Finance Committee on Oct. 8th, 2026

[Amanda MacKenzie]

You see a big smile. Thank you very much for that question.

I think it's important to get on the record that simplifying the benefit system writ large, especially the disability tax credit, is so important. I was here back in June, and we talked about it then.

One of the things we included in our pre-budget submission this year—and I know many other organizations in the disability community and beyond did as well—is the concept of a federal disability status. We would like the federal government to study taking the adjudication of disability out of the tax system and putting it into the ESDC system where it belongs, where there are people, human beings, who understand what it is like living with a disability in this country at whatever age, or being a parent of a child with a disability, and who can address the issues.

There is no reason to be adjudicating disability within our tax system. It's been several decades of using a tool that was made available, and we've built an entire system on it. It very much needs to be simplified. The federal government is funding—

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Ms. MacKenzie. I'm going to have to cut you off there.

Thank you, Mr. Lefebvre.

We will continue now with Mr. MacDonald for five minutes.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses today.

Ms. MacKenzie, I'm going to follow along with the discussion on disability. It was shocking to hear that two times more people with a disability are living in poverty than the rest of Canadians.

In our government, since being elected, we've worked hard to streamline the disability tax credit application process. I know we've heard lots of interventions from groups like yours that have made recommendations.

In the spring budget of 2026, in the economic update, we were able to expand the list of medical conditions that were going to get automatic disability certification. Can you speak to how we may be able to improve that process further if we're going to tie this into automatic tax filing? The two things should work hand in hand and get money to Canadians who are most vulnerable.

[Amanda MacKenzie]

They absolutely should, and thank you so much for that question.

I have to say that over the last several months, it's been a joy to communicate with our community about the changes that are coming to the disability tax credit, especially the 45 conditions that will be eligible for that streamlined access. I just did a webinar last week with parents of children with disabilities, especially parents of children with autism and Down's syndrome, and they were absolutely over the moon that they don't have to go through a difficult DTC certification process now. Thank you very much for undertaking that.

These two things work hand in hand if we are going to get benefits into the hands of people. Let's remember that we're talking about thousands and thousands of dollars a year. Whether it's the Canada disability benefit, the benefits that people get from employment income if they are with a disability tax credit, the Canada workers benefit or a disability supplement, these are huge benefits that make a really big difference in the lives of people with disabilities, especially in the economic environment that we're in right now. Making it as easy as possible and including automatic tax filing in it is a huge step in the right direction.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Recently, the taxpayers' ombudsperson warned about our reliance on the three-year eligibility rule system and how that could impact future eligibility. Do you have any suggestions there to avoid people being disqualified because of that eligibility system?

[Amanda MacKenzie]

Proactivity needs to be built into the system. We need to be engaging with people with disabilities through organizations like ours and Anita's organization and the many other organizations and sectors that touch the lives of people with disabilities every single day across this country, whether it's a disability service organization or the bank they go to. There is any number of different ways to communicate with people with disabilities to bring them into the system. That's going to be the biggest lift: bringing people into the system in the first place.

As to the details of the three years, I'm not sure if it should be three or five years or what it should be. I think we have to work that out, with lots of other organizations providing input into that question, when the time comes for program design.

[Kent MacDonald, Liberal, Cardigan, PE]

Thank you for what you do for Canadians.

Moving on to the United Way, I know you offer tax clinic services. You're involved in that quite a bit in a lot of communities across Canada.

In the most rural, hard-to-reach communities where automatic tax filing happens, is there advice you could give us on how we can get the process started properly? I'm thinking of someone who hasn't filed for a while. We have to get the correct information on the first return. Is that going to take a human touch or a community tax clinic so that the first time they opt in, we get the right information to the CRA? Do you have any ideas on that?

[Anita Khanna]

Absolutely, the human touch, the trusted connection with community service organizations, will be essential to getting things right the first time—to filing and then easing access to benefits and tax credits. United Way Perth-Huron, a rural community, as you've mentioned, in Ontario, is leading in this area and is very attuned to how to make this process as painless as possible.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

I apologize, Ms. Khanna, but I'm going to have to cut you off there.

Thank you, Mr. MacDonald.

We now go to Mr. Garon for two and a half minutes.

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

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Ms. Roe, I hadn't thought to ask this question, but I was thinking about it during the break. The government's refrain is that all the opposition does is oppose everything. For instance, Ms. May and the Green Party are understandably suspicious about the pesticide measures being proposed, and the Bloc Québécois sees them as a big step backward. Now, the government is accusing us of being against a strong Canada and against a stronger economy, arguing that Parliament must pass this legislation.

I listened to what you said today. Ecojustice Canada clearly has very strong arguments against this bill. Are the Green Party, the Bloc Québécois and your organization the only ones opposed to this bill? Pesticide lobbyists and companies aside, is there a consensus in Canada that this may be one of the biggest setbacks in pesticide approval and oversight in Canadian history?

[Bronwyn Roe]

Our written statement was submitted with 19 other organizations, including the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the National Farmers Union, Birds Canada and other environmental groups.

This is an issue that really cuts across issues. It's important for the environment and important for human health. I think most Canadians want a pesticide regulation system that they can have confidence in and that allows them to see and understand the decisions being made.

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

Recently, we've seen a case where the American company Driscoll's sold strawberries containing high levels of non-compliant pesticides in Canada. If a whistle-blower hadn't come forward, the media wouldn't have found out about it and we would've never known.

Under the current circumstances, do you think Canadians have enough confidence in the current oversight system? Do you think this is the right time to punch more holes in the system?

[Bronwyn Roe]

Yes, I would agree that we need stronger oversight, not weaker oversight. We're all exposed to pesticides through the food we eat, the air we breathe and the water we drink. Canadians are entitled to stronger health and environmental protections.

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

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Karina Gould]

Thank you, Mr. Garon.

I will continue now with Mr. Guglielmin for five minutes, please.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for your testimony today.

Ms. Khanna, thanks go to you and your organization for all the important work you do.

The United Way works directly with organizations that truly see the impacts of the cost of living every single day. From what you're hearing across your network, are more Canadians turning to food banks, housing supports or other community services simply because they can't keep up with basic necessities?

[Anita Khanna]

Yes, unfortunately, we are hearing that. Those with the lowest income are especially concerned about food and housing and are making tough choices when it comes to their expenses.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

When we look at the organizations that help administer some of these services, would you say that they themselves are also facing higher costs and at the same time greater demand?

[Anita Khanna]

Yes, absolutely. The cost of primary goods—food for programs, supplies and the rest—is up. They're feeling the crunch. Seventy per cent of those who were surveyed by Carleton University are reporting excess demand and limited capacity to meet the needs in the community.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Some would make the claim that sometimes government can be a bit of a leviathan. Oftentimes, we see billions of dollars of new programs being announced. Can you talk briefly about how important it is to measure whether that money is actually reaching the people on the ground and improving outcomes?

[Anita Khanna]

We would fully agree with the need for transparency, data and evidence about the value of investments in the community. I fully welcome that.

In our own experience serving as an intermediary for the federal government to deliver support during the COVID-19 pandemic, we were pleased that there was a rigorous evaluation that helped identify what was learned and what was successful about delivering $289 million to the community to serve over 10 million people.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

Oftentimes, we see the constant push to create new programs. I was curious to know if you had any examples where the focus is on simplifying or improving access to existing programs rather than creating new ones.

[Anita Khanna]

That's a great question.

The disability tax credit is a place where we could go again. Ms. MacKenzie spoke well about that. There have been some very positive changes to make access to the benefit more inclusive and available. I think we could go further to ensure that no one living with a disability in Canada is forced to live in poverty and is not accessing the benefits they're entitled to.

[Michael Guglielmin, Conservative, Vaughan—Woodbridge, ON]

In my riding, we have great organizations. Bridges of Love is one example. They're an organization for seniors and they're doing truly remarkable work. Basically, they are entirely volunteer–focused and entirely run by volunteers. They help seniors stay in their own homes. They help them with safety, food hampers, home safety, safety in their own homes and things like that.

Statistics Canada has found that volunteer participation and charity are actually on the decline in this country. I'm just curious to know if the United Way is seeing something similar.

[Anita Khanna]

Absolutely, we have. We've recently conducted research that has highlighted the significant loss of volunteer hours in the last several years. There are barriers to participation, to recruitment. We are supportive of Volunteer Canada's work to develop a national volunteer strategy to raise up the lost time and support the sector.

There's a need for greater attention on the community services sector, including on the workers and the labour force delivering the vital services, which in many cases are delivered by charities and non-profits. These are important jobs that require skills and education, and recognizing the value of that work is essential, especially, as you mentioned, for seniors, given the aging population and demographics that we have in this country, where seniors will quickly come to outnumber those of working age. We need sufficient capacity in the non-profit community services sector to meet those needs and take the pressure off the health care system and other systems.