Ottawa, ON – The Honourable Kevin Sorenson, Minister of State (Finance) and Member of Parliament (Crowfoot) is advising constituents that the application deadline to receive the enhanced Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) has been extended to May 15 so that more families can receive their UCCB cheque in July. Sorenson says, “We are looking for hundreds of thousands of families not currently registered for the enhanced child care benefit. I encourage all qualified families in our riding to make sure they are registered. We are asking for help from the media and the public to encourage families to apply for the benefit.”
The majority of families with children, approximately 3.8 million, are known and will automatically receive the enhanced UCCB or be contacted by the Government to confirm their information. However, an estimated 200, 000 eligible families are not currently captured by the Government’s UCCB system and may miss out on receiving money that is owed to them unless they apply.
Under the proposed enhancements to the UCCB, families would receive almost $2,000 per year for each child under 6 and $720 per year for each child aged 6 through 17. The new benefit amounts would be retroactive to January 1, 2015 and be reflected in monthly payments to families in July 2015. The proposed enhancements to the UCCB are expected to more than double the number of families that benefit from 1.6 million to more than 4 million.
Sorenson says, “If your family is not currently receiving the UCCB, has never received the UCCB, or has never applied for the Canada Child Tax Benefit and you still have children under 18 in your care, please go to www.canada.ca/taxsavings to find out how you can apply.”
