Re: Is this a disability?

[Anonymous]

Hi Glen,

I’ve been in a similar boat. The Canada Revenue Agency does have something called Taxpayer relief provisions. I’ve been up this avenue but they take a long time to respond. I believe you first have to submit your paperwork to the Director of your local tax office and they go from there. Here’s the information about these provisions:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/gncy/frnss/prv_1-eng.html

A disability is generally defined in Canadian law as something that impedes one’s ability to contribute to society. ADD/ADHD is definitely an impediment and as such should be recognized as a disability in most instances. Whether this is recognized by CRA is a question which has been considered by various Canadian courts and has been upheld. Refer to the case below:

McNaughton v. The Queen, 2005 TCC 714 (CanLII)

http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/tcc/doc/2005/2005tcc714/2005tcc714.html

The above deals specifically with whether an ADHD child qualifies for the CRA disability tax credit. The court refers to several decisions that support disabilities that deal with “thinking, perceiving and remembering.” While it does not speak directly to your situation, it may be helpful in addressing your question in general. Perhaps seek out the advice of professionals in this case. Google turned up these folks:

http://www.brematson.ca/faqs

(This post is not legal advice.)

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