It is with great sorrow that we inform of the passing of our friend and colleague, Ellen Cohen, while in Geneva. A long time disability advocate, Ellen was part of the Canadian Civil Society delegation that travelled to Geneva last week for Canada's review. Rest well Ellen, you are, and will be missed.

With support from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC), IDC/BCANDS will officially launch our National Disability Tax Credit (DTC) Navigation Program on Monday October 28th. This time-limited program (October, 2024 – March, 2025) will assist eligible Indigenous persons with disabilities in navigating through the process and requirements of applying for and obtaining the DTC. The DTC is a “gateway” benefit, meaning that it is required to be held by the individual in order to qualify for other federal benefits such as the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP), Canadian Dental Care Plan and in July of 2025, the Canada Disability Benefit (CDB). It is our goal to assist as many eligible individuals as we can to get the DTC in advance of the implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit so they are eligible to recieve the CDB. If you are an Indigenous person with a disability, residing in Canada and you need Navigator support in applying for the DTC, please contact us through our on-line request for service form, on our website. We expect the demands on the DTC Navigation Program to be high and ask for your patience if you are requesting support, we will do what we can, for who we can, during this time limited program. Please click on the link below for more information or to request support, and please share widely. bcands.bc.ca/idc-bcands-nati…

October 1, 2024 marks the beginning of Registered Disability Savings Plan Awareness Month (RDSP) in BC. The RDSP is a savings plan intended to help persons with disabilities, who is approved to receive the disability tax credit (DTC), to save for their long-term financial security.

Today in National Day of Truth and Reconciliation/Orange Shirt Day, a time to remember the children who never came home from residential schools, the Survivors who did, and their families. Of course, as is for most things relating to Indigenous Peoples, there are those who on this day of remembrance who would rather push hate, and a narrative of denial, usually from anonymous accounts because that’s what cowards do, hide. For those who actually show their real faces, their real names while spewing their hate filled tripe, well, all we can say is, while apparently ignorance is bliss, you may want to wear clothing that is less restrictive on the blood flow to your brain, just something to consider. Today IDC/BCANDS honours the lives of every child lost and every Survivor harmed by residential schools.