Written Submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the Upcoming Federal Budget

This submission is also available as a PDF document.

Summary of Recommendations

1. Work with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to develop a basic income pilot for Newfoundland and Labrador

2. Enhance the Canada Disability Benefit

3. Enhance the Groceries and Essentials Benefit

4. Accelerate the implementation of automatic tax filing

Background

Poverty is a crisis in Newfoundland and Labrador. 10.9% of households are below the Market Basket Measure Poverty Line. While this is in line with the national poverty rate, Newfoundland and Labrador’s child poverty rate is significantly higher, at 21.6% versus a national rate of 18.3%. 

Our coalition is made up of organizations that provide a wide range of community services that include support with housing, food security, mental health, domestic violence, and much more. What unites us is that poverty is the overwhelmingly dominant driving force behind many of the problems we are addressing. 

As a provincial coalition, our primary focus will always be on Newfoundland and Labrador. We have outlined many hopes and expectations for our provincial government in this space. We recognize, however, that federal programs and partnerships are critical to any comprehensive poverty reduction effort. We hope that the federal government recognizes the importance of this role in Budget 2026. 

Recommendations

1. Work with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador to develop a basic income pilot for Newfoundland and Labrador

Every day, members of our coalition work with people and families who have fallen through the many cracks in our social safety net. The creation of a basic income would put a safe, predictable floor underneath everyone in our province.

The recently-tabled report from our province’s All-Party Committee on Basic Income recommends that the provincial government work with the federal government to develop a basic income pilot for Newfoundland and Labrador. 

This will only be possible if the federal government also comes to the table. We recommend that Budget 2026 include a small allocation to resource a joint planning committee that could fully develop a basic income pilot program design. 

2. Enhance the Canada Disability Benefit

In Canada, one in eight people aged 15+ with disabilities lives below the poverty line—a rate 15% above the national average. The implementation of the Canada Disability Benefit was a very significant beginning for poverty reduction - but it was only a beginning. There are many ways this benefit could and should be enhanced. 

We support calls by Disability Without Poverty and other partners to strengthen the CDB by:

• Increasing the amount to one that would lift all disabled people out of poverty

• Expanding eligibility for the benefit to more people

• Making the benefit easier to access by automatically enrolling people eligible for other disability benefits and simplifying the application process for the disability tax credit.

We note that in Newfoundland and Labrador the CDB has been matched by a NL Disability Benefit of $400/month; the federal government can and should look to Newfoundland and Labrador for evidence of the impact a larger benefit amount can make.  

3. Enhance the Groceries and Essentials Benefit

The recent implementation of the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit was an important but insufficient intervention to mitigate the ongoing cost of living crisis. 

Currently, the CGEB includes a one-time top-up payment in spring 2026, and a temporary 25% increase to the base GST/HST benefit beginning in July 2026 for five years. Payments are delivered quarterly.

We would recommend enhancements to the benefit that bring it closer to the original proposed design. This would include:

• Making the benefit a monthly payment

• Making the benefit permanent

• Increasing the benefit amounts to at least $50/month per child and $150/month per adult

4. Accelerate the implementation of automatic tax filing

New benefit programs such as the Canada Disability Benefit and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit are administered through the tax system, just as any future basic income guarantee would be. With that in mind, in Budget 2026 we hope to see increased investment in the implementation of automatic tax filing for lower-income households.

Conclusion

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, like all Canadians, are facing difficult and uncertain times. An investment in poverty reduction is an investment in health, economic development, public safety, environmental protection, and gender equity, among many other things. The returns, in dollars and in quality of life, are enormous. We hope to see Budget 2026 take this into account.