51³Ô¹ÏÍø

May 19, 2025 | MPP ’21 Asif Khan in Policy Magazine critically examines the long-awaited rollout of the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). While the federal government has promoted the CDB as a landmark anti-poverty initiative, Khan argues it falls drastically short. Capped at just $200 per month, the benefit will only lift a fraction of working-age Canadians with disabilities out of poverty in its first decade. He highlights flaws in eligibility—limited to those approved for the Disability Tax Credit—and warns that the benefit’s classification as income could reduce access to other income-tested supports. Khan draws particular attention to Ontario’s silence on whether the CDB will be clawed back from provincial assistance, calling it a cynical move that threatens to undermine the program’s impact. While he welcomes the new appeal process added to the regulations, Khan emphasizes that without federal and provincial fixes to eligibility and income treatment, the CDB will not deliver the meaningful support advocates have long demanded.