollar of the couple's income that is above $32,500
- If the beneficiary is single: The exempt amount would be $10,000
- If the beneficiary is married or has a common-law partner: The exempt amount for the couple's combined employment income would be $14,000
Changes in marital status
- getting married
- entering a common-law relationship
- getting divorced or separated
- being widowed (their spouse or partner died)
Death of a beneficiary
Representative
- complete the benefit application
- receive the benefit for the beneficiary
- request that a decision be reconsidered
- appeal a decision
Appealing a reconsideration decision
- Department of Employment and Social Development Act
- Tax Court of Canada Act
- Federal Courts Act
Financial penalties
- knowingly make false or misleading representations on an application
- apply for and receive a benefit while knowing they are not eligible to receive it
- first violation: 15% of the yearly maximum
- subsequent violations: 50% of the yearly maximum
- $360 for a first violation, and
- $1,200 for any subsequent violation
- knowingly use false identity information, or another person's identity information, to obtain a benefit for themselves
- counsel a person to apply for a benefit for the purpose of stealing all or a substantial part of the benefit
- knowingly make false or misleading representations on an application
Coming into force
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The Canada Disability Benefit Act received Royal Assent (became law) on June 22, 2023. This Act serves as a framework for the new Canada Disability Benefit.
This benefit is being created to reduce poverty and support the financial security of working-age people with disabilities. The Canada Disability Benefit Regulations will make it possible for the benefit to be paid. Payments are expected to begin in July 2025.
The following is a summary of the proposed regulations. This summary is not a legal document and is not intended for use in interpreting the regulations.
An applicant is a person who applies for the benefit. This includes a person who has an application made on their behalf.
A beneficiary is a person who has been approved to receive the benefit.
The payment period for the benefit is from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.
To receive the benefit, a person must:
Also, the person must be one of the following:
Anyone serving a sentence of imprisonment of two years or more in a federal penitentiary will not be eligible to receive the benefit while they are incarcerated (except for the first month they are incarcerated and the month they are released).
The proposed regulations allow Service Canada to design the application process. Once the regulations are finalized, there will be several ways to apply. These methods will be tested first to ensure they are accessible for people with disabilities.
A person could be authorized to complete an application for someone else using any of the above methods. However, they would need to provide documents to Service Canada to show they have the legal authority to act on behalf of the applicant. They would also need to confirm their identity.
The maximum amount of the benefit for the July 2025 to June 2026 payment period would be $2,400 ($200 per month). The actual amount a person would receive would depend on their income and the income of their spouse or common-law partner, if any.
The benefit would be reduced by 20 cents for every dollar of income that is above:
If both members of a couple are beneficiaries:
A certain amount of work income would be exempt from (not counted in) the calculation of a person's income.
The maximum benefit amount and the income thresholds and working income exemption amounts would be adjusted each payment period to account for inflation, as determined by changes in the Consumer Price Index.
If a beneficiary's marital status changes during a payment period, the amount they receive would be recalculated. Changes include:
The benefit would be payable to a person starting the month after the month that their application was approved.
Eligible individuals would be able to get up to 24 months of retroactive payments when they apply. These are payments for past months where an individual was eligible but did not apply for the benefit. There will be no payments for months prior to July 2025.
If a beneficiary dies, their heirs or estate would be eligible to receive a benefit payment for the month in which the beneficiary died (unless the beneficiary already received the payment for that month).
This is someone who acts on behalf of an applicant or beneficiary who is unable to manage their own affairs. A representative can:
A representative is a legal representative such as a guardian or trustee. If a beneficiary who is unable to manage their own affairs does not have a legal representative, Service Canada could agree to pay the benefit to someone else for the beneficiary.
If someone disagrees with a decision about their eligibility for the benefit or the amount of their benefit, they can ask for the decision to be reconsidered. In general, individuals will have 180 days from the day they find out about the decision to ask for a reconsideration. In some cases, they may be given more time.
If a person disagrees with a reconsideration decision, they will be able to appeal the decision to the Social Security Tribunal. If part of the appeal has to do with income, the Social Security Tribunal will refer that part to the Tax Court of Canada.
Note: The appeal-related sections of the regulations will work together with changes made in the Budget Implementation Act, 2024, No. 1. These changes affect the following:
The proposed Canada Disability Benefit regulations include ways to help ensure the benefit goes only to those who are eligible. For example, the government could ask applicants and beneficiaries (or their representatives) to provide additional documents or other information.
These are also known as administrative monetary penalties. An individual can receive a financial penalty if they do the following:
These acts are called violations. The size of the penalty is based on the yearly maximum amount of the benefit, as follows:
For example, based on a yearly maximum amount of $2,400, the amounts would be:
No one would receive a penalty if they just made a mistake because they thought they were eligible for the benefit.
Under the proposed regulations, it is an offence to do any of the following:
Under the Criminal Code, individuals convicted of a summary offence can receive a fine of up to $5,000 and/or a term of imprisonment of up to 2 years.
The proposed regulations state that a person cannot be charged with an offence if they already received a financial penalty under the Canada Disability Benefit Act for the same action.
The proposed regulations allow the government to recover overpayments. This is when someone is given more of the benefit than they were eligible to receive.
After they are finalized, the regulations will come into force once they are signed by the Governor General and are registered (added to the government's list of regulations).
Link to post your comments on the Canada Disability Benefit regulations (Canada Gazette)
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