We, the undersigned, call on the government to take immediate action to address the severe and unacceptable poverty experienced by disabled people across Canada.

Disabled people are being forced to live on benefits that are far below what is needed to meet the basic costs of living. For many recipients, their monthly benefits are exhausted within the first week of the month, leaving them struggling to afford food, medication, transportation, housing, utilities, and other essential needs for the remainder of the month.

No one should be forced to choose between eating, keeping the lights on, paying rent, or obtaining necessary medical care.

When government benefits are insufficient to meet basic needs, disabled people are increasingly forced to rely on food banks, charities, friends, family, community organizations, and mutual aid simply to survive. Mutual aid and community support are valuable, but they should not be required to compensate for inadequate government income support.

Disabled people deserve to live with dignity, security, and the ability to meet their basic needs without having to constantly ask others for help.

We therefore call on the provincial and federal government to:

1. Immediately double disability benefit rates so that disabled people can afford the necessities of life.
2. Ensure disability benefits are permanently set at a level that reflects the real cost of living, including food, housing, utilities, transportation, medication, and other disability-related expenses in the present day.
3. Increase benefits as living costs rise, preventing inflation from steadily reducing the real value of disability income.
4. End policies that leave disabled people below the poverty line and establish income supports that provide genuine financial security.
5. Consult directly and meaningfully with disabled people when designing and changing disability benefit programs, particularly those who rely on these benefits to survive.
6. Provide immediate emergency assistance to disabled people who have exhausted their benefits before the end of the month and can not afford basic necessities.

The current situation is not sustainable. Disabled people should not have to survive from one month to the next, run out of money within days, or depend on charitable donations and mutual aid because government support is inadequate.

We call for disability benefits to be doubled as soon as possible and for governments to take immediate, meaningful action to ensure that no disabled person is forced to live in deep poverty.

Disabled people deserve more than survival.

They deserve security, dignity, and a life free from poverty.

We urge the government to act now.