Tax returns mean benefits

By NUNATSIAQ NEWS

Between 1994 and 1995, the federal government made a decision that affected thousands of low-income families in Nunavut.

They stopped producing mother’s allowance, or “baby bonus” cheques, a federal social benefit that was started in the 1950s to help parents buy food and other necessities for their children. It’s a scheme that put badly needed cash into the hands of Inuit families for many years.

In its place, the federal government created a new program called the Child Tax Credit.

But for many low-income people, especially those who have difficulty filling out forms and understanding government documents written in English or French, there is one big hitch: to get the Child Tax Credit, you have to fill out an income tax return and send back to the government. The same goes for the GST Tax Credit, which is aimed at lower income people.

No one knows how many Inuit in Nunavut, because of an inability to complete tax returns, are missing out on benefits they’re entitled to receive from the federal government.

But anecdotal evidence suggests that there are far too many. This past March, Peter Kattuk, the MLA who represents Sanikiluaq, told the legislative assembly that within his community, there is no help available for people who are unable to fill out their own income tax returns.

Until about 25 years ago, Nunavummiut could find this kind of help at their local adult education centre, especially when adult education centres were run by the federal government.

But when responsibility for vocational and post-secondary education was devolved from Ottawa to the Government of the Northwest Territories, the adult education centres were appropriated by Arctic College. Income tax assistance and some other useful community services were lost.

In recent years, Revenue Canada, in response to complaints from Nunavummiut relayed through the office of Nunavut MP Nancy Karetak-Lindell, have sent workers to Nunavut every spring to help educate people about the importance of doing income returns, and to train volunteer helpers. This year, they’re hiring and training four Inuktitut-speaking people to help people in Nunavut.

These are worthy efforts, but they may not be enough. The Government of Nunavut has a legitimate role to play too, though until now they’ve been shirking it. But the adult learning centres, now run by the GN through Nunavut Arctic College, are still the logical places for providing this kind of service to the people of Nunavut.

It’s a literacy issue. Ordinary wage-earners and social assistance recipients aren’t supposed to need the help of an accountant to fill out a basic income tax return. Believe it or not, the forms are designed so that ordinary people can do them on their own.

So the obvious long-term solution is to help people gain the basic language and number skills they need to do their own tax returns. When you learn how to do something for yourself instead of having someone from the government do it for you, you gain a little more power over your life. And those simple skills are useful in other areas of life – such as a job.

That is the purpose of adult education. Unfortunately, not nearly enough of it is being done in Nunavut.

A recent review done by a consultant showed, to no one’s surprise, that Nunavut’s provider of adult education, Nunavut Arctic College, is in a dysfunctional state, and is only now emerging from a protracted period of administrative and financial chaos.

This will no doubt lead to much furrow-browed complaining by MLAs, who will demand that Arctic College do more of this, and do more of that.

While they’re at it, they might also think about pressing the college for things that might actually help their constituents. Help and education in doing one’s own income tax return is a good place to start. JB

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