‘I consider that the CRA lied to us’

Diabetes advocates say changes to the disability tax credit were kept from them

OTTAWA— Federal tax assessors are clamping down on Canadians suffering Type 1 diabetes to restrict their qualification for the disability tax credit, an internal memo suggests, contradicting public claims by the government that nothing has changed.

Groups that advocate for diabetes research accused the Canada Revenue Agency and Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier of deliberately misleading them about a change that has seen hundreds of Canadians with Type 1 diabetes denied the tax credit this year.

“I consider that the CRA lied to us,” Kimberley Hanson, Diabetes Canada’s director of federal affairs, told a news conference Monday.

“There’s been a lot of surprise at some of the statements we’ve heard . . . and there’s been a great deal of frustration,” she said.

For months, advocates have been complaining there’s been a spike in denials among those living with Type 1 diabetes, even for those who previously had qualified for the credit.

People with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes who required intensive insulin therapy would qualify for the disability tax credit if their medical practitioner certified they spent 14 hours a week looking after their illness.

But starting in May, that was no longer the case. Those with Type 1 diabetes found themselves denied the credit, even if they had a doctor’s note, the advocacy groups say.

On Monday, they released an internal CRA memo they obtained un- der the Access to Information Act informing agency staff of “updates” to procedures related to adults with diabetes. The update means that CRA now deems that unless there are “exceptional” circumstances, adults with diabetes can manage their daily insulin therapy in fewer than 14 hours a week.

The May 2 memo says that the procedures for claims “will be updated shortly to reflect the changes.”

“It’s a really significant change in practice that makes it basically impossible for an adult with Type 1, unless they have complications, to quality for DTC (disability tax credit),” Hanson said.

“That has not been the case in the past.”

Dave Prowten, president and CEO of research foundation JDRF Canada, said the new interpretation by CRA makes it “virtually impossible” for those with Type 1 diabetes to qualify for the tax credit.

“This email clearly shows a change in procedure affecting those with diabetes went into effect,” Prowten said.

Yet Lebouthillier insists there have been no changes and, indeed, claimed the Liberal government is making the credit “more accessible.” She told reporters Monday that “absolutely nothing ” has changed around the eligibility for the credit.

Yet Jillene Combs, a mother of two from Grande Prairie, Alta., has collected the credit since 2008 but was denied this spring, even though nothing about her condition had changed.

“I feel it’s unfair to everybody,” she told the news conference.

The credit, worth about $1,500 a year, helps offset medical costs that can reach $15,000 annually for those living with Type 1 diabetes.