Finance Committee on June 1st, 2026

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Thank you for that.

I'm going to—

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Mr. Janeiro wants to jump in.

[Ryan Turnbull, Liberal, Whitby, ON]

Yes, but quickly, please, because I want to share my time with Mr. Sawatzky, if there's any time.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I'm sorry. Hold on one second, Mr. Janeiro.

We have three minutes left, so perhaps give a brief response, Mr. Janeiro, and then we'll turn it over to Mr. Sawatzky.

[James Janeiro]

Madam Chair, I appreciate your indulging my impertinence in putting my hand up to answer Mr. Turnbull's question.

Mr. Turnbull, I receive the disability tax credit myself. I was born missing an arm, and I've worn a prosthetic my whole life. My parents did the paperwork a long time ago. I receive the DTC. It has very little effect on me because my income is quite high, so there's not much of a material impact. However, it is from birth, and I don't have to reapply every year.

I have a friend whose name is Joe. He is in a very similar situation. Since birth, he has been missing a leg rather than an arm. In his case, every couple of years the CRA asks him to reapply for the disability tax credit. I was in the lock-up when all of these measures were announced. My first call was to my home office. My second call was to Joe to say, “Joe, once these measures are passed, you will no longer have to go through this rigmarole.” This is one very specific, small example, but it has an impact on the lives of people with disabilities.

[Jake Sawatzky, Liberal, New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville, BC]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Ms. Haan, I'm glad to see that the DTC has been well received, the progress there. You mentioned, in your opening remarks, eligibility in modernizing that process, and you mentioned how mental health conditions are not considered for DTC. I was just wondering, could you provide any recommendations for potential steps forward in that regard?

[Maureen Haan]

Thank you. I don't have anything with me right now, but I'd be happy to get that information for you.

[Jake Sawatzky, Liberal, New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville, BC]

That would be great. Thank you very much.

Also, I'd like to congratulate you and your organization on celebrating 50 years of advancing disability inclusion and helping in building a more accessible workforce across Canada. That's huge. That's almost twice as long as I've been on the earth, so that's pretty cool.

In your annual report for 2024-25, you reported that 311 youth, including youth with disabilities, gained employment; your organization supported apprentices with disabilities facing barriers to Red Seal certification; and 88% of the clients reported increased job competitiveness at the end of the service. Given that success, from your perspective, how would the measures contained in the spring economic statement improve employment opportunities for Canadians with disabilities, particularly in the skilled trades?

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

You have about 30 seconds.

[Maureen Haan]

I can reply to you in written form. I think that's a fantastic question, and I can give you a very comprehensive response to that.

There are some amazing things happening within the government right now, within the opportunities fund, within the workforce alliances. We're desperately trying to make sure disability has representation within those workforce alliances so that disability is considered at the very beginning. I'd love to have that conversation with you.

Thank you.

[Jake Sawatzky, Liberal, New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville, BC]

That would be great. Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you very much.

Wrapping up the hour is Mr. Garon.

Mr. Garon, please go ahead. You have six minutes.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being here today.

Broadly speaking, I think everyone here is sensitive to the fact that the disability tax credit meets a need. However, the design leaves a lot to be desired. It has all kinds of flaws, and eventually, it will need to be replaced by something better. That's what I'm hearing.

Ms. Haan, you said the tax system isn't the right entry point for someone who needs help. That reminds me of the saga surrounding the last budget, when the government decreased the marginal tax rate. Basically, it reduced the tax rate for one bracket, and since the tax credit is proportional to the tax rate applicable to that bracket, people with certain income ended up paying more than what they saved with the lower tax rate. That shows the need is there but isn't proportional to the tax rate. The government had to address the matter and partly corrected the problem. It did so, and the opposition pushed for it.

To some extent, you're asking for a complete overhaul of the support provided to people with disabilities. Wouldn't it be better to have just one benefit?

The payment would depend on the person's situation. It could be funded by one department and administered by the Canada Revenue Agency, as one of its responsibilities. It would be totally independent. The criteria could include income, similar to the Canada child benefit. It could be something like that.

[Maureen Haan]

That's a great question.

I think we need to look at the barriers for people getting into any type of employment, school, education or training. It's not the person; it's the barriers that the person faces. It's that modernized understanding of disability, instead of a medicalized model, when we take a modern approach and looking at the barriers around us that stop us from bringing the best talent we have, the realness everybody has inside them, into whatever it is they want to do. Looking at those barriers, I think, is the answer to your question.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

I want to talk about barriers, because I have a question about the medical certification that's required. First, though, let's say the government took the funding allocated to the tax credit, as though it was being claimed by everyone, and put that money towards a benefit. I imagine that would be a good start.

You talked about the burden on doctors and the cost associated with applying. Obviously, that's a problem. We heard from doctors about that and how awful the form is to fill out.

That said, what do we replace it with? The public demands accountability, and sometimes that ends up hurting people with disabilities. It can be a problem if people no longer feel that only those who deserve the benefit are getting it.

Instead of the medical certification and the forms doctors have to fill out, what do we use? What is the alternative?

[Amanda MacKenzie]

Our position on this is that there should be a federal disability status that goes through the social system as opposed to the tax system. Obviously, there's going to be some kind of gate that people are going to have to go through, but that gateway doesn't have to be what the disability tax credit gateway looks like right now, which is a highly barriered process. We see in other jurisdictions, like in the European Union and in Japan, that they have different systems in which there is a national or even an international....

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

You already said that. Sorry, but I have two minutes left. Time is a rare commodity.

The provinces are also part of the equation. In a former life, I used to work with businesses in Quebec that provide employment adapted to people with disabilities. Businesses that integrate people with disabilities receive wage subsidies. All sorts of criteria are taken into account, including the person's status and the sector. There are provincial programs, in addition to the federal ones.

How do we give that status portability, with Revenu Québec, for instance?

Do any provinces do what you're suggesting?

Do we have any formulas here we can follow?

[Amanda MacKenzie]

The answer is no, not really. However, if the federal definition of disability was the Accessible Canada Act definition, that would encompass all the different provincial and territorial definitions across the country, which would facilitate alignment as the reforms that we're all working toward continue.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Can you talk about the models in place elsewhere? You've mentioned that a couple of times. In places with a successful model, how does it work?

[Amanda MacKenzie]

In Japan it's been around for decades, and it works very well. The European Union has not had their model in place for as long. It's still under development. Countries are still joining in. However, it's a status that people are taking advantage of and are using across the different countries of the European Union.

I would imagine that a confederation like ours could handle it if the EU can.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

I have 20 seconds left.

Would anyone else care to add anything?

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I think Mr. Janeiro would like to jump in.

[James Janeiro]

Yes. Thank you.

Monsieur Garon, I'd point you toward Germany, another federated country, in which they've taken some steps around what is effectively a guaranteed basic income for people with disabilities. Once you go through one gate, it unlocks all sorts of other things for you, including a lifelong income as long as you need it. I'd point you toward that example as well.

[Jean-Denis Garon, Bloc, Mirabel, QC]

Madam Chair, if possible and if they'd like, could the witnesses work with the clerk to put together some information for the committee members on models that work?

That would be helpful to us.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Absolutely.

If the witnesses would like, you can send something to the committee.

With that, I would like to thank the witnesses.

Committee members, before you leave, we have three small items to approve. Don't go anywhere.

Witnesses, you are more than welcome to log off and step away. Thank you very much for your time.

Members, we have received a budget request regarding the study of Bill C-30. The amount requested is $16,750.

Is it the pleasure of the committee to adopt this budget?