25 OCT 2023 · In the final episode of this special season of the 2030 Project Podcast focused on the Canada Disability Benefit, we are joined by the Honourable Kamal Khera, who was recently appointed Minister of Diversity, Inclusion and Persons with Disabilities on July 26, 2023. In the season finale, Minister Khera discusses how the Canada Disability Benefit will help break barriers down by fostering accessibility, inclusiveness, and supporting employment efforts for persons with disabilities. She underlines that the Canada Disability Benefit is a supplement to, not a replacement for, other benefits received by persons with disabilities, and stresses the importance of increasing the financial stability of the most vulnerable by reducing the barriers they face. As a committed advocate, Minister Khera emphasizes the use of intersectionality in her approach, and leaves listeners with a parting message urging them to continue to engage and collaborate with their communities and the government, to realize a future where persons with disabilities do not have to live in poverty.

18 OCT 2023 · In this episode, we are joined by one of the key policymakers behind the Canada Disability Benefit, The Honourable Chantal Petitclerc, a gold medal Paralympian and a sitting Senator from Quebec. Senator Petitclerc shares her perspectives and experiences as a policymaker living with a disability, and discusses her efforts in the Senate to ensure that the Canada Disability Benefit takes into account the additional cost of living with a disability and the importance of co-design. Senator Petitclerc remains a strong advocate as the development of regulations continues to take place, and offers insights to listeners looking to get involved.

11 OCT 2023 · A key objective of the Canada Disability Benefit is to reduce, and potentially, eliminate poverty among people with disabilities while ensuring that people are not left worse off than they were before. This means that the amount of the benefit needs to be adequate to lift people with disabilities out of poverty, which raises the billion-dollar question: how much money is needed to eliminate poverty among people with disabilities? Should everyone get the same benefit, or should it reflect living expenses and specific disability related needs? How can we ensure that private insurers and provinces don’t claw back the benefits? In this episode, we are joined by Andrea Hatala, Recipient Co-Chair of the ODSP Action Coalition; Bill Adair, Executive Director of Spinal Cord Injury Canada; and Adrian Merdzan, Staff Lawyer at the Income Security Advocacy Centre (ISAC).

4 OCT 2023 · As we examined eligibility of the Canada Disability Benefit in the previous episode, we now turn to accessibility, and explore how the government can ensure that application and appeals processes are accessible to all people with disabilities. Should it be automatic qualification by proxy if someone is already receiving other disability benefits? What are the downsides to using the tax system to roll out the benefit? What should the appeals process look like if someone is denied the benefit? In this episode, we are thrilled to be joined by Ron Anicich, Member of the ODSP Action Coalition and an ODSP Recipient; Sarah Kennell, National Director of Public at Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA); and Jonathan Lai, Executive Director of Autism Alliance. Join us to learn more on how to define equal and meaningful accessibility of the Canada Disability Benefit from coast to coast to coast.

27 SEP 2023 · As the federal government begins to develop the Canada Disability Benefit, the question of who's eligible, and how they will qualify for this program, comes to the forefront. Who determines the eligibility of this program? How will the federal government work alongside provincial and territorial governments, and private insurance companies, to ensure those who need it actually get it? How does it account for the diversity in language and cultures across the country? How is disability defined, and will it include those with episodic and/or invisible disabilities? In this episode, we are joined by Trevor Manson, Secretary Co-Chair of the ODSP Action Coalition and Michelle Hewitt, Chair of the Board for Disability Without Poverty (DWP), who will take us on a trip from Ontario to BC and back, as advocates continue to push for inclusion for all people with disabilities.

20 SEP 2023 · With the passage of Bill C-22, the Canada Disability Benefit Act, advocates and activists across the country are at the frontlines pushing the federal government to make good on its promise of co-design regarding the development of regulations. In this episode, we are joined by Rabia Khedr, the National Director of Disability Without Poverty (DWP) and CEO of DEEN Support Services; Neil Belanger, CEO of Indigenous Disability Canada (IDC) and the British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society (BCANDS); and Amanda MacKenzie, the National Director of Public Affairs at March of Dimes Canada. People with disabilities are experts on their own lives, and the disability community continues to push for inclusion in co-design beyond mere consultations. Join us as we explore best practices for engaging with people with disabilities and how to engage with Indigenous communities, who have been failed by government many times.

13 SEP 2023 · After three years of consultations, legislative crafting, committee reviews, and political pushing and pulling in the House of Commons and in the Senate in Ottawa, the Canada Disability Benefit Act finally received royal assent on June 21st, 2023. It's intended to raise those living with disabilities in Canada out of poverty. But can it? Will it? Join us for Season 3 of The 2030 Project Podcast, a special mini-series dedicated to the new Canada Disability Benefit. Close to half of food bank clients in Toronto are living with a disability. Will the Canada Disability Benefit be enough to reduce or even eliminate poverty among people with disabilities? Tune in to find out as we start the series off with a brief chat with Neil Hetherington, CEO and Talia Bronstein, Vice President of Research & Advocacy from the Daily Bread Food Bank, as they discuss what they're looking to see in this new income program.

16 NOV 2022 · In this episode, we are joined by Daily Bread Food Bank CEO Neil Hetherington and VP of Advocacy and Research Diane Dyson. We dive into the stark and harsh realities of a growing food security crisis in Canada. Daily Bread published its annual Who's Hungry Report on November 14, 2022 and the overwhelming message is we need urgent, immediate and effective government response in order to mitigate and reduce poverty. The report found the following: - Toronto food bank visits will exceed 2 million over the course of the 2022 calendar year. - Visits to Scarborough food banks are up 29% from 2021. - The number of seniors relying on food banks has risen from one in ten to one in six. - The average food bank user has $8.01 per day to spend after paying for housing. - One in five food bank users spend 100% of their income on housing and utilities. https://www.dailybread.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/DB-WhosHungryReport-2022-Digital.pdf

9 NOV 2022 · The COVID experience made it abundantly clear that the federal CERB program rescued millions of Canadians from the economic disaster brought on by the pandemic lockdowns. Yes, there were problems, considering the speed with which the program had to be rolled out. But it is undeniable that $2000 a month for those in need kept families and businesses afloat in the face of an economic disaster. Why waste a good crisis? How has the COVID experience affected the narrative about a stable income “floor” for all Canadians? Joining us around the table for this episode of the 2030 Project are John Wright, SVP at Maru Public Opinion. Sheila Regehr chairs the Basic Income Canada Network and Evelyn Forget is an economist and professor in community health sciences at the University of Manitoba.

2 NOV 2022 · Can we ever solve the affordable housing crisis when the housing supply only become increasingly unaffordable on a monthly basis? Who needs to take the lead on the housing issue? What role should private developers play? How does the not-for-profit sector support affordable housing? Where does community-building factor into that vision? On this episode of the 2030 Project, we’re joined by Ian Jones. President, BGI Group, David Reycraft. Director, Housing Services. Dixon Hall, Julia Deans. President & CEO. Habitat for Humanity Canada and Kegan Harris - Director of Housing Development. The Neighbourhood Group