For Immediate Release

On June 5, 2020 Prime Minister Trudeau announced a $600 benefit to be provided to Canadians with Disabilities and their families. This proposed benefit is now in jeopardy of being lost as the Bill to provide this benefit is not supported by all parties. The Bill also included additional funding to support employment and technological innovations for persons with disabilities.

Barb McIntyre, Inclusion Alberta President and parent of an adult son with developmental disabilities stated, “We call upon our Parliamentarians to rise above party politics and stand together now on behalf of Canadians with disabilities and their families. We have all stood together in this pandemic and now when individuals with disabilities and their families were about to experience some relief, for that unity to dissolve and risk this much needed and welcomed disability related benefit feels like a blow to Canadians with disabilities and their families”.

People with disabilities and their families, though often experiencing more challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic than many and with greater vulnerabilities are among the last to be recognized and supported. Canadians with disabilities and their families, particularly in the midst of a pandemic, should never be the ground upon which their needs are sacrificed in the interest of one party over another.

“We want the political games that are putting this benefit at risk to stop”, noted Trish Bowman, Inclusion Alberta CEO. “We need a single Bill all parties can support to enable Canadians with Disabilities and their families to finally received some relief relative to the financial and social costs of the pandemic, and we need it now.”

Canadians standing safe together will ring hollow if it is not inclusive of Canadians with disabilities and their families.

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For further inquiries, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Tara-Lee LaRose, Executive Assistant, Inclusion Alberta
info@inclusionalberta.org
780.451.3055 ext. 407

About Inclusion Alberta: Inclusion Alberta is a family-based, non-profit federation that advocates on behalf of children and adults with developmental disabilities and their families. Together, we share a dream of meaningful family life and community inclusion for individuals with developmental disabilities. As an advocacy organization we support families and individuals in their desire to be fully included in community life.