Parliamentary committees provide individuals and organizations an opportunity to voice their concerns about social policies
The Current Disability Tax Credit Certificate, Form T2201, its Impact on Individuals and Case Law prepared by Lembi Buchanan for the Sub-committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities provides examples of many of the inadequacies of the T2201 form as well as rulings of the Tax Court of Canada.
Read the full Submission document.
After holding three months of investigations into the way CCRA administers the DTC program, the Sub-committee on the Status of Persons with Disabilities issued a report that criticizes the Revenue Agency for practices that are grossly inadequate for people with disabilities.
Getting it Right for Canadians: The Disability Tax Credit
The Government of Canada's Response to the Seventh Report of the Standing Committee on Human Resources Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities, Getting it Right for Canadians: The Disability Tax Credit tabled in the House of Commons by The Honourable John Manley, Minister of Finance
August 21, 2002.
Review of the Government of Canada's Response
by Lembi Buchanan
The Response is incomplete, inadequate and disregards many of the recommendations made by the Sub-committee and the disability community.
The Response does not acknowledge the Sub-committee's position that the DTC program treats many Canadians with disabilities both unjustly and unfairly.
Four Schools of Thought and their Impact on an Individual with a Serious Mental Illness: A Personal Perspective
Presentation by Lembi Buchanan
Tomorrow is my birthday. And it is a very special birthday. In fact, the last 12 birthdays have been very special. I am alive today because of access to some of the best cancer care in the world right here in Toronto.
My husband is also having a birthday in two weeks. It is another special day for us to share. He is alive today because of access to exceptional psychiatric services available in this province.
Public Investment and Reallocation of Funds
Canada is well regarded for its cancer care and cancer research.
However, many people are not aware that Canada also has excellent psychiatric services. The universality and accessibility of our psychiatric care makes us unique in the world. It is something we should be very proud of and something we should build on.
But we desperately need more public investment to ensure that individuals with serious mental illnesses, who are the most vulnerable members of our society, always have access to appropriate medical services. Any further erosion of our universal health care system will put them at risk and increase current social problems including lost employment, failed marriages and homelessness.
More money also needs to be allocated into research. Less than 5% of Canada's research dollars are allocated to mental health even though mental illness affects 20 % of Canadians at some time in their lives. Approximately 3 % of the population is affected by a severe mental illness that produces profound and persistent disablement. And yet Canada spends less than $40 on research per year for each person suffering from schizophrenia.
Provinces need to reallocate funds into areas that are currently under funded, including more community supports for individuals with mental illnesses.
User-pay and Private Choice
Both user-pay and private choice plans will discriminate against these individuals. Such discrimination is a poor reflection of our society's values.
Most people suffering from psychiatric illnesses will not be able to afford user-pay services. The financial burden of mental illness for many families is already very high. My husband is severely impaired in some of his activities because he suffers from bipolar disorder, also known as manic-depressive illness. He has not been able to work since his hospitalization in December 1990 when I was diagnosed with a rare uterine sarcoma for which there is no cure.
My husband currently receives CPP as well as Long Term Disability payments from a private insurer. I am self-employed as a freelance writer and editor. Last year, our combined household income was $45,000 before taxes. Our out-of-pocket medical expenses were $4,249 for drugs and dental needs. Although we are grateful for the financial assistance from the Ontario Trillium Drug program, our deductible is high and some drugs are not covered. Furthermore, the deductible does not take into consideration the financial burden of other health care needs. We simply cannot afford any additional costs for medical care.
Nor could we afford monthly premiums for private health care insurance. In fact, most individuals with a terminal illness or a severe mental illness will not be able to access private health care insurance because of their pre-existing conditions. In a two-tier system, our access to the best specialists in their respective fields will be compromised if they are attracted by well-funded private hospitals. Our only option would be public health care services comparable to what is available in England and Australia. None of the reports have been reassuring.
Regardless of the serious nature of our illnesses, both my husband and I are very fortunate because we have had and continue to have access to exceptional medical care from our hospitals and health professionals. Even when we lived in Northern Ontario for 17 years, we had access to excellent medical care in our community as well as specialists in Toronto for more complex health care needs. Early intervention reduced our hospital stays and reduced health care costs. Early intervention reduced the severity of the impact of our illnesses. Early intervention allowed us to continue to make a contribution to society. There is no question that both of us are alive today because of the high standards of medical care available in our province. Just as important, our relationship has been able to withstand the tremendous emotional burden of living with a serious illness because of the support services available to us.
We must continue to protect the Canadian values of fairness and equality. Ottawa must play a major role to preserve the medicare system it created for the benefit of all Canadians. The federal government needs to take a more proactive role and work closely with the provincial governments and health care professionals to formulate health care policies that are workable.
I'm tired of the scare tactics about soaring costs by everyone with an interest in the privatization of our health care services. They insist that we can't afford to continue to pay for medicare as it is structured today. The scary part is that too many politicians actually believe them.
Sure, there are plenty of gaps in our system that need to be closed. In the meantime, Canada spends less than 9.5 % of its GDP on health care and everyone is covered. The United States has the biggest economy in the world and spends 50% more, about 15 % of their GDP on health care. And yet, 44 million people do not have any medical coverage. And another 22 million do not have adequate coverage.
According to my math, it seems to me that our medicare system is far more efficient and cost-effective than the American model of privatization and corporate greed.
Conclusion
A strong, publicly funded, medicare program is affordable.
Any support by federal or provincial ministers for a user-pay or two-tier health care system is a betrayal of trust to its most disadvantaged citizens. We need to look for more creative ways to protect our medicare system for the benefit of all instead of dismantling it for the benefit of a few.
"I'm telling you that, unless those of us who believe in medicare raise our voices in no uncertain terms, unless we arouse our neighbours and our friends and our communities, we are sounding the death knell of medicare in this country - and I, for one, will not sit idly by and see that happen."
Tommy Douglas
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