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Using tax system for social benefits a ‘sticking point’ for dental benefit: experts

Published

2 years ago

October 4, 2022

OTTAWA — Economic and public policy experts warn the proposed federal dental benefit may not reach the families most in need because the government has chosen to distribute it through the tax system.

The federal government plans to send cheques of up to $650 to qualifying low- and medium-income households to help pay for children’s dental needs through the same platform used for Canada Child Benefit payments.

That is run through the Canada Revenue Agency, which the experts suggest could be a problem because many low-income families are less likely to file tax returns.

That means they face barriers to accessing the Canada Child Benefit payments and could encounter similar roadblocks when it comes to getting the new dental benefit.

“Low-income people, homeless people, people on social assistance — all of these groups of people have really low tax filing rates and low take-ups of benefits that are already out there like the Canada Child Benefit,” said Gillian Petit, an economist and research associate at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy.

“Pushing out the dental benefit using the same platform is going to run into a lot of the same issues.”

The same is true for those who do not speak English or French, she said, citing the onerous and daunting administrative work as a potential factor. She said this will likely also be the case for the proposed dental benefit.

The Canada Revenue Agency plans to use past tax returns to determine if families meet the income criteria and confirm that they have a child under the age of 12. After that, families will need to attest that they do not have private dental insurance and that they have out-of-pocket dental expenses. They will also have to provide their dentist’s contact information and the approximate date of their child’s appointment and keep their receipts in case they are audited.

“It’s just a lot of paperwork and time,” Petit said.

Jennifer Robson, an associate professor and program director of political management at Carleton University, says about 10.5 per cent of adults with children under the age of 18 don’t file a tax return, and those families tend to be below the poverty line.

“Intuitively, those are an awful lot of people who are probably financially vulnerable and less likely to have access to dental insurance,” said Robson.

Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society, has previously spoken about how there are also many reasons Indigenous Peoples may not fill out their income tax returns, from principled stands against colonization and lack of trust in government to lower literacy stemming from poorly funded public services.

She made the comments in June, when auditor general Karen Hogan found the government was not doing enough to make sure income-tested supports like the child benefit get to hard-to-reach populations like those living on reserves, despite spending tens of millions of dollars on outreach.

The dental benefit is a key element of the supply and confidence agreement struck between the Liberals and the NDP, which stipulates that the government has until the end of the year to offer dental care to children under the age of 12 with a household income under $90,000.

This newbenefit is therefore meant to be an interim measure while the federal government works on a more complete dental-care plan.

“This is what you get when you rush policy because you have an artificial deadline,” Robson said. “You cobble something together because a better delivery mechanism would take an awful lot more time to develop.”

In a joint statement, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos and National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said children shouldn’t have to wait to access the care that they need.

“The Canada Revenue Agency has the resources to quickly deliver this interim program due to its extensive infrastructure, long-standing experience in providing services to Canadians and outreach work within communities to help Canadians navigate the tax and benefit system,” they said in the written statement sent Tuesday.

The ministers urged potentially eligible parents to sign up for a CRA account and make sure they filed their 2021 tax returns.

Robson disagrees. She said the tax-collection agency is designed to do just that — collect taxes — and is not equipped to distribute social benefits.

“The government learned during the pandemic that CRA is pretty good at cutting cheques to a lot of people,” she said. “I don’t think that we have come to grips with what that comes along with.”

The Liberal government’s dental-care legislation is still awaiting a second-reading vote in the House of Commons, but is expected to pass with support from the NDP.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 4, 2022.

Laura Osman, The Canadian Press

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Langford, Heim lead Rangers to wild 13-8 win over Blue Jays

Published

3 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Rookie Wyatt Langford homered, doubled twice and became the first Texas player this season to reach base five times, struggling Jonah Heim delivered a two-run single to break a sixth-inning tie and the Rangers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 13-8 on Tuesday night.

Leody Taveras also had a homer among his three hits for the Rangers.

Langford, who also walked twice, has 12 homers and 25 doubles this season. He is hitting .345 in September.

“I think it’s really important to finish on a strong note,” Langford said. “I’m just going to keep trying to do that.”

Heim was 1-for-34 in September before he lined a single to right field off Tommy Nance (0-2) to score Adolis García and Nathaniel Lowe, giving Texas a 9-7 lead. Heim went to the plate hitting .212 with 53 RBIs after being voted an All-Star starter last season with a career-best 95 RBIs. He added a double in the eighth ahead of Taveras’ homer during a three-run inning.

Texas had 13 hits and left 13 men on. It was the Rangers’ highest-scoring game since a 15-8 win at Oakland on May 7.

Matt Festa (5-1) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win, giving him a 5-0 record in 13 appearances with the Rangers after being granted free agency by the New York Mets on July 7.

Nathan Eovaldi, a star of Texas’ 2023 run to the franchise’s first World Series championship, had his worst start of the year in what could have been his final home start with the Rangers. Eovaldi, who will be a free agent next season, allowed 11 hits (the most of his two seasons with Texas) and seven runs (tied for the most).

“I felt like early in the game they just had a few hits that found the holes, a few first-pitch base hits,” said Eovaldi, who is vested for a $20 million player option with Texas for 2025. “I think at the end of the day I just need to do a better job of executing my pitches.”

Eovaldi took a 7-3 lead into the fifth inning after the Rangers scored five unearned runs in the fourth. The Jays then scored four runs to knock out Eovaldi after 4 2/3 innings.

Six of the seven runs scored against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in 3 2/3 innings were unearned. Bassitt had a throwing error during Texas’ two-run third inning.

“We didn’t help ourselves defensively, taking care of the ball to secure some outs,” Blue Jays manager John Schneider said.

The Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. had a double and two singles, his most hits in a game since having four on Sept. 3. Guerrero is hitting .384 since the All-Star break.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette (calf) was activated and played for the first time since July 19, going 2 for 5 with an RBI. … OF Daulton Varsho (shoulder) was placed on the 10-day injured list and will have rotator cuff surgery … INF Will Wagner (knee inflammation) was placed on the 60-day list.

UP NEXT

Rangers: LHP Chad Bradford (5-3, 3.97 ERA) will pitch Wednesday night’s game on extended five days’ rest after allowing career highs in hits (nine), runs (eight) and home runs (three) in 3 2/3 innings losing at Arizona on Sept. 14.

Blue Jays: RHP Bowden Francis (8-4, 3.50) has had two no-hitters get away in the ninth inning this season, including in his previous start against the New York Mets on Sept. 11. Francis is the first major-leaguer to have that happen since Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan in 1989.

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Billie Jean King set to earn another honor with the Congressional Gold Medal

Published

4 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billie Jean King will become the first individual female athlete to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey announced Tuesday that their bipartisan legislation had passed the House of Representatives and would be sent to President Joe Biden for his signature.

The bill to honor King, the tennis Hall of Famer and activist, had already passed unanimously in the Senate.

Sherrill, a Democrat, said in a statement that King’s “lifetime of advocacy and hard work changed the landscape for women and girls on the court, in the classroom, and the workplace.”

The bill was introduced last September on the 50th anniversary of King’s victory over Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes,” still the most-watched tennis match of all-time. The medal, awarded by Congress for distinguished achievements and contributions to society, has previously been given to athletes including baseball players Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente, and golfers Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson and Arnold Palmer.

King had already been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Fitzpatrick, a Republican, says she has “broken barriers, led uncharted paths, and inspired countless people to stand proudly with courage and conviction in the fight for what is right.”

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Account tweaks for young Instagram users ‘minimum’ expected by B.C., David Eby says

Published

4 hours ago

September 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

SURREY, B.C. – Premier David Eby says new account control measures for young Instagram users introduced Tuesday by social media giant Meta are the “minimum” expected of tech companies to keep kids safe online.

The parent company of Instagram says users in Canada and elsewhere under 18 will have their accounts set to private by default starting Tuesday, restricting who can send messages, among other parental controls and settings.

Speaking at an unrelated event Tuesday, Eby says the province began talks with social media companies after threatening legislation that would put big tech companies on the hook for “significant potential damages” if they were found negligent in failing to keep kids safe from online predators.

Eby says the case of Carson Cleland, a 12-year-old from Prince George, B.C., who took his own life last year after being targeted by a predator on Snapchat, was “horrific and totally preventable.”

He says social media apps are “nothing special,” and should be held to the same child safety standards as anyone who operates a place that invites young people, whether it’s an amusement park, a playground or an online platform.

In a progress report released Tuesday about the province’s engagement with big tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Spapchat and X, formerly known as Twitter, the provincial government says the companies are implementing changes, including a “trusted flagger” option to quickly remove intimate images.

— With files from The Associated Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2024

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