A Canadian military veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder says soldiers like him have been treated unfairly by government tax rules that force people with PTSD to pay more for service dogs than some other owners.
Sergeant Stuart Rodgers, a former Special Forces soldier who was diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia, says his service dog, Zeeban, has had a 鈥減rofound impact鈥� on his life.
"I had a lot of anger issues. I closed myself off to everybody," Rodgers told CTV News. 鈥淚t's like he unlocked the front door for me. He's allowed me to go out and participate with my family, go out and participate in my life.鈥�
But unlike service dog owners with chronic conditions such as epilepsy or autism, Rodgers is ineligible for medical tax write-offs for expenses such as veterinary bills and dog food. The reason: PTSD isn鈥檛 on the government鈥檚 list of qualified conditions for the tax break.
鈥淭he current tax code is antiquated and it doesn't reflect the reality of the times,鈥� Rodgers said.
Rodgers spends about $2,500 each year caring for Zeeban, and he paid $2,000 just to transport the specially-trained canine to his home. At least 100 other veterans with PTSD rely on similar day-to-day help from service dogs.
Frustrated by the tax rules, Rodgers petitioned the government to amend its position on PTSD. In response, he received a letter from Finance Minister Bill Morneau.
"The list of eligible expenses is regularly reviewed and expanded... your suggestion... will be taken into consideration," Morneau said in the letter.
Rodgers said he wasn鈥檛 satisfied by the response.
鈥淚 did find that it was kind of maybe a bit of a brush-off,鈥� he said.
Philip Ralph, national program director for veterans鈥� charity Wounded Warriors Canada, says the double-standard needs to be rectified.
鈥淭he dog is every bit as much a part of that veteran re-engaging with society as a wheelchair would be for somebody who is disabled,鈥� Ralph said.
Ralph said that inaction from the government 鈥渟eems to me to be discriminatory.鈥�
Estimates suggest that up to of veterans who serve in war zones (including those in peacekeeping forces) later experience PTSD, according to statistics from Veterans Affairs Canada. Other veterans can experience symptoms of the condition, including distressing memories, nightmares, flashbacks, gaps in memory and feeling detached from loved ones.
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Mercedes Stephenson
