C-31

Details

Full Title

An Act respecting cost of living relief measures related to dental care and rental housing

First Reading

September 20, 2022, Parliament 44, Session 1

Type

House Government Bill

Full Content

https://www.parl.ca/legisinfo/en/bill/44-1/c-31

Summary

The Cost of Living Relief Act, No. 2 (Targeted Support for Households) aims to help Canadians with the rising costs of dental care and rental housing. The Act has three parts.

Part 1 creates the Dental Benefit Act. This act provides money to parents to help pay for dental care for their children under 12. The money is available for dental services received between October 2022 and June 2024. Families must apply to receive the benefit.

Part 2 creates the Rental Housing Benefit Act. This act provides a one-time payment to people who paid rent in 2022 for their main home. People must apply to receive the benefit.

Part 3 changes the Income Tax Act, the Excise Tax Act, and the Excise Act, 2001 to reflect the new benefits and allow for the sharing of information to administer these programs.

Issues

Economy

• Inflation and Cost of Living

  This bill aims to help people with the rising cost of living by providing direct financial support for dental care and rental housing. The Dental Benefit Act offers payments to parents for their children's dental care, while the Rental Housing Benefit Act provides a one-time payment to eligible renters. These measures are designed to ease the financial burden of these essential expenses.

• Taxation

  Part 3 of the bill makes changes to the Income Tax Act. It says that money received from the Dental Benefit Act is not taxable. It also allows the Canada Revenue Agency to share tax information with the Department of Health and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to help them run the dental and rental housing benefit programs.

• Spending

  The bill allows the government to spend money from the Consolidated Revenue Fund on the dental and rental housing benefits. The Rental Housing Benefit Act allows the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to manage the money for the rental housing benefit.

Social Services

• Healthcare

  The Dental Benefit Act provides financial support to help parents pay for dental care services for children under 12 years of age. This is an interim measure while the government works on a longer-term national dental care program. The bill aims to improve access to dental care for children who do not have dental insurance.

Social Justice

• Income Inequality and Poverty

  The bill provides targeted support to low-income households through the dental and rental housing benefits. The amount of the dental benefit depends on the applicant's income. The rental housing benefit is available to applicants with adjusted incomes below a certain threshold.

Security and Defense

• Crime

  The bill includes measures to prevent fraud and abuse of the dental and rental housing benefit programs. It creates penalties for people who knowingly provide false information or receive benefits they are not eligible for. It also creates offences for using false identity information or stealing another person's benefit.