Bill C-22 · 44th Parliament · Justin Trudeau
Canada Disability Benefit Act
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
Government bill. Became law.
- IntroducedJune 2, 2022
- Debated in principleOct. 18, 2022
- Studied by a committeeDone
- Passed its first chamberFeb. 2, 2023
- Passed the second chamberMay 18, 2023
- Became lawJune 22, 2023
Leading supporters
Ranked by the part each played: who is responsible for the bill, who carried it, and who spoke for it most.
- Justin TrudeauPrime Minister
Who carries this bill
Arrows run from the person responsible to those who answer to them on this bill. The critic leads the Senate’s scrutiny and answers to no one on it.
What it set out to do
On 2 June 2022, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion introduced 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 (Canada Disability Benefit Act), and it was given first reading. Bill C-22 establishes the Canada disability benefit to reduce poverty and to support the financial security of working-age persons with disabilities. It sets out general provisions for the administration of the benefit and authorizes the Governor in Council to implement most of the benefit’s design elements through regulations. It also makes a consequential amendment to the Income Tax Act.
Summary by the Library of Parliament.
Where members stand
Votes and debate for this bill have not been read yet.
How it changed on the way
29% of the text as introduced was changed or removed by the time it became law (1,617 words introduced, 2,188 passed). A committee amended it.
moderate changeintent mostly kept
The bill kept its core purpose of creating a Canada disability benefit but added detailed rules on appeals, mandatory collaboration with the disability community, progress reports, and a firm one-year deadline for coming into force. It also expanded the preamble and regulation-making requirements to address intersecting barriers and inflation indexing.
- Added a definition of disability and expanded the definitions section.
After: “disability has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Accessible Canada Act .”
- Inserted a new appeals process for benefit decisions.
After: “Subject to regulations, a person, or any other person acting on their behalf, may appeal to a body identified in regulations made under paragraph 11(1)(i) in respect of any decision”
- Added requirements for collaboration with persons with disabilities and tabling of progress reports.
After: “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”
- Tightened the coming-into-force clause with a one-year maximum deadline.
Before: “Order in council 14 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council.”
After: “Order in council or first anniversary 14 This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, but no later than the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.”
How precisely it is written
vagueChallenging the law: HardDisputing a charge: Hard
The Act is a bare framework that leaves eligibility, benefit amounts, application processes and appeals almost entirely to future regulations. It contains multiple subjective phrases and broad grants of power that prevent quick, black-and-white answers about what is required or forbidden.
Open to argument
“in the opinion of the Minister, raise beyond a reasonable doubt a presumption that the applicant or beneficiary is dead”
Subjective ministerial opinion plus an undefined evidentiary standard invites argument over when death may be deemed.“A person is eligible for a Canada disability benefit if they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the regulations.”
Core entitlement is undefined in the statute and depends on later rules.“provide persons with disabilities from a range of backgrounds with meaningful and barrier-free opportunities to collaborate”
Vague adjectives 'meaningful' and 'barrier-free' lack objective tests.“generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act”
Open-ended catch-all clause grants unlimited regulatory power.
Clear-cut
“All benefits payable under this Act are to be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.”
Clear, objective source of funds with no discretion.“A benefit under this Act (a) is not subject to the operation of any law relating to bankruptcy or insolvency;”
Specific statutory protection stated in absolute terms.“This Act comes into force on a day to be fixed by order of the Governor in Council, but no later than the first anniversary of the day on which it receives royal assent.”
Fixed outer deadline removes indefinite delay.
Discretion. Virtually every operational detail—eligibility, amounts, indexing, appeals, penalties and application processes—is left to the Governor in Council or the Minister, with only a duty to consult the disability community.
Challenging the law itself. The Act itself creates no immediate rights or prohibitions, so a facial Charter challenge on vagueness or overbreadth grounds would be difficult until regulations are made.
Disputing a charge under it. Because most obligations appear only in regulations that do not yet exist, a person accused of non-compliance would have little statutory text to contest.
Read by a language model from the royal assent text; every quoted phrase appears in the bill. A reading of the drafting, not legal advice.
Did it work?
no evaluation found
Who lobbied on it
No lobbying registration naming this bill is loaded.
Stages and dates from LEGISinfo.