British Columbia's ombudsperson says he's satisfied the provincial government has fixed a problem that shortchanged caregivers of children with disabilities to the tune of more than $1 million in federal funding.
But Jay Chalke says B.C. still hasn't responded to his recommendation from three years ago that it work with Ottawa to fix other systemic inequities in federal legislation that he says deny some caregivers access to benefits meant to support children with disabilities.
In 2022, Chalke's office found that the monthly federal child disability benefit, intended to help care for disabled children, was being kept in the province’s coffers instead of being passed on to qualifying families.
An update published Thursday says the provincial Ministry of Children and Family Development has since transferred payments totalling nearly $1.2 million to 251 eligible caregivers as of the end of April 2024, to cover the shortfall retroactive to April 2019.
He says it has also ensured an amount equal to the federal benefit, about $264 per month per child, is now paid to kinship caregivers of children with disabilities on an ongoing basis.
A statement from Chalke says that without federal legislative change, other inequities will continue.
The statement provides an example of some caregivers not being able to claim the federal disability tax credit on their income tax returns even when their dependents qualify, leaving families at further disadvantage, especially those on limited incomes.
“I strongly urge the province to recommit to working with federal counterparts to ensure caregivers of children with disabilities receive the financial supports they need,” Chalke says in the statement.
“The province’s failure to move this important work forward with the federal government perpetuates inequitable treatment of these children. My office will continue to monitor its progress on this remaining recommendation and will report publicly until we are satisfied that it has been successfully implemented.”
