Skip to main content

HUMA Committee Report

If you have any questions or comments regarding the accessibility of this publication, please contact us at accessible@parl.gc.ca.

Bill C-22, Canada Disability Benefit Act
In accordance with its Order of Reference of Tuesday, October 18, 2022, your committee has considered Bill C-22, An 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, and agreed on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, to report it with the following amendments:

Clause 2

That Bill C-22, in Clause 2, be amended by replacing lines 19 and 20 on page 2 with the following:

“2 The following definitions apply in this Act.

disability has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act. (handicap)

Minister means the Minister of Employment and Social Development. (ministre)”

Clause 8

That Bill C-22, in Clause 8, be amended by adding after line 17 on page 3 the following:

“(2) The Minister must make public any agreement entered into under subsection (1).”

Clause 11

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing lines 8 and 9 on page 4 with the following:

“(d) requiring a benefit to be indexed to inflation and respecting the manner in which it is to be indexed;”

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by replacing line 12 on page 4 with the following:

“(f) respecting applications for a benefit, including regulations providing for an application process that is without barriers, as defined in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act;”

That Bill C-22, in Clause 11, be amended by adding after line 39 on page 5 the following:

“(1.1) In making regulations under paragraph (1)(c) respecting the amount of a benefit, the Governor in Council must take into consideration the Official Poverty Line as defined in section 2 of the Poverty Reduction Act.”

New Clause 11.1

That Bill C-22 be amended by adding after line 3 on page 6 the following new clause:

“Progress Report

11.1 (1) Within six months after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must table in the House of Commons a report that sets out the manner in which the obligation to engage and collaborate with the disability community in relation to the development of regulations has been implemented.

Tabling

(2) Within one year after the day on which this Act comes into force, the Minister must cause to be tabled in each House of Parliament a report on the progress made in the regulatory process.

(3) The report stands referred to the committee of each House that may be designated or established for the purpose of reviewing the report.

(4) The report must be published on the website of the Department of Employment and Social Development.”

That Bill C-22 be amended by adding after line 3 on page 6 the following new clause:

“11.1 The Minister must provide persons with disabilities from a range of backgrounds with meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to collaborate in the development and design of the regulations, including regulations that provide for the application process, eligibility criteria, the amount of a benefit and the appeal process.”

Clause 12

That Bill C-22, in Clause 12, be amended by replacing lines 4 and 5 on page 6 with the following:

“12 As soon as feasible after the first anniversary of the day on which this section comes into force, after the third anniversary of that day and after each”

Clause 14

That Bill C-22, in Clause 14, be amended by replacing lines 18 and 19 on page 6 with the following:

“14 This Act comes into force no later than the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.”

Your committee has ordered a reprint of Bill C-22, as amended, as a working copy for the use of the House of Commons at the report stage.
A copy of the relevant Minutes of Proceedings (Meetings Nos. 41 to 44 and 49 to 50) is tabled.