CCD Chairperson's Update - #DTCforAll

Refundable DTC Campaign - #DTCforAll

During the current election campaign, the Council of Canadians with Disabilities (CCD) and Independent Living Canada (ILC) are joining together to ask political leaders to commit to making the Disability Tax Credit (DTC) refundable.

Here’s why:

• The current DTC provides tax relief for eligible Canadians with disabilities who are working and paying taxes.
• For 2/3 of the demographic - about 750,000 people - the DTC is of no assistance because they are not earning enough money to receive tax credits.
• A new Refundable Disability Tax Credit (#DTCforAll) would help offset additional costs for persons living with significant disabilities, regardless of their income.
• This reform would extend a modest annual amount of financial support to many of the lowest income earners in Canada and create new opportunities for inclusion and participation.

In order to inform the public, mobilize our communities and present our request to the political party leaders, we have launched a website with a petition, as well as Facebook and Twitter pages. The theme of the campaign is #DTCforAll.

We are asking you to get involved in this initiative. To do this you can:

• Go to the website and sign the petition: www.dtcforall.org.
• Follow us on Facebook and Twitter: www.facebook.com/DTCforAll, @DTCforAll.
• Share this message with all your members and contacts.
• Send us your logo (dtcforall@gmail.com) to add to our list of organizations that are supporting the #DTCforAll campaign.

Please let us know if you are planning a relevant all-candidate forum or other advocacy activity during the election campaign so we can add it to our calendar.

For more information, please call:
Council of Canadians with Disabilities, 204-947-0303;
Independent Living Canada, 613-563-2581; or
E-mail: dtcforall@gmail.com.

Thank you!

Together for inclusion and participation,
James Hicks, National Coordinator
Council of Canadians with Disabilities

Diane Kreuger, National Director
Independent Living Canada

Get Ready to Vote

In this Update, CCD is promoting Elections Canada's (EC) September e-Bulletin, Ready to Vote. Please share it throughout your network.

In the September e-Bulletin, EC shares information about:

• EC's accessibility services.
• Registering to vote.
• How to prove your identity and address at the poll.

Connect with EC through Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook.

EC has developed accessible YouTube videos, which focus on issues of interest to voters with disabilities. Check out:

• Accessible Voting.
• Accessible Voting (ASL).

CCD is sharing EC's information, so that people with disabilities will be aware of all of the ways that they can participate in the 2015 Federal Election.