As Maclean\’s magazine reported on December 7th, many Canadians with disabilities who decided to save for their future are in limbo at the moment. This comes after changes to Disability Tax Credits (DTC) were introduced in May. Unfortunately, with the new changes to DTC, many individuals who formally qualified for DTC credits are now finding themselves in a situation where they can\’t access funds from the Registered Disabilities Savings Fund (RDSF) because they don\’t qualify for DTC credits anymore.
Between October 18th and November 29th, Autism Canada heard from 142 families who had run into challenges applying for or renewing their DTC. Meanwhile, Diabetes Canada estimates that 80-90% of applications from people with Type 1 diabetes—many of whom formerly qualified—have had their claims denied since May.
Earlier this week, the public learned the government had in fact changed the language for the DTC application forms, which critics say has contributed to the increase in rejections. On top of that, doctors have complained that the DTC application form, which is the same regardless of condition, doesn’t allow them to effectively illustrate the degree to which someone’s disability creates daily challenges. This is doubly frustrating for applicants and their advocates who see accountants at the CRA overriding a health experts’ diagnoses and advice.
On December 8th, following the initial publication of this article, the CRA announced it will go back to using the terminology on the disability tax credit applications that was used before the number of rejections spiked this past spring. Amid the public backlash, officials also said they will review applications that were rejected since May, 2017, and that, going forward, a new Disability Advisory Committee will inform sound policies and services for people with disabilities.
Being denied the credit itself is often a minor setback for applicants. The major issue is a DTC credit rejection in terms of long-term savings. In 2008, the Conservative party launched a savings program called the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). Loosely speaking, for every dollar a person puts into the fund, the government will match it. The idea is to give a group of people who are overwhelmingly underemployed or unemployed a nest egg—potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars—to help cover their living expenses which tend to be higher than average. When the Harper government rolled out the program, they decided people could start accessing their RDSP funds 10 years after opening it. As a result, the earliest contributors will start accessing their funds on January 1st, 2018.
However, in order to have an RDSP and access it, a person needs to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. So, if you previously qualified for DTC but don\’t anymore due to the new rules, all of the government contribution will be gone when an individual is able to access it.
According to a CRA spokesperson, people who have had their DTC revoked can keep their RDSP open for a maximum of five years, in case they regain eligibility for the credit. During that five-year window, they can’t add to or take from their savings fund. If after the five years they still do not qualify for the DTC, their RDSP is shut down, and the government withdraws all of its contributions.
As it currently stands, this situation is a sad one for many in our community. As more and more complaints come in, it will be important to monitor if any further changes are made to enable individuals to access funds they so rightly believed they would be receiving.
Posted: January 10, 2018 by cvsadmin
Disability Alliance BC Announces New Resources
Disability Alliance BC recently announced that it has created new resources for people with disabilities who are victims of crime. We have created reader-friendly, ASL and captioned videos on different topics, as well as help information sheets in English and French.
The initiative is part of Disability Alliance BC\’s How I Need to Know project, which is generously funded by the Department of Justice. Currently, there are six videos in the series:
Video 1: How to Report a Crime to Police
Video 2: How to Report a Crime when you Have a Communication Disability
Video 3: What Happens When you go to Court
Video 4: Being a Witness & Testifying in Court
Video 5: What to do if you\’ve Been Sexually Assaulted
Video 6: How to Write your Victim Impact Statement
To view these videos in ASL, please visit the Disability Alliance BC site.
In addition to its videos, Disability Alliance BC has created help information sheets that cover key information in the videos in an easy-to-understand printable form. To access these help sheets, please click here.
Posted: January 9, 2018 by cvsadmin
\”I Be Proud, You Be Proud\” – can you join on March 15th for the 2018 Leadership Conference?
On March 15th, 2018, CLBC South Fraser Region Self Advocates in partnership with BC People First will be hosting its 2018 Leadership Conference, \”I be proud, You be proud\”.
Self Advocates from across the South Fraser Region as well as BCPF members from across the province will gather to celebrate what makes them Proud.
Event details:
When: Thursday March 15th 2008, 9am to 4:30pm
Where: Abbotsford Quality Hotel & Conference Centre, 36035 North Parallel Rd, Abbotsford BC V3G 2C6
Cost: $5.00 includes catered lunch, snacks and tea/coffee
Register: Pre-registration ONLY! No payments accepted at the door. Space is limited. Deadline to register is Wednesday February 21, 2018.
For more information about this event or to register, please click here.
Posted: January 5, 2018 by cvsadmin
What Do You Say to Parents Who Just Had a Child with Down Syndrome?
Thank you to Open Future Learning who shared this great video from the Canadian Down Syndrome Society with us. While the video uses some strong language, it presents a very strong and important message at the same time. One we wanted to share with our CVS community.
Source: Canadian Down Syndrome Society, 2017.
Released in November 2017, the video created quite a stir in the media and lots of feedback from the public at large. What do you think about the message this video sends?
Posted: January 2, 2018 by cvsadmin
Disability Pride 2017
We wanted to share a recent post from Inclusion BC about a 7-minute documentary it produced called Sherwin Strong: Disability Pride 2017. This documentary, that premiered at the screenings across BC for the 3rd annual UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities Film Festival on December 3rd, highlights experiences of Disability Pride 2017 through the eyes of Sherwin Glen Dan Strong.
Sherwin is a musician and self-advocate living in Comox, BC. Adopted as a baby, he\’s had a transformational journey through 39 surgeries, learning from his past and finding his own lifestyle and wisdom. Sherwin shares his perspective of Disability Pride 2017 and invites all of us to be part of the Disability Pride movement.
Take a few minutes and hear Sherwin\’s story and learn more about how Disability Pride is helping to further inclusion in our communities…
Source: Inclusion BC, Published December 13th, 2017
Community Ventures Society (CVS) is excited to share this video and to support Disability Pride. Our movement is an important one and one that we all need to stand behind.
All year, Inclusion BC has hosted conversations, panels and workshops, given presentations and grants and have made documentaries about the ideas and experience of Disability Pride.
The Story Behind Disability Pride 2017, a 7 minute documentary produced by Inclusion BC, premiered at the 2nd annual Film Festival at the end of 2016. It started a conversation about Pride in the Community Inclusion Movement. Inclusion BC looked at the history of our movement and other civil rights movements and then they went out and talked about it. For other groups, discovering Pride was an important step on their path towards acceptance and inclusion. Are we ready for it?
On June 15th, a Disability Pride 2017 Celebration and March was held and covered by a wide range of media outlets. On June 16th, the day after the March, Inclusion BC had a public open space to talk about how people felt after participating in the celebration and march and showed Minister Qualthrough\’s video in the meeting.
Posted: December 27, 2017 by cvsadmin
Music Nights are Back – Check out our 2018 Schedule…
Thursday is Music Night at Community Ventures Society with Glenn Argenal or Tony Prophet. Join us for a fun-filled evening with music, dancing and some light snacks.
When: Thursdays from 6:00pm-8:00pm
2018 Schedule:
January 11th & 25th February 8th & 22nd March 8th & 22ndMore 2018 dates to be released shortly.
Where: 2322 St. Johns Street, Port Moody
Details: Enter off of Spring Street, light snacks- cost is $5, people who need support should bring a support person. For more information call Dawne at 604.838.6381 or go to communityventures.ca
Posted: December 20, 2017 by cvsadmin
Helping People with Disabilities Find Suitable Housing
A recent report has shown that many seniors and people with disabilities are struggling in terms of housing across BC. An advocate for people with disabilities, Liz Barnett, Executive Director of the North Shore Disability Resource Centre recently shared her observations of this reality with the CBC. Barnett said that, like seniors, people with disabilities face extra challenges finding appropriate, accessible, affordable housing as well as mobility.
\”People with disabilities are citizens of British Columbia and deserve the same rights and access as all other citizens.\”, said Barnett. This statement highlights why it is so important for us to take this situation seriously and find ways to improve the situation for seniors and for those with disabilities.
Barnett says many provincial programs are disjointed and don\’t interact well with each other, creating gaps in services. She adds BC lacks a disability act which could guarantee levels of services.
On a positive note, there are a number of factors that can help people who are looking for housing to keep in mind.
New Housing
Barnett highlighted that in terms of new housing, things are improving. More developers, she says, realize that seniors are downsizing to smaller units as they age and those seniors may develop mobility issues. That means things like flat-level entrances to units and bathrooms and enough room to turn a wheelchair around are important. Other modifications include installing light switches lower down on walls and using lever-style door knobs instead of round knobs are other simple choices that can be made when constructing new housing, she said.
Older Housing
The CBC article highlights how Derek Wilson volunteers for the Tri-Cities Better at Home Program to make simple modifications to existing homes for better accessibility for seniors and people with disabilities — everything from changing light bulbs and smoke detector batteries to installing grab bars in bathrooms. For people with disabilities and seniors, not having access to these housing modifications can lead to serious consequences and accidents that could be avoided.
Building Code Changes Possible
Wilson says he\’d like to see new buildings be mandated to include a full plywood backing behind toilets and bathtubs to make grab bar installation easier. He has written to both the federal government and the City of Port Moody to request changes to their building codes to make this change.
Andre Laroche, manager of regulatory solutions for Codes Canada, which manages national building codes, says Wilson is not the only one to request that change and says the idea is being considered for adoption across the country. He says the next revision to Canada\’s national building codes will be published in 2020.
Community Ventures Society (CVS) fully supports groups that are helping to provide modifications to existing homes and developing new homes while keeping people with disabilities in mind. Additionally, CVS believes that modifications to existing building codes is a smart step to help facilitate change and create more opportunities in terms of housing for people with disabilities in BC and across Canada.
Posted: December 19, 2017 by cvsadmin
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year from CVS
We would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone in the CVS community – our members, families, staff and friends – a Merry Christmas. All of us hope you have the opportunity to sit back and enjoy this holiday season with your loved ones.
As a New Year approaches, we want to say thank you for contributing to another great year at CVS. We look forward to working with all of you and others in our community in 2018. Additionally, we hope 2018 will only bring health and happiness to you all.
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Posted: December 19, 2017 by cvsadmin
Staff 2017 Award Winners
Community Ventures Society (CVS) had its annual staff awards this past Saturday, December 16th. It was a great night in that we acknowledged the hard work and dedication of our CVS staff group.
Awards were presented to a number of individuals in recognition of their service to CVS and our community.
Here is a list of the award recipients from this year –
Long-term Service
Linda King – 25 years
Linda Johnston – 25 years
Della Routley – 20 years
Kim Sandi – 15 years
Saras Reddy – 10 years
Dawn Walsh – 10 years
Above & Beyond
Maureen Clearly
Tracey Hoogeveen (union voted)
Exemplary Practice
Cindy Borsai
Anna Campion
Brody Kragh
Tracy Hoogeveen
Visions & Values
Amanda Bingham
Russell Johnson
Leadership
Amrita Dhoot
Norm Waunch
Congratulations to the recipients & thank you for your hard work!
Posted: December 14, 2017 by cvsadmin
Christmas Party 2017
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Christmas Party on Friday, December 8th. Everyone had a great time – amazing food, lots of laughs and plenty of dancing! Here are some pictures from the evening.
Happy Holidays!
,
Posted: December 14, 2017 by cvsadmin
Long-term Savings Plans Currently in Limbo for Canadians with Disabilities
As Maclean\’s magazine reported on December 7th, many Canadians with disabilities who decided to save for their future are in limbo at the moment. This comes after changes to Disability Tax Credits (DTC) were introduced in May. Unfortunately, with the new changes to DTC, many individuals who formally qualified for DTC credits are now finding themselves in a situation where they can\’t access funds from the Registered Disabilities Savings Fund (RDSF) because they don\’t qualify for DTC credits anymore.
Between October 18th and November 29th, Autism Canada heard from 142 families who had run into challenges applying for or renewing their DTC. Meanwhile, Diabetes Canada estimates that 80-90% of applications from people with Type 1 diabetes—many of whom formerly qualified—have had their claims denied since May.
Earlier this week, the public learned the government had in fact changed the language for the DTC application forms, which critics say has contributed to the increase in rejections. On top of that, doctors have complained that the DTC application form, which is the same regardless of condition, doesn’t allow them to effectively illustrate the degree to which someone’s disability creates daily challenges. This is doubly frustrating for applicants and their advocates who see accountants at the CRA overriding a health experts’ diagnoses and advice.
On December 8th, following the initial publication of this article, the CRA announced it will go back to using the terminology on the disability tax credit applications that was used before the number of rejections spiked this past spring. Amid the public backlash, officials also said they will review applications that were rejected since May, 2017, and that, going forward, a new Disability Advisory Committee will inform sound policies and services for people with disabilities.
Being denied the credit itself is often a minor setback for applicants. The major issue is a DTC credit rejection in terms of long-term savings. In 2008, the Conservative party launched a savings program called the Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP). Loosely speaking, for every dollar a person puts into the fund, the government will match it. The idea is to give a group of people who are overwhelmingly underemployed or unemployed a nest egg—potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars—to help cover their living expenses which tend to be higher than average. When the Harper government rolled out the program, they decided people could start accessing their RDSP funds 10 years after opening it. As a result, the earliest contributors will start accessing their funds on January 1st, 2018.
However, in order to have an RDSP and access it, a person needs to qualify for the Disability Tax Credit. So, if you previously qualified for DTC but don\’t anymore due to the new rules, all of the government contribution will be gone when an individual is able to access it.
According to a CRA spokesperson, people who have had their DTC revoked can keep their RDSP open for a maximum of five years, in case they regain eligibility for the credit. During that five-year window, they can’t add to or take from their savings fund. If after the five years they still do not qualify for the DTC, their RDSP is shut down, and the government withdraws all of its contributions.
As it currently stands, this situation is a sad one for many in our community. As more and more complaints come in, it will be important to monitor if any further changes are made to enable individuals to access funds they so rightly believed they would be receiving.
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