Walk the Talk Series Part 2: Unfulfilled Promises

This article is the second in a series written by Steven Muller, Vice President Litigation at Share Lawyers. Click here to read the first in the series.

Some of the bravest clients I have represented are those Canadians with a rare disease. Long term disability insurers notoriously deny benefits for Canadians with rare diseases for either a lack of definitive diagnosis or a lack of appropriate drug treatment. Unfortunately, Canada has no official definition for a rare disease. The receipt of appropriate treatment for rare diseases is a huge hurdle for the disabled in this country. Today, nearly one year after the federal government announced 1.5 billion to implement Canada’s rare disease drug strategy, not a single dollar has been spent on this strategy.

Last year, the federal government made another big promise. The Canada Disability Benefit received Royal Assent last June 2023 so that federal monies would go to disabled working-age Canadians as supplemental income to reduce poverty and support their financial security. Today, nearly 9 months later, Canada has an affordability crisis and a food insecurity crisis that disproportionately impacts disabled Canadians. The Canada Disability Benefit was meant to supplement existing disability supports and should be designed to prevent insurance clawbacks. To date, not a single dollar has been budgeted for this federal program.

Will the Trudeau federal government walk the talk for 2024?