Parents who receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) will start to see an increase, with the indexed-to-inflation monthly payment getting its annual boost this month.
The CCB is recalculated every July based on the net family income for the previous year.
According to the federal government, this year it’s seeing a 6.3-per cent increase, meaning families can receive up to $7,437 per child under the age of six, and up to $6,275 per child aged six through 17.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau touted the payment as a way his government is helping Canadian families tackle the cost of living, saying at a summer camp in Kingston, Ont. Thursday it’s been lifting children out of poverty since it was first implemented.
“Seven years ago we brought in the Canada Child Benefit,” he said. “It has impacted families from coast to coast to coast with hundreds of dollars tax free every single month to help with the high costs of raising kids.”
According to the federal government, there were about 653,000 fewer children living in poverty in 2021 compared to when the Liberals came to power in 2015, and when the CCB came into effect in 2016, though there were slight increases during the COVID-19 pandemic.
And according to Statistics Canada’s 2021 census data, poverty has declined among all ages, but especially so for children, declining to less than half of the 2015 levels for all age brackets under 18.
Canada’s inflation rate fell to 2.8 per cent in June after hitting a peak 8.1 per cent at this time last year, and Trudeau has lauded the CCB — along with the dental, grocery, and rental benefits — as an example of how the federal government is helping tackle the cost of living amid the record-setting inflation of the last year.
While this benefit boost was pre-planned, the federal Liberals continue to face criticism from the Conservative Party in particular for continued spending amid a time of high inflation.
Families, Children and Social Development Minister Karina Gould also sent out a statement marking the seven-year anniversary of the payment today.
“The Canada Child Benefit is one of the most important programs that our government has introduced,” Gould wrote. “It has helped Canadian families with the costs of raising children under 18 years of age, which is essential to their well-being and the growth of our economy.”
The federal government provides an online calculation sheet to determine for how much each family is eligible, and the payment is administered through the Canada Revenue Agency.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. – Police in New Glasgow, N.S., say a 44-year-old woman faces fraud charges after funds went missing from the Pictou East Progressive Conservative Association.
New Glasgow Regional Police began the investigation on Oct. 7, after Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston reported that an undisclosed amount of money had gone missing from his riding association’s account.
Police allege that a volunteer who was acting as treasurer had withdrawn funds from the association’s account between 2016 and 2024.
The force says it arrested Tara Amanda Cohoon at her Pictou County, N.S., residence on Oct. 11.
They say investigators seized mobile electronic devices, bank records and cash during a search of the home.
Cohoon has since been released and is to appear in Pictou provincial court on Dec. 2 to face charges of forgery, uttering a forged document, theft over $5,000 and fraud over $5,000.
Police say their investigation remains ongoing.
Houston revealed the investigation to reporters on Oct. 9, saying he felt an “incredible level of betrayal” over the matter.
The premier also said a volunteer he had known for many years had been dismissed from the association and the party.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
PICTOU, N.S. – A Nova Scotia excavation company has been fined $80,000 after a worker died when scaffolding collapsed on one of its job sites.
In a decision released Wednesday, a Nova Scotia provincial court judge in Pictou, N.S., found the failure by Blaine MacLane Excavation Ltd. to ensure scaffolding was properly installed led to the 2020 death of Jeff MacDonald, a self-employed electrician.
The sentence was delivered after the excavation company was earlier found guilty of an infraction under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Judge Bryna Hatt said in her decision she found the company “failed in its duty” to ensure that pins essential to the scaffolding’s stability were present at the work site.
Her decision said MacDonald was near the top of the structure when it collapsed on Dec. 9, 2020, though the exact height is unknown.
The judge said that though the excavation company did not own the scaffolding present on its job site, there was no evidence the company took steps to prevent injury, which is required under legislation.
MacDonald’s widow testified during the trial that she found her husband’s body at the job site after he didn’t pick up their children as planned and she couldn’t get in touch with him over the phone.
Julie MacDonald described in her testimony how she knew her husband had died upon finding him due to her nursing training, and that she waited alone in the dark for emergency responders to arrive after calling for help.
“My words cannot express how tragic this accident was for her, the children, and their extended family,” Hatt wrote in the sentencing decision.
“No financial penalty will undo the damage and harm that has been done, or adequately represent the loss of Mr. MacDonald to his family, friends, and our community.”
In addition to the $80,000 fine, the New Glasgow-based company must also pay a victim-fine surcharge of $12,000 and provide $8,000 worth of community service to non-profits in Pictou County.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Investigators found the remains of a 77-year-old American man on Wednesday at the scene of a fire that destroyed a hotel in western Newfoundland on the weekend.
Eugene Earl Spoon, a guest at the hotel, was visiting Newfoundland from Kansas. His remains were found Wednesday morning during a search of the debris left behind after the fire tore through the Driftwood Inn in Deer Lake, N.L., on Saturday, the RCMP said in a news release.
“RCMP (Newfoundland and Labrador) extends condolences to the family and friends of the missing man,” the news release said.
Spoon was last seen Friday evening in the community of about 4,800 people in western Newfoundland. The fire broke out early Saturday morning, the day Spoon was reported missing.
Several crews from the area fought the flames for about 16 hours before the final hot spot was put out, and police said Wednesday that investigators are still going through the debris.
Meanwhile, the provincial Progressive Conservative Opposition reiterated its call for a wider review of what happened.
“Serious questions have been raised about the fire, and the people deserve answers,” Tony Wakeham, the party’s leader, said in a news release Wednesday. “A thorough investigation must be conducted to determine the cause and prevent such tragedies in the future.”
The party has said it spoke to people who escaped the burning hotel, and they said alarm and sprinkler systems did not seem to have been activated during the fire. However, Stephen Rowsell, the Deer Lake fire chief, has said there were alarms going off when crews first arrived.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.