Will the CDB Affect Other Benefits?

There is concern that the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB) may prompt clawbacks of other benefits. A clawback happens when a person’s income assistance benefit is reduced because they have income from somewhere else, and can mean that the person is no better off even though they are receiving an additional benefit, such as the CDB.

To stop the CDB from clawing back social assistance, it needs to be listed as exempt income in each province or territory. If no action is taken, the CDB will automatically result in clawbacks. 

Each province or territory will establish its own policy regarding whether the CDB will clawback other social assistance programs. The following provinces and territories have announced that there will be no clawbacks:

• British Columbia

• Manitoba

• Newfoundland and Labrador

• Nova Scotia

• Nunavut

• Saskatchewan

The remaining provinces and territories have not yet made their decisions. We will update this section as new information becomes available.

At Plan Institute, we have been advocating alongside our partner organizations to ensure that there are no clawbacks and people can receive the full amount of the CDB. Maytree has created the Advocacy toolkit: Preventing Canada Disability Benefit clawbacks to help organizations and individuals advocate and reach out to government decision-makers to prevent clawbacks related to the CDB in their province or territory.