Category Archives: Ontario

How the mentally disabled are lost in the legal system

Without legal aid, people with cognitive and learning disabilities cannot cope with the demands of the law

Maria by Eric Parker 234x300 How the mentally disabled are lost in the legal system photo

Maria was busking to earn bus fare back to Vancouver. She told a long and convoluted tale, a tortured story of mental illness, homelessness and rejection. (Photo Eric Parker Flickr Creative Commons)

Canadians with cognitive and learning disabilities are falling through the cracks of Canada’s legal system.

They often lack the skills to deal with details like court dates, the demands for clear thinking and the pace of the courts.

Unless they get legal aid, those living with mental disabilities are not being treated fairly by the Courts or the Human Rights system that are supposed to protect them.

“Individuals who live with cognitive and perceptual impairments need more time to understand what they are facing, what their options are and how to respond,” said Toronto lawyer Sarah Shartal. (Toronto Star)

“Informed consent or informed participation takes talk…it takes time to explain things to people who have difficulty thinking clearly.”

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Concerts to Raise Funds for Singer Songwriter Ron Hynes

“The Power of Song, Rallying For Ron” to be held in Halifax, Newfoundland, and Toronto

Ron Hynes Man of a Thousand Songs Concerts to Raise Funds for Singer Songwriter Ron Hynes photo“Power of Song, Rallying for Ron” will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 26th at Dalhousie Arts Centre’s Cohn Auditorium at 7:30pm.

The concert will celebrate the man and the music of well-known and much-loved Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Hynes, who has recently been diagnosed and begun treatment for throat cancer.

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Charlottetown and PEI facing dry hot summer

Rain has fallen below 30% for three months with no end in sight

Noah Sad 400 Charlottetown and PEI facing dry hot summer photo

Noah looks in vain for the water fountain on Victoria Row, Charlottetown (photo by Steven Daniel McKenna)

Charlottetown and PEI in general is having its worst summer in decades for heat without rain.

As of July 15th, Charlottetown has only received 4.25″ (108 mm) of rain since May.

Normally, 9″ (230 mm) of rain would have fallen in the same time.

Noah Clements and all the other children who like to play in the fountain on Victoria Row will be disappointed unless rain starts falling, which is not in the forecast.  Continue reading →

Disability Issues Get Attention in Ontario Election

McGuinty integrated accessibility regulationjt 150x150 Disability Issues Get Attention in Ontario Election photo

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty Tracy Odell, APDD

Disabilities get small concessions in Ontario from political parties

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PEI gets social benefits direct deposit

Postal strike PEI gets social benefits direct deposit photo

Many recipients who are still getting checks in the mail will have to pick them up this month

After years of talk, in May PEI adopted direct deposit for social benefits like Financial Assistance and Disability Support.

Many didn’t get the paperwork done and will have to pick up their cheques due to the postal strike.
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Wife of Canadian with disability wins historic tax case against CRA

Disability Tax Credit Certificate case won by Lembi Buchanan in 2001 had reverberations across Canada

Lembi Buchanan 400 Wife of Canadian with disability wins historic tax case against CRA photo

Lembi Buchanan (right) receives Access Award for Disability Issues from Toronto Councillor Pam McConnell (left) (photo Toronto.ca)

Archive Nov 2001 Part of a series reporting the ten years of harassment of Canadians with disabilities by Canada Revenue Agency- Lembi Buchanan represented her husband in a landmark case at the Federal Tax Court when CRA refused his Disability Tax Credit.  Buchanan won in court and became an important advocate for people with disabilities. She served on the “Technical Advisory Committee on Tax Treatment for Persons with Disabilities which led to a major overhaul of the eligibility criteria for the DTC, especially for persons with mental impairments.”

by Lembi Buchanan, from ARCH

When is a disability not a disability?

The bureaucrats at Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (“CCRA”) believe that they know exactly where to draw the line. Instead of relying on the medical profession for an accurate and fair assessment of the severity of each patient’s disability according to the eligibility criteria in the Income Tax Act, CCRA has revised the Disability Tax Credit (“DTC”) Certificate, form T2201, to simplify the process. What could be easier for the physician than checking off a few “yes” and “no” boxes?

Of course, nothing in life is quite that simple. The current DTC form has created a hurdle that is virtually impossible for every individual disabled by a severe mental impairment to surmount because the federal government has made two assumptions that are not true:

1. individuals with a severe and prolonged mental impairment cannot think, perceive or remember, and

2. individuals with a severe and prolonged mental impairment cannot manage or initiate personal care without constant supervision.

The recent court case of Buchanan v. Her Majesty the Queen underlines the urgent need for a full review the DTC Certificate because it discriminates against individuals with severe and prolonged mental impairments.  Continue reading →

Mass Audit of the Disability Tax Credit

Archive – ARCH reports Canada Customs and Revenue Agency targeting Canadians with disabilities

arch logo Mass Audit of the Disability Tax Credit photoPart of a series reporting the ten years of harassment of Canadians with disabilities by Canada Revenue Agency. In November 2001, ARCH sounded the alarm that the tax man was trying to eliminate the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) for hundreds of thousands of Canadians with taxpayers. We re-print the story in 2011 since it appears CRA are starting another campaign to restrict the DTC.  Continue reading →