When a Brandon, Man., family got their infant son back from Michif Child and Family Services in 2020, they thought their nightmare was over.
Then they got a bill for $8,000.
“This is wrong on so many levels,” said the mother, who can’t be named under the Child and Family Services Act of Manitoba.
The mother was receiving Canada Child Benefits for her son, who was taken at birth in 2019. Usually, when a child is apprehended, the agency files paperwork to receive a special allowance for the child’s care instead of CCB going to the parents. That didn’t happen in this case and the mom continued to receive the money.
The family says it was informed of the outstanding amount owed to the federal government by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in February.
The mother says she paid the infant’s expenses to the agency while he was in care.
“We paid for formula, clothes, bottles, a car seat, stroller, a bed and food,” said the mom, who lives on disability.
“Most of what was purchased I don’t have receipts for as I never thought I would be in this type of situation.”
She says she kept many of the receipts but threw them out when they won their son back.
Both the CRA and Michif CFS say the other has control to correct the matter.
In an email to the mother, Michif CFS said “the agency has no involvement in this. It appears this is a CRA matter and you will need to reach out to them to address.”
In an email to Global News CRA said “if an individual provides funds for a child’s basic needs to an agency/institution that cares for children, such as a child welfare agency, the matter is between the individual and that agency. If such agency/institution refuses to return these funds to the individual, it then becomes a civil matter between them and therefore beyond CRA’s purview.”
Global News spoke with someone at the Michif CFS familiar with the situation who said they couldn’t comment but will try to assist with CRA.
In the meantime, the mother’s income tax return and GST cheques are being withheld and the monthly CCB payment for the now four-year-old boy, has been cut in half.
“He’s basically paying for having been taken,” the mother said.
Lynne Marshalsay with the child advocacy group Preserving Families, says this happens “all the time” across Canada.
She explains when kids are apprehended sometimes there’s a lag of many months before agencies apply for the special allowance through CRA and if parents don’t know to contact CRA about the apprehension, they get a surprise bill the next time they file taxes.
And it doesn’t matter if the apprehension was justified or not.
“I see this over and over in my group. Children’s services does not tell you any of this and people end up owing.”
Many involved in the child welfare system are classified as low income households and being hit with a bill like this is devastating.
“It’s so frustrating because parents lose their kids, then their finances and the spiral goes right downhill,” said Marshalsay.
CRA says they “will take an empathetic approach and work with (the family) to ensure that they get the benefits they are entitled to, and that they are able to meet their tax obligations.”
“It has me frustrated and how many others has this happened to who aren’t speaking up?” asked the mother.
Comments