Thousands of Canadians missed out on federal housing and dental benefits: report
CTV
A new report says hundreds of thousands of Canadians may have missed out on government money intended to help with the rising cost of living because the housing and dental benefits rolled out last year have had "atrocious" take-up.
A new report says hundreds of thousands of Canadians may have missed out on government money intended to help with the rising cost of living because the housing and dental benefits rolled out last year have had "atrocious" take-up.
The analysis by David Macdonald, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, assesses both benefits, as well as how much the federal government has actually spent on the measures.
He compares the federal government's estimates in the fall economic statement with updated figures provided on its website at the end of March.
Macdonald finds only 44 per cent of those who would have likely been eligible for the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit actually received it, while just over half have received the Canada Dental Benefit.
"These are pretty atrociously low take-up rates. We should be learning lessons from this (so) the next time around we have much higher take-up rates," Macdonald said in an interview.
The housing benefit offered $500 to low-income renters. Applications closed on March 31.
The federal dental benefit was rolled out in the fall to provide families with up to $650 per child under 12 for dental care. It was the first step toward creating a national dental care program, a key promise in the Liberals' confidence-and-supply agreement with the NDP.
