Read: 3 min
The federal government often says it wants to build Canada strong.
But when it comes to people with disabilities — who account for over a quarter of all Canadians over 15 — Canada continues to rely on outdated and inefficient disability support systems.
Every Canadian Counts, a volunteer-led non-profit, is proposing a transformative solution: the creation of a publicly funded National Disability Insurance Program.
Before we get into the details of such a program, it is important to underscore the scale of the problem.
Across the country, disability support systems are marked by troubling inconsistencies and inequities. Many individuals with disabilities, their families, and group homes receive far less support than they need.
Some parents have to put their children with disabilities in foster care so they can receive adequate care. Others balance the full-time work of arranging care for their children on top of their paid employment.
Many group homes are forced to cut services or increase occupancy to remain financially viable.
On top of this, services for people with disabilities and their families are often delivered in inefficient ways. This is due in part to lack of knowledge sharing between government departments and service organizations, and a lack of data about what people with disabilities and their families need.
A publicly funded National Disability Insurance Program would help address these problems.
This program would provide comprehensive, lifetime support for individuals with lifelong disabilities from birth through end of life, or at the point their disability arises.
We don’t have the resources of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. But we have Canadian heart.
Support local Canadian media today.
Thank you for being a paid subscriber. Your support makes our original and Canadian-focused journalism possible. 🇨🇦
Subscribe to Editor’s Picks. Receive our free Saturday newsletter featuring our best stories from the week.
If it followed the model of other programs, the National Disability Insurance Program could be funded through a dedicated levy as well as general government revenue. In Australia, for example, Australia increased its Medicare levy from 1.5 to 2 per cent of taxable income to help fund its disability insurance scheme.
A National Disability Insurance Program would cover a full spectrum of disability-related supports, including paid caregiving, home and vehicle modifications, assistive technologies, and life skills and job training. Here, too, the model could follow Australia’s scheme, allocating funding to individuals across these different support categories for them to use over a 12-month period.
The impact of such a program would be profound. It would ensure income security, eliminate stigma, and promote equity with dignity.
It would also improve economic sustainability, by growing the labour force. Currently, an estimated 742,000 Canadians with disabilities are willing to work but are unable to do so due to inadequate supports. If they had better supports, these individuals could join the workforce.
The current system also places immense strain on caregivers (most often women) who frequently leave the workforce to provide unpaid care. Caregiving currently removes the equivalent of 558,000 full-time workers from the Canadian workforce each year. With access to paid caregiving, many could return to work, contributing to the economy and securing their own futures.
The program would also generate significant cost savings by reducing reliance on crisis interventions, including in health-care systems, homelessness services, treatments for mental illness and incarceration. Research consistently demonstrates the economic and social benefits of a national disability insurance model.
Such a program would also position Canada as a global leader in disability inclusion and ensure compliance with international human rights commitments, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The case for action is clear. Individual Canadians and service organizations have consistently demanded reform to disability supports, while demographic pressures and rising health-care costs expose the unsustainability of the current patchwork system.
The next steps are clear. The federal government must lead a comprehensive assessment of the feasibility, viability, and desirability of the National Disability Insurance Program, building on existing research.
At the same time, the federal government needs to engage with people and organizations about how a National Disability Insurance Program could benefit them.
Canadians are eager for true nation-building projects that can bring our diverse communities together. The National Disability Insurance Program offers us this opportunity. The time is now for this next level of disability support. Simply put, it’s the right thing to do.
Our work is not possible without subscribers. Become one today.
✓ Unlimited article access
✓ Crosswords on Canadian holidays
✓ Cancel any time
✓ Unlimited article access
✓ Crosswords on Canadian holidays
✓ All Subscriber benefits
✓ The ability to gift a 20% discount on Canadian Affairs subscriptions to your contacts
Related Posts