I suppose the important technical point for Canadians who want to make use of their new registered disability savings plan is that contributions made up to March 2, 2009, will be considered to have been made in 2008. That's important, because there are government benefits involved for many of the persons who are entitled to have a registered disability saving account. There is a matching Canada disability savings grant from the government. The Canada disabilities saving bond is also available for low- and middle-income families even if no contributions are made.
So it's important for families with family members with significant disabilities to make use of the registered disability savings plan. A number of our large banks have the facility available now, so I encourage Canadians to make use of the plan by March 2.
This is a good example of the development of public policy, in my view. We appointed a panel of experts to look at this issue following budget 2006. They did extensive consultations across Canada and reported back. We acted on the report. We went through the design stages and it eventually became law. And now we have the actual accounts up and running in the system and available for Canadians. It took time, but I think the result is well worth the effort for persons with disabilities in Canada.
The last thing I'd say about this is that internationally we are getting tremendous credit for this around the world. This is a novel, leading program in the world for helping persons with disabilities and their families create some financial security for the person in the family with a severe disability.