Mark Davison was assured he had the correct total: $53.36.

That sum is the monthly payment he was approved to receive from the new Canada Disability Benefit, billed by the federal government at the outset as a tool to lift hundreds of thousands of Canadians with disabilities out of poverty.

"Quite honestly, I thought that was just like a sick joke," Davison said. "Just like a slap in the face."

Davison, 53, had a stroke two years ago. Now, he struggles to walk and has lost function in his left hand.

A Vancouver resident, Davison receives provincial disability payments, an early disability pension and a few hundred dollars for a workplace injury — all of which amounts to less than $1,500 per month.

He was optimistic when the federal disability top-up was first announced, but he's now o

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