Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by taking a slightly different format. I am sure it is the same for all members of the House that in our constituencies we are probably more in contact with the human resources people than any other branch of government. I want to accentuate the positive a little. In most cases I must say that the regional offices of the department are extremely helpful to us. The staff in my offices would say the same thing. For the most part we deal more with human resources, because of all the various programs, than with any other department.
Before I get into the problem which we are discussing I will say that the human resources department in the field, in the constituency, has served me well. I want to accentuate the positive because it has been positive.
I heard on the radio this morning about the corruption in the GST. As long as we have people, as long as we have governments, we will have corruption. It is not that we must accept it, but we must continually fight it. If we want to take a look at the GST scandals and the scandal of the Minister of National Revenue, I have big one. It is terrible that an audit is being done of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. It is completely out of this world, but that is another topic and we will fight that another day.
Of all the claims, correspondences, and people who come into my office, the disability tax credit issue takes precedence over everything else: immigration, farm aid, and everything that has ever come to my office. The problem is, as my colleague has pointed out, the possibility of fraud in the disability claims. There is no question about that. Members should ask any insurance company or province with respect to the workman's compensation.
I want to deal specifically with an issue which we could have dealt with differently. With all due respect to the government and the minister, they have bungled this one.
When people come to my office with a temporary disability, they could be checked out with one flick of the switch with computerization and so on. However if I have a woman, living 60 miles from my office, who has MS, who qualified years ago, whose situation is getting worse with that disease, and she has to come all the way in, through some rather nasty weather at some expense, not only to get the doctor's certificate, but to prove that she is still disabled, I believe that could have been avoided.
That is the argument I have with this department. Would there be people trying to get disability credits that did not deserve them? The answer is yes. On the other hand, I say this to the members opposite. If we were going to make a mistake I would much rather, as a Canadian and as a taxpayer, see it go too far this way than too far that way.
I have been around Parliament, boards and public life for a long time. When we push it to the extreme, as we did in this case, I had more heartaches and more nights without sleep over these people coming into my office than I had in many years in public life. This was a mistake made by the government and I know that it will do it right the next time because it has all the machinery in the world to check on disability claims quickly and accurately.
It is extremely difficult to deal with disability. I sat on some boards. We had people who came in and claimed they were sick and we asked them to get proof, like every insurance company. Somebody said that everyone who comes in claiming disability should get something. I do not believe that and I do not believe in that philosophy.
I want to describe very clearly a couple of cases I had. I saw a cartoon that was very good. A fellow was sitting in a wheelchair holding up two parts of wooden legs, saying “I haven't grown any new legs” in reference to this particular call for proof of disability. I would challenge the government and the department. I have no quarrel with asking for proof from some people who are on temporary or extended disability, but I have every reason to believe that those people who are severely disabled are known by the department. It really was very cruel to call in all those people. Frankly, it was very inhuman, yet we had to deal with those people.
I am glad that we have this program. I am glad that for the most part we do not abuse it, but I will say to the government that in the future when it is doing this it should make sure that it does just not pull every name out of the file and have everyone go through the same thing. It is wrong. I think the government knows now that it is wrong. Let us do it right the next time and let us remember that these are people who are suffering now and will continue to suffer as long as they live.
In my own thinking, I understand it. I understand what we go through with insurance companies and what the 10 provinces go through with workers' compensation. I have met people on workers' compensation and teachers on sick leave who abuse it, but the people who were hurt the most were not those who were abusing it. The people who were hurt were those who were truly suffering and had to spend money and suffer to prove their point. Let us not have this happen.