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Income Security: A Roadmap for Change

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Because moving to an assured income model will be a major change in the way<br />

financial support is delivered, it must be co-designed with people across a broad<br />

range of disabilities (eg, mobility, chronic pain, mental health, developmental,<br />

chronic and episodic) This is an important practice that is rooted in the disability<br />

rights movement call <strong>for</strong> “nothing about us without us” Experienced advocates<br />

and caseworkers should also be part of the co-designed process<br />

Many disability advocates have recommended that the benefit unit <strong>for</strong> disability<br />

income supports should be individualized, and not include spousal income to<br />

determine eligibility But <strong>for</strong> some families that may prove to be a risk The codesign<br />

process should examine the impact to persons with disabilities of changing<br />

the benefit unit from family to individual.<br />

Unknown variables that may affect the new model include costing, successful<br />

implementation of other <strong>Roadmap</strong> elements, and whether the federal<br />

government will respond to calls from disability communities to implement a<br />

national disability income support program<br />

While the specifics of the new assured income mechanism <strong>for</strong> financial support<br />

will depend on the co-design process, we have identified desirable features in the<br />

recommendations below<br />

DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS<br />

10.1<br />

Co-design an “assured income” mechanism <strong>for</strong> delivering<br />

financial support to people who meet the ODSP definition of<br />

disability Consultation with First Nations people is essential<br />

10.2<br />

Include<br />

the following features in the assured income mechanism:<br />

• <strong>Income</strong>-tested only (ie, no asset test)<br />

• Stacking of income benefits to reach adequacy.<br />

110 <strong>Income</strong> <strong>Security</strong>: A <strong>Roadmap</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Change</strong>

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