Thank you for the question.
What the honourable member is referring to is that prior to the introduction of this volunteer firefighters tax credit, there was an exemption under subsection 81(4) of the act for honorariums of up to $1,000 per year. The effect of the exemption was that if a municipality paid $1,000 to the volunteer firefighter, the person would be able to exclude that in computing income.
Under the volunteer firefighter tax credit, volunteer firefighters, if they so choose, are able to get a credit for the amount of $3,000.
Now, what we've done in terms of drafting the law is to make a consequential amendment to subsection 81(4) of the act, which says that the person takes “the lesser of $1,000 and the total of those amounts, other than, if the individual makes a claim under section 118.06 for the year, amounts received in respect of duties as a firefighter”. Where it is advantageous for the volunteer firefighters to claim the exemption instead of the credit, they would be able to do so. The intent of the--