Be Careful Snowbirds: Canada's Government is Cracking Down on Social Benefits
Posted on Tuesday, October 27, 2015, 04:49 PM, by Ana Ferrer, under
Canada News
The federal government of Canada is planning on using its border exit-tracking system to avoid paying social benefits to people who don't deserve them because of their absences from Canada,
CTVNews.ca reported. Memos from the Canada Revenue Agency and Employment and Social Development Canada state the country can expect to save about $194 million and $319 million over the next five years once the system is in place.
The program's tracking system involves exchanging entry information collected from people at the land border, so the data of entry to one country serves as a record of exit from the other.
A 2014 memo was released under the Access to Information Act that says the savings can be expected through, "preventing abuse and eligibility fraud" in regards to the employment insurance, old age security and child tax benefit programs by making sure that the recipients have fulfilled their Canadian residency requirements, the news site reported.
Over the next five years the savings estimates are as follows:
- $48 million by Employment and Social Development Canada for the old age security program;
- $21 million by Employment and Social Development Canada for the employment insurance program;
- $125 million to $250 million by the Canada Revenue Agency for the child tax benefit program.
The example highlighted in the article states that if a Canadian citizen or permanent resident was outside of Canada for more than 183 days, their entry-exit information would be shared with the Canada Revenue Agency who administers the child tax benefit program.
It's important to note that the information would never be the basis for action against any one person - it's merely meant to act as a tip and verification would need to be completed.
So, Canadian snowbirds will need to be careful when it comes to their winter holiday trips - if they're spending too much time outside of Canada, they could be risking their eligibility for any of those programs.