The federal government has offered no financial relief to those whose ex-partners can’t afford support payments during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Single parents whose ex-partners can't pay child and spousal support due to COVID-19 don't qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, Global News has learned.

Trudeau said he was leaning on restrictions provinces have put in place rather than issuing a mandatory national stay-home order.

The measure would deliver almost $2 billion in extra support for parents who may have been laid off from their jobs or unable to work due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The event, which took place at Goodness Me! on Park Place Boulevard, highlighted the parental sharing benefit, the tax-free Canada child benefit and the first-time homebuyer incentive.

Taxpayers' ombudsman Sherra Profit says her office has received ongoing complaints about difficulty proving or maintaining eligibility for the Canada Child Benefit despite repeatedly raising the issues with the government and the Canada Revenue Agency

The Canada Child Benefit is having an impact on very poor families, but researchers think it could do a better job of helping them put food on the table.

Trudeau, Scheer, Singh or May: who has the better deal for families?

Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau is promising to make maternity and parental benefits tax-free if his party is re-elected in October.

The decision to simplify the application form comes after the minister in charge was briefed about mounting concerns that eligibility rules and the application itself may be barriers for some "at-risk" families.