Media

2024 Federal Fall Economic Statement: Reducing Everyday Costs and Raising Wages

An update on the 2024 Federal Budget: The 2024 Federal Fall Economic Statement & its Potential Impacts on Disabled Post-Secondary Students

News Release: December 18, 2024 (Ottawa, Ontario) National Educational Association of Disabled Students

The Department of Finance has released the 2024 Federal Economic Statement: Reducing Everyday Costs and Raising Wages on December 16th and the National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) has reviewed the report to identify updates to the 2024 Budget that may impact disabled and neurodivergent post-secondary students across the country.

Review our analysis of the 2024 Budget to get the bigger picture of all proposed policy released this calendar year related to NEADS’ interests in full access to post-secondary education and employment for disabled and neurodivergent students in Canda. The Federal Economic Statement (FES) is a follow-up to the annual budget and presents a summary of the Trudeau governments’ accomplishments over the last 8 years, the highlights of the 2024 Budget, and updates to certain portfolios ahead of the publication of the 2025 Budget.  

This FES did mention a handful of programs that may positively impact disabled and neurodivergent students in Canada, including slight changes to the Canadian Disability Benefit, financing for the construction of new rentals, and income and banking-related benefits. However, there are zero updates on most of the elements of the Budget that were highlighted as steps forward for student financial assistance, youth employment, or health more broadly aside from the initial promises in the 2024 Budget.  

The 2024 FES leans heavily on personal income benefits and controlling the inflation rate and debt load leading into a presumed Spring Canadian election. The Tax Break for All Canadians Act is an example of this personal income benefit; it eliminates taxes on a host of items from December 14th to February 15th, 2025, including prepared foods and restaurant meals (take-out, delivery and/or dine-in). This measure has benefits for the disabled community in regards to the challenges of food preparation. Fluctuations in energy levels and capacity often lead to disabled, neurodivergent, and chronically ill people paying a “tax” of convenience – this measure should eliminate the tax in both theory and practice for the next two months.  

The FES also provides advancements on the issue of low-cost and no-cost bank accounts. This policy, which all six major banks in Canada are reported to have signed onto, will offer $0/month or $4/month bank accounts for select groups. The FES update now includes a clause within this agreement that banks must offer $0/month bank accounts to one of three marginalized groups: Indigenous people, people eligible for the Disability Tax Credit Certificate, or social assistance recipients from select provincial or territorial programs.  

While this is a strong step forward in increasing access to banking for the disabled community, this $0/month bank account program should extend to all three of these marginalized groups rather than just one. However, without a guarantee that people eligible for the Disability Tax Credit Certificate will have access to the $0/month bank account program, it is hard to ensure that the disabled community will benefit from this initiative.  

The FES does reaffirm the cap on study permit applications to decrease the number of international post-secondary students by 28%; we continue to call on Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada to publish a statement explaining what steps his department will take to ensure disabled international students are not disproportionately harmed by these visa cuts. The statement makes no mention of programs supporting students announced in the Budget, including the Supports for Student Learning Program, Apprenticeship Service and Skilled Trade Awareness and Readiness Program, and the Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning Grant among others.

The FES does acknowledge the continued positive impact of the extension of the temporary increase in Canada Student Grants and Canada Student Loans but does not note if this program will continue into the 2025-2026 academic year. The document did not mention youth employment in any capacity.  

There were limited mentions of health within the FES; the only additional measure from the 2024 Budget was a mention of a Personal Support Worker (PSW) Support. The statement critiques provinces and territories for moving too slowly to increase wages and training for PSWs and state that the federal government intends to increase the wages of PSWs via a refundable tax credit; more information is to come, likely in the 2025 Budget.  

This economic statement focused heavily on income-related measures and housing for Canadians. Disabled people continue to be disproportionately impacted by the housing crisis due to their lower average earnings and the limited spaces available in accessible housing. Discussions around the housing crisis rarely, if ever, include accessibility considerations or consider the impact of the housing crisis on the disability community.  

New developments in housing and infrastructure announced in the FES impacting the disabled community include a promise to build 30,000 more rental apartments and investing $30 billion in public infrastructure through the Canada Public Transit Fund. Ideally, these programs will benefit the disabled community through a significant increase in rental dwelling and improved public transit infrastructure; however, neither of these announcements specifically mention disabled people in their implementation. We continue to call on the Federal Government to include disabled people in their rental housing and transit policies to ensure dwellings are built accessibly and public transit can be used by the disabled community.

The Canadian Disability Benefit continues to legislate poverty through only providing $200/month; however, the FES does note that this benefit will now be exempt from income tax. This benefit remains disappointing in its inadequate value. The requirement of a valid Disability Tax Credit certificate creates an administrative burden for disabled people as well as further strains our exhausted health care system and despite critique from the disability community, the FES does not mention any alterations to this requirement. The consultation for the proposed Canada Disability Benefit Regulation ended on September 23rd, 2024, and the feedback is currently being reviewed. Ideally, this consultation will bring change to the Canadian Disability Benefit to ensure it provides a livable benefit to the disabled community.

As a whole, the FES provides important updates on budget lines related to personal income, inflation rates, and housing but does not mention disability outside of the Canada Disability Benefit. In advance of the 2025 Budget, we hope the Canadian government incorporates the intersectionality of the disabled and neurodivergent experiences into all policies to ensure disabled and neurodivergent students are supported in all elements of their lives as they pursue post-secondary education and employment.

As a by-and-for organization, we understand the ways in which disability impacts all aspects of life: for any disability-related questions or concerns that were not covered in this release related to the 2024 Federal Economic Statement, please reach out to our Communications & Partnerships Director by email at isabella.fiore@neads.ca

Isabella Fiore, (they/she | iel/elle)
NEADS Communications and Partnerships Director | Directrice des communications et des partenariats de NEADS
National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) | Association nationale des étudiants handicapés au niveau de l'éducation

NEADS Social Media

Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn

NEADS Websites

Main Site | Scholarships | Employment | Rights | Mailing List Sign-Up