OTTAWA -- The House of Commons unanimously passed an NDP motion yesterday calling on Finance Canada to reverse a controversial change in the disability tax credit that makes it harder for people to qualify.

The amendment, quietly introduced in August by the Finance Department, narrowed the definition of disability by defining it strictly as the inability to feed or dress oneself.

Marie White, chair of the Council of Canadians with Disabilities, said that although the government needs to do more, maintaining the status quo was a positive step.

"This is wonderful," she said. "The amount of money that would have been saved is minuscule; it boggles the mind that they would even try this."

The Finance amendment ruled that someone is disabled if they cannot manage the physical act of putting food in their mouth or an arm through their sleeve -- a change that disability groups argued ignored the reality of people who can lift a spoon but not prepare a meal or wash their clothes.

The motion, introduced by New Democratic Leader Alexa McDonough, passed a day after a debate in the House of Commons had signalled strong support, even among Liberals, to rescind the change.

Finance Minister John Manley, who had defended the new disability definition throughout the fall, did not vote.

Ms. McDonough said yesterday the Finance Canada changes were "mean-spirited."

"I think Parliamentarians came through today for people with disabilities; now it is time for the government to come through," she said.

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, chair of the Commons subcommittee on people with disabilities, said her committee had opposed the plan to narrow the definition of disability.

"It isn't the job of Finance officials to interpret the law. It's Parliament's job," she said.

The credit, designed to help Canadians with serious and long-term disabilities, provides tax refunds of up to $960 a year. It costs Ottawa $390-million annually.

To qualify, applicants must submit a questionnaire, filled out by their doctor or another medical expert, detailing their level of disability.

The change was a response to a Federal Court ruling that an Ottawa man with celiac disease, a life-threatening allergy to gluten, qualified for the credit. It was intended to prevent people from claiming they are disabled because they cannot prepare food -- or need a lot of time to do so -- as long as they can feed themselves.

It also narrowed the definition of ability to dress, to putting on and removing clothes, but not organizing or washing a wardrobe.