Petition to the Government of Canada
  Whereas:
  
    The Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) applies to supplies of most goods and services;
    If a profession is regulated as a health profession by at least five provinces or territories, the services of that profession are GST/HST exempt;
    The profession of counselling therapy/psychotherapy meets this criteria;
    Nova Scotia (Registered Counselling Therapist - 2011),  Quebec (Psychotherapy Permit - 2012),  Ontario (Registered Psychotherapist - 2015), New Brunswick (Licensed Counselling Therapist - 2017), Prince Edward Island (Counselling Therapist - 2021);
    A tax exemption was refused because the provinces regulated the profession under different titles;
    Counselling therapy and psychotherapy are the same profession as demonstrated by a shared scope of practice, comparable qualification requirements, aligned codes of ethics, and recognition under the Canada Free Trade Agreement;
    The federal government must respect the expertise and practices of provinces/territories in the health care field with regard to naming professions; and
    In December 2021, Bill C-218: An Act to amend the Excise Tax Act (psychotherapy services) was tabled, but a budgetary bill is required to redress this issue.
  
  
    We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to table a budgetary bill to amend section 1 of Part II of Schedule V of the Excise Tax Act to include “practitioner in respect to the supply of … counselling therapy/psychotherapy services,” as well as section 7 of Part II of Schedule V of the Excise Tax Act to include “counselling therapy/psychotherapy services”.