According to the most recent Statistics Canada data, disabled Canadians are more than 20% less likely to be employed. That same report, citing data from 2015, found that employed disabled Canadians who had a mild disability earned almost $3,000 less in annual income than their non-disabled peers, while a more severe disability put that gap at almost $8,000. Statistics Canada is currently collecting data for the next disability survey. It would not be a surprise, given how the pandemic has disproportionately affected disabled people, to see that gap broaden.
In addition to the income disparity, being disabled is more expensive than not being disabled. There’s even a rather blunt term for it: the “crip tax.” Whether that’s having to buy pre-packaged food, needing to use a taxi rather than drive, or purchasing medical equipment or assistive devices, these hidden costs add up.
Some Canadian organizations have started disability-focused employment initiatives (like the CBC’s Abilicrew program or the Government of Canada’s Entrepreneurs with Disabilities Program), and the government raises awareness during National Disability Employment Awareness Month every October.
But entering the workforce—or getting a better-paying job—isn’t always simple for disabled workers. There are benefit programs to consider, tax credits to apply for (if you haven’t already), and savings plans that can be contributed to. Here’s what disabled people transitioning into new or better employment need to look at and prepare for in order to have the best chance of success.
Understand the impacts on income assistance
To understand how to shift into a position that pays you a living wage or better, you have to understand your relationship to your province’s income assistance programs. While these options are meant to create financial stability—a mission they often fail to accomplish—they have asset and income limits. These limits mean clawbacks can occur even before you are ready to let go of those supports.
For example, in British Columbia, your extended healthcare coverage is tied to your income; hitting the income limit can result in losing your benefits. In Saskatchewan, moving off of the province’s Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disability (SAID) program could complicate your subsidized home care. As with everything about healthcare, the situation will vary based on the province or territory in which you live.
In material terms, that means budgeting to make sure that the role you’re entering into will at least fulfil your minimum financial needs.
As disabled Canadians know, while income assistance programs like the Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) or Alberta’s unfortunately named Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) are theoretically about providing financial support that allows for a life with some comfort, it’s incredibly difficult to become enrolled again if you leave them. That exit can be in the natural order of things—you get a job that pays enough, for example—or it can be due to a clerical error that you have to fight like hell to resolve.
