Ottawa mother loses thousands in child benefits thanks to CRA error

An Ottawa woman who discovered she's owed thousands of dollars in child tax benefits she never received because of an error the Canada Revenue Agency made a decade ago has been told not to expect to recoup the full amount — even though CRA has admitted its mistake, and someone else apparently pocketed the money.

Nicole Davoudi, a single mother of two teenage daughters, first applied for the Canada child tax benefit in 2006. She was also receiving the universal child care benefit (which was combined with the child tax benefit to form the Canada child benefit in July 2016). The tax-free benefits are intended to help families with the cost of raising children under 18.