Mr. Speaker, I am glad my colleague at least said he does not want to play God.
I would expect and hope that each and every one of us as intelligent members of Parliament would not for one iota of a minute suggest that we would be able to look at people and decide what medical problems they have or what disabilities they have. That is just not the way it works. That is why the recommendations of the committee were that it should be decided on an individual basis. The medical profession should be used to give the information that is needed.
I had the situation where an individual sent me a letter from his physician. It was life or death if this man did any kind of work. I had the letter from a specialist indicating that. I had to fight for a disability credit for that person. I had the physician's note saying it was life or death. This person looked no different than any of us. He could walk down the street and do other things, but could not do everything and could not work. He has a disability. It is not cut and dried. That is why the way that CCRA and the government's legislation is put into place is not working. It is not fair.
Quite frankly to suggest for a second that as MPs we should discourage anyone from claiming it without knowing is not our job. It is our job to say what the process is and to go to a doctor. What we are asking is that CCRA and the government not make it tougher on disabled people and not make it so they have to go back time and time again for a review. They should accept the fact there are disabled people out there who are getting a minimal tax credit. It is no different than a tax exemption for a child because of age. It is the same as getting a tax exemption because of disability.