Just so that we're working from a basis of how effective enrolment has been, let me say that we're up to nearly 96% of full enrolment.
The gap tends to be on reserve, where it's only 80% of families, because of an inability to convince all to file income tax returns due to a long-standing perception that you don't need to file them. While you don't need to file them, that is the way to receive a child benefit. Even that number.... When we took office, only 50% of families on reserve and in indigenous communities were receiving the benefit. We now have it up to 80% through a series of efforts to reach out to people, with indigenous partners and indigenous governments, to enrol.
The remaining 4% is of concern, of course, and it's not unique to single families. There is a whole series of reasons that we don't have the full enrolment.
I think this would be a quick study. I'm not sure how much personal experience we need, as much as we need the department looking for direction. It may be a question of expanding the list of people who can nominate you and verify your family situation and do it in a way that is sensitive to disclosure rules for families. I agree that sending it to an employer is not the best scenario, but there is a longer list that can be used.
I would suggest one small change. Instead of “specifically single parents”, I would say “in particular single parents”. That way it emphasizes the issue you've raised, but it doesn't limit it to single parents, because we know there are many two-parent and blended families who equally have this challenge. To make the rules accommodate the new, modern dynamics of families would be the best way to do it.
With that small change, I think we can support this and send it to committee for prioritization.