Single parents who rely on spousal or child support payments as their primary source of income — and whose ex-partners can’t afford to pay due to the novel coronavirus pandemic — do not qualify for help through the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), Global News has learned.
This is despite assurances from the government that it would work to fill gaps in eligibility requirements for the program. “I have clients who have come to me and said, ‘I don’t qualify for any of these programs.
How am I going to feed my children?’” said Michelle Guy, a family law lawyer from Vancouver. Guy has several clients whose ex-partners have lost their jobs and are no longer able to provide support payments.