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Disability supports should be designed to provide benefit and not burdens to eligible recipients. Unfortunately, this is not a reality when it comes to one of the main benefits open to Canadians with disability: the federal Disability Tax Credit (DTC). Designed to recognize some of the higher costs faced by people with severe disabilities and their caregivers, the DTC appears to be more of a burden for many, with estimated utilisation unacceptably low at around 40 per cent of working-aged adults with qualifying disabilities. Low uptake is a concern not only because people are missing out on the credit itself but also because eligibility to the DTC - which is not automatic - is a gateway to other important and more valuable benefits such as the Child Disability Benefit and Registered Disability Savings Plans (RDSP). Why is take up low? Awareness and a burdensome application process are likely key contributing factors. There is also a lack of clarity around eligibility rules, which have been criticized for being open to interpretation, failing to accurately reflect the practicalities of living with a disability and requiring people with impairments in mental functions to meet a higher bar than for those with physical impairments. The design of the DTC may also be limiting utilization of disability benefits such as RDSPs that require DTC eligibility as a prerequisite. As a non-refundable tax credit, the DTC is a tax-fairness measure that benefits those who pay taxes (provides no monetary value to those without taxable income). It is poor design to use eligibility to a benefit, that does not provide value to all individuals with qualifying disabilities, as a gateway to benefits with different policy objectives. A policy overhaul of the DTC, and broader disability policy in Canada, is long overdue. This will require effort and the will to make the necessary changes to improve existing policies. Boosting awareness of the DTC, gaining a better understanding of the target population (particularly children with disabilities) and monitoring data on the DTC's usage and reach, would go a long way towards improving uptake. Creation of a clear and transparent review and appeals process to replace the current and often inconsistent one would further knock down barriers to access. Improving the disability assessment process for the DTC and for other key disability benefits is also essential. More broadly, it is time for Canada to consider new coordinated policy measures that guarantee improved access, independence, portability and support for individuals with disability - particularly those living in low income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Food banks have emerged in response to growing food insecurity among low-income groups in many affluent nations, but their ability to manage this problem is questionable. In Canada, in the absence of public programs and policy interventions, food banks are the only source of immediate assistance for households struggling to meet food needs but there are many indications that this response is insufficient. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that facilitate and limit food bank operations in five Canadian cities and appraise the potential of these initiatives to meet food needs. Methods An inventory of charitable food provisioning in Halifax, Quebec City, Toronto, Edmonton, and Victoria, Canada was conducted in 2010. Of the 517 agencies that participated in a telephone survey of their operations, 340 were running grocery programs. Multivariate regression analyses were conducted to determine the association between program characteristics, volume of service, and indicators of strain in food banks' abilities to consistently achieve the standards of assistance they had established. Results Extensive, well-established food bank activities were charted in each city, with the numbers of people assisted ranging from 7,111 in Halifax to 90,141 in Toronto per month. Seventytwo percent of agencies indicated that clients needed more food than they provided. The number of people served by any one agency in the course of a month was positively associated with the proportion of food distributed that came from donations (beta 0.0143, SE 0.0024, p 0.0041) and the number of volunteers working in the agency (beta 0.0630, SE 0.0159, p 0.0167). Food banks only achieved equilibrium between supply and demand when they contained demand through restrictions on client access. When access to assistance was less restricted, the odds of food banks running out of food and invoking measures to ration remaining supplies and restrict access rose significantly. Conclusions Despite their extensive history, food banks in Canada remain dependent on donations and volunteers, with available resources quickly exhausted in the face of agencies' efforts to more fully meet clients' needs. Food banks have limited capacity to respond to the needs of those who seek assistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Over generations, government policies have impacted upon the lives of Indigenous peoples of Canada in unique and often devastating ways. In this context, Indigenous women who struggle with poverty, mental illness, trauma and substance abuse are among the most vulnerable, as are Indigenous children involved in child welfare systems. Objective. By examining the life history of Wanda, a First Nations woman, this article examines the intergenerational role that government policies play in the lives of impoverished Indigenous women and their families. Questions of moral governance and responsibility and the need for ethical policies are raised. Design. The life narrative presented in this article is part of a larger qualitative research programme that has collected over 100 life histories of Indigenous women with addictions and who have involvement with the child welfare system, as children or adults. Wanda's life story exemplifies the impact of government policies that is characteristic of vulnerable Indigenous women and draws attention to the lack of ethical standards in government policymaking in child welfare, public health and mental health/addictions. Results. The path to recovery for Canadian Indigenous women in need of treatment for co-occurring mental disorders and substance addiction is too frequently characterized by an inadequate and ever shifting continuum of care. For those who feel intimidated, suspicious or have simply given up on seeking supports, a profound invisibility or forgetting of their struggle exists in areas of government policy and programming provision. Living outside the scope of mental health and addiction priorities, they become visible to the human service sector only if they become pregnant, their parenting draws the attention of child and family services (CFS), they need emergency health care, or are in trouble with the law. The intergenerational cycle of substance abuse, mental illness and poverty is commonly associated with child welfare involvement, specifically practices that place the health and well-being of Indigenous children at risk. In order to break this cycle, close attention to implementation of ethically based policies and best practice interventions is required. Conclusions. From an ethical policy perspective, the focus of government policies and the practices they generate must be first and foremost to ensure that individuals, families and groups are not left worse off than prior to a government policy impacting upon their life. Furthermore, the impact of living a life determined by multiple government policies should not be a story of individual and family devastation, and government policies should not be the most significant determinant of health for any group of people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]