The federal government is introducing a new Canada Disability Benefit. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the new benefit will supplement, not replace, existing supports. 

Employment Minister Carla Qulatrough says the goal is to lift hundreds of thousands of people living with a disability out of poverty. 

“This first of its kind Canada Disability benefit will be modelled after the guaranteed income supplement for seniors which means it’s intended to complement other sources of income for persons of disabilities such as the Canada Pension Plan or Provincial and Territorial social assistance,” She says. 

Qualtrough said the hope is to trigger a generational change to income support that will become part of the country’s broader social system in the same way old age security and Guaranteed Income Support are.