Perth-Wellington NDP Federal and Provincial Riding Associations
Perth-Wellington Riding Association welcomes input from our community. Opinions expressed on these pages are those of the author.
OPINION: People with Disabilities Still Left Behind in Covid Recovery
by Geoff Krauter
When Parliament reconvenes on Monday, the House of Commons will likely pass a relief measure providing one-time financial assistance to 1.7 million Canadians with disabilities. It comes more than two months after Justin Trudeau indicated assistance was on the way, and well after it became clear that the disabled community was particularly vulnerable during the global pandemic. Initially, the government proposed a single $600 payout to those who qualified for the Canada Long-Term Disability Benefit, excluding the vast majority of disabled Canadians. Thanks in large part to the NDP caucus, this was expanded to include Canadians claiming disability pensions through CPP or Veterans’ Affairs Canada.
The amount of the payout is not insignificant for these citizens, who often live on less than $700 a month, catastrophically below the poverty line. This striking inequality underscores the systemic neglect of people wth disabilities. It’s worth noting that, rather than provide necessary relief in a manner that could be speedily passed by the minority Parliament in April, the Liberals insisted on packaging it in an omnibus bill along with penalties for “abuse” of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), a subject best saved for another day.
The strain placed on Personal and Attendant Care nationwide evidently has a disproportionate impact on those with long-term disabilities. Provincially, the Ford government has rammed Bill 175 through the legislature, stripping public oversight from much of long-term care in Ontario and opening the door to increased privatization. The level of cognitive dissonance from a Premier and Minister of Health who have overseen a crisis of COVID-19 deaths, overwhelmingly in for-profit long term care homes, is reprehensible. However, less appreciated is the impact of stripping the same oversight from in-home attendant care. Under the previous legislation, the person requiring care was assessed for need based on provincial guidelines enshrined in law, and, though recourse was limited, guaranteed that they would have a voice in determining how their care was delivered, a cornerstone of independent living. The new legislation gives decision making authority over virtually all aspects of care to as-yet unnamed “health services providers.” The concept of independent living, rooted in the autonomy, personhood and individual agency of people facing barriers to access, is totally absent. Instead, “consumers” have no legal right to consult on their plan of service, or to appeal decisions made in their
cases. Now, these will be contingent on regulations set by Cabinet, without input from the Legislature.
The hypocrisy of a government avowedly in favour of “choice” and “accountability” is laid bare against their real motives. Like the provincial Liberals before them, who dismantled much of Employment Ontario’s equity mandate in the name of “choice”, the Ford PCs have added layers of difficulty to an already difficult-to-navigate system in order to clear the way for private profit.
On the road to COVID-19 recovery, the disability community demands a seat at the table from all levels of government.
With files from the ARCH Disability Law Centre
The amount of the payout is not insignificant for these citizens, who often live on less than $700 a month, catastrophically below the poverty line. This striking inequality underscores the systemic neglect of people wth disabilities. It’s worth noting that, rather than provide necessary relief in a manner that could be speedily passed by the minority Parliament in April, the Liberals insisted on packaging it in an omnibus bill along with penalties for “abuse” of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), a subject best saved for another day.
The strain placed on Personal and Attendant Care nationwide evidently has a disproportionate impact on those with long-term disabilities. Provincially, the Ford government has rammed Bill 175 through the legislature, stripping public oversight from much of long-term care in Ontario and opening the door to increased privatization. The level of cognitive dissonance from a Premier and Minister of Health who have overseen a crisis of COVID-19 deaths, overwhelmingly in for-profit long term care homes, is reprehensible. However, less appreciated is the impact of stripping the same oversight from in-home attendant care. Under the previous legislation, the person requiring care was assessed for need based on provincial guidelines enshrined in law, and, though recourse was limited, guaranteed that they would have a voice in determining how their care was delivered, a cornerstone of independent living. The new legislation gives decision making authority over virtually all aspects of care to as-yet unnamed “health services providers.” The concept of independent living, rooted in the autonomy, personhood and individual agency of people facing barriers to access, is totally absent. Instead, “consumers” have no legal right to consult on their plan of service, or to appeal decisions made in their
cases. Now, these will be contingent on regulations set by Cabinet, without input from the Legislature.
The hypocrisy of a government avowedly in favour of “choice” and “accountability” is laid bare against their real motives. Like the provincial Liberals before them, who dismantled much of Employment Ontario’s equity mandate in the name of “choice”, the Ford PCs have added layers of difficulty to an already difficult-to-navigate system in order to clear the way for private profit.
On the road to COVID-19 recovery, the disability community demands a seat at the table from all levels of government.
With files from the ARCH Disability Law Centre
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