Amid inflation squeeze, B.C. to keep increased family benefit payment

As British Columbians continue to struggle under increased costs of living, the provincial government has committed to keeping its increased monthly BC Family Benefit rate.

The payment, whose eligibility is based on number of children, will support more than 285,000 families with a combined income under $150,000 per year. The rate increased by $250 annually for a two-parent household with two children this month, and up to $750 for a single-parent household with two children.

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About 95 per cent of single parents in B.C. receive the benefit, averaging $2,254 per year, the Ministry of Finance said.

“These increases make a huge difference to families, helping families buy healthy food to eat at home or enabling parents to enrol their kids in sports camps, music programs and the other activities that help them thrive,” State of Child Care Minister Grace Lore said in a Tuesday press conference.

“We need to work to ensure that B.C. is a province where everybody can build a good life.”

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The BC Family Benefit extends to families with annual earnings below $106,908 with one child and $143,783 with three children. Its rates had initially increased for the first three months of 2023.

Ashley MacDonald, a single parent to seven-year-old Gibson, said it’s been challenging to keep up with the cost of living in Victoria and called Tuesday’s news a “wonderful surprise.”

“Especially a child with autism, a lot of what we do as parents is trial and error. We don’t know what’s going to work, we don’t know what he’s going to take to, what he’s not going to take to — and that trial and error is expensive,” she said.

“When you have a kid with special needs, everything is more expensive. Camps are more expensive, care is more expensive, supplies are more expensive.”

The Ministry of Finance said the increased rates are 10 per cent above what was issued monthly last year. Eligibility is determined automatically when families register for the federal Canada Child Benefit program.