Rabia Khedr is the National Director of Disability Without Poverty, which works to ensure that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) is a benefit that actually benefits people with disabilities by lifting them out of poverty. She spoke to “PANL Perspectives” about the CDB and what her organizations does — along with advice for all nonprofit organizations along the way. This is part of our “Making Canada Accessible” series.
What are the limitations to the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB)?
Rabia Khedr: The CDB is a federal program that began in June 2025, and is intended to be a top-up benefit, like the Guaranteed Income Supplement for seniors. It’s supposed to provide financial security to people with disabilities who live in poverty. It’s a significant systems change, but there are flaws with the regulations in terms of who can qualify for CDB and how much money they’ll get — and how the benefit will be treated by other systems.
For example, eligibility is tied to the Disability Tax Credit, and not every person with a disability living in poverty has been approved to receive the Disability Tax Credit Certificate. So, there are still barriers.
CDB should be decoupled from the Disability Tax Credit, which is costly, complex and exclusionary. An accessible CDB will directly improve the daily lives and financial stability of disabled Canadians.
How is poverty defined in this case?
Rabia Khedr: Across the country, poverty means people can’t pay for their basic needs, like rent and food. The CDB is top-up benefit of $200 a month, but that’s not enough and that amount can be clawed back. There’s a lot more work to do.
We began the Better the Benefit campaign, working with people with disabilities, as part of a movement, to increase their communication with politicians — so that people with disabilities can share their stories, share their concerns and give their best advice to the people elected to represent them. The campaign urges Canadians to demand that their federal election candidates commit to #BetterTheBenefit by ensuring a livable amount, streamlined eligibility and protections against clawbacks.
Do you have advice for the philanthropic and nonprofit sector?
Read the other stories in the PANL Perspectives series, “Making Canada Accessible”: https://carleton.ca/panl/accessibility
Rabia Khedr: We need to make sure that we’re centring lived experience. We can’t just be allies and advocates if we aren’t making room for people with disabilities to do the work themselves. We keep passing laws and policies that address barriers, but we create industries for able-bodied Canadians, as opposed to disabled Canadians, to benefit from the opportunities created through legislation and policy.
The nonprofit sector needs to put their money where their mouth is. If they’re going to advocate for the inclusion of people with disabilities for addressing barriers and for increasing accessibility, that means they shouldn’t just tokenize the participation of people with disabilities. They should bring in people with disabilities at all levels of the nonprofit, and give them all the opportunities that able-bodied people have within the organization.
Bias, prejudice, discrimination, ableism and racism still thrive. Power, historically, has rested in white, able-bodied men in the nonprofit sector. Not much has shifted, although we have made strides toward greater inclusion and “equity and diversity.”
We, as people with disabilities, often take on token roles, so that at least we’re heard in certain environments, but there isn’t enough room made for our full participation as employees, as managers, as leaders in the nonprofit sector that goes beyond disability organizations, for example.
Disability Without Poverty can be found on LinkedIn. Photos are courtesy of the organization.
Saturday, September 27, 2025 in Accessibility, For homepage, News & Events
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