Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise on behalf of the constituents of Surrey Central and many disabled Canadians to participate in the debate on the disability tax credit motion by the NDP.
I would like to thank the hon. member for Regina—Lumsden—Lake Centre for his eloquent remarks and for allowing me to share my time with him.
We are talking about the most vulnerable people in Canadian society. One hundred and six thousand disabled Canadians will be denied the modest tax credit benefits and will have to reapply to be eligible. Forty per cent of Canadians with disabilities live in poverty and one-third are unemployed. The Liberal government only knows how to reward its friends, those who contribute to the Liberal Party's coffers, or to give out corporate welfare.
We already know the dismal record of the Liberal government when it comes to compassion and caring of Canadians. The government denied compensation to hepatitis C victims. We all know that. Single parents or stay at home parents providing care to their children had been discriminated against for tax benefits until the Reform Party, now the Canadian Alliance, forced the government to take action. We know all that. As responsible Canadians we must stand up and fight for people who cannot, because of circumstances beyond their control, fight for themselves.
Under the proposed amendment, this arrogant, weak and heartless Liberal government has narrowly defined the ability to eat and dress oneself as the physical act of putting food in one's mouth and an arm through one's sleeve. However, as critics have already pointed out, the proposed tightening of the rules excludes individuals who might be able to get their spoons up but cannot get their dish to the table.
The disability tax credit was established during the second world war to recognize the fact that individuals with severe and prolonged impairments often faced additional non-discretionary expenses for basic daily living that reduce their ability to pay tax. The DTC is a $6,180 credit to provide support to those with severe and prolonged mental and physical disabilities who have marked restrictions in performing basic daily living activities.
In a case involving an individual who suffered from an intestinal disease, the Tax Court of Canada decided that because he had to spend a significant amount of time each day in identifying, producing and cooking food he could digest, he met the “inordinate amount of time” test. This decision was upheld by the Federal Court of Appeal.
In response the Department of Finance has announced its decision to amend the Income Tax Act so that individuals will not be eligible for the DTC merely on the basis of a dietary restriction that results in an extraordinary amount of time being spent on choosing, shopping for, preparing or cooking food. Specifically, the amendment proposes that the expression “feeding oneself” be defined for DTC purposes to mean the act of putting food in the mouth or swallowing that food. The proposed legislative amendments apply in the current 2002 tax year.
About 200,000 Canadians claim the disability tax credit. In total the credit provides about $390 million in tax assistance. DTC's rules should be clear and fair across the board and fraud should be vigorously pursued.
CCRA form T2201 is problematic. That is where the problem is. The guidelines pertaining to the application's questions are very restrictive and result in denying support to many legitimate applicants.
The Department of Finance evaluated the DTC in 1991 and stated that under an administrative system in which eligibility was determined and certified by a family physician depended on the development and communication of guidelines which illustrated the intended application of the definition. When the CCRA simplified the form in 1996, it failed to capture the true nature of many disabilities.
After three months of hearings, the Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities on March 21 tabled in the House a report, “Getting it Right for Canadians: The Disability Tax Credit”. It stated that the current practices in administering the DTC were “grossly inadequate”. The disability community supported the recommendations in principle.
On August 21, the Department of Finance responded formally to the report. Less than 4 of the report's 21 pages actually addressed the subcommittee's report.
The draft T2201 form, which was distributed by the CCRA on August 28, does not reflect the spirit and the objectives of the Income Tax Act. It is too restrictive and will continue to unjustly deny the tax credit.
On August 30, the Department of Finance aggravated an already sensitive matter by proposing amendments to further restrict access to the tax credit because of a Federal Court of Appeal decision which ruled in favour of the appellant. This was Villani v. the Attorney General of Canada 2001 case.
The Department of Finance and its administrative arm in the CCRA have taken the opposing position and have applied the most restrictive interpretation possible to the language of the act. The Liberal chair of the subcommittee is extraordinarily disappointed.
It is alarming that the CCRA is narrowing the eligibility for the credit. It is not consistent with the Canadian values of fairness and equality. It is a disturbing message to all Canadians by discouraging them from seeking justice in our court system.
Philip Gudger, who has only one leg, was told by taxation officials that he no longer was considered disabled. After going through all the hoops, he has won an appeal and is entitled to the credit. We will be hearing a lot of horror stories. Decisions made in the Tax Court of Canada, the Federal Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada must be considered by Parliament.
The DTC is intended to reduce taxable income for people who have severe and prolonged mental or physical impairments, causing them to be markedly restricted in the basic activities of daily living. Yes, the Department of Finance must make tough choices to keep our budget in balance, but the Liberal finance minister is going about it in the wrong way when he removes resources from those most in need.
The government must withdraw the proposed amendments to the disability tax credit and act on the unanimous recommendations of the Subcommittee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities which call for fairness and effective consultation before any changes to the Income Tax Act are made in regard to Canadians with disabilities. The decision by the Department of Finance ignores all the hard work by the government's own parliamentary committee. This is an affront to democracy.
The subcommittee's report tabled earlier this year recommended a complete overhaul of the DTC program but the government chose to ignore that.
Canadians with disabilities deserve to have their concerns addressed with the same consideration, if not more, than would be afforded to any population other group. This is not a question of seeking special benefits for special interests. Instead, it is seeking an effective and efficient process for providing a much needed tax credit to severely disabled Canadians. The failure to do so subverts the hard work of the parliamentary committee and ignores it.
I am appalled at our skewed tax laws that allow a businessman to write off 50% of a business lunch, while disabled people are only allowed to write off less than 20% on the purchase of wheelchairs.
An all party parliamentary committee came up with unanimous recommendations which the government should abide by. This would ease the burden on persons with disabilities in claiming DTC.
When will this weak, arrogant Liberal government do the right thing, implement the recommendations and help rather than hurt disabled people in Canada?