David Pettinicchio knows that the COVID-19 pandemic is taking its toll on the mental and financial health of many Canadians. But when, three months into the pandemic last year, the federal government had yet to announce financial support for one of the groups hardest hit by the public health crisis, the UTM sociology professor started to think that people with disabilities and chronic health conditions were being left out of the picture—and paying an even bigger price for it than others.