January 13, 2011
The Honourable James Michael Flaherty
Minister of Finance
Department of Finance Canada
140 O’Connor Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0G5
Dear Minister Flaherty,
As the national voice for over 18,500 social workers in Canada, the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) promotes excellence in social work practice, education, and research. Social Work is one of the recognized healthcare professions that deliver critical, necessary, and valued services to thousands of Canadians on a daily basis.
At present, Canadians who access healthcare services provided by social workers do not have the ability to claim these services on their income tax through the medical expense tax credit (METC). Individuals accessing health and healthcare services from a social worker are not afforded the same opportunity to claim the METC as those who engage the services from a number of other healthcare professionals.
In this regard, paragraph 118.2(2)(a) of the Income Tax Act (ITA) allows an individual to include, as a qualifying medical expense, an amount paid to a medical practitioner. Medical Practitioners are defined in subsection 118.4(2) and include individuals licensed in a province or territory to practice certain health professions. According to the Canada Revenue Agency’s Interpretation Bulletin IT-519R2, and depending on the jurisdiction, qualified medical practitioners include: osteopaths, chiropractors, naturopaths, therapists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, Christian Science practitioners, psychoanalysts, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, acupuncturists, dietitians, and dental hygienists.
The majority of the medical practitioners listed above are not medical doctors. They are for the most part health care professionals. Their fees qualify for METC under paragraph 118.2(2)(a) to the extent that the fees paid are for diagnostic, therapeutic or rehabilitative services. This letter is a formal request to the Government of Canada to include the services of Registered Social Workers (RSW) within the category of medical practitioners qualifying for the refundable and the non-refundable METC.
In order to allow an individual who utilizes the services of a social worker to claim a tax credit for amounts paid for services rendered, CASW requests that changes be made to the METC provisions in the Income Tax Act (ITA). Specifically CASW requests an expansion of the definition of eligible expenses in ITA subsection 118.2(2) to include wording similar to that found in the Excise Tax Act for healthcare services provided by a social worker. This would be in line with the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax exemption that currently applies to services provided by a social worker to an individual in order to assist the person in coping with a physical, emotional, behavioural or mental disorder.
On behalf of social workers from across Canada, I thank you in advance for your attention to this important request in recognition of the valuable services social workers provide in support of the health and health care of Canadians.
Sincerely,
Darlene MacDonald, MSW, RSW
President, CASW
cc. The Honourable Ted Menzies, Minister of State (Finance)
The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq , Minister of Health
Scott Brison, Liberal Finance Critic,
Daniel Paillé, Bloc Québécois en matière des finances
Thomas Mulcair, NDP Finance Critic
CASW Member Organizations