Ottawa has “no accurate overview of hard-to-reach populations” that face barriers to accessing assistance benefits to which they are entitled, according to Canada’s Auditor General. This includes low -income people, Indigenous people, seniors, people new to Canada, and people with disabilities.
This was the conclusion of Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada (AG), in one of four reports filed on Tuesday morning.
These populations, for various reasons, are more difficult to reach than most Canadians. However, they are often the poorest of the federal government benefits aimed at reducing poverty, such as Canada Child Benefit, Guaranteed Income Supplement, Canada Workers Benefit, and Canada Learning Bond.
But they may encounter some barriers when trying to access it:
low level of literacy or inability to communicate in one of Canada’s official languages;
reluctance to disclose personal or financial information to the government;
the need to file a tax return to access benefits;
the complex process of applying for certain specific benefits;
the need to provide identification information or additional documents, such as social insurance number;
limited access to financial services (such as a bank account where benefits can be automatically deposited); geographical location or remoteness.
The AG recognizes that, since 2018, the Canada Revenue Agency and the Department of Employment and Social Development Canada do more to make these benefits more known to those who need them most.
Federal agencies have implemented a wide range of outreach strategies and initiatives to encourage people to apply for benefits for which they may be eligible.can we read in the report
We estimate that the Department and the Agency will collectively spend more than $ 18 million on targeted outreach activities in fiscal year 2020-21.
Ottawa is overestimating the success of its efforts
But VG believes the federal government is overestimating the success of its efforts. The government believes that, in general, a large portion of the low -income population receives benefits aimed at reducing poverty. But the AG found out instead that Ottawa did not there is no accurate and comprehensive overview of the groups of people who do not receive the benefits for which they may be eligible.
The government estimate dramatically fails to consider people who have not filed tax returns, a requirement for getting most benefits.
The Department and the Agency have little evidence that their increased outreach activities have resulted in increased use of benefits by hard-to-reach individuals.
More details to come
Source: Radio-Canada
