I'm Lesley Taylor. I'm here from the tax policy branch.
As you noted, the annual expense limit is increasing to $20,000.
To your first question of how many people may stand to benefit, it's a little tricky to estimate these things given that this would be potentially a new population accessing the measure. We think it's around 10,000 families that may be able to take advantage of the increased limit. As a bit of additional context, about 27,000 families claimed the credit in the 2019 tax year. That gives you a sense of the proportion there.
In terms of what types of expenses might be eligible, the intent of the government here is to increase that limit for perhaps more substantial renovations, such as adding a powder room or a full bathroom to a ground floor for someone who's lost the ability to access the second floor of their home or perhaps renewing the flooring within the home to prevent slips and falls. These kinds of more substantial things can often cost more than $10,000 a year for a family.
In general, the expenses have to be enduring in nature, so they do have to be integral to the home. They have to promote the safe movement of the individual in the home, safe access into the building and just generally promote accessibility and safety. There are restrictions in the Income Tax Act that help to direct those expenditures to those types of safety- and security-improving expenses.