Service Matters: Numbers Speak Volumes

The Annual Report by the Office of the taxpayer's ombudsman provides key achievements, identifies Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) service issues and outlines trends in complaints. In addition, the report includes three recommendations to the Minister of National Revenue and the Chair of the Board of Management to improve the CRA’s service to Canadians. 

 



Social assistance summaries

The Social Assistance Summaries series tracks the number of recipients of social assistance (welfare payments) in each province and territory. It was established by the Caledon Institute of Social Policy to maintain data previously published by the federal government as the Social Assistance Statistical Report. The data is provided by provincial and territorial government officials.



2022 Canadian Retirement Survey

The key takeaways from the 2022 Canadian Retirement Survey are:

  1. Canadians are growing increasingly concerned about day-to-day cost of living impacting their ability to save for retirement. 
  2. Capacity to save is dissolving for working Canadians, especially for those under 35
  3. Inflation and housing affordability concerns for all Canadians, especially for those under 35. 
  4. Canadians recognize the personal value of pensions
  5. Canadians recognize the societal value of pensions

Read the full presentation conducted for Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan.



Economic Abuse: Coercive Control Tactics in Intimate Relationships

This infographic explores 3 forms of economic abuse and associated tactics used to coercively control intimate partners.

These abusive tactics are compounded by economic systems that systemically oppress groups including Black, Indigenous, and people of colour; people with disabilities; people with precarious immigration status; and gender-oppressed people.

Economic abuse consists of behaviours to control, exploit, and sabotage an individual’s resources. It limits the individual’s independence and autonomy.

Compared to financial abuse which usually only focuses on money, economic abuse includes a more expansive range of behaviour that affects things like employment, food, medicine, and housing. 

Economic abuse is often used to coercively control individuals, such as intimate partners. It occurs in conjunction with further forms of abuse, like physical and sexual violence. Economic abuse can make it more difficult for survivors to escape violence since they may not have the resources to secure long-term housing and employment while meeting basic needs for themselves and potentially their children.



Fraud Prevention Toolkits

In 2021, losses reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reached an all time high of 379 million with Canadian losses accounting for 275 million of this. Fraud Prevention Month is a campaign held each March to inform and educate the public on protecting yourself from being a victim of fraud. 

This year's theme is impersonation, and focuses on scams where fraudsters will claim to be government official, critical infrastructure companies, and even law enforcement officials. 

This collection of fraud prevention toolkits is available in English and French.

In English:

Show me the fraud

Seniors

Middle Agers

Young Adults

Businesses

En Français:

Montre-moi la fraude

Aînés

Personnes d’âge moyen

Jeunes Adultes

Entreprises



Banking for newcomers to Canada

Banks offer extensive information on how newcomers to Canada can get started in their new country, including checklists, information, financial services and advice.

The Canadian Bankers Association has compiled some basic information to get you started including an infographic with features of the Canadian banking system. 



Canada learning bond for 18 to 20 year olds

The Canada Learning Bond is money that the Government of Canada adds to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) to help pay the costs of full- or part-time studies after high school. If you are eligible for the Canada Learning Bond and have not already received it in an RESP, you will receive $500 deposited into your RESP, plus an additional $100 for every subsequent year that you were eligible, up to the age of 15. This money can help cover the costs of tuition, books, tools, transportation, and housing. You do not need to put any money into the RESP to receive the Canada Learning Bond.

This single page insert tells you everything you need to know to apply for the Canada learning bond. 

Disponible en Français.



Learn about your taxes (free CRA online course)

A free online course to learn about personal income taxes in Canada, developed by the Canada Revenue Agency.

Contents include:

  1. Starting to work: Why you need a social insurance number (SIN), when to fill out a TD1 form, and what’s on your pay stub and T4 slip.
  2. Preparing to do your taxes: Find out what you’ll need to know before doing your taxes and the different ways to do them.
  3. Completing a basic tax return: An introduction to a basic income tax and benefit return. What you need to report, how to claim deductions and tax credits, and finding out whether you will get a refund or owe tax.

Additional resources for teachers and facilitators are available.

 



Low income measure (LIM) thresholds by income source and household size

Low income measure (LIM) thresholds by household size for market income, total income and after-tax income, in current and constant dollars, annual.



Trends in Intergenerational Income Mobility and Income Inequality in Canada

In this paper, administrative Canadian tax data are exploited to compute measures of intergenerational income mobility at the national, provincial and territorial levels. This work provides detailed descriptive evidence on trends in social mobility. Five cohorts of Canadians, born between 1963 and 1985, are observed as teens living with their parents and again as adults in their late 20s and early 30s.



One in five Canadians with mental health-related disabilities lives in core housing need

Canadians with mental health-related disabilities were more than twice as likely as those without disabilities to live in households considered to be in core housing need in 2017. Canadians with mental health-related disabilities were also more likely than those without disabilities to live alone, to rent their homes and to live in subsidized housing, according to the 2017 Canadian Survey on Disability (CSD).

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has identified those living with pre-existing mental health-related disabilities as a particularly vulnerable population because of the impacts of isolation and disruptions to mental health-related services during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent crowdsourcing survey by Statistics Canada found that almost three-quarters (73%) of participants with mental health-related disabilities stated that their mental health had worsened since the beginning of the pandemic. In addition, PHAC has indicated that those living with inadequate or unsuitable housing are also more vulnerable during the pandemic and are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.

This infographic presents pre-existing living situations and housing conditions among Canadians with mental health-related disabilities that may put them at greater risk of contracting COVID-19, as well as the emotional and psychosocial impacts of living through a pandemic.



The Impact of COVID-19 on Women living with Disabilities in Canada

DisAbled Women’s Network (DAWNRAFH) Canada is a national, feminist, cross-disability organization whose mission is to end the poverty, isolation, discrimination and violence experienced
by Canadian women with disabilities and Deaf women.

People with disabilities, specifically women with disabilities face unique barriers related to Covid-19. This includes both the increased risk oftransmission and death from COVID-19, as well as the unique ways policies targeting COVID-19 impact this group. Prior to COVID-19 more than 50% of human rights complaints at the Federal, Provincial and Territorial levels in Canada for the last four years have been disability related, which speaks to systemic failures that have been exacerbated under COVID-19. In this brief, DAWN Canada highlights these unique considerations, as well as significant and existing policy gaps facing this group.



The long-term labour market integration of refugee claimants who became permanent residents in Canada

Although refugee claimants seek asylum in Canada for humanitarian reasons, their labour market outcomes play a crucial role in their successful integration, which is why it is important to monitor the degree of labour market success achieved by refugee claimants. This study compares the long-term labour market outcomes of refugee claimants who eventually became permanent residents in Canada (RC-PRs) with those of government-assisted refugees (GARs) and privately sponsored refugees (PSRs), as well as with refugee claimants who did not become permanent residents in Canada (RC-NPRs).



Delivering virtual tax clinics: How to prepare and steps to consider 

This tax season, community tax clinics across Canada will be preparing to support clients virtually rather than in person amidst physical distancing measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Adapting to a virtual tax clinic model means preparing for different ways of volunteer preparation, client outreach, and delivering one-on-one tax-filing help.

In this one-hour webinar, speakers from the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will share key considerations for Canadian practitioners operating tax clinics in 2021, as well as how to access CVITP program training and support.

This webinar is designed to support practitioners delivering community tax clinics in Canada.

Click 'Get it' below to access the video link, and scroll down to access handouts, slides, and video timestamps for this webinar.

Read the presentation slides for this webinar.

Time-stamps for the video recording:
3:46 – Agenda and introductions
6:21 – Audience polls
11:08 – CVITP program and recent changes
16:58 – CVITP volunteer training
26:58 – What’s new for 2021 and Virtual clinics
36:37 – Q&A

Consumer debt and household vulnerability among low and moderate- income households in Canada 

Household debt levels in Canada have been rising since the 1990s, which poses increasing risks for Canada’s economy and Canadians’ financial health. However, the debt ‘picture’ for an average low- or moderate-income household is likely to be quite different from higher income households, both in terms of amount of debt and type of debt they take on. 

Join Alex Bucik and Vivian Odufrom Prosper Canada in this one-hour webinar where theywe will present findings from recent Prosper Canada’s recent research on consumer debt in CanadaRoadblock to Recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadians in the time of COVID-19. Alex and Vivian will explore what types of debt are more common in low- or moderate-income householdsand some of the drivers of this debt load.  

This webinar is intended to equip financial educators and frontline practitioners supporting low-income clients, with recent knowledge on the types of debt Canadians living on low income may be dealing with, and things to know about the pitfalls of different types of debt. 

Click 'Get it' below to access the video link, and scroll down to access handouts, slides, and video timestamps for this webinar.



Read the presentation slides for this webinar.

Handouts for this webinar:
Report: Roadblock to recovery: Consumer debt of low- and moderate-income Canadian households in the time of COVID-19 (Prosper Canada)
Survey results: Canadians with incomes under $40K bearing the financial brunt of COVID-19 (Leger and Prosper Canada)

Time-stamps for the video recording:
4:42 – Agenda and introductions
7:52 – Audience polls
10:55 – Researching consumer debt (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
18:55 – How much does debt cost? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
23:17 – How do different kinds of debt work? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
29:17 – What are people using their credit for? (Speaker: Vivian Odu)
40:49 – What help is available to Canadian borrowers? (Speaker: Alex Bucik)
45:22 – Q&A

Beyond Hunger: the hidden impacts of food insecurity

This report illustrates the hidden impacts of food insecurity in people’s lives through a survey of 561 people in 22 communities across Canada. The people interviewed shared that food insecurity makes them ill, breaks down relationships, makes it harder to get stable work, and fully participate in society.



Accessing Financial Literacy Education Programs: Barriers and opportunities for women living on low incomes

When women living on low incomes are able to access effective Financial Literacy Education (FLE) programs, they will be better positioned to fully participate in economic life, help build a stronger economy, and improve the quality of life for themselves, their families, and their communities.

This needs assessment was part of Families Canada’s 3-year project titled “Increasing financial literacy opportunities for women living on low incomes: An action plan for change.” Partners included the Canadian Credit Union Association and Vancity. Funding was generously provided by the Department for Women and Gender Equality. The project seeks to ensure organizations have the information they need to adapt their existing financial literacy initiatives and programs to better meet the needs of women living on low incomes. 



Soaring with savings

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