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“Canadians pay into this program and it’s to be there for you when you cannot work and certainly victimization is one of the reasons and circumstances that you may not be able to work,” O’Sullivan said Wednesday.

The three-year-old program, set up by the previous Conservative government, provides $350 a week, before tax, for up to 35 weeks to parents of children under the age of 18 who have been killed or have gone missing as a result of a criminal act.

The government has estimated that it needs to budget $10 million annually for the program.

Briefing material provided to Families Minister Jean-Yves Duclos suggests officials overestimated the number of families that would need the program, with application numbers being “significantly lower than originally forecasted.”

The documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, show officials are reviewing how much they budget for the program.

“As a parent, I can’t imagine the pain families and loved ones must go through when they lose a child to violent crime,” Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said in a statement.

“There is always more to do to support victims of crime, and I will continue to work with my cabinet colleagues to provide that support.”

Canadians pay into this program and it’s to be there for you when you cannot work and certainly victimization is one of the reasons and circumstances that you may not be able to work

Victims groups say there are a number of reasons for the lack of uptake: the scope of the program is too narrow, excluding families with children over 18 who are murdered, for instance. O’Sullivan pointed to crime statistics that show few children under age 18 are murdered annually.