Please read the message below from Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich–Gulf Islands and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, regarding the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3, 2023:
“It is an honour to recognise this International Day of Persons with Disabilities. People with disabilities contribute so much to Canada and their local communities. However it is still often the situation that people with disabilities are trapped by a cycle of poverty. They may be unable to find affordable and accessible housing, or be unfairly treated in the workplace.
The needs and concerns of this community continue to be pushed aside in favour of so-called “higher priorities”. This has been the case with the upcoming Canada Disability Benefit (CDB), which my Green colleague Mike Morrice and I have championed. The government recently pledged to introduce the CDB and presented an 18-month timeline. This is unacceptably long. I am proud to stand with people with disabilities and push the government to fast-track implementing the Canada Disability Benefit. We must also finally create a national Basic Income system. It must be an urgent priority of all leaders and decisionmakers to end legislated poverty for people with disabilities.”