Hoping for Good News [Round Two]

I'm hoping (and praying) for some good news today.

Some night recall the Federal government's "thwarted" attempt in June to provide a one-time non-reportable payment to individuals with disabilites to "navigate the effects of the [COVID] outbreak" and "assist with additional expenses incurred during the pandemic". "

Thwarted" by party politics, it was.

Today, they return to the House of Commons for Round Two:

Today, the Honourable Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion, announced that the Government of Canada intends to propose legislation that would make the benefit available to more people and expand the one-time payment to include approximately 1.7 million Canadians with disabilities

You will qualify if you receive any of the following benefits/services:

•  a Disability Tax Credit certificate provided by the Canada Revenue Agency;
• Canada Pension Plan disability benefit or Quebec Pension Plan disability benefit; or
• disability supports provided by Veterans Affairs Canada.

This too is good news in that eligibility criteria have been expanded. I'm fairly confident that the original proposal would have only provided the payment to those in receipt of the Disability Tax Credit.

Here's hoping and praying that the Department of Community Services doesn't claw this one back too (as they did with the CERB).

ROUND TWO [bell rings]

Breaking News from the National Self-Represented Litigants Project

You might recall me going on a bit in the past about this beast known as "unbundled legal services".



That's what I'm talking about.

But much more importantly, that's what I would be very happy to talk with you about.

Disabling Poverty, Enabling Citizenship – Canada's Federal Parties Have Their Say

We all know we should need to vote, but sometimes we wonder why we bother. And yet if the democratic process can be this frustrating to typical Canadians, it is often all the more so when it comes to individuals with disabilities and their family members, particularly since it so often seems that most of the issues that more important to us are not even on any government radar.

Operating on the theory that knowledge is power, I am passing along a Media Release from the Canadian Council on Disabilities that came to my attention today. I realize it's getting a little close to the line to question your Parliamentary Hopefuls, but if you want to know where the different political parties stand on issues of particular relevance to the disability community, read on.

The Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) a national organization working for an inclusive and accessible Canada, sought commitments from Canada's major political parties on initiatives focused on disabling poverty and enabling citizenship.

• Poverty alleviation (CCD identified a refundable Disability Tax Credit as a first step) and increased employment opportunities; 

• Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and ratification of its Optional Protocol, and;

•  Accessibility measures (such as a Canadians with Disabilities Act, enforceable access regulations for transportation and other areas in Federal jurisdiction, improved palliative care and other services, support for capacity building for the
  disability community)

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