Toronto, ON – May 24, 2019 – JDRF Canada, the leading global funder of type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, welcomes the release of the Disability Advisory Committee’s (DAC) First Annual Report, in particular, the DAC’s recommendation that all Canadians receiving life-sustaining therapy should qualify for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). The DAC was established in late 2017 by the Minister of National Revenue following successful efforts by JDRF Canada and Diabetes Canada to restore access to the DTC for more than a thousand adults with type 1 diabetes being denied due to a change in eligibility. JDRF calls on the Government to implement these recommendations as soon as possible.
“We are very happy to see the committee understanding that insulin is a life-sustaining therapy,” said Dave Prowten, President and CEO of JDRF Canada. “Canadians with type 1 diabetes spend up to $15,000 annually in out of pocket costs managing their disease. Access to the DTC would provide families some much-needed financial relief and we urge the Government to adopt the Committee’s recommendation.”
Access to the DTC has been severely limited particularly for people living with T1D. The report’s brief clearly states that the combined time requirement excludes many applicants who receive life-sustaining therapy. It reads: “Any individual who needs life-sustaining therapy, by definition, will spend considerable time every week engaged in that therapy. Instead of having to submit an account of the number of times and hours per week involved in these therapies, the person needing life-sustaining therapy should automatically meet the criteria.”
In the Government’s response to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology report, the Minister of Finance, along with the Minister of National Revenue and the Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility expressed confidence in the DAC’s work to help the government better serve Canadians with disabilities and ensure they receive the benefits and credits to which they are entitled. JDRF urges the Government to adopt all of the recommendations in today’s report to ensure they’re achieving this goal.
JDRF Canada was pleased with the Government’s 2019 Budget commitment to end the clawback of government contributions to Registered Disability Savings Plans in the event that DTC eligibility is lost and see progress on implementing today’s recommendations as an important next step on improving the lives of Canadians with disabilities. JDRF will continue to follow this issue closely and advocate for all Canadians living with type 1 diabetes.
About JDRF Canada
JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes research. Our goal is to raise funds to support the most advanced international type one diabetes research and progressively remove the impact of this disease from people’s lives – until we achieve a world without type 1 diabetes. JDRF collaborates with a wide spectrum of partners and is the only organization with the scientific resources, regulatory influence, and a working plan to better treat, prevent, and eventually cure type 1 diabetes. JDRF is the largest charitable supporter of type 1 diabetes research. For more information, please visit jdrf.ca.
Media contact
Arielle Nkongmeneck
Bilingual Marketing and Communications Specialist
JDRF Canada
647-789-2000 ext. 2046
ankongemeneck@jdrf.ca
