The development of the National Child Benefit System should not be assessed solely by government. The report proposes that an independent body be established to track progress in implementing the National Child Benefit System. In addition, Statistics Canada could be asked to develop a regular series of statistical reports specifically meant to measure progress in implementing child benefit reform. Social groups have a vital role to play in this process by monitoring both the development of the National Child Benefit System and its formal evaluation. The current child benefit system is assessed against the evaluative criteria and found wanting in several important respects.
Maximum benefits are too low.
Partial deindexation results in an ever-changing child benefit system that does not perform in practice the way government portrays it in theory. The federal-provincial child benefit system overall is complex and inconsistent in key elements of its design. It does not treat all low-income families with children equally, and thus forms a major part of the welfare wall. The use of a net family income definition for federal child benefits is cost-ineffective and introduces both horizontal and vertical inequities. Details are sketchy at the time of writing on provincial child benefit initiatives, but if the BC experience is any guide, the income-tested integrated programs planned by Saskatchewan and Quebec bode well for the future.