Bountiful's polygamist leader could see $43,160 in child care benefits

A Vancouver Sun columnist has done the math to figure out just how much Winston Blackmore, the leader of fundamentalist Mormon community of Bountiful, B.C., stands to gain from the new Universal Child Care Benefit. 

"The bottom line is $43,160," Daphne Bramham tells As It Happens guest host Peter Armstrong. In this week's column, Bramham calculates that out of his 133 children, as many as 98 would qualify for the $420 cheque, with some of them, below the age of eight, qualifying for the $520. 

While she's not saying that Blackmore did or will receive this kind of money, Bramham doesn't discount the possibility.

"Many of those children are still in Bountiful," she says. "He has some children whose mothers have left and he is eligible to apply for them as the parent." 

Bramham, who has been researching and writing about Bountiful for more than a decade, says that applying for the money would be in line with the community's beliefs.

"They have a doctrine called 'bleed the beast' which is take as much money as possible from the government. If there's money to be had, I'm pretty sure all of them will be applying for it," says Bramham. 

She's says a school that he operates receives 50 per cent of it's funding from the BC government.

To apply for the Universal Childcare Benefit, a parent has to qualify as a primary caregiver. In many cases, if there is a female parent, the CRA will simply send the cheque in her name. But that doesn't mean a father or other guardian can't receive the cheque in their name instead. And Bramham thinks Blackmore could make that argument. 

"Many of his wives are American. I think he could arguably say his children are Canadian and he is the primary parent and they're living in Canada and he's supporting them," she says. 

"I'm not suggesting they shouldn't get the money. I'm just suggesting it's an unintended consequence of a universal program," explains Bramham. "If that money goes to the children, that's great. There are so many children and women in that community that are in a desperate situation."

When asked how much she thinks Blackmore would benefit from the other political parties' child care plans, Bramham says she doesn't know. "But, I can tell you one thing. He would not be putting his children into a general daycare program. Because they simply don't want their children going into anything other than their own system."