In all likelihood, there are no villains, only victims in this saga of mismanagement, intimidation, deception, corruption and fraud. I never had any intention of becoming “an accidental advocate.” Still, I couldn’t let Jim down when he appealed his case to the tax court. He was counting on me, and there were others as well.
On October 19, 2001 the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency sent a form letter to 106,000 Canadians with disabilities raising questions about their entitlement to the DTC, and cutting them out of the program altogether:
After reviewing your file, we have determined that we do not have enough information to continue to allow your claim for the 2001 and future tax years… In order for us to re-evaluate your eligibility for the DTC, you need to send us a new Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate…. We appreciate your co-operation and understanding in this matter. We regret any inconvenience this review may have caused.
The unwarranted assault by the government on some of its most disadvantaged citizens was unprecedented. In order to continue to access the tax credit, disabled taxpayers would have to reapply with a new, more restrictive application form. My friend Wilf, who had been given a lifetime exemption, was also targeted. A retired civil servant, he relied on a wheelchair because his body was horribly twisted out of shape by dystonia, a rare movement disorder. Wilf was on his way to Puerto Rico for the winter when the letter arrived at his doorstep.
I discovered soon enough, in a mysterious email from a government official who wished to remain anonymous, that the audit of the DTC program was inevitable. He claimed that there was a “cover-up of significant fraud and mismanagement” of the DTC program by senior staff at the CCRA. He also suggested that members of the medical profession were an accessory in the massive deception with “300,000 currently fraudulent claims.”
An Accidental Advocate 