Debates of April 26th, 2018

The Environment

[Terry Beech, Liberal, Burnaby North—Seymour, BC]

Madam Speaker, the minister recognizes the significance of the Cowichan River in supporting important populations of Pacific salmon. DFO is aware of the changes in flow that have occurred within the system and that the weir at the outflow of the lake is no longer adequate to ensure sufficient storage in drought conditions. That is why DFO officials have been working with our partners to find a long-term solution to this issue and find potential funding sources to implement it. Concurrently, our government is also taking action on Pacific salmon through the coastal restoration fund, meeting the Cohen conditions, and implementing the wild salmon policy.

I can assure the member that we understand the significance of the Cowichan River salmon and that we are committed to ongoing dialogue with our partners to find a long-term solution to the issues identified by the member opposite at the Cowichan Lake weir.

Canada Revenue Agency

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, on December 6, I asked the Minister of National Revenue a question regarding the disability tax credit and the infamous memo of May 2. That was the memo that triggered the change to the application process for the disability tax credit.

I asked the minister a simple question, whether she approved the memo that went out in her name and that changed the process for applications for the disability tax credit. Her answer was, “Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, I want to reassure all Canadians who receive the disability tax credit that the eligibility criteria have not changed.”

Two days later, on December 8, after she had just given that smug answer to a question that affected the lives of thousands of vulnerable Canadians, she put out a press release saying that “the CRA will return to using the pre-May 2017 clarification letter for Disability Tax Credit (DTC) applications related to Life-Sustaining Therapy.”

In that release, the minister obviously acknowledged what everybody had already known for months, that the May 2 memo and the change to the process resulted in thousands of denials of the disability tax credit, including to diabetics who had received the tax credit for years and relied on the continuation of that credit to hold on to their disability tax savings accounts.

Since then, the CRA has spent about four and a half months going back and reviewing the thousands of rejected applications. At their most recent appearance at the finance committee, officials were not yet able to confirm that all of those reviews had even taken place.

Last night, the NDP critic for national revenue, the member for Sherbrooke, raised the issue. He correctly described the DTC debacle, and the minister's parliamentary secretary tried to blame the previous government for the minister's May 2 decision.

Let us consider this. For the entire tenure of the previous government, DTC applications were routinely approved 80% of the time for type 1 diabetics. For the first year and a half of the current government, DTC applications were routinely approved 80% of the time for type 1 diabetics. Then the minister sent out a memo resulting in a change of process that led to an 80% rejection rate, and somehow that is the previous government's fault. The minister is blaming the previous government for a change that she made on May 2.

Here we are now, four and a half months later. There are only two things that Canadians want from the government out of this whole sorry episode. They would like assurance that the government will stop trying to deal with its out-of-control deficit by going after and targeting vulnerable Canadians to raise additional revenue, and they want just a simple acknowledgement that the government screwed up last year and that it is sorry. The parliamentary secretary, who will be responding tonight, will have an opportunity to do just that, just give an apology so we can move on.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary for Sport and Persons with Disabilities]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to answer my colleague's question. I will repeat what he and many of his colleagues have already been told.

Our government has always had the same goal, namely, that all Canadians receive the benefits and tax credits to which they are entitled. I want to be perfectly clear. The eligibility criteria for the disability tax credit, or DTC for short, are defined by the act and have not changed. They did not change yesterday and they will not change this evening either. The criteria have always been the same.

Unlike the Harper government, our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians with disabilities not only have access to the tax credits they are entitled to, but also that they can engage with the CRA regarding how it can best serve them. That is why we have restored the positions that the Conservatives did away with in 2006. Everyone knows that the former Harper government only served the wealthiest Canadians, but eliminating the disability advisory committee was a completely ridiculous decision.

We are doing things differently. Last fall, the minister announced that we are reinstating that committee, which we believe to be crucial. After 10 years without a voice, stakeholders and experts are once again able to make recommendations to the CRA on how to improve the DTC and other measures that affect Canadians with disabilities. Our government has also taken concrete action to make it easier for Canadians to apply for the DTC. I know this from personal experience, since my daughter has type 1 diabetes and benefits directly from that tax credit. As of a year ago, nurse practitioners are now allowed to certify the medical information and the effects of the impairment on the credit application form, which makes the process much more accessible.

Let us be clear, the CRA approves the vast majority of DTC claims it receives. I do not know where my colleague opposite is getting his figures when he says that 80% of claims are rejected, but I know that 700,000 Canadians claim the DTC on their tax return every year. If my colleague does not believe me, he can refer to the CRA website. Everything is on the site. The data is public. The CRA is striving to be more transparent. That is why the DTC data, including the number of people who claim the tax credit, the amount claimed, and the number of claims approved or rejected are now posted on the CRA website. The numbers are easy to verify. Just go to the website and check.

[Pat Kelly, Conservative, Calgary Rocky Ridge, AB]

Madam Speaker, if the member would like to know where the number came from, I invite him to review the testimony that was delivered at the finance committee. Diabetes Canada informed the committee that immediately following the May 2 change to the letter regarding the disability tax credit application for type 1 diabetics, they went from an 80% approval rate to an 80% denial rate.

We have asked repeatedly for officials at the CRA to give us the information about approval rates and they have repeatedly told us they do not track information by type of application for the disability tax credit. They have repeatedly told us they will not and do not keep track of that type of information.

I invite him to check the record of that committee. If he wonders where the information came from, it is right there in the public record.

Once again, we have no apology.

[Stéphane Lauzon, Liberal, Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation, QC]

Madam Speaker, my colleague opposite also forgot to mention that these were Facebook polls. That was also stated in committee. The CRA's authority and performance are being called into question. My colleague opposite has a habit of using politics of fear and saying our public services are inefficient.

Perhaps my Conservative colleague will understand it better in English. Let me be clear: our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians with disabilities receive the credits and benefits that they are entitled to.

Canada is at its best and society benefits from that. I am proud of a government that enforces the rules and the laws, and that provides the necessary personnel to meet the needs of diabetics and persons with disabilities.

[The Assistant Deputy Speaker, Carol Hughes]

The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24(1).

(The House adjourned at 6:46 p.m.)