OTTAWA — As the first Canada Child Benefit cheques were mailed in 2016, cabinet ministers fanned out across the country to raise awareness about the Liberals’ landmark new program to lift children out of poverty.
Then-Indigenous affairs minister Carolyn Bennett was dispatched to Enoch Cree Nation, just outside Edmonton, to speak about the importance of the new benefit to people on First Nations and encourage them to fill out their income tax returns.
“It is important that Indigenous families are aware of this benefit and we are committed to provide the support they need to help with tax filing,” Bennett said in a statement about the trip.
In the six years since, the government has struggled to make the benefits available to First Nations families, and Indigenous advocates and economists have called for a more creative approach that looks beyond income tax.
Now, Canada’s auditor general has added her voice to that chorus.
In a report released Tuesday, Karen Hogan found the government isn’t 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 most recent figures show only 79 per cent of eligible families on First Nations accessed the Canada Child Benefit in 2017 compared to 97 per cent of the general population.
The auditor said it’s not possible to know whether that gap has closed since 2017 because the eligibility figures are based on census data, which is only gathered every five years.
Though not directly related to her report, the auditor said Tuesday the government should consider an approach that doesn’t include income tax filing as a mandatory requirement.
“You could explore, as they’re doing with the Guaranteed Income Supplement, a different way of demonstrating income other than a tax return,” Hogan said at a news conference.
“It’s that sort of creative thinking to go out and reach that hard-to-reach population, which might be helpful in trying to actually increase uptake in some of these programs.”
There are many reasons people 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, said Cindy Blackstock, executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society.
“To expect families who have got this additional piece of the traumatic crises and the disadvantage because of the underfunding of education and therefore the lower literacy levels to access benefits that way, it just makes no sense,” Blackstock said in an interview.
The Assembly of First Nations has said for years that relying on tax returns is not effective.
When questioned on whether the government would consider separating the benefit from the income tax system, Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould pointed to the government’s existing strategy of connecting First Nations families with federal employees to help them fill out the necessary forms.
“There are actual people from Service Canada who connect with third-party organizations who have community relationships, where they can go and build that trust in terms of making that application,” Gould said at a news conference Tuesday.
“It is absolutely a top priority for me.”
Public sector economist Ross Hickey said it’s not clear if federal workers can overcome the lack of trust First Nations families have in the government. But the government has a fiduciary and moral responsibility to Indigenous people to make sure they get the benefits they’re entitled to, regardless of the personal decision they make about their tax returns, he said.
There are options the government could consider to encourage people to fill out their income tax forms, automate the process or circumvent it entirely, Hickey said, but the government needs to balance that against ensuring the integrity of the program.
One option would be to engage band offices, said Hickey, who is of Indigenous heritage.
“The band, I think, can play a role in encouraging those Canadian Indigenous band members to ensure that they’re getting access to those programs,” he said, but added right now bands don’t have the incentives or the resources to do that.
Blackstock suggests creating a parallel program specifically for First Nations that doesn’t use the income tax system.
“There already are mechanisms to flow funding through First Nations for the provision of social services, like child welfare, social assistance, etc. And this ought to be added to it,” she said.
Others have suggested automating the income tax system, but Hickey said it’s an imperfect solution because many people make money under the table.
“It’s not going to be one solution to this. There need to be a lot of different approaches taken, I think,” Hickey said.
The suggestions aren’t new, however, and the auditor’s greatest frustration with her job is that often she highlights issues and nothing changes.
“It’s very frustrating and discouraging for the government to know, for many years, that problems exist, that barriers exist, but that little action is taken to address and eliminate them. So it’s time for actions to actually catch up with all of the words,” Hogan said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2022.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
