As a single parent on welfare with a teenager, Carrier will see just $3 extra as a direct result of the $92-per-recipient provincial benefit, according to the Income Security Advocacy Centre, which has calculated the changes.
About 1.3 million children in low-income families are to receive at least $50 per month starting in July when the Ontario Child Benefit jumps from its current limit as a result of the province’s decision to speed up implementation of the initiative to help families during the recession.
Families on welfare and provincial disability support will see the full $92 benefit for each child under age 18 when their federal child benefit cheque arrives next month. But welfare rate restructuring and cuts to the families’ basic needs allowances means many children will receive much less.
However, provincial officials have said every child on welfare will receive at least a $50 increase.
Many families will get more, acknowledged Sarah Blackstock, the advocacy centre’s director. “But it’s totally irrational. In some cases you are better off by significant amounts of money because you have a sibling or because you have two parents instead of one,” she said.
