Hon. Andrew Cardozo: Thank you, Senator Black, for raising the issue of childhood cancer. I wear the gold ribbon with pride, as do many of our colleagues today.

Colleagues, as we return from the summer break, I want to take us back to a topic that I and many others have raised several times in recent months: the Canada Disability Benefit. Parliament passed the Canada Disability Benefit Act in June of this year.

This is the act to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of persons with disabilities by establishing the Canada Disability Benefit and making a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act.

A key part of the preamble of the act is as follows:

Whereas, in the spirit of “Nothing Without Us”, the Government of Canada recognizes the importance, in developing support measures for persons with disabilities, of engaging with the disability community, in accordance with the Accessible Canada Act, which specifies that “persons with disabilities must be involved in the development and design of laws, policies, programs, services and structures”;

I read that section because what followed was not according to plan. The announcement of the details in the spring budget was disappointing, to say the least, so I encourage the government to rethink the announcement, increase the amount from the paltry $200 a month, begin payments early in 2025 rather than late next year and make such an announcement in the Fall Economic Statement.

The government has had many other measures to reduce poverty. In its current form, the benefit will have little effect on the poverty level of Canadians with disabilities. Canada can and must do better.