Fact Sheet

As of September 25, 2006, as a result of the Government of Canada's decision to reduce program expenditures, all the advisory committees of the Canada Revenue Agency, including the Disability Advisory Committee, were eliminated. This page and its links contain references to historical activities of the Disability Advisory Committee whose activities have now ceased.

Disability Advisory Committee of the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) created the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) as a result of recommendation 2.12 made by the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities.

The DAC was to provide advice to the minister of national revenue on the needs and expectations of persons with disabilities as they relate to the laws and programs administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Objectives of the DAC

The DAC provided advice on methods that CRA could employ to increase:

• Overall awareness of tax measures for persons with disabilities
• Take-up of tax measures for persons with disabilities

The DAC reviewed administrative practices and made recommendations on enhancements to the quality of the services CRA provides to persons with disabilities.

The members

The Committee consisted of a blend of professionals (e.g. health, tax professionals, lawyers, accountants), advocates of the disability community and persons with disabilities.

George Archibald, B.Sc. Agr, Dairy farmer, and MLA in the Nova Scotia Legislature (1984 to 1999)
Mr. Archibald held several cabinet posts in Government and has been a volunteer for many community groups as well as provincial associations. His daughter has had diabetes since 1994, and he became a volunteer with the Nova Scotia Region of the Canadian Diabetic Association (CDA) shortly after. He is currently Regional Chair of the CDA for Nova Scotia as well as being on the National Board.

Harry Beatty, Lawyer and consultant specializing in disability law
Mr. Beatty has written several papers and reports on aspects of Canada's programs for persons with disabilities, and has participated in government and community consultations on these topics over the past 20 years. He was formerly the Director of Policy and Research at ARCH, a legal resource centre for persons with disabilities. Prior to joining ARCH in 1986, he was Legal Counsel at Community Living Ontario.

Dr. Pierre Beauséjour, M.D., FRCPC, formerly clinical professor of Psychiatry at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, currently professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Sherbrooke, and psychiatrist-in-chief, Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Québec.
He is a clinician with over 25 years of experience in community rehabilitation psychiatry and education. His career path has been motivated by a strong interest in mental health policy, program development, continuous quality improvement, outcome measures, and a patient-centered approach to service delivery.

Dr. Gary Birch, Ph. D., P. Eng., Executive Director, Neil Squire Foundation
Dr. Birch is also an adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia; chair of the Minister's National Advisory Committee for Industry Canada on Assistive Devices; Adjunct Professor, Simon Fraser University, Gerontology Research Program; Member of the Federal Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities; Member of the Executive Technical Committee on Assistive Technologies for Persons with Disabilities for the Canadian Standards Association; Chair of the Research Advisory and Review Committee for G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre; Member of the Technical Reference Group for the Federal Opportunities Fund; and Member of the Reference Group for the Federal Office on Disabilities Issues.

Lembi Buchanan, Public relations consultant and former Chair of the Coalition for Disability Tax Credit Reform
She also served as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities. Ms. Buchanan has written on and advocated extensively for tax fairness for Canadians with disabilities.

Dr. Karen R. Cohen, Associate Executive Director (AED) of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), since 2001
She is a psychologist, registered in the province of Ontario, with a doctorate in clinical psychology and a post-doctoral fellowship in rehabilitation and neuropsychological. She has been involved in a variety of clinical, administrative, and research activities in health and rehabilitation. Member of the Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Measures for Persons with Disabilities, Steering Committee Member of the Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative, and Steering Committee Member of the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada.

Deanna Groetzinger, National Vice-President, Communications, Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada
She works with volunteers and staff across the country to inform people about MS and the MS Society and to ensure that people with MS have the opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of life. She works with the National Government Relations Committee on a wide variety of activities including equitable access to treatments for MS, income support and pension reform, and the need for accessible transportation and barrier free design.

Claudette Larocque, Information Officer, Learning Disabilities Association of Canada.
She was a former member of the Coalition for Disability Tax Credit Reform and for several years, participated in Canada Revenue Agency's administrative consultations regarding the Disability Tax Credit Certificate Form T2201. With a social work background and volunteer and project management experience, she has worked for non for profit organizations for over twenty years in order to advance and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.

Dr. Ashok Muzumdar, Canadian Medical Association, recently retired after thirty-six years in clinical practice
He is presently involved in various professional activities with the Canadian Medical Association (CMA). Dr. Muzumdar enjoys medical writing; his recent book on the subject of powered upper limb prostheses was published last year. He is the founder of the Canadian Association of Physicians with Disabilities, which is an affiliated society of the CMA.

Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA in public practice in British Columbia for nearly twenty years
For the last five years, she has been researching, writing, and speaking about personal tax credits. Her audiences include support groups organized by non-profit organizations, accountants, and health care professionals.

Dr. Raffath Sayeed, Active member of the Canadian Association for Community Living
Dr. Sayeed is a former Chief Commissioner of the Alberta Human Rights Commission. He is a participant in the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administrative consultations regarding the Disability Tax Credit. As a medical doctor and father of a son with disabilities, he has been involved in numerous professional and voluntary activities to advance and promote the rights of persons with disabilities.

Peter Weissman, CA TEP
Mr. Weissman is a tax partner at Fuller Landau LLP with over 16 years experience in the tax area. He specializes in taxes with extensive work on corporate and shareholder planning, including estate and succession planning, for clients in a wide variety of industries.

Additional information

For more information on persons with disabilities and the CRA, visit: www.cra.gc.ca/disability.

This document is also available for download in .pdf format.

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