Following the tabling of the 2022 Spring Reports of the Auditor General of Canada, the Government of Canada issued the following statement in response to the report entitled, "Access to Benefits for Hard-to-Reach Populations":
As a government that continually looks for ways to improve services to Canadians, we welcome the Office of the Auditor General's recommendations to better collaborate, leverage data strategically, and measure the effectiveness of our approaches.
The government continues to focus its attention and efforts on connecting eligible hard-to-reach and vulnerable people to the benefits and credits to which they are entitled. For example, the Canada child benefit (CCB) is a tax-free monthly payment that helps low- to middle-income families with the cost of raising children. The CCB does a lot to help eligible families with children under 18 years of age. In the 2020/21 benefit year alone, we allocated more than $25 billion to more than 3.7 million families in Canada.
The Auditor General report acknowledges that the government undertakes a significant number of outreach efforts that target hard-to-reach individuals, and which are aimed at increasing benefit and credit awareness. These efforts include in-person visits, collaboration with local support organizations, information sharing with stakeholders, and working with partners to offer free tax clinics.
Government programs support Canadians but not all segments of society are accessing benefits and credits equally. Much of this is attributable to service delivery barriers. We recognize that essential support is required for some Indigenous communities, individuals in remote locations, low-income seniors and families, as well as persons with disabilities who are among those not accessing our benefits.
One initiative currently taking root is Reaching All Canadians. This horizontal approach to improving benefit access and uptake focuses on addressing common issues, providing the most pertinent services, and implementing service delivery changes. The initiative also prioritizes reaching out to the most appropriate third parties, including other government departments and agencies, when necessary.
Employment and Social Development Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency, supported by Statistics Canada and Indigenous Services Canada, have also been working on a variety of joint projects, including service offerings through Northern Service Centres, super clinics held across Canada, and specialized tax forms for Indigenous peoples. There are plans to continue and increase this work.
That said, there is more to be done in terms of engaging some Indigenous communities to help them access services, including the need to have on-site staff to help on-reserve and urban Indigenous individuals navigate processes and tools.
Moreover, the government recognizes that those who are the most vulnerable or difficult to reach may not always participate in current data collection processes, such as the census or regular tax-filing. As such, we are committed to finding more opportunities to ensure as many Canadians as possible are able to opt in to services, benefits, and support.
There is always more work to be done and we are actively engaging with partners to explore ways to expand our collaboration to plan, track, and better deliver services.
