Bill C-250 (Historical)

An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (herbal remedies)

This bill was last introduced in the 41st Parliament, 2nd Session, which ended in August 2015.

This bill was previously introduced in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session.

Sponsor

Peter Stoffer  NDP

Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)

Status

Outside the Order of Precedence (a private member's bill that hasn't yet won the draw that determines which private member's bills can be debated), as of June 22, 2011
(This bill did not become law.)

Summary

This is from the published bill. The Library of Parliament often publishes better independent summaries.

The purpose of this enactment is to expand the list of allowable medical expense deductions in the Income Tax Act to include expenses incurred for a herbal remedy prescribed as a substitute for a prescription drug that would qualify as a medical expense under that Act, but which a person cannot use because he or she has severe allergies or sensitivities to that drug.

Elsewhere

All sorts of information on this bill is available at LEGISinfo, an excellent resource from the Library of Parliament. You can also read the full text of the bill.

Income Tax ActRoutine Proceedings

June 22nd, 2011 / 3:25 p.m.


See context

NDP

Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-250, An Act to amend the Income Tax Act (herbal remedies).

Mr. Speaker, when the Liberals were in power, they imposed a tax on herbal remedies that a lot of Canadians use.

My wife, for example, is allergic to sulfa-based drugs and cannot use 90% of prescriptions that are on the market. She uses herbal remedies, subscribed by a naturopath in some cases, and yet those particular herbal remedies are not available for tax exemption. If people without a medical plan have a prescription, they can claim it on their income tax return. However, if people use remedies like St. John's Wort, et cetera, they are not entitled to claim that as a medical expense.

I believe, as do many Canadians who use natural products to heal themselves, that they should be able to claim that as a tax deduction.

Again I am hoping that the Conservatives, who like tax cuts, will support this initiative in order to support the millions of Canadians who do not use sulfa-based drugs but use alternatives for their remedies.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)