Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises during Question Period, in Ottawa, on June 19.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Heading into budget season this year, the federal Liberal government was caught between two promises: keeping the deficit in line with its projections, and launching a much anticipated new benefit for disabled Canadians.

The Liberals had long sold the Canada Disability Benefit, first announced in 2020, as a measure designed to close the yawning gap between what people with disabilities receive in provincial assistance and the income they need to rise above the poverty level.

But now that the benefit is finally here and facing wilting criticism, it’s clear that it was compromised from the start by the Liberals’ budget woes, and likely never should have happened – at least in its current form.

Before the budget was tabled in April, expectations for the new federal benefit were high. The Liberals, with the help of the NDP, had pushed the Canada Disability Benefit Act through Parliament the previous summer, and had promised to reveal the details in the April budget.

The Parliamentary........

© The Globe and Mail