Feds to redo forms over barrier concerns

• The federal government will roll out a simplified application form for the Canada Child Benefit this month — just as it gets a bump in value — after hearing about barriers for newcomers and Indigenous people who are eligible but don’t go through the paperwork needed to get it.

The decision comes months after the minister in charge, Jean-yves Duclos, was briefed about mounting concerns that eligibility rules and the application itself for the Trudeau government’s signature child benefit may be barriers for some “at-risk” families.

While take-up rates are high, there are potentially thousands of eligible recipients who don’t receive the benefit because they are informal caregivers who aren’t recognized as legal guardians, or live on reserves and haven’t filed tax returns.

A briefing note prepared for Duclos late last year also highlighted a particularly problematic situation for Indigenous families whose children are released from provincial child-welfare systems. Provinces and territories flagged the transition “as a challenge for Indigenous Peoples” partly because “families do not typically reapply” for the benefit in that situation.

The briefing note said that the application would be overhauled to address concerns that it was too difficult to understand for some families, particularly newcomers to Canada.

The government says the new form is to be published this month — just as the benefit goes up to keep up with increases in the cost of living — and outreach to 700 First Nations is ongoing to help families apply for benefits, including pamphlets translated into Indigenous languages.

“We recognize that some families, particularly Indigenous ones living on- and off-reserve, face particular challenges in accessing the CCB and other benefits,” said Valerie Glazer, a spokeswoman for Duclos.

“We understand that the CCB is a valuable tool to help families who need it most, and we’ll continue to work to ensure that everyone who qualifies for the CCB receives it.”

On Saturday when the new benefit year begins, the maximum annual payment will increase to $6,639 for each child under age six, and $5,602 per child aged six to 17.

It’s the second time that there has been a benefit boost since the Liberals agreed last year to peg the value of payments to the rate of inflation ahead of schedule.

The benefit has been linked to a reduction of some 278,000 children living in poverty since its introduction in July 2016, replacing the universal child benefit introduced by the previous Conservative government.

In a statement, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer suggested he wouldn’t scrap the new benefit, saying that, if elected, he would “make sure parents keep every penny they get” from the child benefit.