Evidence of meeting #121 for Finance in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was unions.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative James Rajotte
Thank you very much. Welcome to the committee.
No questions for the NDP?
Conservative
Brian Jean Conservative Fort McMurray—Athabasca, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I wasn't sure if this was my round or Mr. Shipley's round.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I want to go into part 2 on the GST/HST reports. Just as a preamble, I happen to have in front of me planned provincial and territorial health care spending for 2012-13, in which the federal government is committed to a 6% increase in health care spending across the country. In my province of Ontario, their commitment in 2012-13 was 2.7% and 2.3%. So there is a disparity of around 4%, which leads to my question.
I'm wondering if you could just help explain the difference between what is considered a health care purpose versus a non-health care purpose, in terms of the GST/HST.
Carlos Achadinha Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
That's my area of responsibility. I am responsible for the application of GST to public service bodies. That covers basically most services provided by government.
The principle under the GST is that basic health care services are intended to be exempt. In particular, the exemption applies to health care services that are paid or reimbursed under a provincial health care plan, services that are rendered to a patient at a health care facility, or services that are rendered by a member of a profession that is regulated by health care in at least five or more provinces. The overall intent is that we will provide exemption for those types of services provided under those circumstances.
Provinces generally regulate the health care system. They determine under their health care plans what types of services they will cover, and that's within their domain.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I wonder if you could just expand a little bit on that and help me with the kinds of services that will remain. There's been a lot of discussion about what's being pulled back and what's going to have HST that wasn't.... You might just help clarify the ones that will remain exempt.
I'll just give an example. If you had a report given by a doctor or a psychologist for the purpose of trying to determine whether a child who had autism might be required to go to a special class for some special assistance to help with that, would the GST/HST be exempt in that case, for example, if that was provided one on one?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
In terms of the circumstances you're outlining, I'll just go back and repeat what the provision provides.
Basically, in what we've outlined in the provision, we've tried to identify what “qualifying health care” service is and what will be entitled to the exemption. It just means “a supply of property or a service that is made for the purpose of”. We've tried to provide some sort of guidance or direction in terms of these types of services that are exempt and will continue to be exempt.
I'll just read it:
“qualifying health care supply” means a supply of property or a service that is made for the purpose of (a) maintaining health, (b) preventing disease, (c) treating, relieving or remediating an injury, illness, disorder or disability, (d) assisting (other than financially) an individual in coping with an injury, illness, disorder or disability, or (e) providing palliative health care.
Any service that is provided for one of those purposes will continue to be exempt, and largely those services are already exempt. It's been the policy since the introduction of the GST. Those are the types of services that are provided for one of those purposes and will continue to be exempt.
So in the case you just illustrated, the type of assessment you outlined would generally be to assess a learning disability, a disorder, with a particular individual. That would be the type of service that has been exempt and would continue to be exempt.
If specifically you were looking for the provision, that would be included under assisting an individual “in coping with an injury, illness, disorder or disability”, as well as “treating, relieving or remediating an injury, illness, disorder or disability”.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
There's been a lot of discussion because of the concerns around mental health. Just for clarification—and maybe you've talked about it—will the mental health assessments performed by psychologists for medical purposes continue to be exempt?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
They will continue to be exempt, as long as it is for a medical purpose. What we are trying to address here with this provision is that we are trying to say that those services that are provided for a non-health care purpose, and solely for a non-health care purpose, will be the ones that will not be entitled to the exemption.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
What about fertility treatment, then? Is that considered...?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
Fertility lab work, the services done with respect to fertility treatments, have been exempt and will continue to be exempt.
Conservative
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
Thank you very much.
There are some specific cases I want to ask about. I'd like to ask for clarification on whether they will be subject to GST/HST as a result of Bill C-60.
As a result of Bill C-60, will medical work such as X-rays, laboratory tests, or documentation from doctors done for a victim of crime so that they can establish their case in court now be subject to GST or HST?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
Probably what you'll have in the case of somebody who is injured is that they will have an initial treatment. They will go see their doctor. The doctor will assess them, treat them for their illness, their particular injury. Those will all be part of the general treatment provision. There will be X-rays, different tests done.
If those tests, those examinations, those reports were done in the context of a treatment for a medical purpose, those are exempt now, and those will continue to be exempt.
If, in a court case, they asked for those types of reports, assessments, that were done in the context of the treatment, those will continue to be exempt, and those have been exempt.
If, however, something is done subsequently, and it is done after those initial treatments, and it is done simply and solely for the purpose of the legal proceedings, the insurance proceedings, then those would not be tests or examinations or reports—for example, some of the items you've listed—that would have been done for a health care purpose, and those would be subject to GST.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
As a result of Bill C-60, will psychological assessment of a child with a learning disability for the purpose of a determination by a local school board, like the identification placement and review committee in Ontario, now be subject to GST/HST?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
As I just outlined when I answered the question, those tests, those assessments that are done for somebody with a learning disability, a particular disorder, have been GST relieved, and they will continue to be GST exempt.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
As a result of Bill C-60, will psychological assessment of a victim of crime, carried out to establish a case in court, now be subject to GST/HST?
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
It goes back to how I explained the general treatment for a person when they go see their doctor—
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
It's in the same sort of context. Normally if people are injured, if they've been in an accident, they would go see a doctor, or they would go see their psychiatrist. It's part of their original treatment. They're getting some health benefits from that. If any of the assessments, any of those documents done in relation to that original ongoing treatment are used for a subsequent court case, since the purpose when they were originally undertaken was for health care, they would be exempt. Those are exempt right now and they would continue to be exempt.
Liberal
Ted Hsu Liberal Kingston and the Islands, ON
As a result of Bill C-60, will medical work such as X-rays, laboratory tests, or documentation from doctors done to meet the requirements of private insurance now be subject to GST/HST?
Based on the previous responses, I'm guessing the answer is yes.
Legislative Chief, Sales Tax Division, Public Sector Bodies, Department of Finance
It goes back to my discussion of the policy intent. The intent is to relieve basic health care services. Those services are intended to treat a person, to help in the treatment or prevention of a disease or disorder. If this is done solely for an insurance purpose, there's no health care element related to it. This is a purpose test we've set out. The people best able to judge the purpose of a particular service or treatment, a diagnostics report, etc., would be the health care professionals. If it is done simply and solely for a non-health care purpose, it would be taxable.