Thank you very much.
It's a great privilege to have both groups here today. We very much appreciate what the Canadian Association for Community Living does in all our cities across the country--in Saskatoon, and no doubt in the cities and communities of other people around here--and the work that the Council of Canadians with Disabilities does as well.
I want to ask some questions along the lines of the registered disability savings plan, the RDSP, but I want to preface them. We know firsthand...it has come upon us, not that one asks for it, or draws it, or in any way invites it, but our oldest son, who is 30, is married with six children and has had his struggles with schizophrenia. He's doing reasonably well now, but that will be an ongoing concern, whether he goes back into that trough or that valley again over a lifetime. And then understanding this to be genetic...whether our six grandchildren will have those kinds of issues. So you can understand why the RDSP is of great interest to us, and why we're one of those 26,000 participants in that particular program.
We have a 16-year-old son who is currently at the Royal Ottawa Hospital because he slipped into psychosis back in December-January of this year. We had the privilege of having him out last week at home with us on some day passes. He has Asperger's, he has OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder, and then, a very dark day for us, he too was diagnosed with schizophrenia about a month and a half or two months ago.
So there were a lot of tears--it was a dark day for us--and then a lot of prayers went up asking questions of God: why? I may not get those answers any time soon, but some day I might, and then it probably won't matter anyway.
Obviously, with respect to the 16-year-old son in particular, we know what it'll be, in terms of a lifetime of caring and supporting. He will probably not have a steady job of any kind. I would be curious to explore that more with you some day. I think there are certainly some things he can do--he's a very bright boy--but we're trying to brace ourselves for the fact that he will not carry steady employment, and for the most part we will have to carry and support and keep him encouraged through the course of his life, as long we're around.
That brings me to the RDSPs. As you know, our government introduced the RDSP in 2007, which allows Canadians to save for the long-term financial security of a child with a disability. Over 26,000 RDSPs have been opened to this point. Budget 2010 provides more flexibility to make it even easier to save. It will extend the existing RRSP rollover rules to allow a rollover of a deceased individual's RRSP proceeds to the RDSP of a financially independent, infirm child or grandchild. That interests us a great deal too because there is that potential for a need, depending on how our grandchildren turn out, and whether any of the eight grandchildren we have, have these same struggles or challenges.
Also, in recognition of the fact that families of children with disabilities may not be able to contribute regularly to their plans, as you probably know, Budget 2010 proposes to amend the Canada Disability Savings Act to allot a 10-year carry-forward of the Canada disability savings grants, and also the Canada disability savings bonds entitlement.
Personally, and as a member of Parliament, talking to people in my community with mental health struggles, challenges, etc., in particular being part of these support groups, as I've had conversations with others, I am encouraged by those changes, but I'd like to know if you have some response, some positive comment, or some comments as to whether there are amendments required. What would be the views of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities and the Canadian Association for Community Living on those changes introduced in Budget 2010?