The Governments of Canada and New Brunswick Make It Easier for Parents of Newborns to Apply for Benefits

FREDERICTON, New Brunswick, Jan. 8 -- The government of Canada released the following news on behalf of Canada Revenue Agency:

A new integrated birth registration service will make it easier for New Brunswick parents to apply for federal and provincial benefits for their newborn children. The Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Employment and Social Development, and the Honourable Sue Stultz, Minister of Government Services (Minister responsible for Service New Brunswick and the New Brunswick Internal Services Agency), today announced the Bundled Birth Service, which will give parents the option to apply for Canada child benefits and a Social Insurance Number for their newborn at the same time that they register their child's birth.

Through the new Bundled Birth Service, parents can complete one form to register the birth of their child with the Vital Statistics Branch of Service New Brunswick and consent to their child's birth information being shared with federal government departments to access multiple programs for their newborn.

The same form will now allow parents to apply for the following benefits:

- Social Insurance Number through Service Canada

- Canada child benefits (the Canada Child Tax Benefit, the Universal Child Care Benefit, the GST/HST credit and the New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit) through the Canada Revenue Agency

Quick facts

- Applying early for Canada child benefits ensures that parents receive the credit and benefit payments to which they are entitled, on time and in the right amount.

- With their child's Social Insurance Number, parents can open a Registered Education Savings Plan and then apply for other Government of Canada benefits such as the Canada Education Savings Grant and the Canada Learning Bond.

- The new birth registration forms, along with information packages, have been distributed to hospitals throughout New Brunswick and new parents can now benefit from this service.

- For information on registering the birth of your child, visit the Service New Brunswick website at www.snb.ca. For general enquiries about Canada child benefits, visit the Canada Revenue Agency website at www.cra.gc.ca/aba or call 1-800-387-1193, or 1-800-665-0354 if you use a teletypewriter (TTY).

- For information on the Social Insurance Number, visit Service Canada at www.servicecanada.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-Canada (1-800-622-6232) or 1-800-926-9105 if you use a TTY, or visit one of close to 600 points of service across Canada.

Quotes

"Our government is helping make life a little bit easier for parents by allowing them to register their child's birth and apply for their child's Social Insurance Number and Canada child benefits in one simple step. This way parents can spend more time with their new baby and less time filling out government forms."

- Minister Kenney

"The birth of a new baby is an exciting time for parents but it can be a bit stressful too. We are committed to reducing the hurdles and making it easier for New Brunswickers to interact with government by integrating our application systems."

- Minister Stultz

Associated Links

- Service Canada http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/

- Service New Brunswickhttp://www.snb.ca/

- Canada Revenue Agencyhttp://www.cra.gc.ca/aba

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