Finance committee  It's a threshold issue in terms of how the legislation is structured. The Income Tax Act requires that the charity operate exclusively for charitable purposes and conduct exclusively charitable activities. A specific provision in the Income Tax Act provides that as long as you're devoting substantially all of your resources to those charitable purposes, you can devote some of your resources to political activities.

Finance committee  I would like to make a comment on the authorities given to the Minister of National Revenue with respect to the intermediate sanctions and with respect, in particular, to political activities. We've taken an existing authority, which is currently in place with respect to the obligation to maintain books and records and have them available for inspection and those kinds of things, and have used it for that particular purpose.

Finance committee  Yes, if I might, I would add to it a bit. The measure we're talking about with respect to political activities applies to a registered charity or a registered Canadian amateur athletic association when it makes a gift to another qualified donee, so in terms of its impact on a foreign donor who makes a gift to a Canadian charity, the rule really has no impact.

Finance committee  We've talked about it here. We do have a specific rule in the Income Tax Act which will allow, in certain circumstances, a foreign charitable organization to become a qualified donee for Canadian tax purposes.

Finance committee  With respect to the structure of the Income Tax Act, generally the way the Income Tax Act is drafted is that where an administrative action is required—for example, filing a return or even filing an election—the Income Tax Act won't say “file an election with the Canada Revenue Agency”.

Finance committee  With respect to the first clause, it has to do with a change as a result of the ultimate dissolution or commercialization of the Canadian Wheat Board. It takes a current measure that applies in respect of grain producers who produce in western Canada, essentially, and makes it available to all farmers of listed grains in Canada.

Finance committee  My understanding is that it may have been perhaps an oversight in drafting. My understanding of canola is that it's sort of a version of rapeseed. When the measure was first drafted, it was thought that rapeseed would be inclusive. Just to be clear, we've added a reference to canola.

Finance committee  That is correct. In fact, this morning I was working on the other four. They're in preparation. But this is the only one included in this particular bill.

Finance committee  Well, usually the way we approach the distinction generally between budget implementation measures is that it will depend on how important it is to have a measure come into effect quickly. This is a measure that will come into effect on royal assent, and it was felt that it was important to get this measure in as quickly as possible.

Finance committee  The medical expense tax credit is recorded in the table provided in the supplementary information as being less than $1 million.

Finance committee  In the information provided in the budget there's an indication of the cost on a year-by-year basis over five years for each of the tax measures indicated. Where there is no estimate, the indicator we use is less than $1 million per year, or a measure that is designed to protect the income tax base, as opposed to raise or spend revenue.

Finance committee  That is the threshold in terms of the particular estimates that are provided with the supplementary information for the tax measures. I'm not an expert in revenue forecasting. I believe that's in the context of the fiscal framework. We have a kind of ongoing model with respect to revenues.

Finance committee  That is correct.

Finance committee  Sorry, I'm not sure—

Finance committee  The change from adding blood coagulation monitors to the list of eligible expenses is expected to be less than that.