Readout: Disability Advisory Committee Meeting – November 25–26, 2019

On November 25–26, 2019, the Disability Advisory Committee (DAC) held its third meeting this year in Ottawa, Ontario.

The DAC was reinstated in November 2017 to advise the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on its administrative practices related to the Disability Tax Credit (DTC), and makes recommendations about how the CRA can enhance the quality of the services it provides to persons with disabilities. The Committee is in the second year of its mandate, and is focusing on its next phase of work following its first report.

During the meeting, the CRA provided an update about its progress to implement the Committee’s administrative recommendations put forward in their first annual report: Enabling access to disability tax measures. Each of the Committee’s working groups reported on the progress they’ve made since the last meeting in June. The DAC working groups focus on issues related to health practitioners, stakeholder engagement, Indigenous issues, tax preparers and policy and legislation. The Committee also had a policy discussion to build on the recommendations made in the first annual report.

In addition, the DAC Health Practitioners Working Group outlined a series of upcoming focus groups with health providers to explore the Committee’s recommendations around issues related to the DTC.

The Committee was also provided with the most recent DTC statistics, which are expected to be published on the CRA’s website in the coming weeks.

The meeting concluded with a brief discussion about the Committee’s second annual report that will be presented to the Minister of National Revenue and the Commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency in spring 2020. Plans were also discussed for the Committee’s next meeting, which will be held in February 2020.