Canadian Government Executive - Volume 24 - Issue 05

May April March February January Sources: Government of Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada The Benefits Finder is an online tool that helps Canadians find fed- eral, provincial and territorial benefits they may be eligi- ble for. The goal is to to make it easier to use by making it more visible online, to share results via e-mail and add a feedback feature to understand client preferences. Imagine arriving at a Service Canada Centre (SCC) and being greeted by a Citizen Service Of- ficer (CSO) with the option to speak to someone sooner, virtually, rather than going through the long lineup. A few minutes later you are connected to someone on a screen ready to help you, from another province or territory away. After successful pilot projects in Freder- icton, NB, and St. Leonard, QC, this Video Chat initiative may become a real- ity for you soon. The government is making it easier than ever before to apply for or renew your passport, by nearly doubling the number of Service Canada Centres across the country offering passport services. For many Canadi- ans, these centres have been a long car ride away. By expanding passport services to more centres, over 97 percent of Canadi- ans now have con- venient access to apply for or renew a passport within a 100 km distance of their home. Personnel from Service Canada and the Canada Revenue Agency provided support and demonstra- tions on how to use the Canada.ca online programs when they visited Fort Babine reserve in Northern British Columbia. This was part of an outreach pilot project to help eligible families on reserves and in Northern commu- nities register for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB). To make ends meet, many seniors count on a monthly, non-taxable benefit known as the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)—available to low income, Old Age Security (OAS) pension recipients. However, there’s a challenge: some of our country’s most vulnerable seniors either don’t know this benefit exists or how to apply for it. Now, when a senior enrolls for OAS, ESDC will look at their household income (from their tax filing) and au- tomatically register them for GIS if they are eligible. Up to 17,000 low-income seniors will be au- tomatically enrolled for the GIS benefit each month. Making it easier to find your benefits Making virtual a reality: pilot program cuts wait times in Service Canada Centres Expansion initiative makes it easier to apply for and renew your passport Helping families in remote communities register for the Canada Child Benefit Automatic enrolment starting for Guaranteed Income Supplement October/November 2018 // Canadian Government Executive / 23 The dashboard