Disability Advisory Committee

In September 2022, Ms. Gillian Pranke became Assistant Commissioner, Assessment, Benefit, and Service Branch (ABSB) at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). ABSB is responsible for the assessment of taxes, processing a wide range of federal and provincial credits and benefits including the Canada Child Benefit and the Disability Tax Credit, and providing services to Canadians both electronically (e.g. CRA’s online portals such as My Account, My Business Account) and through the CRA contact centres across the country. Ms. Pranke is also CRA’s national champion for Employment Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Ms. Pranke has held a variety of senior level positions within the CRA of increasing responsibility, including Director of the International Tax Services Office, Director of the Ottawa Tax Services Office, and Director of the Ottawa Technology Centre and Director General, Call Centre Services Directorate.

Ms. Pranke holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Ottawa, is a graduate of the Public Service Commission’s DirEXion program, and has completed the Certificate Program in Public Service Leadership and Governance with the University of Ottawa.

For the last 17 years, Sharon has been navigating health systems, involved in research, policy consultations, inclusive education, and housing projects for the Autism and the disability community provincially and nationally. For the last 4 years, she has been a member of and recent Co-Chair of the Disability Advisory Committee appointed by the Minister of Revenue and the CRA, and has contributed to 4 reports. She has contributed as a panelist at conferences and for consultations on various topics regarding disability policy from economic inclusion to navigation and accessibility of benefits, and more. She recently left her part-time role as Director of Engagement at the Child-Bright Research Network, but has remained associated with the Network as an Advisor.  She is the Founder and the Executive Director of La Fondation Place Coco and the Little Red Playhouse since its inception in 2008.

Jonathan Lai (PhD) is the Executive Director at the Canadian Autism Spectrum Disorders Alliance (CASDA). He also holds an Adjunct Faculty position in Health Services Research at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation (IHPME) in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. At CASDA, Jonathan's current work involves responding to emerging policy gaps in the autism sector and being a constructive policy idea generator to guide the development of a National Autism Strategy in Canada.

Jonathan’s career has moved from generating research to policy impact in the autism and disability sector. Previously, he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at York University followed by a Health System Impact Fellowship at McGill University and the Centre for Innovation in Autism and Intellectual Disabilities in Montreal. In his work, he researched predictors of changes in service use for people with developmental disabilities. He has led the development of a program evaluation of a specialized medical-dental primary care clinic for people with developmental disabilities, led policy dialogues, and hosted Side Events at the United Nations Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. His graduate training in Neuroscience at Guelph and McMaster focused on gene-environment influences on the developing brain, funded consecutively by Ontario Mental Health Foundation and a CIHR Vanier Scholarship.

Brendon Pooran is the Managing Partner of PooranLaw Professional Corporation, a law firm based in Toronto which provides advice to people with disabilities, their families and community-based organizations within the disability sector.  His primary areas of practice include trust and estate planning, disability law and corporate law for non-profits and charities.  He has been very involved in law and policy reforms efforts involving issues and initiatives affecting people with disabilities including the legal capacity, affordable housing, social assistance programs and the Registered Disability Saving Plan. In addition to his practice, Brendon is a professor of Disability Law at York University and a former Senior Lawyer Member on the Ontario Consent & Capacity Board.  He is also a founding director of PLAN Toronto (now Partners for Planning) and Chair of the Board of Microboards Ontario, both non-profit organizations focused on future planning for people with disabilities and their families.  Before entering the legal profession, Brendon spent several years as a management consultant where he advised state and local government agencies in the United States.