Immigrants deprived of the Children's Allowance

Immigrants, regular or irregular, who live in Canada without permanent residence are not eligible for the Canada Child Benefit - a discriminatory policy that needs to be changed, argues the anti-poverty groups.

 A new report released Friday urges the federal government to allow these families to receive CEA.

The report, entitled "Every Child Counts", accuses Canada of treating children as "negligible" because of the legal status of their parents.

He argues that if the Canadian government is serious about tackling child poverty, it must revisit this "discriminatory approach" and take the necessary steps to ensure that all children in the country can flourish and succeed.

The report was written by a coalition of anti-poverty and immigrant rights groups, which says that refusing this financial assistance to women and children in a precarious situation after they arrive in Canada is only a matter of urgency. aggravate their vulnerability.

According to Anita Khanna, coordinator of Campaign 2000, an organization committed to eliminating child poverty in Canada, recently arrived immigrants must overcome a variety of barriers related to their ethnic background and language, as well as post a much higher rate of poverty than the rest of Canadians.

Ms. Khanna believes that depriving immigrant families of financial assistance aimed at fighting poverty is unfair. The coalition argues that this policy goes against Canada's obligation to protect human rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

According to an estimate based on preliminary data, approximately 3,000 families would be excluded from the Canada child benefit because of the immigration status of parents.

Including these families in the program, which distributes $ 20 billion annually, would cost the federal government $ 30 million more per year, the coalition says.

 The Canada Child Benefit is a non-taxable amount paid each month to help parents provide for their children under 18 years of age.

Families whose parents do not hold permanent resident status or who are still awaiting the results of the examination of their asylum application are, however, excluded. This is particularly the case for the tens of thousands of people who have crossed the Canadian border irregularly over the last 18 months.

 As a result, the coalition is calling on the government to rescind the policy, which was put in place before Justin Trudeau came to power in 2015 and which has been the subject of much discussion among coalition members as well as several ministers and senators.

   In a statement to Canadian Press, Valerie Glazer, Family Minister Jean-Yves Duclos' press secretary did not react to the coalition's claim, but recalled the Trudeau government's initiatives. which, according to her, has helped lift 300,000 children out of poverty.

"The vast majority of families with children in Canada are eligible for the Canada child benefit. Eligibility for the Allowance is tied to the legal status of the parent (s) in Canada, "said Glazer.