Legal Assistance of Windsor urging province to cancel cuts to 'lifeline' benefit program

Legal Assistance of Windsor is sounding the alarm about provincial cuts to the Transition Child Benefit.

The program, which serves parents who aren't eligible for the Ontario or Canada Child Benefit, is being cancelled as of November 2019.

"This benefit was created to make sure the basic needs of children ae being paid while their parents are on social assistance," said LAW's executive director Marion Overholt.

"It's a huge concern. This is about basic needs."

The Transition Child Benefit fills a gap where immigration status or Revenue Canada concerns make parents ineligible for other benefit programs. Overholt said it amounts to about $230 a month, which most parents use for food and clothing for their children.

"There isn't another level of government that can step up to say we're going to cover that benefit," said Overholt. LAW intends to go to city council to ask for help in requesting a resolution asking the provincial government to change their minds.

"It's a lifeline for parents," said Overholt. "It would cause so much financial hardship and crisis if it was cancelled."

Overholt said her clients at LAW are "dumbfounded" and community partners are shocked too.

"It's just not something we can afford to eliminate."

The Ontario government announced the cancellationin May. Since then, the minister in charge of the benefit has changed, with Overholt hopes will help the province reconsider.