10. Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) - article 28: adequate standard of living and social protection

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• 10.1 Having Government transfers as major source of income
• 10.2 Living below Canada's official poverty line
• 10.3 Having unmet needs for aids and assistive devices due to cost
• 10.4 Household food insecurity
• 10.5 Tenure status of households

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A PDF version of the Canadian Indicators for the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is available on the index page.

10.1 Having Government transfers as major source of income

Figure 10.1 - Text description

Gender	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
Men	34%	13%
Women	45%	27%

• Notes: Respondents were asked what their major source of income was for the reference period. The categories were "No income", "Wages and salaries", "Self-employment income", "Government transfers", "Investment income", "Private retirement pensions" and "Other income".
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among men aged 25 to 64 years, those with disabilities were over 2.5 times more likely to rely on Government transfers as their major source of income than those without disabilities (34% versus 13%).

Among women aged 25 to 64 years, those with disabilities were over 1.5 times more likely than those without disabilities to declare Government transfers as their main source of income (45% versus 27%).

Among persons aged 25 to 64 years, women with disabilities were more likely than men with disabilities to declare Government transfers as their major source of income (45% versus 34%).

10.2 Living below Canada's official poverty line

Figure 10.2 - Text description

Age group	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
15 to 24 years	24%	17%
25 to 64 years	20%	10%
65 years and over	9%	6%

• Notes: Respondents are considered living under Canada's official poverty line using the Market Basket Measure (MBM) based on 2015 financial data. The MBM is defined as a measure of low income. It is based on the cost of a basket of goods and services that are required for a modest standard of living. If an individual or family cannot afford the cost, they are defined as living under the poverty line and in low income.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons aged 15 to 24 years, persons with disabilities were more likely than persons without disabilities to live below Canada's official poverty line (24% versus 17%).

Among persons aged 25 to 64 years, persons with disabilities were twice as likely as persons without disabilities to live below Canada's official poverty line (20% versus 10%).

Among persons aged 65 years and over, persons with disabilities were more likely than persons without disabilities to live below Canada's official poverty line (9% versus 6%).

10.3 Having unmet needs for aids and assistive devices due to cost

Figure 10.3 - Text description

Age group	Milder disabilities	More severe disabilities
15 to 64 years	9%	28%
65 years and over	8%	23%

• Notes: Aids or assistive devices refer to devices or tools designed or adapted to help a person with disability to perform a particular task or activity.
• The data refers to the proportion with unmet needs for aids and assistive devices due to cost among persons with disabilities.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons with disabilities aged 15 to 64 years, those with more severe disabilities were about 3 times more likely than those with milder disabilities to cite cost as the reason for having unmet needs of aids and assistive devices (28% versus 9%).

Among persons with disabilities aged 65 years and over, 23% of those with more severe disabilities cited cost as the reason for having unmet needs of aids and assistive devices. This compares to 8% of those with milder disabilities.

10.4 Household food insecurity

Figure 10.4 - Text description

Age group	Persons with disabilities	Persons without disabilities
16 to 24 years	27%	14%
25 to 64 years	29%	11%
65 years and over	13%	4%

• Notes: Household food security refers to the household's ability to afford an appropriate level of food and nutrition.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Income Survey, 2020 (Social Research Division calculations).

Among persons aged 16 to 24 years, persons with disabilities were almost twice as likely as persons without disabilities to be food insecure at a household level (27% versus 14%).

Among persons aged 25 to 64 years, persons with disabilities were almost 3 times as likely as persons without disabilities to be food insecure at a household level (29% versus 11%).

Among persons aged 65 years and over, persons with disabilities were over 3 times as likely as persons without disabilities to be food insecure at a household level (13% versus 4%).

10.5 Tenure status of households

• Notes: The tenure status of a household refers to whether the household owns or rents its private dwelling.
• The statistics about both persons with and without disabilities are for those living in private dwellings. Those living in collective dwellings such as hospitals and nursing homes are not included.
• The table above refers to those who either owned or rented the property they were dwelling in. If the respondent was not the owner, but another member of the household owns the property (even if not fully paid for), it is included as an owned dwelling.
• Differences described below are statistically significant (p<0.05).
• Source: Statistics Canada, Canadian Survey of Disability, 2017 (Social Research Division calculations).

Persons with disabilities were less likely than those without disabilities to live in a private dwelling owned by them or by a member of their household (67% versus 75%). They were also less likely to live in a dwelling with a mortgage (38% versus 49%).

Persons with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to live in a rented dwelling (33% versus 25%). They were also more likely to live in a subsidized rented dwelling than those without disabilities (6% versus 2%).