Finance committee  It's my understanding that the purpose of paragraph 6(1)(b) is to essentially take that amount in 1967 and grow it so its real value over time is protected.

Finance committee  The department receives lots of correspondence. The Minister of Finance receives lots of correspondence from individuals and meets with groups. He tries to keep on top of changes in medical technology. Essentially, he looks at a couple of criteria in determining whether an expense should be eligible for the medical expense tax credit.

Finance committee  I don't have that information with me right now. We hear representations from groups all the time.

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  In terms of the changes that are being proposed in Bill C-38, essentially the law currently says that a charity must have charitable purposes. So they must be engaged in charitable purposes and they must use the resources they have to achieve those charitable purposes, and to the extent that they engage in political activities that are related to their charitable purposes, they can spend up to 10% of their resources.

Finance committee  It's a non-refundable credit.

Finance committee  The medical expense tax credit does provide tax relief to individuals, but if they don't have an income tax burden then it only takes it down to zero.

Finance committee  It does. You're right that a refundable tax credit provides an amount equal to the value of the credit, which is independent of the individual's tax burden. The medical expense tax credit is a credit that actually can be shared among family members. With regard to an individual who pays for the medical expenses of their spouse or minor children or another dependant relative, those amounts can be shared between spouses, for example.

Finance committee  I don't know from a technical point of view. Someone's individual tax circumstances, the amount of credits they claim, the deductions, and other sources of income and how they affect your personal income tax are very individual. We wouldn't have access to that information from someone's individual tax files.

Finance committee  The Governor General's pension is calculated under the terms of the Governor General's Act in section 6, I think. I don't have the explicit figures, but my understanding is that the calculation is based on one-third of the value of the Governor General's salary in 1967. Then it's indexed according to an indexation factor that is explicitly spelled out in another act.

Finance committee  Bill C-38 does not change the calculation of his pension. In 2013, if the Governor General left office.... I don't actually have that calculation, but it would be the same. There would be no change to the calculation of his pension with this act.

Finance committee  My understanding is that right now.... As far as the annuity paid to all former Governors General and their survivors under the terms of the act, I think the survivors receive one-half of the annual amount. According to the main estimates of 2012, that's only $520,000. That's for all former Governors General plus their survivors.

Finance committee  On the section...?

Finance committee  Yes.

Finance committee  That's correct.