July 2, 2015 – Québec, Quebec – Employment and Social Development Canada
The Honourable Steven Blaney, Canada's Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, welcomed the printing of the first Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) cheques that will be mailed and received by families starting July 20. In July, about 1.2 million cheques will be printed, with production done at centres in Québec and Winnipeg.
The remainder of UCCB payments will be made via direct deposit, for a total of approximately 3.8 million payments. Last year, the Québec Production Centre printed just under 28 million cheques in total for a variety of programs.
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. It is estimated that more than 16,700 families with children in Quebec, including 1,510 families with children in Québec, are not currently registered. In 2015 alone, this represents potentially millions of dollars in unclaimed benefits.
Under the increased UCCB, families will 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.
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 in order to find out how you can apply.
Aaron Bell
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Employment and Social Development
819-994-2482
aaron.bell@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
Media Relations Office
Employment and Social Development Canada
819-994-5559
media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca
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