The 2021 federal budget announced funds for diabetes.
A total of $25 million invested over five years
The budget proposed to provide Health Canada with $25 million over five years to make additional investments in diabetes research, including type 1 diabetes, surveillance and prevention, and to work towards the development of a national framework for diabetes.
It also proposed to provide the Public Health Agency of Canada with $10 million over five years to develop a new Diabetes Challenge Prize. This initiative will help identify new approaches to diabetes prevention and promote the development and testing of new interventions to reduce the risks associated with type 2 diabetes.
These investments will certainly benefit the 3.2 million Canadians living with diabetes.
Changes to the criteria for the disability tax credit … not before 2023
People living with insulin-dependent diabetes are potentially eligible for the Disability Tax Credit (DTC). To obtain this credit, people with diabetes must have a form completed by their treating physician and demonstrate that treatment management takes a minimum of 14 hours per week. The justification of the 14 hours according to the criteria currently defined is subject to interpretation and does not reflect the reality of the daily life of people living with insulin-dependent diabetes. Diabetes Québec and its Professional Council had taken a position on this subject in February 2021. (See the position paper (in French only) here).
In addition to the money invested, changes to the DTC criteria were announced. Budget 2021 expanded the activities recognized for calculating time spent on life-sustaining therapy to qualify for the tax credit. These changes will make the criteria more reflective of the reality of people living with insulin-dependent diabetes and greatly facilitate access to the DTC. However, the government does not plan to review these changes until 2023.
For more details on the 2021 federal budget, click here.