TORONTO — March of Dimes Canada (MODC) thanks the federal government for “Budget 2025: Canada Strong” and for its commitments to strengthening the economy while empowering all Canadians.

As Canada’s largest disability services provider and advocate for inclusion and advancing the rights of people with disabilities, we welcome the proposed measures that promote increased opportunity, affordability, and equity for people with disabilities and the communities we serve. This budget is a positive step toward achieving these objectives.

That said, there remains significant work ahead to eradicate disability poverty and make Canada accessible for all.

Our ongoing commitment is to work with the federal government to fully develop the measures included in this budget and to create outcomes that deliver real and lasting benefits for people with disabilities across Canada.

The government’s platform commitment and continued work toward reforming the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) is an important milestone in the journey to making Canada’s federal benefits system more accessible.

We’re pleased Budget 2025 includes a proposal to reimburse people with disabilities for up to $150 in DTC-related medical practitioner fees. We encourage the government to go further by ensuring low-income people aren’t required to pay these fees up front.

We look forward to working with the government to streamline the DTC application process even further, in alignment with recommendations made by the Canada Revenue Agency’s Disability Advisory Committee.

We commend the government for keeping previous commitments to bring forward legislation that exempts the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) from being treated as employment income under the Income Tax Act. This change will help prevent claw backs of federal income support by any level of government.

As the federal government moves forward with DTC modernization and automatic benefit enrollment, we urge continued collaboration across provinces and territories to align definitions of disability to reduce redundancies and eliminate unnecessary complications when applying for benefits. For example, recognizing provincial and territorial eligibility determinations for enrollment in federal disability programs and services would ensure no one is forced to prove their disability multiple times to access much needed supports.

We also welcome Budget 2025’s progress towards establishing automatic tax filing for eligible low-income individuals with the aim of increasing enrollment in federal benefit programs. We believe automatic tax filing is an important step in ensuring every eligible person receives the benefits they’re entitled to.

At the same time, we’re concerned people who are unhoused or precariously housed may experience specific barriers related to automatic tax filing that must be addressed. This includes difficulties accessing technology, not having a fixed address to receive correspondence, limited access to personal identification documents, and past negative interactions with government agencies and/or financial institutions.

These risks can be mitigated through:

Finally, we thank the government for introducing the Top-Up Tax Credit, a targeted measure that will support people with disabilities in Canada facing affordability pressures.

This credit addresses concerns the disability community has raised regarding the unintentional reduction of the DTC and Medical Expense Tax Credit (METC) amounts for low- and modest-income people with disabilities caused by Bill C-4.

The Build Canada Homes initiative and its emphasis on supportive housing represent a good initial investment in addressing Canada’s housing crisis.

MODC delivers supportive housing and assisted living services every day. We know first-hand that accessible and adaptable housing is the foundation of community inclusion.

While we would have liked Budget 2025 to include explicit commitments to accessibility and adaptability standards, we’re encouraged by the increased focus on supportive housing. We look forward to working with our federal, provincial, and territorial partners to ensure all new homes meet the needs of people with disabilities and their families.

Given that part of the goal of Build Canada Homes is to increase affordable and non-market housing for “lower-income individuals and families, and equity-seeking groups, including Indigenous people, racialized people, women, seniors and persons with disabilities,” we encourage the government to consider specific targeted measures, such as Rent-Geared to Income (RGI) initiatives, as part of this plan. This kind of direct financial assistance will ensure new homes are truly affordable for low-income members of the identified groups.

We commend the government for including the Personal Support Worker Tax Credit in Budget 2025. This commitment, which provides up to $1,100 a year through a refundable tax credit, is meaningful recognition of the critical role PSWs play in enabling independence and dignity for people with disabilities of all ages in Canada.

The credit, while temporary, will directly benefit MODC’s dedicated staff who provide millions of hours of essential care and support services each year. We’re hopeful other permanent measures will be considered to ensure PSWs are properly compensated for the critical work they perform.

We’re encouraged by renewed investments in youth jobs and training programs, including expansion of the Canada Summer Jobs program.

We’re optimistic the renewed funding in Budget 2025 will create more inclusive pathways to employment for youth and young adults with disabilities in Canada, making it easier for them to enter the workforce and contribute their talents to Canada’s economic future.

We appreciate the government’s acknowledgment of underrepresentation of equity-deserving groups in the trades and support its commitment to addressing this shortcoming by prioritizing participation of these groups in apprenticeship training programs.

We encourage the government to work with members of the disability community to adopt innovative and accessible approaches to address barriers these groups face in participating and succeeding in this important area of the economy.

Budget 2025 includes important measures for people with disabilities in Canada. We’re encouraged by the government’s commitment to improving affordability and making it easier for people with disabilities to access federal benefits. We also support efforts to make housing more accessible and to promote disability inclusion within the trades and associated industries. We support automatic tax filing for low-income people, and we’re pleased by the government’s recognition of the vital role personal support workers play in our society and economy. Although significant work remains to make Canada barrier free, we believe Budget 2025 is a move in the right direction.