Inclusion Canada is calling on the federal government to increase the Canada Disability Benefit to combat the higher poverty rates that people with disabilities face.

About 27 per cent of Canadians live with some sort of disability and they are twice as likely to live in poverty than someone who isn’t disabled.

Andrew Holland with Inclusion Canada says that people with disabilities face a lot of barriers when trying to access the current Canada Disability Benefit.

“To access that, they have to file their taxes and for some people with intellectual disabilities, that’s a challenge. So rather than just get this disability benefit, you have to apply for what’s called a disability tax credit, and to do that you have to have a family doctor.”

He adds that the benefit not only evaluated on the income of the person with the disability, but also on the incomes of anyone living with them.

Holland says that even upon receiving the Canada Disability Benefit, people with disabilities still struggle financially as it only provides $6.66 per day, or just over $2400 annually.

“Unfortunately, it’s not doing anything because of the rising price of groceries, electricity, housing, their medical expenses, rent, you name it. Everything keeps going up and this disability benefit just goes nowhere near the needs of people across the country.”

Inclusion Canada wants to see the government raise the Canada Disability Benefit to $1393 a month, which is in line with the Guaranteed Income Supplement for Seniors and adjusted to reflect the cost of living with a disability.