I am sharing information sent to Bereavement Ontario Members of a Private Member’s Bill introduced by Frank Valeriote, Member of Parliament for Guelph, Bill C-247, An Act to Expand the Mandate of Service Canada in Respect of the Death of a Canadian Citizen or Canadian Resident, will have second reading and debate on June 11, 2014.
If passed, the Bill would require the Minister of Employment and Social Development to implement all measures necessary to establish Service Canada as the single point of contact for the Government of Canada in respect of all matters relating to the death of a Canadian citizen.
As you are no doubt aware, there can be multiple contacts that must be made for the notification of a death of a loved one with the federal government. From the cancellation of a SIN card, the completion of tax returns, to the cancellation of pension or Employment Insurance benefits, grieving Canadians and law practitioners must contact different branches of the government to notify the Government of Canada about a death. This results in Canadians having to repeat the difficult information a “number of times” because there is no central department to register the data which then communicates the information to other ministries.
This is a non-partisan bill created to ease the burden on bereaved family members and legal representatives who must deal with multiple departments to notify the federal government of a death and the cancellation of benefits. It is a bill designed to improve client services to Canadians during a difficult transition, streamline the process, and lower costs for the government.
Link to C-247
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Language=E&Mode=1&DocId=6257141