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Yukon government pegs child benefit rate to inflation

The Yukon Child Benefit rate for 2023-24 will climb by 6.8 per cent at the start of July
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The move to peg child benefit payments to the Whitehorse Consumer Price Index was first laid out in the Yukon Liberal and NDP caucuses’ 2023 confidence and supply agreement. (Haley Ritchie/Yukon News file)

On July 1, the Yukon Child Benefit rate will increase by 6.8 per cent, with the maximum amount paid out per child to climb to $876. The increase was set to match the Canadian Consumer Price Index’s 6.8 per cent rise in 2022.

According to a government news release, most of the Yukon’s roughly 1,200 families participating in the benefit program will receive $56 more per child than last year.

Additionally, future annual increases to the child benefit rate will be tied to the Whitehorse Consumer Price Index to ensure they keep up with the climbing cost of living. This will help ensure that families aren’t driven out of the program due to inflation-driven wage increases.

“I’ll give an illustrative example: Last year, a family with one child would have received no more benefits after their income reached $67,800. But that amount is going up to $70,030, with the 6.8 per cent child benefit increase. That $2,170 difference is the amount that is required to keep up with inflation,” Clarke LaPrairie, assistant deputy minister of Finance, told the News.

“For the [Yukon] government’s budget, we forecasted an increase of 3.8 per cent for 2023, so that gives you an idea of what will happen in a year’s time.”

The move to peg child benefit payments to inflation was initially laid out in the 2023 confidence and supply agreement between the Yukon’s Liberal and NDP caucuses.

“Programs like the Yukon Child Benefit make life a little easier for Yukon families. By linking the program to inflation, we are ensuring greater predictability and stability for the approximately 1,200 Yukon families who access the program, now and into the future,” Premier Ranj Pillai said in the press release.

The Yukon Child Benefit is a non-taxable monthly payment to assist low- and modest-income families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18.

Canada Revenue Agency manages the territorial program, and its payments are combined with the Canada Child Benefit into a single monthly payout.

Contact Matthew Bossons at matthew.bossons@yukon-news.com



Matthew Bossons

About the Author: Matthew Bossons

I grew up in a suburb of Vancouver and studied journalism there before moving to China in 2014 to work as a journalist and editor.
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