Mr. Speaker, it is very simple. We are elected to fix problems, not create them. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the Liberal government is doing. I am here this evening because I asked a question on Monday, I asked the Prime Minister the question again on Wednesday, and I still do not have an answer.
In my riding, a young 34-year-old woman has had type 1 diabetes for more than 20 years. She has a glucose monitor and of course she lives with this health problem 24 hours a day. This does not prevent her, however, from having an active life, running a day care, and helping the people in our community in Sainte-Justine, in Les Etchemins.
For many years, she has received some government assistance through the disability tax credit. It is not a huge amount, but it does help. She can also save some money with her registered disability savings plan. She is going to need it because she needs special care.
This year, when she filed her income taxes she was asked to provide more information. She had a form filled out by her doctor and that form was sent to the Canada Revenue Agency. To her great surprise, her application was rejected. She is not only losing her disability tax credit, but her registered disability savings plan is also in jeopardy. Her doctor is well aware of her problem and ticked off all the right boxes.
The problem is that it is not just my constituent from Sainte-Justine who is going through this. Thousands of diabetics across Canada are having to deal with this situation. They are being denied a tax credit and that is compromising their registered disability savings plan. I am asking the government to fix this. There is no need to hire public servants. Just make it so that a doctor can acknowledge that a person is diabetic, the way it has always been done.
The shocking thing is that the government is going after people with chronic health problems while we are witnessing the worst conflict of interest in my 12 years of political life. The Minister of Finance failed to disclose to the Ethics Commissioner the fact that he had a villa in France and the fact that he did not put his shares in his own company into a blind trust.
It is really sad to see the government lecturing Canadians with chronic health problems while the person responsible for managing billions of dollars in public money could not care less about ethics rules. He hides the fact that he owns a villa in France from the Ethics Commissioner and sets up a numbered company in Ontario. In fact, it is not in Ontario; to pay even less in taxes, he sets it up in Alberta. This only adds insult to injury for this woman from Sainte-Justine who is working hard just to make ends meet. She has three children, she runs a day care, and her husband works. These are hard-working people. However, she just got her knuckles rapped; her annual budget is compromised, as is the money she has set aside. What is most shocking is that the Minister of Finance is taking another $840 out of her pockets in taxes. It is appalling.
I am calling on the parliamentary secretary to intervene and fix this situation. This woman from Sainte-Justine needs her tax credit and is going to need her registered disability savings plan.