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OTTAWA — Sufferers of autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental health issues are the latest victims of a clampdown on access to the disability tax credit by the Canada Revenue Agency, according to several accountants, mental health associations and other advocacy groups.

Sources told the National Post that some lifelong sufferers of mental disabilities have been cut off from the disability tax credit, or DTC, in the past two or three years after having received the credit for decades.

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The statements come after an uproar in Ottawa earlier this week over restricted access to the DTC for sufferers of diabetes, which caused a firestorm of accusations toward the Trudeau Liberals from the opposition NDP and Conservatives. The Liberals have in recent months faced widespread criticism over proposed tax changes directed at private corporations.

Advocates say similarly restricted access to the DTC has occurred for mentally disabled people, largely due to a change in the language used to determine whether they are adequately disabled to be eligible for the tax credit. That has led to a higher number of people appealing rejections for DTC funding, advocates and tax consultants say.