Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I've just spent at least the last two years working in the sports area, and I've heard heartbreaking testimony about cases of abuse and mistreatment from numerous athletes. The latter have made clear just how much consultation means to the sports community as a whole. This translates into costs, but above all into the number of additional hours that have to be devoted to it. And that's not counting the consequences for the sports community, of course.
I think the tax exemption we're talking about for professional therapeutic counselling services is a measure that would be welcomed in the sports community.
However, in Quebec, for a therapeutic counselling professional to be able to exempt his or her services from taxes, he or she must ask another Canadian authority to confirm that he or she has the equivalent qualifications attested by his or her professional licence. This is a permit duly authorizing him to practise his profession in Quebec, and is issued by his professional order. However, to be tax-exempt at the federal level, another province must recognize it.
It's laborious and totally incomprehensible, and I'm sorry for the people listening to us.
This process amounts to asking Quebec professionals to go to New Brunswick, for example, to receive this attestation confirming that they are qualified to practise their profession in Quebec. I use New Brunswick as an example, because it's the only officially bilingual province, so it's the only way to get services in French. Yet this is work that the professional orders are already doing and it should be their sole responsibility, except that, obviously, it's cumbersome.
Do you think an amendment should be made to the bill to settle this situation once and for all and allow this recognition of practice of the profession in Quebec? It would be financially advantageous for you, the psychoeducators, and would make your services less expensive and, therefore, more accessible.