I have a severe brain injury.

The brain controls every part of who we are—our ability to think, move, remember, speak, and rest. It is one of the most disabling conditions anyone can face. And when it happens, accommodations aren’t optional—they’re essential for survival.

I counted on my Canada Pension Plan Disability (CPPD) benefits to fund those basic needs. Like many Canadians, I believed the contributions taken from every paycheck were there to protect me if I ever became too disabled to work.

That was before I learned about the secret agreements.

Quietly signed between private insurers and the federal Minister, these agreements allow my public pension—earned through my own labour and mandatory contributions—to be redirected to insurance companies. These are companies already obligated to pay monthly benefits through insurance plans funded by premiums. But through these hidden deals, they double dip: taking the premiums and my CPP disability pension.

It never made sense to me.
And it still doesn’t.

What I do know is this: I was left without the pension I paid for.
The money I needed for accommodations—gone.
Claimed by an industry designed to profit, not protect.

It’s been ten years.
I’ve been vocal.
I’ve contacted scores of agencies.
I’ve asked for help.
And I’ve been met with silence—and eyes that looked away.

This petition is my response to that silence.

Through years of research, I’ve learned the truth:

Canada Pension was designed to provide a benefit when leaving the workforce due to retirement or disability. The requirements are simple: make enough contributions, and either reach retirement age or live with a severe and prolonged disability.

When the plan was first introduced, severely disabled Canadians received the pensions they earned. But everything changed in the 1990s. Faced with a financial crisis, the government searched for savings—and disabled Canadians became the target.

First came the administrative burdens: hoops, hurdles, and roadblocks for anyone applying for CPPD.
Then came the “back-to-work” initiatives—policies aimed at pushing even the most disabled back into the workforce.
Then came the agreements. Quiet deals. No transparency. No consent.

That’s when the Minister began negotiating with workers’ compensation boards and private insurers—turning a pension meant for disabled Canadians into a cost-saving tool for government and business.

“Extensive negotiations took place to complete the first successful agreement with the Alberta Workers Compensation Board (WCB). The success of these negotiations has allowed for a much faster progress in negotiations with other provinces.”
— Auditor General of Canada, 1996, Chapter 17, para. 17.127

“The Department is currently pursuing the possibility of a pilot project to determine the extent of possible savings [with private insurers].”
— ibid.

Let that sink in: a safety net funded by workers is now being redirected to protect corporate profit margins.

Meanwhile, disabled Canadians—led to believe a pension would be there when they needed it—struggle to live without the accommodations that pension was meant to fund.

And the cruelest truth?
Disabled Canadians are being forced to take legal action to reclaim the very pensions they’ve already been deemed eligible for—because the Minister signed them away to insurers.

There are currently 39 private insurers who have applied for and entered into these secret agreements with the Minister.
And it’s all been accomplished through administrative means, without ever amending the Canada Pension Plan to inform contributors.

This is the secret face of CPPD—hidden from contributors until they become disabled.

If I succeed in exposing it, others will know the truth before they have to rely on their disability pension.

And the most disturbing part?
The Minister doesn’t even tell contributors that these agreements exist.
It’s a devastating surprise revealed only after your life has already been upended by severe disability.

This is cruelty disguised as common practice.
It targets the most vulnerable—those least able to fight back.
Together, we can stop this.

 
If you believe public pensions should support the people who pay into them—not corporate bottom lines—stand with me.

Sign. Share. Speak up.
Let’s end this silence together.