Take Action: Support JDRF’s effort to protect access to DTC and RDSP

JDRF recently joined disability advocates in Ottawa to testify before a  Senate Committee about the problems Canadians with type 1 diabetes (T1D) have encountered in qualifying for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) and the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP).

This past December, in a joint effort with Diabetes Canada and others in the T1D community, JDRF succeeded in convincing the Minister of National Revenue and the Canada Revenue Agency to reverse course on controversial changes to the administration of the DTC. These changes, introduced last May, made it virtually impossible for adult Canadians to qualify. Additionally, because the primary qualification for the RDSP is the DTC, this meant that in addition to losing a small measure of tax relief (worth about $1500 on average annually), people with T1D who’d invested in RDSPs stood to see their accounts closed. Some stood to lose tens of thousands of dollars with all of the government contributions made over the past decade clawed back.

With the costs of managing T1D continuing to climb, JDRF believes that, every Canadian with T1D should qualify for this vital relief for those with disability expenses, other Canadians don’t have to face, Any action to limit access to the DTC and RDSP will only result in greater inequality

To achieve this, JDRF recommends that the Federal Government:

1. Amend the Income Tax Act so that carbohydrate calculation, an essential function in determining appropriate insulin dosage, is explicitly included in the list of eligible activities that make up the necessary 14 hours for those administering insulin therapy.
2. Amend the Income Tax Act rules for life-sustaining therapy by reducing the number of hours needed to qualify for the DTC from 14 to 10.
3. Protect RDSP savings so that those who’ve qualified for the RDSP can never lose it due to changes in their DTC status (except in cases of fraud) 

We need to protect access to the DTC and RDSP! TAKE ACTION: Write to the Minister of Finance and ask him to support Canadians with T1D.

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