The Government of Canada is committed to supporting the families of young victims of crime. To ensure parents get the help they need, the government introduced the Canadian Benefit for Parents of Young Victims of Crime.
The benefit provides income support to eligible parents who suffer a loss of income as they take time away from work to cope with the death or disappearance of their child under 25 years of age, as a result of a probable Criminal Code offence. The following are key features of the benefit:
- Eligible parents have two years following the date of the incident to apply for and receive benefit payments of $450 per week, paid bi-weekly, for a maximum of 35 weeks.
- To receive the benefit, parents must be on leave from employment or working reduced hours up to a maximum of 50% of their regular work week (up to a maximum of 20 hours per week).
- Applicants must also have a recent labour force attachment, having earned at least $6,500 in the previous calendar year or the 52 weeks immediately prior to the incident.
- The benefit can be shared by more than one eligible parent for the same incident.
The Canada Labour Code also was amended to ensure that employees in the federally regulated private sector can benefit from the improved grant without any fear of losing their job.
For more information on the benefit and eligibility criteria, or to apply, please click here.
