Bonus payment being added to B.C. benefit for thousands of families: premier
Thousands of B.C. families who receive a benefit from the province will get a little more money this year, Premier David Eby announced Monday.
Recipients of the B.C. Family Benefit – which is distributed to eligible parents with children under the age of 18 – will get an average of about $445 more as the province adds a one-year bonus to payments to help with rising expenses.
"With global inflation and high interest rates driving up daily costs, we know families are being hit hard right now," Eby said in a statement. "Getting a little extra money to families for the basics is one of the ways we're helping people who are feeling squeezed right now."
About 340,000 families receive the benefit, the province said, which is an increase of 66,000 compared to last year. On average, families receive about $2,000 from the benefit per year, with amounts scaled based on net income and the number of children in the family. Single-parent families typically qualify for higher payments, and middle-income families receive partial benefits.
Katie Bartel, a parent living in Chilliwack, welcomed the benefit, saying it "often takes an entire community" to raise a family.
"Life's expensive, especially for those of us who have a child with a disability and raising any family right now has its own unique challenges. I always thought my life would get cheaper as my kids got older, and I was very wrong," she said Monday. "I see how hard it is for families right now, with rising costs of food, clothes, gas, child care, housing, parents are struggling to get by."
Payments of the B.C. Family Benefit are delivered by direct deposit or cheque and come as a combined payment with the federal Canada Child Benefit. The province estimates 70 per cent of families in B.C. will receive the benefit in 2024, with the increased payments starting in mid-July.
"We know people are feeling the effects of high prices and stretched budgets," Minister of Finance Katrine Conroy said in a statement. "That's why we're increasing this year's BC Family Benefit payments to help lighten the burden."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Frozen waffles recalled across Canada, U.S. over Listeria concerns
A U.S.-based food manufacturer that supplies frozen waffles to major grocery chains across North America has launched a voluntary recall over concerns its products carry the potential for illness.
'You are not my king,' Indigenous Australian senator yells at visiting King Charles
An Indigenous senator told King Charles III that Australia is not his land as the royal visited Australia's parliament on Monday.
How an off-duty lifeguard found a missing 17-year-old in the ocean
It was a typical Wednesday evening for Noland Keaulana, who was fixing his truck at his grandparents’ house when he received an alert on his phone about a 17-year-old missing off the Honolulu coast.
Cubans struggle with an extended power outage and a new tropical storm
Cuba's widespread blackouts stretched into their fourth day as Hurricane Oscar crossed the island's eastern coast with winds and heavy rain.
Death toll from B.C. atmospheric river climbs as driver found dead, another presumed drowned
Mounties on Vancouver Island say one person is dead and another is presumed to have drowned after two vehicles were found submerged in a river following heavy rains that washed out roadways across British Columbia.
High grocery and rental costs plaguing Canadians, new survey finds
High grocery and rental costs are squeezing lower-income Canadians even as inflation trends downward, a new survey suggests.
'I regret leaving my cat there': Eastern Ontario cat rescue under investigation, allegations of abuse, neglect
A cat rescue southwest of Ottawa is under investigation after allegations of abuse, neglect and falsified medical records have surfaced.
Canadian detained in Sudan begins trial after suing federal government 15 years ago
After waiting 15 years, Canadian Abousfian Abdelrazik will finally get the chance to hold the federal government accountable for its alleged complicity which led to his imprisonment and torture in Sudan.
Search underway for hiker missing in northern B.C.
Mounties say a search is underway for an avid outdoorsman who has disappeared in the wilderness of northern British Columba.