Finance Committee on Oct. 20th, 2017

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

Thank you very much for that.

Ms. O'Connell.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you all for being here.

Mr. Prowten, I want to continue this conversation because I'm very concerned to hear these numbers and to hear what seems to be a definition or an interpretation change, and certainly not a legislative change from our standard.

I also want to talk about the idea.... It wasn't your recommendation, but I know you're recommending to reduce the number from 14 hours to 10 hours. What about the more common-sense approach in terms of relying on a doctor's judgment? I could also see reducing the hours as having different complications for different people with different disabilities. My cousin has cerebral palsy and lives with that every single day. In terms of actual treatment, no one would suggest that she will not have a disability for the rest of her life.

Maybe we should start moving away from, as you even said, an arbitrary number. I can't even understand how you calculate 14 hours on a regular basis. Even with regard to your recommendation of going to 10 hours, should we not maybe be recommending something that is more appropriate in the medical profession, such as having a doctor's judgment determine the appropriateness and the type of treatment needed moving forward?

[Dave Prowten]

We would be very supportive of that.

What's actually disturbing to us is that doctors are part of the application process, so in essence the CRA is rejecting doctors' advice right now. We're very concerned about that because we feel that a doctor is signing that they're meeting the 14 hours. We agree with you, and if it were less than 10 hours or a medical practitioner, that would be a very supportive recommendation.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

My second question is not part of your recommendation, but regards asking for increased eligibility for the registered disability savings plan. This would allow individuals with type 1 diabetes to save on increased medical costs for their life through compound interest on that benefit. It wasn't part of your presentation, but is this something your group would support as well in terms of this lifelong disease?

[Dave Prowten]

The answer is yes.

We figured we had five minutes—

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Okay, fair enough.

[Dave Prowten]

—so we actually focused on this because we feel they're interconnected. We're very aware of that issue and are supportive of that as well.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

Thanks.

I understand you do have five minutes, so if you want to send something additional in terms of that, I look forward to reading what you support as well. Thank you.

Ms. McKee, in terms of the GTAA, you spoke about your plans and some of the transit improvements to the west end. What about the east end? I come from Pickering—Uxbridge, and in Pickering alone our population will increase by 70,000. We're almost doubling that in a matter of a few years. That's under construction right now in Seaton. Durham is scheduled to be one of the fastest-growing populations in all of Ontario, and I constantly see a focus around the west end.

What is the GTAA doing to ensure that goods and services and people are able to get to the airport and the hub, and to ensure that our businesses can continue?

[Lorrie McKee]

You're absolutely correct. The growth is happening across the region. The forecasts we have done show there are about 110 million people who are going to be looking to fly through southern Ontario by about 2043. We expect Pearson will be able to accommodate about 85 million of those passengers, so we look to other airports in southern Ontario to start to increase the role they play today and more niche roles. We've been working with airports across southern Ontario, just like jurisdictions around the world have major international airports with a series of other airports that support that growth. If you look at the New York area, the London, U.K., area, or at California, for example, there is a network of airports that help to service that growth.

What also helps to support your airport is having that great ground transportation network and the multi-modal nature of transportation so that you're not just thinking about your air network, but also about how it's connected to the ground. People don't fly to airports. They fly to a region to do business or to be a tourist.

[Jennifer O'Connell, Liberal, Pickering—Uxbridge, ON]

I'm sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. I just—

[The Chair, Liberal, Wayne Easter]

In fact, we're going over to Mr. Albas.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you to all our witnesses here today. I appreciate all your presentations.

I'm going to go first to Mr. Prowten with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Just to be clear, this was a folio change, where CRA updated its interpretation of who can use the disability tax credit in regard to life-sustaining treatment. Is that correct?

[Dave Prowten]

That is a good definition by our analysis to date, yes.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Okay. So it was a folio change updated this year. How did you find out about it? Have you reached out to either the commissioner or the Minister of National Revenue?

[Dave Prowten]

We've reached out to the CRA to talk to them about it. Other groups are involved, for example, Diabetes Canada. There are organizations that actually do apply on behalf of people. This has gained a lot of momentum in our community relatively quickly. We have a letter from the minister. I don't have it right in front of me, but I can....

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Would you be able to submit that letter to this committee?

[Dave Prowten]

Yes.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

It would be helpful for parliamentarians to see what the minister's response is.

Could you paraphrase the response?

[Dave Prowten]

It's along the lines that unless there's a secondary chronic condition, you will not be able to get to the 14-hour threshold. It seems that it's adding another threshold on top of the original threshold.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

The first one was quite complex, and obviously, a doctor would have to stake their reputation that the patient met the needs. Now are they actually making it more difficult and more complicated by adding this requirement?

[Dave Prowten]

Yes. It's called brittle diabetes, so you're unaware that you go low. This is another version that is very dangerous. Those people have to monitor it very carefully, and some of those people are getting rejected as well.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

Are people who are being rejected right now finding life more difficult because of this interpretation change?

[Dave Prowten]

Yes, absolutely.

[Dan Albas, Conservative, Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, BC]

They've received it previously, and now they're just being rejected. Was there no advisory other than this folio update?

[Dave Prowten]

That is correct. We were certainly not made aware of any of this. We found out about it only because of the patient community and others bringing it to our attention.