Government of Canada Response to Accessibility for All

Detailed responses to the recommendations

• Recommendation 1
• Recommendation 2

Recommendation 1:

The Subcommittee recommends to the Government of Canada that it report on when it intends to implement recommendation 5.1 in the report of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities.

Response:

The Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities was created by the Government of Canada to provide advice to the Ministers of Finance and National Revenue on how to address issues related to tax measures for Canadians with disabilities. In December 2004, the TAC released its report, Disability Tax Fairness, which examined the fairness and effectiveness of tax measures for people with disabilities in the context of social inclusion and accommodation.

The TAC noted many of the ways in which living with disability - as a person with a disability or as a caregiver - creates additional costs for aids and devices, lost opportunities and diminished capacity to earn income. The TAC noted that tax measures are not intended to reimburse individuals for out-of-pocket expenses, or redress income inequalities, or compensate for low income, but stated that the Committee "…felt compelled to ask questions about fairness from the perspective of public expenditure and relatively scarce dollars."

The TAC made numerous recommendations regarding the tax system. These included recommendations focused on the disability tax credit that suggested legislative and interpretive changes, as well as improvements to its administration. The TAC made several suggestions related to tax measures that would help people with disabilities to pursue education and employment, and another group of recommendations directed at improving tax measures for caregivers. The TAC also reviewed other actions outside the tax system, such as building more inclusive communities, strengthening labour-market initiatives, investing in the supply of disability supports, and providing a disability-supports allowance to provide assistance to those too poor to pay tax.

As the Standing Committee notes in Accessibility for All, the Government has acted on virtually all the TAC recommendations in Budget 2005. The major changes include extending eligibility for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) to those who face multiple restrictions that have a substantial impact on their everyday lives. The TAC also suggested amending the DTC to ensure the eligibility of more people who require extensive life-sustaining therapy. Budget 2005 expanded the list of expenses eligible for the disability supports deduction, increased the maximum amount of the refundable medical expense supplement from $571 to $750 a year, and increased the maximum Child Disability Benefit from $1,681 to $2,000 a year as of July 2005.

Taken together, the measures proposed by the Government as a result of the TAC's advice will increase tax relief for people with disabilities and their caregivers by $105 million in 2005-06, growing to $120 million by 2009-10. An additional $2 million annually has been committed to the Canada Revenue Agency to improve its administration of the DTC and other disability-related tax measures. It will also help to create a committee to advise the Minister of National Revenue on administering these tax measures. The TAC notes that the Government has taken "…significant steps to improve tax fairness for persons with disabilities."

The Government recognizes that disability issues must be addressed broadly, using the tax system as just one of a number of tools. In recent years, the Government has also introduced measures outside the tax system. It created a new up-front grant of up to $2,000 per year for post-secondary students with disabilities to ensure that a post-secondary education is accessible. To fulfill the commitment to improve the workplace integration of people with disabilities, support for the federal, provincial, territorial Multilateral Framework for Labour Market Agreements for Persons with Disabilities has increased by $30 million per year, for a total Government of Canada's annual contribution of $223 million. In addition, federal discussions with provincial co-stewards of the Canada Pension Plan led to legislative changes to encourage Canada Pension Plan Disability beneficiaries with regained capacity to take the risk of returning to work knowing that their benefits are protected if they fail.

The Standing Committee's Report reiterates the TAC position that options for expenditure programs must be developed in close collaboration with provincial and territorial governments and communities. In this respect, in December 2004, the federal, provincial and territorial Ministers responsible for Social Services released an analysis of needs and gaps in supports and services for adults and children with disabilities in Canada. At that time, Ministers committed to further work in the area of disability supports. The Government of Canada will continue this collaboration to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities through its ongoing work with provinces and territories on benefits and services for people with disabilities.

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Recommendation 2:

The Subcommittee recommends that the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada identify as promptly as possible premises where the activities of the Office for Disability Issues could be housed as of 2006. These premises will serve as a model for fully barrier-free installations and will have to be compliant in all respects with the 2004 edition of standard B651 (CAN/CSA-B651-04), as formulated by the Canadian Standards Association.

Response:

Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) is seeking premises that permit the Office for Disability Issues (ODI) to consolidate its activities. PWGSC is working closely with ODI staff to ensure the new facilities will comply with their needs and be ready for the targeted move-in date of September 2006.

PWGSC is committed to providing premises to the ODI that will serve as a model of barrier-free accommodation, through full compliance with the Canadian Standards Association's CAN/CSA-B651-04 Accessible Design for the Built Environment standard. The standard contains requirements making buildings and other facilities accessible to people with a range of physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities. This standard is recognized as the most stringent technical standard of accessibility in the country, easily surpassing those in the National Building Code and all provincial and territorial building codes.

The Canadian Standards Association created CSA B651 in 1990, with all the consultation, rigour and thoroughness of process demanded of an organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada. To guarantee that its technical standard for accessibility remains leading-edge, CSA must review and revise the standard on a regular basis. The most recent version, published in August 2004, is based on a consensus of the 27-member Technical Committee on Accessible Design, which represents a broad spectrum of regulatory, manufacturer and consumer interests. The Government is pleased to have membership on the technical committee, with delegates from Public Works and Government Services Canada, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canadian Human Rights Commission, Canadian Transportation Agency, Industry Canada and the Office for Disability Issues. The Government of Canada has exercised its leadership role in being the only jurisdiction in the country to have adopted CAN/CSA-B651-04 Accessible Design for the Built Environment. Being fully compliant with all its exigencies will ensure that the new premises of the Office for Disability Issues will serve as a model of barrier-free accommodation.

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