Latest news with #CanadaChildBenefit
Hamilton Spectator
4 hours ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
August Ontario and Canada government benefits breakdown: Key dates for CPP, child benefit, OTB, OAS, ODSP and more
Several provincial and federal government benefits are paid in August. The Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB), Canada Disability Benefit , Canada Child Benefit (CCB), Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Old Age Security (OAS), Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) and the Veteran Disability Pension come out this month for eligible Canadians. The new Canada Disability Benefit payments started in July for those whose applications were received and approved by June 30. Those who qualify will be paid the month after their application is approved. Payments are sent on the third Thursday of each month. How much you receive is based on your adjusted family net income. OTB is the first to be paid out in the month, scheduled for Aug. 8. Your 2025 OTB payments are based on your 2024 income tax and benefit return. The Canada Child Benefit will be issued Aug. 20. This benefit payment is indexed to inflation and is recalculated every July based on your adjusted family net income from the previous year. The payment dates for both CPP and OAS are set for Aug. 27. There is a new OAS benefit estimator you can access online. According to the Canada Revenue Agency, those who receive OAS will see a one per cent increase in benefits for the July-September 2025 quarter, reflecting a 2.3 per cent annual increase from July 2024 to July 2025, based on the consumer price index. The OAS pension is reviewed in January, April, July and October to reflect cost of living increases. If the cost of living goes down, your payment won't decrease. The Veteran Disability Pension payment date is Aug. 28 and the ODSP payment date is Aug. 29. Those receiving ODSP saw an inflation-based increase of 2.8 per cent — effective July 1. It's the fourth rate increase since ODSP rates were tied to inflation in September 2022. The province says rates have increased by 20 per cent since then. If you're are a single person, your payment could be up to $1,408 for basic needs and shelter — but the exact amount you receive will vary by situation. The OTB is a combined three-in-one payment made up of the Ontario energy and property tax credit, the northern Ontario energy credit and the Ontario sales tax credit, based on your tax return from the previous year. You must meet eligibility criteria and be entitled to receive a payment for at least one of the following credits to get the OTB: the Ontario energy and property tax credit , the northern Ontario energy credit , and the Ontario sales tax credit . Follow the links to each individual benefit to access their individual requirements. To be eligible for the OTB, you must have paid property tax or rent for your principal residence in Ontario in the prior tax year, paid living expenses for a nursing home, paid energy costs while living on an Ontario reserve, or have lived in a designated post-secondary school residence in the prior year. You need to apply for OTB every tax year, with eligibility based on your family's net income from the previous tax year, which may change due to differences in your family net income, your place of residence, your age or your family status. Each year, you must apply for the OTB by filing your personal income tax and benefit return and completing and enclosing the ON-BEN application form included in your tax return package. You can use the child and family benefits calculator to find out what child and family benefits you may be able to access and how much your payments may be. To be eligible for CPP, you must be at least 60 and have made at least one contribution to the plan. Contributions must have been made from work conducted in Canada, or as a result of credits from a former spouse or former common-law partner. The amount of your CPP retirement pension depends on different factors, such as: For 2025, the maximum monthly amount you could receive if you start your pension at age 65 is $1,364.60. The average monthly amount paid for a new retirement pension (at age 65) in July 2024 was $815. Your situation will determine how much you'll receive up to the maximum. You can get an estimate of your monthly CPP retirement pension payments by signing in to your My Service Canada account . The CCB is a tax-free monthly payment meant to help eligible families with the costs of raising children under 18. Among other things, it's based on the number of children, marital status and income. Calculate what you will receive by using the government's child and family benefits calculator . The Old Age Security pension is a monthly payment you can get if you are 65 and older. In most cases, Service Canada will be able to automatically enrol you for the OAS pension if sufficient information is available. Service Canada will inform you if you have been automatically enrolled. The Ontario Disability Support Program provides money to help you and your eligible family members with living expenses, including food, rent, health benefits, including prescription drugs and vision care and employment support to help you find and keep a job, or advance your career. If you are eligible for ODSP, the amount of money you get will depend on your specific situation. Payments are on the last business day of each month. December payments may be available earlier in the month. A disability benefit through Veterans Affairs Canada is a tax-free, financial payment intended to support your well-being. The amount you receive depends on the degree to which your condition is related to your service (entitlement) and the severity of your condition, including its impact on your quality of life (assessment). Haven't received your payment? Wait 10 working days from the payment date to contact the Canada Revenue Agency . For information about ODSP, visit the province's information page . Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Cision Canada
18-07-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Helping families get ahead with a more generous Canada Child Benefit
PETERBOROUGH, ON, July 18, 2025 /CNW/ - As families raising children across the country receive the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) today, the Honourable Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth), announced that the benefit amounts have increased for 2025–26. Families can now receive up to $7,997 per child under the age of 6 and $6,748 per child aged 6 through 17. This represents approximately a $200 increase from the previous year and will help parents manage everyday expenses like groceries, clothing or child care, providing added support as they raise their children. Beyond the CCB, the Government of Canada is advancing other initiatives to make life more affordable and support families' well-being: the National School Food Program, backed by a $1 billion investment over five years, is expanding and enhancing access to nutritious food for children across Canada; and the Canadian Dental Care Plan is transforming access to oral health care by helping make the cost of dental care more affordable for eligible Canadians. These efforts, combined with investments in affordable child care, housing and health care, reflect the Government of Canada's commitment to bringing down costs for Canadians and helping them to get ahead. Quotes "The Canada Child Benefit is about giving families the breathing room they need to thrive. With this year's increase, Canada's new Government is delivering meaningful relief, helping parents cover the costs of raising their kids, from diapers to school supplies. We are investing in Canadian families, because when families are strong, the economy is strong, and we make Canada strong." – The Honourable Anna Gainey, Secretary of State (Children and Youth) Quick Facts The CCB is a monthly tax-free benefit based on prior year's adjusted net family income that provides support for low- to middle-income families with children to help with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age. The amount received under the CCB depends on several factors, such as the number of children and their ages, and prior year's adjusted net family income. For the July 2025 to June 2026 benefit year, eligible families can now receive up to $6,748 per child aged 6 through 17, and up to $7,997 per child under the age of 6. A family with one child aged 5 and one child aged 9 with an adjusted family net income of $65,000 will receive around $10,800 in 2025–26. This represents around $320 more than they would have received in 2024–25. The CCB has been indexed to inflation since 2018, using the Consumer Price Index from Statistics Canada, a trusted measure of cost-of-living changes. This annual indexation, effective every July, ensures the CCB keeps pace with rising expenses, offering predictable and stable support that families can count on year after year. Annual indexation takes effect on July 1 to coincide with the beginning of the program year for payments, which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year. With more than $26 billion in payments annually, the CCB is making a tangible difference in the lives of approximately 3.5 million families and over 6 million children. For school food programs, research shows participating families with two children in school can save an estimated $800 per year, easing household budgets while ensuring kids are fuelled to learn and grow. Almost 420,000 children under the age of 18 have been enrolled in the Canadian Dental Care Plan as of July 9, 2025. )
Hamilton Spectator
18-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Carney budget cuts could hit Indigenous communities, veterans, report warns
OTTAWA — The Carney government's plan to cut around $25 billion from the federal budget in three years could bring deep cuts to money set aside for provinces and municipalities for public services, as well as funding for Indigenous communities, veterans, newcomers, research and foreign aid, a new report warns. The analysis released Thursday from the progressive Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests such cuts could be unavoidable under the Liberal government's plans , which are nearly double what they promised during the spring election campaign, raising questions about why Prime Minister Mark Carney did not make the extent of those plans clear then. So far, no final decisions on cuts have been made yet, and the federal government has asserted that it would target programs that are 'underperforming, not core to the federal mandate, duplicative, or misaligned with government priorities,' despite warnings that the proposal could lead to job losses and service cuts. 'Half of these 'savings' are just cuts to somebody else, right? So it's not like you are cutting your own staff or your own professional services utilization,' economist David Macdonald, the author of the report, said in an interview. 'You're just pushing the problem onto somebody else's lap, whether that's veterans for disability supports, whether that's province or municipalities, whether it's First Nations governments, and then it's their problem to make cuts to their social services or health-care programs or whatever to make up for what you cut to them.' Many government departments would have no choice but to make such cuts because the vast majority of their spending goes toward transfer payments to other levels of government or organizations, says the report, which examined the roughly $190 billion pool of funding the federal government said is under review. The findings came as Carney, who met Thursday with First Nations leaders from around the country in Gatineau for a summit on the contentious major projects law the government fast-tracked through Parliament, faces significant pushback from Indigenous groups already frustrated over the lack of consultation by the government. Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, called on Carney to exempt transfers to First Nations from the coming federal cuts. While the government has said statutory transfers to provinces and individuals, like the Canada Health Transfer and the Canada Child Benefit, are exempt, funding for First Nations is not. In Ottawa, First Nations chiefs who gathered to protest the summit also slammed the government's proposed cuts. 'We manage poverty as leaders of our nations,' Chief Gary Lameman of Beaver Lake Cree Nation said. 'To hear that we're going to be getting more cuts to our programs is devastating.' Under the federal government's plan, which comes amid a pledge to 'spend less' and 'invest more' while committing tens of billions of dollars more to the military and cutting income taxes, nearly all government departments and federally funded organizations and Crown corporations are expected to propose 'savings' of up to 15 per cent of their spending in the next three years. Thursday's report suggests that more than half of the cuts will come from transfer payments to other levels of governments, non-profits and businesses, with one in five of the dollars cut being from money that now goes to First Nations governments for education, health care, policing and community infrastructure. Indigenous Services Canada has already warned staff that meeting its targets will impact jobs and programs, CBC has reported. Nearly $1 billion could come from income, disability and other health-care supports for veterans. Another $800 million could come from international aid, while around $500 million could come from both newcomer supports and research and science funding. Indigenous Services Minister Mandy Gull-Masty attempted to downplay those concerns on Thursday, saying it's her duty to offer the 'greatest level of service and program delivery' possible. 'For me, that means efficiency and refining that service delivery,' Gull-Masty told reporters. 'To me, that doesn't mean what I think the story is in the media right now.'
Hamilton Spectator
17-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Suggest your own spending cuts, Carney government tells CBC, Via Rail and other Crown corporations
OTTAWA — Federally funded institutions and Crown corporations like the CBC and Via Rail are expected to propose their own cuts under the Liberal government's sweeping efforts to find $25 billion in annual savings from the federal budget in the next three years, the Star has confirmed. That means very little appears to be off the table under Prime Minister Mark Carney's plan, and it's not just the civil service facing potential service cuts and job losses as a result of the spending review. Under that plan, nearly all government departments and federally-funded organizations are expected to propose 'savings' of up to 15 per cent of their spending in the next three years, nearly double what the Carney Liberals promised during the recent election campaign. The directive comes as the federal government promises to find 'ambitious' ways to 'spend less' and 'invest more,' and as it shifts its spending priorities towards the military, after Carney recently committed to an additional $9 billion in defence spending this year and signed on to a new NATO pledge to crank up military spending by tens of billions of dollars more in the coming years. The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, which reviews spending proposals of government departments, confirmed to the Star Wednesday that only few exceptions have been made for this spending review, and that Crown corporations and other federally funded institutions also have to propose their own 'savings' of up to 15 per cent. Aside from statutory transfer payments to provinces, territories and individuals — including health-care transfers and the Canada Child Benefit — the federal government is also exempting the House of Commons and Senate, government watchdogs, the independent Courts Administration Service and the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as cost-recovered organizations. Treasury Board did not specify which, or how many, 'cost-recovered organizations' are exempt. It's also given a lower savings target of two per cent to the Department of National Defence, the Canada Border Services Agency and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Cabinet ministers will be responsible for reviewing the savings proposals of organizations under their portfolios. Marie-Philippe Bouchard, the CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, said in an email to employees Tuesday that the government has asked the public broadcaster and other Crown corporations to propose spending reductions as well, meaning CBC will have to find up to $198 million in annual savings in three years. Reductions of this size, if implemented, would have an impact on some jobs,' Bouchard said in the internal memo, which was obtained by the Star. 'However, it is important to remember that at this point we have been asked to develop proposals only. All of the proposals will be assessed by the government and final decisions reflected in the Main Estimates for 2026-2027, made public early next year. Any necessary action would be taken only after that time.' Bouchard's memo said the savings will be separate from the federal government's commitment during the spring election campaign to invest an additional $150 million in CBC/Radio-Canada. The Canadian Museum of Human Rights, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Capital Commission, Statistics Canada, the Parole Board of Canada, the National Research Council of Canada and the CBC each confirmed to the Star they were tasked with proposing their own cuts to the government, although most suggested it was still too early to predict what effect that will have on their work. Via Rail, in a statement, said it has been working to identify and implement efficiencies for the past two years, and referred questions about the new proposed savings to the government. Unions, economists and other advocates have warned that jobs and services could be slashed, while some government departments have also informed employees of potential layoffs and asked for ideas on what can be cut. 'Liberal government cuts to the public service while (U.S. President Donald) Trump threatens our workers and economy, and people face a cost-of-living crisis, are damaging and wrong,' Don Davies, the NDP's interim leader, said in a statement, urging Carney to reverse the decision and cut outside government contractors instead. 'This move is a stark reminder of Stephen Harper's Deficit Reduction Action Plan, which resulted in the elimination of tens of thousands of positions over four years, and left lasting damage to Canadians across our country.' The government has said savings proposals are expected to target programs that are 'underperforming, not core to the federal mandate, duplicative, or misaligned with government priorities.' Carney has 'asked all departments to look at ways that we can save money in operations and in spending that is not directly linked to demonstrable outcomes,' said Patty Hajdu, the minister of jobs and families. 'His point is that we have to spend sort of less on the business of government and more on the outcomes that Canadians expect and the things that Canadians need. 'Obviously there's lots of speculation about what that means but it is entirely speculation,' she added. With files from Josh Rubin
CTV News
16-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
Canada Child Benefit payments are increasing starting Friday
Eligible Canadian families will see an increase in federal child benefit payments starting Friday. The maximum amount for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) payment, which covers the period from July 2025 to June 2026, is increasing by $210 to $7,997 for each child under six years of age, and by $178 to $6,748 for each child between the ages of six and 17, compared to the last benefit year, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on its website. The maximum amounts apply to those with an adjusted family net income of less than $37,487. The payments are recalculated every July and gradually decrease when the adjusted family net income is more than $37,487. The amounts for July 2024 to June 2025 were $7,787 for each child under six and $6,570 for each child six to 17 years old. How are payments calculated? The benefit year runs from July to June of the following year, with payments adjusted every month based on the number of eligible children under a parent's care, the children's age and the adjusted family net income reported in last year's tax return. The CCB is also indexed to inflation, according to the CRA. Each parent with shared custody of the child will get half of the amount they would've received if they had full custody. CCB payments have risen since July 2022, according to information provided on the CRA's website.
