From: canada.revenueagency@yahoo.com   
      
   Ottawa dad urges Canada Revenue Agency to rethink 'sexist' child benefit   
   policy :CRA SOTW    
      
   Woman of the house automatically awarded benefits, even if she's not primary   
   caregiver   
   By Julie Ireton, CBC News   
      
      
   An Ottawa father is accusing the Canada Revenue Agency of jumping to outdated   
   conclusions when it automatically decided his common-law wife should receive   
   the child benefits for his two sons from a previous relationship.   
      
   Jason Beaudoin says CRA has assumed his live-in partner is the boys' primary   
   caregiver, because the agency told him he needs her permission in order to   
   have the Canada child benefit payments made out to him instead.   
      
   "Frankly it made me a bit angry," said Beaudoin. "I think it's sexist, to be   
   honest. It's just not right. I'm the one that does the primary caregiving. I   
   make the lunches, I do the suppers, I get them ready for school. I give them   
   showers and baths.    
   Certainly she does help. But that role is my role and I want to keep that   
   role, as it should be."   
      
   When Beaudoin initially applied for the child benefit, the online process   
   stopped and wouldn't let him proceed. He was told he'd need additional   
   documentation and to seek permission from his spouse to collect the money.   
      
   "They told me whether she has legal custody or is a stepmom or not, I still   
   have to get that permission," said Beaudoin.   
      
   Default policy 'makes sense'   
   Tammy Schirle, a professor of economics at Wilfrid Laurier University, said   
   assuming the woman of the house is the primary caregiver has historically been   
   the rule when it comes to receiving the baby bonus.   
      
   "What we know is that when benefits are paid directly to moms, our evidence   
   suggests that more of the money will be spent on things that directly benefit   
   the kids, because moms are doing that type of shopping. So as a default   
   policy, this tends to make    
   sense," said Schirle.   
      
   Under the previous Conservative government, Schirle said, the default policy   
   was to send the cheque to the mom.   
      
   "There's actually a very good argument for the idea of being a bit more   
   flexible in how we assign benefits to parents, and perhaps splitting the   
   benefits between the parents in a household. Again, it gets very complicated   
   when you start thinking about    
   blended families and who's responsible for which children across different   
   households."   
      
   Reinforces traditional gender roles   
   Schirle does recognize that the default policy reinforces the traditional   
   stereotype of women in the household, but in the end, she said, it's generally   
   the right thing to do.   
      
   "Quite often mom is the one to have lower earnings within a household, and in   
   that sense they have less bargaining power, and so it should be up to them   
   with their explicit permission to give up those types of benefits."   
      
   In Beaudoin's case, his common-law partner had to write a letter to the CRA   
   explaining he is the primary caregiver of his children. Beaudoin was required   
   to fill out a form requesting the change and include a copy of the court   
   decision detailing his    
   custody agreement with his ex.   
      
   "I'm the one who has legal custody. I just think it should go to the parent,   
   that's it. There's no ambiguity at all," said Beaudoin.   
      
   "I think the government needs to understand that the nuclear, 1950s family no   
   longer exists. It hasn't existed in quite some time now. Blended families are   
   indeed the norm now, and men are taking on the roles of primary caregiver."   
      
   Tax Act requires female partner's OK   
   In an email to CBC, CRA spokesman David Walters wrote that under the Income   
   Tax Act, "if someone is in a common-law relationship with a person who is not   
   the biological parent of the child(ren) in question, both individuals are   
   considered to be the    
   parents of the child for [Canada child benefit] purposes. In this case, the   
   common-law spouse is considered to be the female parent."   
      
   However the legislation also states that "the female parent is presumed to be   
   the one who is primarily responsible for that child's care and upbringing."   
      
   The act does allow the female parent to declare that the male is the primary   
   caregiver in cases where the female is not the biological parent, Walters   
   wrote.   
      
      
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