Tuesday, December 23, 2025
ADVT 
National

Canadians won't be taxed on disability benefit under proposed rule change

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 17 Dec, 2024 01:48 PM
  • Canadians won't be taxed on disability benefit under proposed rule change

The Liberals are planning to introduce legislation to exempt the Canada Disability Benefit from being treated as income under the Income Tax Act.

The fall economic statement, released Monday, is also calling on provinces and territories to ensure the program's recipients do not have their benefits reduced as a result of it.

The disability benefit, which is set to take effect in July, would see eligible people receive up to $200 per month.

While advocates critiqued the amount as being too low, others worried about it being considered income which could lead to a reduction in provincial and territorial government benefit.

Amanda MacKenzie, the national director of external affairs for March of Dimes Canada, says the government's plan to exempt it from taxation is welcome news and addresses one of the concerns people had about the benefit.

She also says it's a signal from the government to the community that they're going to work with people with disabilities to realize the "full value" of this benefit.

MORE National ARTICLES

What you need to know as Trudeau fights to retain leadership of the Liberal party

What you need to know as Trudeau fights to retain leadership of the Liberal party
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted calls for his resignation for more than a year now but in recent weeks those calls have grown louder and in some cases more public. The Liberal caucus met Wednesday, where MPs had a three-hour long discussion about their party's current state and whether Trudeau is the best one to keep leading it.

What you need to know as Trudeau fights to retain leadership of the Liberal party

Poll suggests more than half of Canadians unaware of gridlock in House of Commons

Poll suggests more than half of Canadians unaware of gridlock in House of Commons
A debate has ground work in the House of Commons to a halt for weeks, but a new poll suggests that most Canadians are not even aware it's happening.  In a new survey from polling firm Leger, 55 per cent of respondents said they had not heard about the procedural issues that have gridlocked Parliament for more than 12 sitting days. 

Poll suggests more than half of Canadians unaware of gridlock in House of Commons

Oil removal work begins on 'fragile' Second World War-era wreck in coastal B.C.

Oil removal work begins on 'fragile' Second World War-era wreck in coastal B.C.
The Canadian Coast Guard said the 77-metre-long Brigadier General M.G. Zalinski has been burping up "slow but consistent drops of oil" since the fall of 2022 at the shipwreck site in Grenville Channel, part of the Inside Passage off northern B.C. 

Oil removal work begins on 'fragile' Second World War-era wreck in coastal B.C.

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called
Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau says the starting place to supporting whichever party comes to power in British Columbia is her party's platform.  Furstenau says she has taken a call from NDP Leader David Eby, but didn't answer the phone when B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad called, adding she didn't recognize the number. 

B.C. Green leader spoke with NDP's Eby, but didn't pick up when Conservatives called

Witness told rescuers missing B.C. man swept down the rain-swollen Coquitlam River

Witness told rescuers missing B.C. man swept down the rain-swollen Coquitlam River
A witness reported seeing a man who's been missing since Sunday fall into the swollen Coquitlam River as he tried to rescue a dog, and was "immediately swept away," a local search and rescue manager said on Wednesday.  Ian MacDonald said Coquitlam Search and Rescue received the report about 59-year-old Robert Belding on Tuesday.

Witness told rescuers missing B.C. man swept down the rain-swollen Coquitlam River

Semi-trailer rollover kills 17 cattle on busy Calgary ring road

Semi-trailer rollover kills 17 cattle on busy Calgary ring road
A semi-truck carrying a load of cattle rolled over on a busy ring road in Calgary on Tuesday night. Police say the truck, carrying about 95 cattle, was in a single-vehicle crash on an off-ramp from Stoney Trail.

Semi-trailer rollover kills 17 cattle on busy Calgary ring road