1. In the Community
  2. COVID-19 Spousal and Child Support Payments

COVID-19 Spousal and Child Support Payments

May 8, 2020

Sent to: 

Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Chair, Cabinet Committee on the federal response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

Hon. Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance

Hon. Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Public Services and Procurement and Accessibility

OPEN LETTER RE: COVID-19 SPOUSAL AND CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS

Dear Ministers Freeland, Qualtrough and Morneau,

We are writng in follow up to our April 16, 2020 letter expressing concern for single parents whose spousal and child support payments have been interrupted due to COVID-19.

The eligibility criteria for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) continue to exclude single parents who have seen their income dramatically lowered because of decreases in their ex-partner’s income due to COIVD-19. Another few weeks have gone by since we first brought this issue to your attention and the situation is becoming more desperate for these families with each passing day.

It is a major source of anxiety not only for the Canadians, predominantly women, who depend upon these support payments to make ends meet, but to their ex-partners as well, who want to see their children and former partners supported financially through the crisis and who also do not want to default on their court orders.

Our offices continue to hear from anxious families whose well-being is seriously threatened by this situation. For example, MP Kwan is working with a single mother of four school-aged children who previously received a combination of both child and spousal support from her children’s father. She is no longer receiving these payments, as the father has lost his job due to COVID-19. Furthermore, she is also unable to work. Her industry has shut down completely due to COVID-19 and she is required to stay at home with her children to help them with their schoolwork.

She did not earn at least $5,000 of employment income in the last year, so she does not qualify for the CERB, even though her spousal support payments are taxable income. As many provincial support programs are tied to CERB eligibility, she is also unable to receive support through the $1,000 B.C. Emergency Benefit program or the B.C. Hydro COVID-19 Relief Fund. Ensuring her eligibility for CERB would grant access to a network of support beyond the benefit itself.

MP Kwan followed up on this question directly with Minister Qualtrough on April 24, 2020 at the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills, and Social Development and the Status of Persons with Disabilities (HUMA). The Minister’s answer at that time was:

Thank you for that question. It's something I've been thinking a lot about as we've been looking at groups, in particular vulnerable groups.

For the group of women you're talking about—and I say this knowing that women are disproportionally in this situation—while they would have received, most likely because of low income, the additional goods and services tax credit we had, and while they are going to be receiving an additional increase through the Canada child benefit per child, that falls short of replacing income they would have had through spousal support payments.

I am looking into this. Although spousal support payments aren't technically considered employment income, it is something I'm turning my mind to because of the particular vulnerability of this group.

We were encouraged at the time that the Minister signalled an interest in finding a solution and have stood ready to assist in quickly developing a response. To date there is no evidence that the government has been meaningfully following up on this concern, with opposition parties or otherwise. Surely you can appreciate that the additional GST credit and Canada Child Benefit supplement, while welcome, are not enough for families who depend on spousal and child support to anchor their household budget.

In a spirit of collaboration, and to bring as quick an end to these trying circumstances as possible, we are proactively proposing two solutions for your immediate consideration:

  1. Include spousal and child support payments in definition of ‘income’ for the purpose of CERB eligibility. This would make it possible for many people in this situation to access CERB benefits without delay.

  2. For people who have qualified for CERB, they may nevertheless not be able to make rent and put food on the table without the additional income. This is especially true in jurisdictions like Vancouver and Toronto, where the cost of living is extremely high.

A program modelled on the Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), that covered 75% of spousal and child support payments, might be the solution. Ex-partners unable to make their support payments due to COVID-19 could apply to the program and the benefit could be paid directly to those in need. As with the CEWS, ex- partners would be encouraged to pay the difference if able. If they are not able to cover the additional 25%, their payments could be deferred un1l they are back on a solid financial footing.

In this way, recipients of spousal and child support could receive much needed financial support and payers of that support could prove to courts that they are making every effort to honour their commitments.

These are two suggestions to quickly get financial assistance to people that are falling through the cracks. If there is a be:er way to do it, we are happy to discuss it. What we cannot accept is that these families be leg to twist in the wind.

We have already lost a few weeks in a situation where every day counts. We look forward to your prompt reply so that these families can get the good news they need without any further delay.

Sincerely,

Jagmeet Singh
Leader, New Democratic Party of Canada

Jenny Kwan
MP, Vancouver East

Daniel Blaikie
MP, Elmwood-Transcona

Latest posts

Urgent Action Needed on Strathcona Park and other Homeless Encampments - A Joint Call for Action

Urgent action is needed to address the growing homelessness crisis, yet the federal government continues to drag their feet on this issue.

Numbers don’t lie. BC only got 0.5% of funds from finalized agreements through the National Housing Co-Investment Fund. Only two applications were finalized. It was absolutely shocking to see the numbers. The truth is, though, we already suspected that BC was not getting the kind of resources that we need to support and address our homelessness crisis.

Alberta and Quebec have been shut out of the fund altogether, while Ontario has received 94% of the nearly $1.5 billion so far.

To learn more about these figures, please read Dan Fumano's recent coverage of this important story in the Vancouver Sun.

Applying Biometrics Exemptions during COVID-19 Pandemic

August 7, 2020

Sent to:

Ms. Catrina Tapley
Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

 

OPEN LETTER RE: APPLYING BIOMETRICS EXEMPTIONS DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Dear Deputy Minister Catrina Tapley,

Following the emergency Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration (CIMM) meeting, I am writing to follow up with the issue of delays for individuals to complete their biometrics due to COVID-19. I raised this question directly to your attention during the June 17, 2020 emergency meeting of the CIMM Committee and have also raised this in writing to the Minister.

My office has received a significant amount of email from Vancouver East constituents and from people across the country whose immigration applications have been impeded because they have been unable to complete their biometrics. Given the ongoing impact of COVID-
19, there simply is no timeline or certainty as to when an individual would be able to have their biometrics completed. While I am appreciative of the fact that IRCC has extended the deadline to give biometrics and that IRCC will not close or refuse any application in progress, however, it remains that those unable to obtain their biometrics are in effect simply stuck in the system. This in turn means that their lives are effectively held in limbo.

Cost-sharing Plan with B.C. Provincial and Municipal Government Urgently Needed to Address Homelessness Crisis

July 29, 2020

Sent to: 

The Honourable Ahmed Hussen
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development

 

OPEN LETTER RE: COST-SHARING PLAN WITH B.C. PROVINCIAL AND MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS URGENTLY NEEDED TO ADDRESS HOMELESSNESS CRISIS

Minister Hussen,

I am writing urgently with regard to the need for the federal government to commit to working with the non-profits, provincial and municipal governments to address the housing and homelessness crisis, especially in light of a pandemic that has gripped the country and devastated the livelihoods of many Canadians.

The homelessness crisis is not only an affront to human rights, but also poses an enormous national public health risk. This puts the individuals and the communities they live in at risk. Despite the indisputable importance of housing, I am deeply concerned that your government’s National Housing Strategy (NHS) is woefully inadequate.

Based on the response to my order paper question submitted February 4th, 2020, it seems the largest component of the NHS, the National Housing Co-investment Fund (NHCF), has fallen short of expectations. I was shocked to learn that only 23 of 432 of submissions have finalized funding agreements. Even more troubling was the lack of funding outside of Ontario. Among these applications, over 50% of the finalized agreements were from Ontario and over 91% of the $1.47 billion in these agreements went to a single application in the City of Toronto.

More — Jenny in the Community

Are you ready to take action?

Constituent Resources
Mobile Offices
Contact Jenny

Sign up for updates

Vancouver Constituency Office

Email:
Phone: 604-775-5800
Address:
2572 E Hastings
Vancouver, BC, V5K 1Z3

Ottawa Parliamentary Office

Email:
Phone: 613-992-6030
Address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
(postage-free)