Readout: Disability Advisory Committee Meeting - July 7, 2022

Co-chairs Dr. Karen Cohen and Frank Vermaeten opened the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting by introducing and welcoming the following new members:

• Liza Arnason - Chair, ASE[PB1]  Community Foundation for Black Canadians with Disabilities and Owner Principal and Chief Education Officer of Arnason Consulting Inc.
• Dr. Jennifer Chalmers - Executive Director at Tl'oondih Healing Society and Registered Psychologist practicing in the Northwest Territories
• Laura Housden - Director, Fraser Health Authority and Registered Nurse Practitioner
• Guillaume Parent - Founding President and Financial Security Advisor at Finandicap – Wealth Management
• Emile Tompa - Senior Scientist at the Institute for Work and Health
• Dr. Jennifer Zwicker - Director, Health Policy and Associate Professor, Kinesiology,  University of Calgary

Following the introduction of the new members, the CRA acknowledged the work of the DAC members and highlighted some of the recommendations from the first and second annual reports. In particular, the recommendation to update eligibility criteria for mental functions and life sustaining therapy, expand the list of mental functions necessary for everyday life, and change the frequency and what counts toward the weekly 14-hour requirement for life sustaining therapy. The criteria was included in Budget 2021, received Royal Assent on June 23, 2022, and is retroactive to January 1, 2021. In addition, as recommended by the DAC, people with Type 1 diabetes are now considered to meet the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) eligibility criteria under “life-sustaining therapy” for 2021 and future years.

Dr. Cohen and Vice-Chair Sherri Torjman then provided a thorough summary of the DAC’s activities, including an overview of the third annual report and the recommendations the DAC has presented to the CRA. Key priorities included DTC eligibility criteria around mental functions and life-sustaining therapy, defining who qualifies as a health provider to complete the form T2201, streamlining the DTC review and appeals processes, and capturing DTC data.

CRA staff then provided an update to the DAC on the Accessibility file, including roles and responsibilities to deliver on the Agency’s obligations under the Accessible Canada Act, research, public consultations and engagement to date, and discussion questions for consideration by Committee members. Finally, the CRA and remaining DAC members thanked the outgoing  members for their commitment to the work, including the time and effort they contributed to improve the lives of persons with disabilities through their involvement in the Committee.

Outgoing members include:

• Dr. Karen Cohen (co-chair) - Chief Executive Officer  of the Canadian Psychological Association  and registered psychologist
• Sherri Torjman (vice-chair) - former Vice President of the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, a position she held for 25 years
• Laurie Beachell – former National Coordinator of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities
• Gary Birch - Former Executive Director of the Neil Squire Society
• Roberta Heale – Professor at Laurentian University School of Nursing 
• Ray McGuire – Director of British Columbia Aboriginal Network on Disability Society